Exporting photos: Basic workflow

Lightroom lets you export photos in file formats suitable for a wide range of uses. For example, you can export photos as JPEGs to use in multimedia presentations or send in e-mail, or as TIFFs for publication. You can export single or multiple photos from the Library or Develop modules to the location you specify. Lightroom can rename photos during export. When exporting photos in JPEG, TIFF, or PSD format, options are available for specifying their color space, pixel dimensions, and resolution. Export settings can be saved as presets for reuse. Lightroom also lets you export photos using the settings of the previous export session.

In the Slideshow module, photos can be exported to an Adobe PDF file or to JPEG. In the Print module, photos can also be exported JPEG. And in the Web module, photos can be exported to a web photo gallery. See Export a slide show, Print to JPEG, and Save and upload a web photo gallery.

To export photos from Lightroom, follow these basic steps:

1. Select the photos to export.

Select photos from the Grid view or the Filmstrip. See Selecting photos in the Grid view and the Filmstrip.

2. Export photos and specify a destination folder.

Choose File > Export or click the Export button in the Library module. Then specify a destination folder for the exported files in the Export dialog box. You can also choose to add the exported photos to the current catalog. See Choose an export destination folder.

The number of photos being exported is displayed at the top of the Export dialog box.

3. (Optional) Choose an export preset.

Lightroom has several premade presets to make it easier to export photos in specific file formats. For example, the For E-mail preset generates a small, low-resolution JPEG image suitable for sending to a client as an e-mail attachment. You can select any of these presets, or save your own settings as a custom export preset by clicking the Add button at the bottom of the Preset list in the Export dialog box. See Export photos using presets.

4. Specify file naming for the exported photos.

Choose an option from the File Naming Template menu, or choose Edit from the menu to create a custom naming convention using the Filename Template Editor. See The Filename Template Editor and Text Template Editor and Name photos when exporting.

5. Choose a file format and specify export file and size settings.

Choose whether to export the original photos, or export your photos as JPEG, PSD, TIFF, or DNG files. After selecting a format, specify the appropriate settings for your exported files. For example, if you chose JPEG, specify the compression quality, color space, pixel dimensions, and resolution. You can also apply output sharpening. See Specify export file settings and Specify output sharpening.

6. Choose a postprocessing action.

Specify whether to show the files in the Explorer (Windows) or the Finder (Mac OS), open the photos in Photoshop, launch a specific application, or do nothing after exporting. See Choose postprocessing actions.

7. (Optional) Save your export settings.

To save your export settings for reuse, click Add to create an export preset. See Save export settings as presets.

8. Click Export.

For a video about exporting photos from Lightroom, see www.adobe.com/go/lrvid2210_lrm.