Hi @lumasmith, There really is no one answer to this. Some keep their raw files exactly for the reason you state, though they store them typically on external drives. In this case they export JPEGs for clients (some keep these JPEGs indefinitely as exact documentation on what was sent to the client, others delete them after sending them out, knowing that new ones can be exported as needed.) On the other hand, some pros process a job - say a wedding or portrait shoot - and after the job is delivered and the client is satisfied, they NEVER go back to revisit the images or re-edit. In this case, there's no need to keep the raw files - the JPEGs are sufficient as they are what the client received and they can be posted online and printed as needed. If you're keeping the raw files and you want to continue to have them in LR, there's no need to export raw copies of them (exporting always creates copies) - just continue to use the originals. You can use LR's Folders panel to move them from your internal drive, if that's where you imported them to, to an external drive. (You first have to import one image on the external drive so that it shows up in the Folders panel.) On the other hand, if you don't want them in LR any more, I could see exporting and keeping DNG files so that the editing is contained within the DNG file. (Afterwards you can remove the originals from LR and delete them from disk.)
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