Why Are My Exports So Small?

[Level42]

Hello everyone, I'm not sure if this is the correct page to post this?...But anyway...

I'm new here but previously had Lightroom many years ago although I didnt use it alot and its changed loads since 2014. However the reignition of my photography intrest after selling my D850 and buying the Nikon Z8 coupled with the frustrating 'Apple Photo' editing software has lead me to buy Lightroom again.

Now I say the Apple Photo is frustrating, well a lot of that may of been down to the limitations of the Laptop I was using as although its a 16'' Macbook Pro it is several years old and only has 16GB of Ram so editing photos over 50MB it used to take ages to catch up with some of the edits especially if I was using the 'Retouch Tool' which I use alot as I have loads of old negatives scanned onto disc & then downloaded onto my PC and as they are really old negatives most have inperfections on them I have to edit out.

So along with a new camera I also splashed out an the Apple Mac Studio M2 Ultra with Apple Studio display. Edits on Apple Photo are now so much quicker and easier due to the Mac Studios power but it still has limitations such as its impossible to correct Red Eye, it never-ever works or rather if it does it makes the eyes look odd! I Have to say though other than that its very, very good and very, very easy to use-MUCH EASIER than Lightroom!!!!!!

The current trouble I'm having with Lightroom which I hope someone will help me with is in Lightroom I edit a 56MB RAW photo, I want to save it to a folder on my PC (I do not use any cloud storgae for anything, I never have), so I click exports, Large jpeg size yet when the file is saved its only 1.5MB. That cant be right surley??? Is there a way to make the file size bigger? The same photo edited in Apple Photo saves the file exactly the same size as the original. When I zoom right in theres no loss of quality, when I zoom in on the Lightroom edited photo you can see the loss of quality.

I Want to be printing images upto around 30''x20'' but the Lightroom edited photo wont be able to go that big. Is there a way of saving a larger file? I Do not want to save as an XMP file as I cant seem to open it after.

Also while I'm here, does anyone else thinks its a right old FAFFF saving a photo after editing it in Lightroom??? Why dont they have a 'Done' or 'Finished' button at the top of the edits page that you can set to save your photos in a specific folder??? All you have to do then is click it and move on to the next, it would make it so much easier.

Thanks in advance for any help...

[Rob_Cullen]

As you original raws photos are in Mac Photos App, then i suggest the images you import to Lightroom are only the smaller JPG previews that the Photos App creates. The full-size originals are 'hidden' in the Photos Library and not available to Lightroom.

Get you image files out of the Photos App and re-import *** to Ligthtroom.

Moving from Apple Photos to Lightroom

Although it is not unusual for JPGs to appear very small in megabytes. JPG compression algorithims have many variables.

JPG COMPRESSION EXPLAINED by Jeffrey Friedl

(I do not use any cloud storage for anything, I never have)

***Well the Lightroom App is solely designed to store your imported photos in the Adobe Lightroom Cloud. If you Import to Lightroom then your photos ARE in the Cloud!. If you intend not to use the Cloud then in Lightroom you need to be working in the "Local" mode that accesses your files on a local hard-drive, and NOT import/add anything.

If you want to work only with local files then you would be better with the Lightroom-Classic App that is only available in the Photography Plan 20GB. You can change plans. If you don't want photos in the Cloud then the 20GB storage need never be used.

ps.  Lightroom-Classic IS THE APP that you would have used "many years ago".! Just with its new name and at version 13.5.1

[Level42]

Hello Rob, thank you for the reply. 

No, I was actually importing into lightroom via a Lacie Hard Drive & a CFExpres Tye B card so the photos were RAW untouched from the camera. I Was only planning on using Apple Photos for storing the Lightroom edits and also other photos that I dont need editing in Lightroom. 

However I seem to of 'stumbled' on a way of saving the photos now with a much higher jpeg. I Had already somehow figured out that 'local' was the way to go but ended up with photos all over the place while I was trying to figure it all out, however I have now managed to get jpegs stored of between 25MB-30MB and quality is stunning, so at the moment I'm happy and quite relived!

There are a couple of things though. On editing a photo where is the 'Brightness' slider??? There are six other sliders  'Exposure/Contrast/Highlights/Shadows/Whites/Blacks'' but no 'Brightness' which is in 'Apple Photos' with the other 6 but not in Lightroom which I find strange. Also there is no picture slider for each edit section like in 'Apple Photos' although I have seen it on some advertising videos but cant see it in the edit page?

******Also if I make an 'edit' on a photo or paste a settings, how can I revert to the original in one click?*******

You mention maybe switching to 'Lightroom Classic'. I've just downloaded the app, seems more familier but I've just gotten (sort of) used to the other app so I'll have to toggle through the two although I have exported easier in LR Classic.

Thanks again for your comment.

[Rob_Cullen]

"I was actually importing into lightroom via a Lacie Hard Drive"

Then these photos ARE IN THE Lightroom CLOUD!

"how can I revert to the original in one click?*"  

The backslash key [ \ ] will temporarily allow you to view the original without edits.

[Ctrl+R] will Revert to Original, ie, all edits are reset.  It is in the 'three-dot icon' menu.

A better way to preserve variations of an image edits is to use 'Versions'

"the 'Brightness' slider?"

Is equivalent to the Clarity slider in Lightroom (Effects Panel). It increases (or decreases) mid-tone contrast making the details in the highlights and shadows more pronounced without overexposing bright areas or losing detail in dark areas.  You might need to lighten shadows or adjust Exposure for a visually equivalent to "Lightness".