Changing from NEF to JPEG in Lightroom 3?

[Tbini87]

Hey guys,
recently bought LR3, and my wife did a shoot tonight in RAW. She wanted to update her blog, and the site didn't allow NEF files, so she wanted to change them to JPEG, which we usually use. Is there a way to change a NEF file to JPEG in Lightroom? She was trying to upload to blogger and facebook if that matters or helps. Any help is appreciated! Thanks.

 

[Big Mike]

Lightroom will require you to adjust the way you think of files. Bear with me for a minute here....
What lightroom does, is 'import' the images (preferably RAW format). Basically, all it does is register where the image file is stored on your computer and saves a preview image. Then any editing that you do inside of LR, it only saved as a separate 'sidecar' file. To put that another way, the original RAW file isn't touched while editing...thus you have non-destructive editing. This means that you can do whatever you want, in LR, and the file will never loose it's initial integrity. (If you open a JPEG in photoshop, work on it then save it, you do affect it's integrity).

OK, so now that you have worked on the photos in LR (or maybe you have only imported them, it doesn't matter)...and you want to get JPEG files. What you need to do is 'output' them. When you 'output', LR takes the edit that you made and applies them to the original files, creating the output files. The output files are separate from the original RAW files. You can choose many different options for your output; file type, size, compression, EXIF data, sharpening etc. Anything really. You can use one of the 'preset' options or you can choose your own options...then save those options as a 'preset'. Then the next time you want to do the same thing, you need only to choose the preset again.

You will find 'output' in the library module (next to import). So once you go though the output options, LR will start working to create your JPEG files. You can choose the location and file naming to suit your needs. LR then starts 'chugging' away. This is required because at this point, it's accessing the large RAW files. But you can continue working on something else while it exports in the background.

So to come back around to your question...you don't 'change' the RAW files to JPEG, you 'output' a JPEG 'copy' of the images.

 

[Tbini87]

Lightroom will require you to adjust the way you think of files. Bear with me for a minute here....
What lightroom does, is 'import' the images (preferably RAW format). Basically, all it does is register where the image file is stored on your computer and saves a preview image. Then any editing that you do inside of LR, it only saved as a separate 'sidecar' file. To put that another way, the original RAW file isn't touched while editing...thus you have non-destructive editing. This means that you can do whatever you want, in LR, and the file will never loose it's initial integrity. (If you open a JPEG in photoshop, work on it then save it, you do affect it's integrity).

OK, so now that you have worked on the photos in LR (or maybe you have only imported them, it doesn't matter)...and you want to get JPEG files. What you need to do is 'output' them. When you 'output', LR takes the edit that you made and applies them to the original files, creating the output files. The output files are separate from the original RAW files. You can choose many different options for your output; file type, size, compression, EXIF data, sharpening etc. Anything really. You can use one of the 'preset' options or you can choose your own options...then save those options as a 'preset'. Then the next time you want to do the same thing, you need only to choose the preset again.

You will find 'output' in the library module (next to import). So once you go though the output options, LR will start working to create your JPEG files. You can choose the location and file naming to suit your needs. LR then starts 'chugging' away. This is required because at this point, it's accessing the large RAW files. But you can continue working on something else while it exports in the background.

So to come back around to your question...you don't 'change' the RAW files to JPEG, you 'output' a JPEG 'copy' of the images.

Thanks Mike, that makes a ton of sense. SO, when LR creates the "JPEG copy", it still isn't changing anything about the original RAW files is it? Also, where are the original RAW files stored if they aren't actually in LR? Thanks.

 

[Big Mike]

Thanks Mike, that makes a ton of sense. SO, when LR creates the "JPEG copy", it still isn't changing anything about the original RAW files is it? Also, where are the original RAW files stored if they aren't actually in LR? Thanks.

No, LR doesn't change the original RAW file...neither does Photoshop, because in Photoshop, when you open a RAW file, you save it as JPEG, PSD, TIFF etc. (thus creating a copy)

The original files are stored where you put them...(or where you tell lightroom to put them).

You can organize you images in Lightroom, but it's still a very good idea to have an actual file structure scheme. For example, I have separate places for my personal photos, my wedding photos and my portrait photos. In my portrait section, I have sub folders that are named for the client and date. In my personal folder, I have sub folders for the year and then a separate folder for the date I upload the photos from the card.

When I off load a card, I just copy the RAW files to their proper location. When that's done, I go into Lightroom and import them. You can do both of these steps at the same time, using lightroom (select the option to import and copy to a new location). You can even have Lightroom copy to a 2nd (back-up) location at this time.

The files aren't actually 'in Lightroom'...because lightroom just takes note of where they are, and saves a preview image. This is important to know, because if you move the image files...Lightroom won't know where to find them. They will still be visible in LR, but they will be flagged with a red light or something, to show that the location is missing. So if you are going to move your image files, after they have been imported into LR, move them from within lightroom.

If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend reading this blog
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips

 

[Tbini87]

Thanks Mike. I will take a look around that blog and learn some new stuff! We found the folder last night under a LR tab... and it had subfolders with dates. I am assuming those are the original RAW files? Then we can just rename those files with the dates as something like "beach photos june 2010" or something like that? When you go to export or copy the files to JPEG, do you send them to a completely different folder?