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Hi Guys,
I'm new to Lightroom, usually been editing working in Photoshop.
I am editing and retouching black and White film scans so mainly cleaning dust and leveling exposure, I wanted to ask if there is a way to save the changes made on the original file (same as in I do on Photoshop), I am meaning to save space and clutter in doing that.
Thanks,
Stav.
1 Correct answer
Exported files are just like prints, in that they are just an output, not the original. You don't delete originals.
LR is as much a manager of your picture collection as it is an editing tool, so you can use it to keep tracks of scans of particular subjects (PS can only edit). It's also designed for editing digital captures rather than scans, so PS will have better tools for fxing things like scratches rather than the sensor dust spots that LR can handle. Also see that PS can only fix one imag
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Lightroom is explicitly a non-destructive editor. So it keeps its adjustments in its catalogue and doesn't change the original files. If you want to print or send someone a JPEG, that is when it applies adjustments, and they are applied to the print or the JPEG, which you can delete afterwards as it can be recreated at any time.
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Thanks for the answer.
I get it, and if I edit and export a file, then delete the original than Lightroom won't be able to work with that file?
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If you include the Exported file in the catalog, you can continue to work on that one, but it's not desireble in most cases.
Yes, if you delete the original, you will no longer be able to work on it, unless you have a smart preview of that file.
A better way to save disk space is to cull/delete all the images that you will never want to see again or work on in the future. Disk space is pretty cheap so I would just get more storage space and keep the originals for future use, including exporting and printing.
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Exported files are just like prints, in that they are just an output, not the original. You don't delete originals.
LR is as much a manager of your picture collection as it is an editing tool, so you can use it to keep tracks of scans of particular subjects (PS can only edit). It's also designed for editing digital captures rather than scans, so PS will have better tools for fxing things like scratches rather than the sensor dust spots that LR can handle. Also see that PS can only fix one image at a time, while with LR it's simple to sync a dust spot correction or whatever to all the other images in the sequence that had the same dust problem.
With scans, it's typical to use LR to manage the files (I assume PSD,TIF or JPEG) and then choose Edit in PS to send them for all PS's various pixel editing tools. Save in PS, and those edits are shown in LR.
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Thank you for that explanation.
That indeed seems like the right workflow at this situation.
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I should have added "choose Edit in PS and then its Edit Original" option.
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I Don't quite understand what you mean by that?
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If you send a TIF/PSD to PS for the second or later time, you get a message asking if you want to edit the original or create another copy of the file. You would choose the former option.
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Thank you John!
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I am meaning to save space and clutter in doing that.
By Stavesk
If it hasn’t been discussed already, it’s worth pointing out that there is no problem with space and clutter. When you edit in Lightroom Classic, the changes are saved to the Lightroom Classic catalog…no new file is created, so there is no impact on file management. The only change is that the catalog may become slightly larger because the database entry for that image has been updated with your latest edits. If you export a copy containing the edits, in that case a new file is created.
Adding a large number of spot removals can slow down Lightroon Classic, and the tools for that are better in Photoshop anyway. So when I work with dirty/scratched film scans, this is my workflow:
1. Import film scans into Lightroom Classic.
2. Select one or more scans, choose the command Photo > Edit In, select Photoshop, and when asked, I select Edit Original.
3. Use Photoshop tools to clean up dust and scratches, and save. This makes the dust/scratch cleanup edits permanent in the original film scan file, and that image’s catalog entry and preview are updated in Lightroom Classic.
4. After I switch back to Lightroom Classic I do tone and color corrections on those cleaned-up scans.
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Thanks Conrad!
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