Bill Ragosta Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 OK, I'm getting really frustrated and I need some help. I've been using Lightroom to make minor adjustments to contrast, exposure, etc. but I'm having a problem when I send them to my picture files. I'll have photos that are 20-25MB or more but after making some very minor adjustments and sending them to a file before uploading to Alamy, I find that many of these same files are now much, much smaller files even though I have my settings in Lightroom 4 set up NOT to limit the file size and for a resolution of 300 pp/cm. Like I said, I'm getting REALLY frustrated because I've refused to download any of the smaller file sizes to Alamy and I know I've given up on a couple of hundred photos because of it (and I have less than 600 in my library so I can't afford to do so). Any help will be greatly appreciated; I really hope that I'm doing something really stupid and that it's a one-click fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpole Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 export as full jpeg you shouldnt have a problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Ragosta Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 I'm exporting as a JPEG at 100% and I can't figure out what else would be causing the issue. It's maddening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 When you say your original files are 20-25MB, what sort of files are they? psd, tiff, jpg or Raw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Ragosta Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 RAW files I believe. I import both the RAW and a JPEG from my camera but when I open Lightroom 4 and click to import, I only have one choice. Maybe that's the problem but what's the resolution to the problem if anyone knows. Actually, I just went into Lightroom 4 to check and the photos as they're imported are marked as JPEG. I guess the next logical question is, "how do I get the RAW files to import rather than a JPEG copy?". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanGibson Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Are you saying that the compressed jpg files are too small, or the uncompressed file size is too small? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Ragosta Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 You're killing me here. If I knew what I was doing, I wouldn't be asking the question. Since I'm fairly new to all of this, let me lay out the process that I've been using and I'm sure you guys will recognize where my mistake is. I connect my camera to my hard drive and import my new photos into a file folder in "my pictures" under today's date and they're imported as a JPEG and the RAW file. The JPEG file is typically pretty small in this file folder but the RAW file is typically 20-30MB (I use a Canon 60D at 18MP). If there are those that I want to edit, I'll then open Lightroom 4, make my adjustments and I'll typically then export them back to the same file folder with a new name. When I go back into the file folder and open my new edited photo, the 25MB unedited photo has now become an edited photo that may be only 8, 10 or 12MB. The problem is that I'm not sure if I'm editing the RAW file or a JPEG in Lightroom or how to even tell Lightroom which file type I want. Like I said before, I'm sure I'm doing something stupid that and that the mistake is rather elementary but so help me, I can't figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCat Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 It's hard to help without seeing what your import window looks like. I have to admit that once I set mine up I dread the possibility that I have to change it. There is lots of help online. Just Google importing into Lightroom and you will see various videos and written instructions. I know, I know, it is soooo frustrating to find the right one but I'm sure it is there. Paulette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Ragosta Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Thanks Paulette, assuming nobody here can give me the quick fix, I'll see if I can find some videos and figure it out. I love to shoot photographs and I'm not horrible at the very simple editing chores but I hate, hate, hate the file management, storage and stuff like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCat Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I just had a "bright idea". You have been assuming you were working with RAW files and expecting to come out with that size. But if you are working with jpegs they will, of course, be a smaller size. So I think you just have to make sure you are importing and working with the RAW files. Paulette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Richmond Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Sounds like you are exporting as a JPEG - which will only be 8-12Mb (compressed at 100% quality level and full size). If you need to further edit the image in Lightroom edit the original source (RAW?) file and then either resave as a 100% qualty JPEG under a new filename or overwrite the existing one. Don't edit the generated JPEG file and then resave. You'll lose quality. If you want to further edit the file in a different program save your lightroom edits as either TIFF, PSD or DNG files. These don't throw away information on saving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCat Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Another thought. I always just shoot in RAW with my big cameras but when I got the RX100 I started shooting RAW plus JPEG. I can't remember exactly what Lightroom was doing with the two files but I remember that I had to go into Preferences and tell Lightroom to show the RAW and JPEG files next to each other. That might be an easier thing to look up in Google. Or poke around in Preferences to find that. Paulette. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCat Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Me again. It occurs to me that you might have been importing both versions just fine. I can't remember how Lightroom handled them before I changed my Preferences but they were not next to each other. It is possible that the RAWS are there but you were only finding the JPEGS. Paulette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Ragosta Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 OK, now I'm even more confused. I googled "how do you import RAW files into Lightroom 4" and it told me to go into "edit", then "preferences" and then "show JPEG as separate photos next to RAW" and I did all that. After doing so, I clicked on import and chose a date which I had already imported photos from. It showed that I HAD in fact been importing RAW files previously (assuming a CR2 file is a RAW file). So, my initial question remains. Since I've been editing RAW files all along, why are they being compressed to much smaller JPEG files when I export them to a file folder at 100%? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Ragosta Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 I understand that a JPEG is compressed but that's as far as my knowledge goes. My question becomes, if I export to a JPEG and then upload it to Alamy, what minimum size must that JPEG be to guarantee good quality and to get past QC? I see that you have to tick the box which states a 17MB minimum and many/most of the ones that I'm exporting from Lightroom are smaller than that as JPEGs. How do all of you upload your files to Alamy, as JPEGs, TIFFs, etc.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Richmond Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 OK, now I'm even more confused. I googled "how do you import RAW files into Lightroom 4" and it told me to go into "edit", then "preferences" and then "show JPEG as separate photos next to RAW" and I did all that. After doing so, I clicked on import and chose a date which I had already imported photos from. It showed that I HAD in fact been importing RAW files previously (assuming a CR2 file is a RAW file). So, my initial question remains. Since I've been editing RAW files all along, why are they being compressed to much smaller JPEG files when I export them to a file folder at 100%? CR2 files are RAW files. Lightroom uses non destructive editing so any changes you make to the RAW files can always be undone without damage to the original file. When you Export you specify the type of file to save to - JPEG by default. This creates a new JPEG file which incorporates your edits. Because of JPEG compression this file will be smaller in file size - not in pixel dimensions - than the original. That's the one to submit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCat Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 You only need to pay attention to the size of the original image. As John says, the jpeg will be smaller. In other words, if you are working on the RAW the size of that file is what is important. I must admit I get confused about how to determine sizes and with Alamy's current rules I just make sure the long side is at least 3000. Paulette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Holmes Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Looks to me that you're over thinking this. There is no problem. A RAW file of 20-30MB will typically produce an 8-12MB JPEG. If you were editing the JPEG and re-compressing it, it would be far smaller. If you're worried about the 17MB limit, that's the uncompressed size, not the JPEG size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losdemas Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 May I hazard a guess? I would suspect (no, I know) that your exported jpegs are (more than) sufficient in size: the 25MB unedited photo has now become an edited photo that may be only 8, 10 or 12MB Download the Alamy SizeCheck program (take a look at the file size and compressed file sizes in the screenshot on that page). Install the program Drop a folder into it prior to each upload Sit back and relax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Ragosta Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Oh boy, an epiphany. Thank you all very, very much. I've been worrying about nothing and refusing to upload certain images to Alamy because of the file sizes and now I know that I don't have to. Again, thank you all very, very much for educating me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Walker Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 You could also move all the jpeg files to another folder leaving just the RAW files to import into Lightroom. Then you would know exactly which files you are dealing with. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I shoot RAW. Are you shooting both RAW and jpeg for a reason? There's no need for you to explain why to me . . . but do you have a reason for doing that? If so, there comes a point where all your files, RAW and jpeg, are displayed as you open LR and you are invited to Import them. At that point, Unclick all the jpegs and then click Import and you will only import the RAW files. I edit the RAW files, and when I'm done, I Export the images as tiffs, clean them up and finish my edit in CS5 and convert them to jpegs for Alamy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 The image size required for submission question gets asked so often that I thought there was a pinned posting from Alamy on it, but I can't find it. Maybe that was the old forum? Anyone know where it is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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