Skip to main content
B
bradp99847758
Participant
August 20, 2019
Question

RAW photo imported to Lightroom cc shows up as jpeg

  • August 20, 2019
  • 4 replies
  • 5168 views

I took a picture with my Canon 5D Mk3 in RAW format. I uploaded the picture to my Apple computer. The picture went to PHOTOS which is the Apple program to edit pictures. Then I went to Lightroom cc and uploaded the picture from PHOTOS. The picture is now in jpeg format.

What happened? Did Lightroom cc convert the picture to Jpeg when uploaded? Did I do something incorrect? Thank You!

      This topic has been closed for replies.

      4 replies

      J
      Community Expert
      Jao vdLCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      March 15, 2022

      You need to quit out of photos when it comes up when you insert a camera or sd card. There is actually an option to stop it from opening in the import panel (I think at the top left of the screen) but I don't remember what it looks like since it has been so long ago that I disabled it. You want to import directly into Lightroom. So if photos opened do NOT import there, quit it and open Lightroom and hit the plus button and import directly from your camera/card reader. 

      P
      Paige24698089mu5n
      Participant
      June 2, 2022

      I am having thesame issue. If I 

      JohanElzenga
      Community Expert
      JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      June 2, 2022

      Oops sorry. If i already deleted off my camera is it too late? Can I get my raw photos another way?


      @Paige24698089mu5n wrote:

      Oops sorry. If i already deleted off my camera is it too late? Can I get my raw photos another way?


      Find it in Apple Photos and then use 'Export Unmodified Original'. That will export the raw file to a place on your hard drive from where you can import it in Lightroom.

       

      -- Johan W. Elzenga
      Theresa J
      Community Expert
      Theresa JCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      September 13, 2019

      Apple Photos is a cloud service app that syncs your images with Apple iCloud. You can not import from Photos directly to Lightroom. Copy the photo out of Photos to a new location on your computer first, then import it to Lightroom from there. The best workflow is to avoid Photos completely if you are using Lightroom. You can import to Lightroom from the camera’s SD card, or copy it to your computer from the SD card and then import it from there.

      letty09
      letty09
      Participant
      March 13, 2022

      Hi Theresa, 

       

      I'm having the same problem as Brad here where lightroom changes my raw images to jpeg. Iv'e tried what you suggested which is to import them from photos to a folder on my mac (then to lightroom), but once they are in a folder, they turn to jpeg straight away. In my photos app they still show the RAW icon.

      Rob_Cullen
      Community Expert
      Rob_CullenCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      March 13, 2022

      Read the reply from @Theresa J again.

      The Photos App 'hides' or 'locks away' your RAW files in a special "Library/Folder" that is NOT accessible to other apps. The result is that Lightroom only has access to the small JPG thumbnails that Photos produces.

      Lightroom does not change your files.

      Stop using the Photos App, or "Copy the photo out of Photos to a new location" as suggested.

      PHOTOS APP LOCKS IMAGE FILES- Best Explanation

       

      Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .
      Theresa J
      Community Expert
      Theresa JCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      August 20, 2019

      How did you “upload” the photo from your camera to computer?

      Don’t use the device importer option that pops up automatically on your computer. Use a card reader to mount the SD card like a drive, and manually copy the images to a folder location on your computer.

      99jon
      99jon
      Legend
      August 20, 2019

      If you try to reference the same raw photo in Lightroom and the Photos app it could result in file corruption.

      I always place my raw files directly into a folder and avoid the Photos app as Lightroom has more raw tools.

      B
      bradp99847758Author
      Participant
      August 20, 2019

      Thank you for your answer! How do I place my raw files directly into a folder? Is this done when I download my pictures from my camera? Is this folder in Lightroom cc or on my computer? Do I transfer the pictures from Photos to a folders? Sorry for my lack on knowledge. Thank You so much!!

      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
      Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices