Export and Publish

Introduction

As we have discussed in prior lessons, Lightroom is a non-desctructive editor. That is, it does not change the image in the original file. If you want to have a finished version of your photo to send out to someone, you will need to make a new file. The Export tool allows you to create new files that can be sent to other people or to other programmes. It offers a lot of flexibility in how these new files are created. They can be small JPEG files suitable for e-mail, or they can be large 16-bit TIFFs suitable for additional editing in Photoshop. In this lesson, we will learn how to use the settings, and get some good ideas about what the settings are meant for.

The Publish tool uses the Export functions, but adds an extra layer of automation. Not only does it create new files for you to send out somewhere, but it can actually do the sending. You can set it to automatically upload selected images to your Flickr, Facebook or Smugmug account. Or you can 'publish' the images to a folder that makes it easy to sync to your smartphone or tablet.

Publish also allows you to automatically update any images that have been altered. Publish remembers when you sent the photos out, and can tell if a photo has had new develop settings applied to it. Updating the published image is a one-button operation. 

And finally, Publish allows for two-way communication between the publishing platform, such as Flickr, and your Lightroom catalogue. Comments that are made about the image on Flickr can be brought back into the Lightroom catalogue, so you have access to them from a single place.

Let's take a look at how Export works. Then we can see how Publish builds on top of those tools. Figure 1 outlines the difference between Export and Publish.

FIGURE 1 This movie shows the difference between Export and Publish

Export location

The most typical export is one that creates new files that that are sent off to a client, printer or some other entity. You can find the export command in the File menu, where it brings up a dialog with a lot of options. I will work through these from the top down.

Export location

This panel controls where the newly created file is saved to. You can select a folder that you want to send the image to in this panel, and even have Lightroom create a custom subfolder during the export process. If you are creating a pre-set, it is best to select 'Choose folder later'. With that setting, any time you run the preset you'll get a dialog asking where to drop the files.

You can also choose to import the newly created file back into the catalogue so that it can be managed with the original files. This is a good setting to use if you have only one Lightroom catalogue to manage your collection. (sometimes your export file is only useful as a way to send off an image, and you do not need to save it. In these cases, there is no need to add it back to the catalogue.) If you are adding it back to the catalogue, you may wish to stack it with the original. This keeps the files together in the Library, but only works if they are in the same folder.

The Export Location also offers some options fro situations where there is already an exported file in the same folder with the same file name. In these cases, you probably want Lightroom to 'Ask what to do' as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 This movie outlines how to use the Export Location part of the Export dialog box

Export file naming

In general, you probably want to export your files with the original file name (particularly if you have created unique file names as we showed in the Import lesson). To do that, simply select Filename in the pulldown menu. There are some other ways you might want to rename your exported files, however. 

If you are sending images to a multimedia project - and you have created a custom sort order in a Collection which you would like to use - it is useful to prepend the filename with a sequence number, so that the files show up in order.

If you are creating a layered Master File in Photoshop, you may want to append the word 'Master' to the filename to help you find it later. 

The movie in Figure 3 shows how to make naming presets in the Export Dialog.

FIGURE 3 This movie shows how to make naming presets in the Export dialog box

Export file settings

The File Settings panel offers some options for file type, compression, colour space and bit depth. These settings produce files that are extremely different in total file size. It is important to know the purpose of the exported file, and choose your settings accordingly.

E-mail or FTP

For e-mailed files, the format should be JPEG, and the compression should generally be as high as practical. The colour space should generally be sRGB unless the client has specifically requested another colour space.

For Photoshop

For files that need further editing in Photoshop, you have a couple options.

• The format should be TIFF or PSD with no compression
• The bit depth should be 16 bits if you are going to do a lot of color or tonal manipulation in Photoshop, and it can be 8 bits if you will only be changing the color and tone minimally
• Most people should use Adobe RGB for the color space when sending files to Photoshop. ProPhoto RGB is for expert users only

FIGURE 4This movie outlines the options for File Settings

Export size

You can set the output size of the output file using a several different measurements. These include the ability to fit the new image in a size-limited box, or to specify a single dimension or even the size in megapixels. Figure 5 shows the dialog box.

FIGURE 5 This image shows the resizing options

Export output sharpening

Some sharpening to image files happens in the raw conversion. This is called Capture and Creative Sharpening, and you can set that in the Develop module. This setting is one that is specific to the image itself. It is dependent on the camera, the ISO, the subject matter and how you want the image to look. 

There is also a need to sharpen files as you go to output. This output sharpening is dependent on the device the file is intended for. 

Images intended for use on a monitor display do not need as much sharpening as those intended for printing on glossy paper. And image intended for glossy paper printing need less sharpening than those intended for Matte paper. Lightroom lets you choose between these options, and to choose low, medium or high for each. In most cases, choosing the setting that is named for your desired output will produce optimum sharpening, as long as Capture Sharpening is set correctly.

If you are sending images to Photoshop for Master file creation, you should probably not use any sharpening in Lightroom output because the controils in Photoshop for sharpening offer more control.

FIGURE 6This image shows the sharpening options

Export metadata

The Metadata panel offers 2 options. These are included so that you can keep some of your information private, rather than embedding it in the file.

Minimize Embedded Metadata removes most of the tags on your file, but leaves the contact and copyright information. Figure 7 compares some of the metadata fields that are produced by each setting.

FIGURE 7 This image shows the resizing options

Watermark

Adding a watermark to an image can help to prevent unauthorized use of images, and can help lead a potential buyer back to the photographer to complete a purchase. Lightroom allows the use of simple text as a watermark, as well as the use of an image file as a watermark. The Movie in Figure 8 shows how the watermarking works.

FIGURE 8You can put a watermark on your exported files to help protect them, add a caption, or let people know how to find you

Post processing

Once the files have been exported, you can tell Lightroom what to do with them. Options include displaying the files in the OS, opening with Photoshop or some other program, or doing nothing. Figure 9 shows how to make these settings.

FIGURE 9The Post Processing dialog lets you tell Lightroom want to do with the newly exported files

Export pre-sets

Like nearly everywhere else in Lightroom, the Export Dialog allows you to make pre-sets for commonly used settings. Lightroom also comes with some example pre-sets. To make a preset, open the Export Dialog box, adjust your settings, and then click the 'Add' button at the bottom of the Pre-sets list, as shown in Figure 10.

FIGURE 10Make pre-sets for commonly used export settings.

Once you have made your export pre-sets, they become menu items under File>Export with Pre-set. This makes it easy to select a group of images, and run the export without even having to open the Export dialog box.

Export with pre-set

Once you have made your export Presets, they become menu items under File>Export with Preset. This makes it easy to select a group of images, and run the export without even having to open the Export dialog box. The Movie in Figure 11 shows how this works.

FIGURE 11Once you have made Export Pre-sets, you can access them without even going into the Export dialog

Publish

The Publish tool builds on the export functionality described above. It adds the ability to sign in and upload to web services, or to keep an updated collection of images exported to an additional device like another computer or mobile device. To finish out this lesson, we'll look at the process for two common publishing tasks - Flickr and Facebook.

Publish to Flickr

There are a few steps to publishing with Flickr. The movie in Figure 12 outlines these.

1. Authorize Lightroom to access your Flickr account
2. Set output options, such as size
3. Set privacy settings
4. Make a Photo Set
5. Add images
6. Publish

FIGURE 12This movie outlines the process for creating a Flickr photo set with Publish

Publish to Facebook

Publishing to Facebook is a lot like publishing to Flickr, with one exception. Facebook strips all metadata, so your images are largely unprotected after you have uploaded them. For this reason, I suggest that you make use of a watermark that can tell people whose picture it is, as well as some caption information, if you like. I also suggest that you only upload small images to Facebook.

The movie in Figure 13 outlines the process of publishing to Facebook.

FIGURE 13Send images directly to Facebook from Lightroom's Publish tool