How to Export Lightroom

Easily resize your photographs using the Lightroom Export Command.

Adobe Lightroom is an efficient image management system designed for digital photographers. The program manages images across many folders and discs and tracks the location of each photograph. Photographers often want to create smaller versions of their pictures to email to friends or to upload to an online photo site, and Lightroom provides an Export command that offers significant control over the image size and quality of the copies.

Instructions

1. Open Lightroom and go to the Library module in Grid mode by pressing "G" on your keyboard. Find the images you want to copy and select them by holding the "Ctrl" key and clicking on each photo.

2. Click on the "Export" button in the bottom left corner. This opens the Export dialog window. Make sure "Hard Drive" is selected in the "Export To:" box. Select "Specific Folder" in the Export Location and choose the folder on your hard drive that will receive the smaller copies. Check "Add to This Catalog" if you want Lightroom to include the new copies in its database.

3. Move to the File Settings section and select "JPEG" as the format. Quality should be set to "70" and Color Space left at the default sRGB setting.

4. Choose an image size depending on your plan for the photographs. Emailed images should be no larger than 1000 pixels wide, so check the "Resize to Fit" box, select "Long Edge" and enter "1000" in the Pixels box. Leave the Resolution at its default.

5. Choose "Sharpen for Screen" with the "Standard" amount. Leave the other settings at their default. Click the "Export" button and Lightroom will take all the selected images, resize and sharpen them and save them in your chosen folder. You can then attach the images to your emails or upload them to your favorite photo sharing site.

Tips & Warnings

• Later versions of Lightroom let you add a Watermark to protect the copyright of your photos.

References

• Peachpit: Lightroom Reference Guide: Understanding the Export Process