folkus

I can't tell you how many LR books I have looked at trying to just make/save a simple copy of a photo I really like and don't want to hose it up by making changes to the original. Kelby etc., you pick it from Barnes and Noble and I have probably got it. I know it is obvious to many, but not to me. Thanks for a clear quick simple answer. (LR6)

warrior Loc: Paso Robles CA

Save as JPEG

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Right click on the photo or thumbnail at about the middle of the menu that appears it will say "virtual copy".

folkus

thanks so much!

jaf647

this is your answer, don't "save as jpeg"

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

Making a virtual copy will be a duplicate that will look EXACTLY like the original. If you have altered the original in anyway, those changes will be in the copy. You always have the option to use the "Reset" button to make the copy appear as it did before you applied any changes. Virtual copies are saved in the LR catalog and are not written to a file.

You can commit what you see on your screen to a printable, shareable image by exporting to jpeg, png, tiff.
You can export to dng, which will give you a hard copy of your raw file, complete with any edits/changes, and it will still retain the ability to go back to the original just out of the camera state by using reset. Use the dng as a raw file for all intents and purposes.

folkus

This is exactly what i was looking fir. Thanks.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I think you need to go back to the books. You've overlooked the basic premise of Lightroom: LR does not operate on the file in such a way that it will corrupt the file as stored on the computer's harddrive. Rather, the tool is maintaining a database completely internal to LR with all your changes including the locations of the original files. The original file is not modified in any way. You cannot even mistakenly 'save' and overwrite the original. To see any changes to a file external to LR, you need to export. Here you could mistakenly export to the same name and overwrite the original but there are several prompts designed to stop you from doing this.

The suggestions of a virtual copy does what others have described although that process does not exactly apply to your question. I use the virtual copy to begin a second round of edits on something that has been edited and exported previously. I could have file / saved-as the original file and then imported to LR as a v2. But, the magic of LR is I don't have to do all that.

Most importantly: I don't have to make virtual copies before beginning edits 'on the original'. LR already is a virtual copy when I perform the import to LR.

This is why you're having such a hard time understanding how to 'save' in LR. There is no save. The concept doesn't apply. Every action within LR is virtual and immediate and fully reversible. The closest idea to 'save' is the export. This is where the virtual changes in LR can be seen / shared external to LR. And if you don't like the results in the export, make more changes and export it again. In addition to a virtual copy, you might also look at 'snapshot' which is kind of like of like drawing a line where what was done 'before' is saved into the snapshop or say below the line and everything else done after the snapshop is above the line. And, you can still go back to some point in your edit process before the snapshop. Nothing within LR is permanent although LR can make changes to the external world that are (can be) permanent such as deleting files.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

Only if you delete from disk BUT if you only delete from LR the file is still on the disk where ot was imported

Matt Mathai Loc: Annapolis, MD

Welcome to the wonderful world of Lightroom. Its biggest feature is that all editing is non-destructive. With a single click you can go back to the unedited version that you imported originally.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Exactly! What is really powerful with this feature is it does NOT make a duplicate Raw copy to waste space. There is just one raw copy and tiny side car files to denote the changes to each virtual copy. You can have any number of copies. I often start with color and flip one to B&W then I might do one in sepia, etc etc.

I admit I do not know how virtual copy handles a jpg, meaning does still use sidecar files and leave the master alone. Too busy to experiment.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

All virtual copy does is create a second, third or however many copy of the raw file "image" not the file it's self so that each can be cropped, edited, adjusted with out affecting the "original" crop edited or adjusted image. I do this all of the time in order to get 2, 3 or more images of a single image in order to do different things to them WITHOUT affecting my main work. IT does NOT create copies for use OUTSIDE of LR. You have to do that with a print from each of the creations or a save as file say to jpg, tiff, etc. which can then be used outside of Lightroom or sent for printing. The virtual copies just allows the photographer/editor to be able to have multiple copies of the image or copies of the edited image to do further editing without affecting the first edit. This is not to say that it isn't an important skill to learn, I do it all the time in order to use an image that I like in various ways without messing with the original or first edit. But it has NOTHING to do with output to a printer or saving outside of Lightroom until you've exported the image for that particular format (.jpg, tiff, png, etc)

This link is straight from Scott Kelby. http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1664581

flyguy Loc: Las Cruces, New Mexico

Excellent advice --- very accurate and to the point in my opinion.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

One more reason I will never touch Lightroom...

Matt Mathai Loc: Annapolis, MD

Say what? Non-destructive editing is one of the most powerful reasons to use Lightroom