Adding exported files to LR cloud library?

[Ian_9087]

Hi,

I'm currently using Lightroom Classic but considering a move to Lightroom (cloud). One thing I'm struggling to get my head around, is whether (and how) it's possible to add exported files to the LR cloud library.

For example, currently in LrC, when I've finished editing a set of RAW files, I export to JPEG for easy sharing, printing etc. I check the box in the export settings to "Add to this Catalogue", because I like to keep the JPEGs in my library for future reference, along with the edited RAW file.

I can't see a way to achieve this in LR (cloud) though. I can export to the device I'm using (mobile, tablet, desktop etc) but I can't find a way to keep the exported file in the library. Is there a way to do this or would I just have to manually import the exported files?

Thanks

Ian

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[Timothy.Spear]

Ian,

The short answer is not really. Classic and Lightroom cloud are both designed around the concept of non-destructive edits with the goal of being able to export on demand an identical image on need. Hence Classic even added the really cool publish service (which I miss in cloudy),

In terms of sharing, there are multiple avenues to share images in Lr cloud. Portfolio, gallaery...  If you list how you currently share, I might be able to point you to similar functionality in Lr cloudy (or someone else might step in).

Printing, is a feature that has not been implemented yet. There is a thread on here about it, make sure to search for it and upvote if you are interested.

Tim

[Ian_9087]

Thanks Tim,

I'm a hobbyist, rather than a professional. So aside from home printing, I share to social media and I currently sync LrC collections to LR, then share albums from LR with friends and family, giving them the option to download photos, hence the interest in jpegs. Aside from family, I shoot landscapes and have been considering creating a website to share collections of photos, I imagine Behance or Portfolio would be good for that but would still require jpegs?

[Jao vdL]

The only way to do this is to manually import the exported files. Lightroom Cloudy is really not meant to support a workflow like this.

[Rob_Cullen]

There is no need to "export to JPEG"! (And no need to Import anything other than your RAW files in LrC.)

Simply add the edited RAW files to a Collection that you mark to 'Sync'.

Done!

They will appear in Lightroom-Web, Lightroom-Mobile, and you can share a link to the Collection/Album of photos.

[Ian_9087]

Thanks for the reply Rob.

I'm actually considering importing via LR (rather than LrC), so I have originals in the cloud and on my PC but that probably doesn't change your point. 

I agree that for my own use, I only need to raw files but what about when it comes to sharing? For example, I currently create collections in LrC which I then sync to LR, so I can share the albums with others and give them the option to download photos. Raw files won't be suitable for others to download... Unless I'm missing something and LR does an on-the-fly conversion from raw to jpeg when someone downloads from a web album?

The other use case is printing (at home). Maybe there's a better way but I currently create JPEGs specifically for print and print them from LrC. I keep the JPEGs as a record of the photo and edit at that point in time and so I can easily reprint the same file later. 

I'm also considering creating a site to share a portfolio (eg Behance, Adobe Portfolio, other 3rd party site) and assume JPEGs would be the right file format. Maybe it's unnecessary but I feel like I'd want to keep the JPEGs for reference. 

[Jim Wilde]

I agree that for my own use, I only need to raw files but what about when it comes to sharing? For example, I currently create collections in LrC which I then sync to LR, so I can share the albums with others and give them the option to download photos. Raw files won't be suitable for others to download... Unless I'm missing something and LR does an on-the-fly conversion from raw to jpeg when someone downloads from a web album?

The other use case is printing (at home). Maybe there's a better way but I currently create JPEGs specifically for print and print them from LrC. I keep the JPEGs as a record of the photo and edit at that point in time and so I can easily reprint the same file later. 

I'm also considering creating a site to share a portfolio (eg Behance, Adobe Portfolio, other 3rd party site) and assume JPEGs would be the right file format. Maybe it's unnecessary but I feel like I'd want to keep the JPEGs for reference. 

By @Ian_9087

Yes, you are missing something. When you enable the download option then jpegs, derived from the Raw data, are automatically created to be downloaded by the people you share the album with. They wouldn't want the raw data unless they have their own raw conversion software, and in fact they don't have the option to download that raw data. So no need to retain exported jpegs for that purpose.

The same applies to Portfolio, the images you add to your Portfolio site are again jpegs derived automatically from the raw files that you add, so no need to retain jpegs exported from the raw files. Sure, if you're adding to some other image-hosting sites such as Flickr you'd need to consider creating jpegs for upload (which is where the Publish Services function in LrC would be useful). But Lightroom Desktop doesn't have a Publish Services function, so you would have to export jpegs for uploaded if you switch to the cloud....but there's no need to retain exported jpegs in the library (using up your cloud storage needlessly), you could create a "version" of the image that you export so that you can always revert back to the specific edit version at a later time. Versions are not physical copies, simply catalog instructions, so wouldn't affect the cloud storage in any way.

[Ian_9087]

Ok, I see. Thanks Jim. I understand where Rob was coming from now too.

It looks like I've been wasting a lot of time (and storage!), creating and saving JPEGs when I didn't need to. Having just tested, I see LR automatically exports smart preview JPEGs when someone downloads a file from an album.

It's making it a fairly easy decision to move to LR cloud. I'll probably keep LrC on my desktop and sync the originals there, as a backup and for printing etc. 

[Jim Wilde]

Having just tested, I see LR automatically exports smart preview JPEGs when someone downloads a file from an album.

If you do switch to the cloud, and you then have originals stored there instead of Smart Previews, when your albums are downloaded by your viewers then will automatically get full resolution jpegs (quality around 70-80% I believe).

[Ian_9087]

Good to know, thanks Jim.