Skip to main content
tracey@ktrmanagers.com.au
tracey@ktrmanagers.com.au
Participant
October 23, 2022
Answered

Why won't Lightroom save my edits when I export them?

  • October 23, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 5923 views

Hi,

I am new to Lightroom and am unsure what I am doing wrong.

I am using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom V6, Windows 11 Home

 

I have edited a photo to have a black and white background and colour people using a mask, below.

 

 

When I try to export it reverts to a full colour photo. Am I missing a step?

 

Thank you very much in advance for your help  🙂

 

[moved to the correct forum - Mod.]

    Correct answer JohanElzenga

    @Jim Wilde is correct. If you look at the sliders in your second screenshot, then you'll see that they are all still at zero. That means that you have created the mask, but you haven't made any adjustments to that masked area yet. You are looking at the mask overlay, not at the result. This is a common misunderstanding. Here's what to do: First you need to invert the mask, so the background is masked. Right now the subject is. Then set the Saturation slider to -100. Now the background will really be B&W and stay that way if you export the image.

     

    1 reply

    Jim Wilde
    Community Expert
    Jim WildeCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 23, 2022

    How did you turn the background to B&W? Looking at the image in the filmstrip of the masking screenshot, the background is still in colour, which implies that you haven't yet converted the background. Are you by chance using the mask overlay style of "Image on B&W", which is in fact merely a visual overlay aid and not an actual adjustment to the image.

      E
      EDPcorp
      Participating Frequently
      December 6, 2024

      Hi Jim, Im having the same problem, however I am creating the mask, editing the part of the photo that was masked, and then exporting to large jpeg. The edits are not showing in the final exported jpeg. My sliders are NOT at zero as shown in Tracey's screen shots. Please advise if you can - its driving me CRAZY since this only happens on random photos, not all of them. Ive been using LR for a year and have created several edited final products but every now and then this happens.

      A
      Community Manager
      AlekeCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      January 6, 2025

      Oh, and my system info:

      Apple M3

      16GB memory

      MacOS Sequoia 15.1.1.

      Over 150GB of storage remains free.

      LR version 8.1


      Hi @EDPcorp! Thanks for the extra info. Could you explain what custom settings you used to export your image in Lightroom to keep the edits?

      For sharing the DNG, if the file size is too big, you can use a link sharing site like Google Drive.

      Thanks!
      Alek

      *(If you mention me with an @, like @Aleke, I’ll get a notification and can respond faster.)*
      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
      Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices