Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida

I have under Catalog Settings> Metadata > Automatically Write Changes into XMP.
I noticed recently outside of Lightroom (using Finder on Mac) that XMP files exist in the JPEG folders I export RAW images to. After posting the JPEG images on my website, I typically drag the folder to it's final location on my hard drive.
Questions:
1. where can I see the XMP files are with the RAW images
2. I decided to have XMP files written in case I ever leave Lightroom or they go belly up, I assume other editing programs would be able to view/see the changes I made to the RAW and can recreate - yes?
3. Can I delete those XMP files in the JPEG folder that appear to remain
4. Do UHH members typically set to write XMP sidecar files

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

That's a highly qualified yes. Yes, Adobe software that created the XMP files will be able to read them and recreate your processing. In other words you created them in LR and PS/ACR will be able to read them.

Whether a non-Adobe app will be able to read them is another matter -- assume no. In some cases you may be able to get a partial read from a non-Adobe app.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

"I typically drag the folder to it's final location on my hard drive."

Do you do that from within Lightroom Classic or from within your operating system?

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

"I decided to have XMP files written in case I ever leave Lightroom or they go belly up, I assume other editing programs would be able to view/see the changes I made to the RAW and can recreate - yes?"

Other software that uses XMP files may or may not make use of metadata in your Lightroom files, but applying image adjustments from your Lightroom XMP files is much more problematic.

The implementation of adjustment tools varies dramatically from software program to software program, even for similarly named tools. And, a software program will certainly not know what to do with adjustments for which it does not have a similar tool.

While some programs may do a better job than others, most programs will likely be completely useless for this purpose, like my favorite editor DxO PhotoLab Elite. It can read Lightroom XMP metadata but will ignore edits. I would not count on a seamless migration of all your Lightroom edits to some Lightroom competitor unless that software indicates they have a migration path. I believe ON1 may have such functionality, but I would test it first to determine if it does an acceptable job. Even if ON1 or some other software does read your Lightroom edits and applies them to your raw files, it will be highly unlikely, that the results will look similar to the way they looked in Lightroom.

Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida

Only within Lightroom

bkwaters

From my experimenting it seems that DNG and PSD are also proprietary and do not always produce identical images in non-Adobe software. Have others found the same?

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

I think I understand that DNGs are raw light data. To see a "picture" the software has to construct it. So, each program that opens a DNG will have it's own bias as the starting point for your personal and potential improvement. Didn't Adobe put the DNG format in the 'public domain'. A couple cameras have used it for their RAW choice.

PSDs are the default "native" format for Photoshop where there may be complex work to do. There is no expectation or intent for PSDs to be useful outside the Adobe ecosystem. From Adobe, "Photographers who use Photoshop and other Adobe Creative Cloud products for post processing tasks — like image editing, retouching, and compositing, for example — will be very familiar with PSD files. There’s almost nothing a photographer can’t do inside a PSD, from fixing an underexposed photo to creating high-gloss editorial imagery."

jackpinoh Loc: Kettering, OH 45419

A DNG file will contain ALL of the raw image data that was in the original Raw file, but may not contain some or all of the non-image data that was in the manufacturer's original Raw file, such as focus point, the manufacturer's info for their interpretation of their raw data, the manufacturer's conversion of the raw data to a jpeg, etc. That is why the DNG file is smaller.

If you want a universal file format, use the TIFF format. However it will be larger than the any other format that contains all of the original raw image data.

It is interesting that Capture One can easily interpret a DNG file from a camera manufacture (Leica, for example) but will have trouble properly interpreting a DNG file that was converted to DNG by Lightroom. All DNG files are NOT identical in format. Some other applications may have a similar difficulty. That is why I always save my raw files in their original format and don't convert to DNG files. Storage is cheap and avoids frustration.

Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida

Everyone - thanks for sharing
My takeaways (as best I understand from feedback):
.. most are not sure if I can or cannot delete XMP files
.. appears few if any worry about this and don't save the XMP files along with the edited RAW
.. I don't intend to abandon Adobe software for another editor
.. One process I can implement (if I'm really am concerned) is either a) quarterly export star-rated 4 & 5 post-processed RAW images as tiff images to a separate drive -or- as I complete my raw edits - save the original RAW (with the edits applied i.e. before I export as a JPEG for posting and sharing) as a tiff.

Resources
https://fstoppers.com/lightroom/why-most-photographers-should-turn-lightroom-setting-607546
https://www.beyondphototips.com/automatically-write-changes-xmp-lightroom/

Be safe everyone
Bob

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I separate the final, jpg and raw images. I have a folder [meaningful folder name] which has subfolders JPG and RAW. The subfolders hold my originals, and the XMP files stay with the originals. If I need a jpg or other format for export, it gets placed in the final [meaningful folder name]. The originals are in subfolders. If I back up the [meaningful folder name] the originals get backed up with it. I generally export as jpg, but if the original was jpg, the original stays in the JPG subfolder while the final jpg goes to the final output folder.

I write XMP files because if I ever screw things up to the point where I have to completely start over, I can import the originals into LR and since the XMP files are in the same folder, the edits will go with them. I am not planning to leave LR or expecting it to go out. I suspect other editing programs will be able to read the XMP files and approximate the LR edits, but I think since every editor has its own algorithms and the XMP files contain numeric values for the edit steps, the result will not be identical to the LR export.

As far as I know, XMP files are placed in the folder that holds the original file. If that is a jpg, there will be a JPG and a XMP in the same folder. I would probably not delete the XMP files. They're not really large files in general.

Can't speak for everyone, but I want XMP files for everything.

Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida

Thank you, Bob