Lightroom RAW to JPEG Export

[bdunbar79]

Well, when I edit my photos in Lightroom 4.1 RC2, I do them in RAW like I used to do in DPP or Photoshop. But then when I export them into JPEG format, even at the highest quality settings, they don't look as good than if I had just shot in JPEG mode. This has never been a problem in Photoshop. Anybody notice this or maybe have any tips for anything I'm doing wrong. I am not a veteran Lightroom user by they way. Thanks.

 

[pwp]

Can you post samples of the RAW (or DNG) and the processed JPEG? Can you do a screenshot of your LR Export prefs? Are your colour prefs in PS as they should be? You may be viewing the JPEGs in a weird colour space. This has happened here a couple of times. Just a buggy PS.

If the file processes fine in ACR (Photoshop) then you're likely overbaking it somehow in LR as both programs use an identical RAW processing engine, just a different GUI.

Personally I always output to 16 bit TIFF, run any further postpro on the files in PS and then convert to JPEG. I use a very handy freeware script from Russell Brown, the Image Processor Pro http://russellbrown.com/scripts.html to convert the TIFFS into 3 or 4 different flavours of JPEG. Have a look, watch the tutorial and use it every day.

PW

 

[Kernuak]

One other thing to bear in mind, LR ignores most of the in camera tone settings etc, while DPP probably applies the camera settings. The jpeg images will probably look quite flat if you don't make any adjustments in LR. I tend to export as TIFFs, after the initial adjustments in LR, then apply a medium contrast curve in PS.

 

[Orangutan]

bdunbar79: I believe this has to do with "Develop Presets." You might check your manual. There should be a way to tell it to use your camera's settings as the presets. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

I tend to export as TIFFs, after the initial adjustments in LR, then apply a medium contrast curve in PS.

Kernuak: I'm curious why you use this process. LR has a tone curve tool built-in. Also, why export from LR as TIFF rather than PSD? I always think of TIFF as a legacy format, to be used only when there are no other options. Does TIFF offer something here that I'm not aware of?

 

[bdunbar79]

Thanks so much for your replies! I'm not ignoring you, I will get my information together here that you requested. Thanks!

 

[Orangutan]

This made me curious, so I dug around a bit more:

http://forums.adobe.com/message/4420919#4420919
http://www.lightroomforums.net/showthread.php?10418-Why-did-Lr-ruin-my-picture

 

[bdunbar79]

Did one more test. I shot a JPEG that I thought was pretty good. I imported to LR off the CF card, and into Elements 9 off the CF card. In LR I did NONE of the above stated procedures, just as a test, and "fixed" the image the way I wanted. I then uploaded the RAW version to LR, fixed it, and converted/exported to JPEG. (I shot RAW+JPEG). In Elements, I only did "Auto" everything (contrast, colors, sharpness, etc.). The resulting JPEG from Elements looked much crisper and sharper than the LR versions of both. So my point here, is that whatever I am doing in LR, is WORSE than whatever the camera (5D Mark III) is doing in-camera for RAW to JPEG conversion.

I printed out those two links. I am going to read them and see if I just can't figure out how to maximize this in LR. Photoshop seems to work much better for someone who has been 1. lazy and 2. ignorant in post-processing imaging Also, thanks for the link to the tutorial. This is great. I don't mean to sound like such a newbie but really, as far as LR goes, I am!

Again, thanks and I am going to try this out.