Help with Lightroom

[BogdanD]

When I try to save a photo with Lightroom, it comes out as a 300kb file, instead of at least 2 megabytes..I used export after I cropped a photo (only a little bit though), and somehow a 2.5 megabyte file turned into a 300kb file. What do I do? Is there any other way to save it?

[no.absolutes]

make sure you check what dpi and image quality you are saving as?

[kirbinster]

Be sure that the check box that limits size is not checked, otherwise it will reduce the image as seems to be the case here.

[Samanax]

Originally Posted by BogdanD

When I try to save a photo with Lightroom, it comes out as a 300kb file, instead of at least 2 megabytes..I used export after I cropped a photo (only a little bit though), and somehow a 2.5 megabyte file turned into a 300kb file. What do I do? Is there any other way to save it?

What kind of image file type did you start with? RAW? JPEG? TIFF?

What kind of image file type are you export (saving) to? JPEG? TIFF?

If JPEG, are you reducing the quality of the image or keeping it at 100?

Did you reduce the size of the image (size reduction, not cropping)?

Lightroom really doesn't do anything to the original image file so that is still available and untouched. Lightroom doesn't manipulate the original image at pixel level, all you adjustments are applied to a copy during the export process. The original image is preserved.

[karen_s]

My guess is you are exporting for a web size or email which will make a rather small file.

First, make sure you select "Export ..." in the main drop down menu. This should launch the export pop-up panel. Check your "File Settings" and "Image Settings." For "File Settings", make sure the quality slider is at 100. In the "Image Settings" box, set the resolution to 240-300. (240 is usually good for general photo printing.) Your file may then come out rather large (mine come out around 8-10mb which is overkill for smaller prints) so to get it to a around 2mb, work in the "Resize to Fit" area and constrain the height and width.

Once you get the settings you like, you can save them as a preset for future use. It's a real time saver.

I am not an expert in the exact settings to use, but these have worked very well for me so far.