# B/W conversion and retain original color image in catalog?



## Bob_B (Sep 7, 2015)

I've never been entirely sure about virtual copy, so please bear with this question. I have a color image that I like, but I want to see how it looks as a b/w. I don't want to change anything on the color image. Is virtual copy the correct way to make a copy of the color image for subsequent b/w processing?

Thanks for your help,

Bob


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## uwep (Sep 7, 2015)

That is the right way


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## Bob_B (Sep 7, 2015)

Thanks!


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## clee01l (Sep 7, 2015)

Bob_B said:


> I've never been entirely sure about virtual copy, so please bear with this question. I have a color image that I like, but I want to see how it looks as a b/w. I don't want to change anything on the color image. Is virtual copy the correct way to make a copy of the color image for subsequent b/w processing?
> 
> Thanks for your help,
> 
> Bob


The original image will always be as you got it from the camera.  What you see on the screen are the unsaved edit adjustments made to that image.  You can make an adjustment to change to B&W and it will never affect the original image If you want a file that shows your LR adjustments, you need to use the Export function to make a new derivative file that bakes those LR adjustments into a new file.  
If you want two sets of LR adjustments on the same original image file, you can make a virtual copy which is really a copy of the LR instructions up to that point in history. Additional changes that you make (like convert to B&W) to the master copy or the virtual copy from that point forward will stay with that copy.  You still need to create a derivative of that copy with changes to get a hard file of what you are seeing on the screen.

At any time you can use the Reset function to undo all of the LR develop instructions back to the point when the image file was first imported. 

LR is a non destructive editor. None of the changes that you make in LR ever alter any of the pixels in the original image file.


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## Bob_B (Sep 7, 2015)

Thanks Cletus.


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## Ian.B (Sep 7, 2015)

clee01l said:


> The original image will always be as you got it from the camera.  What you see on the screen are the unsaved edit adjustments made to that image.  You can make an adjustment to change to B&W and it will never affect the original image If you want a file that shows your LR adjustments, you need to use the Export function to make a new derivative file that bakes those LR adjustments into a new file.
> If you want two sets of LR adjustments on the same original image file, you can make a virtual copy which is really a copy of the LR instructions up to that point in history. Additional changes that you make (like convert to B&W) to the master copy or the virtual copy from that point forward will stay with that copy.  You still need to create a derivative of that copy with changes to get a hard file of what you are seeing on the screen.
> 
> At any time you can use the Reset function to undo all of the LR develop instructions back to the point when the image file was first imported.
> ...


your knowledge, and _how well _you can explain your knowledge always impresses me


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