daf40 Loc: Mesa, AZ

If I want to import a photo which has been previously edited in Lightroom into Ugly Hedgehog (or Shutterfly, Photomatix, etc.), will the photo be imported with the Lightroom edits? If not, what do I have to do to import the photo as edited?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

You need to 'export' from LR to a JPEG (<file>.jpg) and then 'attach' that image to a UHH post. This post about digital file sizes includes some example LR export parameters that might help: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-512745-1.html

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

There are a variety of ways to do what you want to do, but the easiest is to export your image from LR, not import. With your edited image 'open' in LR, go up to File, then beneath that, come down to Export. In the dialogue box that opens, you'll see settings for where and at what parameters (file format, file size, etc.) your exported image will be set. Bear in mind that an image you intend to upload to UHH, for example, will need to be 20Mb or less (and realistically, there's no reason to exceed a few Mbs for web posting anyhow).

daf40 Loc: Mesa, AZ

Thanks for the quick response. I was afraid that "exporting" was the only solution, but unfortunately it's a major annoyance to have to jump back and forth between Lightroom and another program, such as Shutterfly. As an alternative, could I set up another folder outside of Lightroom and export a few dozen (or a few hundred, or thousand) edited photos at the same time? Then I wouldn't have to return to Lightroom every time I wanted to retrieve an edited picture. For example, could I export all of my flagged pictures, or my "two-star" pictures at one time?

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

You'd probably benefit from some LR training ... You can use any of the several filters in the Library module to accomplish exactly the filtering you've described. You can export from 1 to every image in your Library in a single process, or use filters for a specific group / attribute / keyword. Try google against utube for free training videos like 'utube lightroom export' or 'utube lightroom metadata filter' etc.

lsimpkins Loc: SE Pennsylvania

Yes, you can Export as many images as you would like at one time to a folder for uploading to Shutterfly or any other web app. We do it all the time for book creation or posting to my daughter's family album.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

My routine is to export photos I wish to post to my desktop at the settings/size I want. Then when I create a post on UHH or one of the two Face Book photo groups I belong to I attach it from there. After I am done posting I drag the photo to a folder on the desktop with sub folders by type, place taken or place posted. If I want/need to post them again I can do it with just a few extra clicks from that folder. And of course LR still has all the versions* of the original as well as all the other images I didn't post.

*Remember LR does not have the image in its files, just thumbnails and the catalog of edits made and a "map" to their location - the images as taken are on your hard drive filed in the "pictures library". That is why you never move images outside of light room. If you do that then LR's "map" is no longer good and if you go back to an image to do more/another edit LR is searching for the original in the wrong place.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

No belittling. Just a clear answer.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

I do not save most of my exported images except for those I save for screen background slide show and my images that I use for an avatar. It only takes a couple of clicks to regenerate an image again to export

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

"I was afraid that "exporting" was the only solution, but unfortunately it's a major annoyance to have to jump back and forth between Lightroom and another program"

Any edited image in any software has to be saved before it can be shared. Lightroom Classic has a variety of procedure choices to make that exceptionally easy and fast.

1- Right click on a photo, pick export and fill out the form. My choices at the top have the saved image in a subfolder I call "JPEGS for Sharing" and I have them added to the catalog. Lightroom Classic remembers your last export or you can save it as a favorite "preset" routine.

2. The edited image shows up next to the original in the Library. Right click and "Show in Explorer". If your target destination can take "drag and drops" like Shutterfly, do it. If like UHH and you have to supply a filename, highlight the address bar and use "copy and paste".

3. If you don't want to save the file on your drive, select it in the Library and press Delete.

(Download)

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

As you can see from responses, there are various ways to solve your problem. Find the one that suits you best and use it.

All of the photos you view in LR are already in a folder on your hard drive. However you have them organized in LR, they will be organized the same on your HD. So, if you want to have a file of images to use for social media, you should set up a folder inside your existing LR folder for them. I have mine labeled "Watermarks" because I only publish online .jpg images with a watermark. Then, all photos you want to send to that folder can be grouped together in a smart collection and then exported as a group in .jpg format via LR's Export function. In the export dialogue you can specify destination folder, choose format, file size, and whether or not to add a watermark [can create one right there]. IF exporting does not put them into your LR folder, you can import them into it from your HD folder using LR's Import function.

I understand the situation you face. Edits in LR are not visible in the HD folders - they are the .xmp side-cars in the form of a blank page with turned up corner! This is why I always convert RAW images to another, viewable, format! It is a lot easier because I always do final edits in PS, and it has the "Save As" feature, which automatically puts the edited version back into LR as well as into your HD folder. Since my edits include adjustment layers, I use .tiff so I can go back to PS and make additional changes, or create a new version [such as B&W, or just another editing technique!].

Many people are happy to rely on LR to view their images and the edits, creating .jpg or other formats as needed. I do it differently - I convert every edit into a .tiff so I can see it on my hard drive. Then when I want to share online, I export the .tiff to my Watermarks folder as a .jpg, then delete the .xmp file. [In my system, those blank pages are "clutter"! If I want to preserve the intermediate stage of LR edits, I can export that as a .tiff as well, even though that results in losing the list of steps taken in the Develop module.

Hope this helps.

Susan

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

The beauty of the Lightroom program is that you can export any file in multiple versions as needed almost instantly. You can also batch export as needed. Any edits done in LR are saved to the LR catalog, not to the original image, and are only saved to the image upon export, which can be done via the export panel, the print panel, or even through an email. If you want to batch export you might consider creating a collection with those images and then marking all images with a control/command-A and then clicking on export. Set up the export dialog panel as needed and export to a folder on your desktop from which you can then send the images where you want. You can choose to include a watermark if that is desired. These jpg images can be deleted later on after use so that you do not use extra space and so that things don't get confusing with multiple images. There is no need to ever create multiple images when you choose to use LR for a processing program. Using multiple images leads to confusion in many cases and can create complications later on in time. I export all of the time using LR and have not found it to be difficult at all as I just leave the program open as I work in something else and then pop back into the program, export as needed, and move on.

Jack 13088 Loc: Central NY

You might have fallen into a understanding trap with LR’s nomenclature. Import and export are deceptive names for those operations. When you import LR just adds a new catalog entry for an image file. It notes the location of the file and reads the EXIF metadata from the file. The file is not moved “in” LR. It remains exactly where told LR where to put the file. When you “develop” the image LR shows you a preview of the results of edits and remembers the edit operations. LR never modifies the original file. When you “Export” an image it reads the original file, applies your edits, and generates a new image file in the format (jpeg, tif, ...) and size you select. It does not “remove” either the original file or the catalog entry. It just makes a “finished” file wherever you tell it to. You can do as many exports as you have the need and stamina for.

You might want to look into the Publish operation which looks just like a catalog with tha added twist of exporting lmages when you add or modify them to another application. I use SmugMug and it maintains a gallery of the collection without leaving the comfort of LR.

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

I use LR to do my edits and export individual photos to be used elsewhere. However, I also batch photos and "publish" them to either Flickr (for my purposes) and SmugMug (for my church)--the ability to do that from LR is a big help to me. I don't "organize" my photos in LR--basic organization is using separate folders on my computer HD to cluster them according to subject, purpose, or date taken, and then how they are assigned to Albums for publishing to Flickr or SmugMug. (I suppose the creation of Albums in LR can be considered "organization" but I don't think that's what most seasoned LR users mean by that term.)

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Hi, just a few points of clarification for all readers. There are no "albums" in LR. There are folders and collections. LR never organizes your images, YOU do that and then YOU tell LR what YOU want the software to do. All LR does is reflect the organization YOU have on your hard drive. If you move a folder within LR then that folder is actually moved on the hard drive. You can, using Publish Services on the left side, bottom export directly to some other applications, although you can no longer so some of the applications that you could do in the past. It is possible to import a photo or a bunch of photos, edit them in LR, and then export them in some other format to preserve the edits and only use LR as an editing tool and not an organization tool although I can see no real benefit to this as you would then have the original in a folder and the edited version in a folder, which could be confusing unless you were using the original as a sort of backup and you kept it on some other hard drive and did not access it. Using LR as an organizational tool allows you access to thousands of images and lets you use them quickly in multiple ways easily. Just wanted to say that for other readers who might be reading the post from David in Dallas.