If you crop an image, make edits an compare with the original, LR does not show the original image

[davidfhunt]

I find it frustrating that if I make a lot of edits, including cropping an image, when I try to compare my final image with the original, the original displayed is not the real original, it is the cropped element of the picture. This is not much use when trying to show someone how much impact has been made by judicious cropping.

How can I simply get LR to show the true original (uncropped) with my final cropped version?

[JP Hess]

Make a copy of the image for you crop it.

[davidfhunt]

Many thanks for replying, Jim. Not sure how making a copy before I crop it helps. In some cases I did make a virtual copy. The problem is the same as far as I can see. If I crop a rectangle photo into a square, for example, the befoe and after immages both display as a square. It does not show the full size original.

[JP Hess]

Haven't tried it in Lightroom. But in Lightroom Classic, if I create a virtual copy and crop the virtual copy it has no effect on the original. It should work the same in Lightroom.

Added later: just tried what I suggested. Created a copy of an image (in Lightroom), cropped the image to 1:1. The copy retained the 1:1 crop while the original retained the original shape. Works the same in Lightroom as it does in LrC for me.

[davidfhunt]

Thanks Jim, but if I don't create a virtual copy LR / LRC should still compare my final edited and cropped with the original before editing and cropping. It doesn't. It only shows the final version against the original AFTER cropping. That is surely a bug in LR/LRC.

[JP Hess]

Then if I'm understanding you correctly, you need to make a virtual copy before you do ANY editing whatsoever. Then, after you have completed your initial editing, create another virtual copy, and another right before you Crop. The crop should only apply to the last virtual copy. The original image will be the master untouched, the first virtual copy will have all of your editing, and the second virtual copy will be the one that would be the "finished" version that could be exported and a new copy created.

Incidentally, all editing should be done on the virtual copies. Leave the original master copy alone.

[JohanElzenga]

You may not like it, but this is as designed. It's not a bug. The reason is simple: Comparing two images makes much more sense if you compare them at the same size, and that means the same crop. I am sure many people would complain if Adobe changed it.