How to save raw files?

[hamlet]

Is it possible to save the changes i've made to my raw files in lightroom 5? I want to back up my raw files with the edits. Now when i try to copy the raw file to some other location and i import it in lightroom 5, none of the changes are saved.

 

[JacaRanda]

The changes you make to the raw file are saved in the catalog. You don't need to import it again into LR from the other location (if you do, you get the original raw file again). Just open the catalog that you made the changes in.

Lightroom catalog FAQ

 

[hamlet]

So its not possible to save the changes to the raw files directly?

 

[Josh66]

No, you can't 'save as' .CR2 or .NEF or whatever.

 

[hamlet]

That is not good. I'll have to edit my pictures from scratch if i ever want to move them.

 

[Josh66]

Just move the sidecar files with them. By default, they should be in the same folder as the RAWs.

In Lightroom, I think it's a .XMP file. It's basically an 'edit history' of the RAW.

 

[JacaRanda]

That is not good. I'll have to edit my pictures from scratch if i ever want to move them.

You could save your edits in a different file format like TIFF. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 * Supported file formats

Or you could move or save the entire catalog to other places and there would be no need to edit from scratch once you re-open the catalog in LR. You could also go crazy and have only one photo in a catalog and what it seems like you want to do, without having to re-edit from scratch.

Lightroom works great for most anything if you have a desire to learn and use it.

 

[hamlet]

I will figure this out. Thanks for the help.

 

[Ysarex]

That is not good. I'll have to edit my pictures from scratch if i ever want to move them.

This is very good. It's part of the whole point. A raw file is like a film negative -- you make a print from it but you never alter the original in any way.

Joe

 

[hamlet]

Sure it is. But what would be better is if it could retain both the original and the edited within the raw file. Its not 1835 any more, the renaissance is long over john wayne.

 

[The_Traveler]

All of the edits made in the raw file are saved.

There is a same name file with an xmp extension that contains all the edits.
Look in the folder.
That is called the sidecar file.

As long as that file is carried along in the copy process, all the edits are there.
And if you still don't understand, do a search for 'nef' and 'sidecar' and rread the extensive information available.

 

[480sparky]

The sidecar file is basically a list of what edits you did..... Adjust black & white points, induce an S into the curve, increase saturation, crop, rotate, etc.......

The next time you load the image into your editor, it reloads the original raw data, then performs those same steps again.

 

[Josh66]

Sure it is. But what would be better is if it could retain both the original and the edited within the raw file.

You can. Very easily. Like I said, all of the edits are in the .xmp sidecar file. Just make sure that stays in the same folder as the RAW and all of your edits are intact.

It's basically exactly what you're asking for, but split up into two files.

 

[KmH]

What Josh said, adn get this inexpensive reference book - The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers
Or, open LR 5 and press your keyboard F1 key to go here - https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/topics.html

Lightroom doesn't actually edit anything.

Line commands in the .xmp file alter how the ACR algorithms display the image.

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/topics/managing-catalogs-and-files.html
https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/help/library-module-basic-workflow.html

I also highly recommend getting The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers

 

[Dliwevad]

So its not possible to save the changes to the raw files directly?

The big thing people forget about RAW files are they are not image files but rather a raw "dump" of what the sensor was exposed to. That data must be interpolated first before it can be seen and manipulated.

Making adjustments to contrast or white balance could never be saved as RAW format because it doesn't exist in the data to begin with.