# Lightroom Exporting and size



## diamonddave (Oct 15, 2009)

Hello. When I export photos Lightroom seems to be knocking down the size of my images from 3MB to around 2''mb. How do I stop this so I can have them in their bigger size? I have the slider all the way over to 1'' which I thought kept the image to the original size. Thanks in advance for your help this problem is driving me crazy.


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## Kiwigeoff (Oct 15, 2009)

Either leave the Image Size check box unchecked and the original or cropped pixels will be exported or check the box and the dimensions you set will be exported.


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## diamonddave (Oct 15, 2009)

Do I increase the resolution size as well to 24'?


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## dj_paige (Oct 15, 2009)

Resolution of your photo has zero impact on the file size.

When you set the Quality slider to 1'', that does not guarantee that your exported photo will be the same megabytes on your hard disk as the original. In fact, slider at 1'' probably makes the exported photo larger than the original (assuming the original was a .jpg and not a raw, and no cropping or resizing was done)


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## Victoria Bampton (Oct 15, 2009)

[quote author=dj_paige link=topic=81'3.msg55226#msg55226 date=1255616573]
Resolution of your photo has zero impact on the file size.
[/quote]

... if you set the output dimensions in pixels. If you use inches or cm, the PPI is of course used to determine the overall pixel dimensions, and therefore the file size.


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## diamonddave (Oct 16, 2009)

I usually shoot in RAW. What is the best way to export so it comes out in 2-3 mb? I probably should have asked that to start with but I am learning. LOL


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## Victoria Bampton (Oct 17, 2009)

Why 2-3mb specifically Dave? Have you got something in mind? Or do you just not want 2''mb files!!


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## diamonddave (Oct 19, 2009)

I am trying to leave them in that 2-3 mb size for my web site. If someone wants to buy a larger version than 4x6 or 5x7 they will not be able to do so at 2'' kb size. I did try some this last night and it seemed to get me to that larger size however I am still not quite sure how to make sure I get the larger size when I export every time.


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## Victoria Bampton (Oct 19, 2009)

Oooooh, ok. So this is a hosted website that automatically prints whatever people order?

I haven't got time to test this right now, but what size do 'resize unchecked' (therefore full resolution) at about 8' quality come out? Should be ok for printing at a good size.


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## diamonddave (Oct 19, 2009)

That size still comes out to be in 2''-3'' kb size. I did test it last night with unchecking that box and doing around 1'' it came out to the size I was looking for. This is not always the case though.


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## larsrc (Oct 19, 2009)

[quote author=diamonddave link=topic=81'3.msg55386#msg55386 date=1255954765]
I am trying to leave them in that 2-3 mb size for my web site. If someone wants to buy a larger version than 4x6 or 5x7 they will not be able to do so at 2'' kb size. I did try some this last night and it seemed to get me to that larger size however I am still not quite sure how to make sure I get the larger size when I export every time.
[/quote]

Just resize it down to an appropriate number of pixels. The size in bytes has little bearing on how printable it is (unless you really crank it down, but then the screen version suffers, too).

-Lars


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## Victoria Bampton (Oct 19, 2009)

Unless you're using a really ancient digital camera, and you're not resizing down to a small pixel dimension, how on earth are they coming out at 2''-3''kb? Just double check that resizing again.


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## diamonddave (Oct 19, 2009)

My camera is about 5 years old. It is a Canon digital rebel. I know I am doing something wrong on the export part. I am shooting in RAW. What is normally the size pictures are exported to?


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## Victoria Bampton (Oct 19, 2009)

Dave, just do us a screenshot of your export dialog. We'll stop harassing you then!


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## norozco (Apr 8, 2010)

I have similar issues.

I import all my photos into LR do white balance, exposure etc, then I export to CS3 for actions ( I don't work with CS3 and use the edit in feature through LR because CS3 is on my external drive and someone doesn't want to pick it up). I usually export in LR and do 3'' resolution 1''% jpg file and re-import into LR after working on them in CS3 to have a folder made then export out again(3'' resolution, jpg 1''% quality file) to burn onto a CD for the client.

 I feel like I'm losing quality in my images. Help, thank you in advance.


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## dj_paige (Apr 9, 2010)

Every time you save (or export) a file as .jpg, even if it is at 1''%, there is some compression and thus loss of quality. So, if you have Lightroom create a jpg, and the CS3 opens it and saves it as .jpg, then there is two operations where you lose quality. This quality loss would probably only be noticeable if you blow up the image quite large.

The alternative is to use a .tif or .psd to transfer photos from one application to another. Both .tif and .psd are lossless, in other words, there is no loss of quality.


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## clee01l (Apr 9, 2010)

[quote author=norozco link=topic=81'3.msg64'8'#msg64'8' date=127'762537]...( I don't work with CS3 and use the edit in feature through LR because CS3 is on my external drive and someone doesn't want to pick it up...[/quote]I'm not sure I understand why there is a problem here. If LR does not see the install of CS3 and does not place it into the #1 Edit-in Slot, you can add it manually as #2 or #3 and really have any number of Edit in Applications to use in the Edit in feature.


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## Victoria Bampton (Apr 9, 2010)

norozco, welcome to the forum!

[quote author=dj_paige link=topic=81'3.msg64'82#msg64'82 date=127'77'194]
Every time you save (or export) a file as .jpg, even if it is at 1''%, there is some compression and thus loss of quality.
[/quote]

I'd suggest trying it... in reality, very few people can see the jpeg artifacts after resaving a quality 1'' jpeg numerous times. It'd have to be resaved a good few times and then printed huge before most people would ever see it. If your picture's going to end up on a billboard, TIFF or PSD are definitely the way to go, but if it'll only ever be snapshot size, I doubt you'll have a problem with a jpeg.


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