# Printing out a photo's LR history



## allen-c (Jun 20, 2013)

Is there any way you can print out an image's history entries? Why? Well, it might be useful to explain to someone how you went from the rubbishy initial photo to the magnificent final image. Or the reverse. Obviously you don't get all the details, but it might still be useful... Better, I suppose, would be to be able to create a video of the transformations you begat - possible as is, I suppose, but just a little fastidious perhaps. Just a question: I can live with not being able to do any of these things.


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## clee01l (Jun 20, 2013)

There is no method in LR to do this.  The history is maintained in the LR catalog database file.  There might be some methods in the SDK to create a LR plugin to do this.  (There may even be reporting plugin's that do already provide this functionality)  If there are no present methods to do this sort of extract reporting, then some knowledge of SQL and knowledge of the LR database structure could produce such a report.


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## allen-c (Jun 20, 2013)

Thanks for that. I tried to stay away from anything involving SQL in my previous life, but now, who knows? But before getting carried away, I must check if there isn't already a plugin, which is no doubt what I should have done first!


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## pelha (May 14, 2016)

clee01l said:


> There is no method in LR to do this.  The history is maintained in the LR catalog database file.  There might be some methods in the SDK to create a LR plugin to do this.  (There may even be reporting plugin's that do already provide this functionality)  If there are no present methods to do this sort of extract reporting, then some knowledge of SQL and knowledge of the LR database structure could produce such a report.


drat!  i have a photo taken in a mixed light source room which was a devil to fix up into a decent image. a friend (who is the developer of a linux photo editor) wants to know the steps i took to clean up the color mess. the steps are three and a half panels long! that's going to be a messy set of snipped images.


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## rob211 (May 15, 2016)

Haven't tried it, but what if it were opened in Ps; in Ps you can save the history as a text file IIRC.


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## johnbeardy (May 15, 2016)

Yes, it would require querying the SQL. The SDK has no mechanism to query history, no matter how many times one has asked for it.

Something I have done a few times is to make a small video. You can use a video recording screen capture tool (I use Camtasia Techsmith) and move your mouse over the steps, capturing just the Navigator. That's pretty awkward but OK for a quick animated GIF-style movie. It's better to do a series of screenshots, import them into Lr and export them in a slideshow movie or get them into video editing software.


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## Crash (Mar 2, 2017)

I know this is an old thread, but I just wanted to add my two cents. As a crime scene photographer, it is extremely important for me to keep an accurate log of any edits made to a crime scene photo. Contrary to popular belief, photos can be processed in both PS and LR, but an accurate edit/audit trail must be maintained, along with the original unedited image. Courts have no problem accepting altered photos as evidence, as long as the original image is included, along with a list of any and all edits performed on a digital photo. For me, being able to print the edit history of my raw files on the back of a photo submitted for evidence would be a God-send.


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