Vinman

Okay, I shoot in RAW and import to Lightroom. In Lightroom I do some development on pictures and eliminate the really bad ones. Now I would like to be able to export that batch and send as a zip file (I use adobe send) so my subject can pick the ones she really likes. How do I export the whole batch in a format that she can open on her computer?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Select all the images in the Library and press <export>. Set the output location and quality and let it rip.

Vinman

Sounds too easy, thanks !

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Then you can zip them together in a clump. But with today's internet speeds, photo file sizes and conveniences like DropBox, I'm not sure zipping makes the sense that it used to.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

:thumbup:

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

That works ok provided your zip files are smaller than the maximum permitted through email.

I have a Zenfolio account that provides a high quality, high res view of client images, complete with password and not visible to anyone other than the designated party. Images can be viewed and tagged, and depending on the terms of the contract, I can even grant them download privileges, but mostly I just put up proofs right out of Lightroom. Once the selections are made I get an email through the Zenfolio site that alerts me as to which images have been selected, then I go to work putting on the finishing touches.

For a quick solution I also use Dropbox - I make a folder in the Photos folder, put all the images in that, right click on the folder name and choose to share the link to the folder. I paste that link into an email to my client and they can view a slide show and download (if I grant them permission to do so).

Capture48 Loc: Arizona

Nothing projects an image of working in the last century to your customer better than working in email!

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

Have you ever tried DropBox? Free up to 2 GB. http://www.dropbox.com/home

What I do if I need do what you need to do, after Post, Export as JPEG's to Shared folder of DropBox, set quality to about 5-6 when prompted, keeping files small if you have many that get close to 2GB. Once files are in DropBox, click on Shared folder, enter clients Email which will link them to view the files. There is also one time "Large file transfer" sites out there.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Right. For quality, I'd go with DropBox.

CaltechNerd Loc: Whittier, CA, USA

Don't forget to select .jpg when you export :-)

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Yes, as suggested, first you should "Export" your images to a folder on your computer. Select all the images you want to share, then in the Library module of LR click on "Export". This will open a dialogue box with a whole bunch of choices, how you want LR to handle the exported files...

Choose export to "hard drive", then to "specified location" and tell LR where you want it to save the files (create a folder if you need to). You can have LR rename the files, though I'd usually leave that unchecked so the names of JPGs and corresponding RAW are the same other than their file type extensions.

Select "JPG" and set that up for size and quality. For proofs, I'd recommend no larger than 700 or 800 pixels on the long side (small enough that they aren't practical for printing, but large enough to get a good idea of how the image looks and make selections). I don't set a file size limit at this point. Set quality to "85" or "90" (saves quite a bit of space and is more than good enough for proofs). Also choose "sRGB" color space (which is pretty universal... unless your client has Photoshop, Lightroom or some other fairly advanced image handling software, wider gamut Adobe RGB or Prophoto RGB image will look pretty flat and washed out)... I'd also recommend you have Lightroom "sharpen", "for screen", which will lightly sharpen the JPEGs being created.

Depending upon what version you're using, with the more recent ones you also can optionally have Lightroom add a watermark to the image. That can be a graphics file such as a logo, or it can just be something you typeset right in Lightroom such as the words "PROOF" or "COPYRIGHTED IMAGE" or your name or whatever else you might choose. You can choose the location for the watermark, how large you want it and set it's transparency. Lightroom also can scale it larger or smaller as needed, according to each particular image file's dimensions.

The JPEG files you create this way will be a fairly universal type that's easily viewed on almost any computer with a lot of different software. You can check them yourself simply by opening the folder you had Lightroom export to (there is an option in the Export dialogue box to have LR automatically open the folder when the export is completed, if you wish).

Next, it's up to you how to get those files to your client. There are several options:

If there aren't too many, if the folder isn't too large, you might be able to send them as an email attachment. Or, you might send small batches of individual files with multiple emails, if necessary. How large a folder or file(s) can be sent via email is determined by your and your client's email client limitations.

If it's a lot of images adding up to a significant total size, I simply upload them to a website where the client can visit and view them. I use Exposure Manager and Flickr, and I pay a fee to each of them for unlimited storage because I have numerous galleries and many thousands of images uploaded. But both of these and many other similar sites offer free accounts for a modest number of files or a reasonable amount of storage space.

You also could burn to a DVD or CD... or put the folder on a thumb drive or any other sort of storage device and physically send that to your client. Sometimes when I do this I include a "slide viewer" that they can use to look at the images.

Or, you can upload to large file/bulk file sites such as DropBox.

Which method you choose really depends upon the number of images, the total size of them as a whole, and whatever is most convenient for both you and your customer.

Some suggested a zipped file, which is a means of saving space and upload/download time. There are self-extracting zip files (otherwise your client needs a means of unzipping the file). And not all customers are tech savvy enough to know how to handle a zipped file!

One risk of sending images any of these ways is that it's unlikely your client is using a properly calibrated computer monitor. Most people just use their monitors straight from the box or with rather casually "eye balled" adjustments. Also, some viewing software can be calibrated, while other can't. For example, most built-in Windows photo viewing software isn't calibrated. So your images may look quite different on your client's computer than they do on yours!