Importing & Exporting in Lightroom {library module}

In the library module, click import

It will either open up your computer's folders or if there is a camera or memory card plugged in, it will pop up like this. Choose where the images you want to import are. If you already dragged them into a file from your camera, click 'choose files'

Then this will pop up which is where I used to get confused and wonder how I ended up with duplicate images and folders in my computer and I couldn't find anything after. Click the drop down and select what you want LR to do with the imported images. 1.} Add photos to catalog without moving takes the images you already have in your computer and puts them in LR for editing, but just makes ghost copies in LR. There are no duplicates actually on your computer's hard drive. Select this if you already added the images to your folder before going into LR. 2.} Copy photos to a new location and add to catalog. If you're accessing images from your camera for the first time and still haven't actually put them into your computer. 3.} Takes the photos already in your computer and moves them to the LR folder or where you specify. And the last one, I don't know what that does :) I use #1.

When you have one or more images ready to export, select them (ctrl+a selects them all) and then go to file > export. This pops up. There are lots of things to consider before you hit ok.

First, you need to decide where they are going. You can choose to put them in a specific folder or put them back in their original folder where they came from. I usually choose this and also add a subfolder (just underneath) called jpgs to separate my RAWs from my JPGs. Clicking 'add to this catalog' also adds a copy of the edited version to the LR library.

In the 'existing files' drop down, I always select to give it a new name just to avoid any accidental overwriting

In file naming, you can specify a certain way of naming your files if you have a preference

In file settings, you can choose to convert it into a JPG upon exporting or keep it as a RAW. You'd likely convert it to JPG if you're finished editing or you can keep it as it's original format if you plan on doing detailed editing in PS after. Not all PS editing requires a raw file, although actions usually do.

The resizing area is very useful if you're exporting images for the web or email and want a folder with smaller versions. You can go back in after and re-export them into a folder of full sized ones after. 600px wide is a good size for the web. NOTE: After you've edited this area, the next time you want to export, undo the settings unless you want to accidentally make your images small which you meant to stay large. That could potentially be devastating if you were doing a wedding or something. Get into the habit of scrolling down to this bit before clicking 'export'

Again, output sharpening is good for exporting images for the web.

Lastly, the metadata area you probably won't ever touch (I never do). The 'minimize embedded metadata' box literally strips all data from your image, leaving only the copyright information. When viewing images on Flickr, for example, sometimes you can see the metadata like the lens, the shutter speed used, ISO, etc. Viewing this information can help others learn a great deal about photography.