DNGs get reset when imported into Lightroom

[George_Simian1]

When I import a DNG into LR Classic it gets all its adjustments reset to default (zero). Same thing happens when opening it with ACR. When examining the file in Photo Mechanic, its thumbnail does show the original adjustments (hence, they are baked in) What's going on? How can I prevent this behavior?

[GoldingD]

Import from whete?

DNG is a form of RAW, if from a camera, thise in camera settings are ignored by LRC just as if it was a propriatore RAW fiile

[johnrellis · Accepted solution]

What were the "original adjustments" (in detail), and were they made in LR, in ACR, or in the camera? 

If the adjustments were made in LR, then you need to do Metadata > Save Metadata To File to save the adjustments back to the DNG before attempting to re-import back into LR.

If the adjustments were made in ACR, then ACR will automatically write them back to the DNG, and they should appear when you reimport the photo into LR.

If they were made in the camera (e.g. by setting a creative "look" such as "landscape"), then by default LR won't attempt to recreate that look.  However, the large JPEG preview stored in the DNG (which is what Photo Mechanic shows you) by the camera will include the effects of that creative look. For many cameras, you can change the default behavior and LR will try to recreate the creative look.

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[George_Simian1]

Thank you John, that was the reason the adjustments didn't carry over!!!

[Jao vdL]

You should check out this article on a new feature in LR 9.2: https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic/lightroom-classic-set-defaults-for-raw-file-import/...

For some cameras you can now actually default to using the in-camera settings including picture styles and other settings. I have not tried it but that should work also if you converted your raw originals to dng before importing.