# Lightroom Image Management



## CTJohn (Nov 10, 2012)

I shoot in RAW and typically will export to a JPEG if I want to use the image for printing, email, etc. That leaves the edited image in Lightroom in a RAW format. I'm curious how others manage their images - do you leave them in RAW format in Lightroom, or convert so some other format?


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 10, 2012)

There are many opinions as to how to manage images. Certainly, you need jpeg images to post on the internet.
You can save images as DNG, and there are three flavors of DNG.
However, all the expert professional work flows have one thing in common, backup your files and use keywords rather than directories or multiple catalogs.
Martin Evening, Julieann Kost (educator), Victorie Brampton (Lightroom Queen), Scott Kelby all have excellent publications detailing their preferences and why. 
I'm sure there are many opinions, but readup what the experts have to say, they have establishied themselves as the experts. Then feel free to do it your own way or modify their method to fit your needs.


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## The_Arsonist (Nov 10, 2012)

I keep the RAW files on my laptop in Lightroom until I have not used them in a while, then I move the RAW files to an external drive (RAID 1, redundant drives, which is also backed up online). I move the files in Lightroom so I can still access them when I have the external drive attached. I don't usually keep an archive of the JPEGs I make because I can re-export them from the original RAW files if I need them. As long as I have a version of Lightroom, my images are archived for the long haul


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