Shoot raw? Throw away the exported JPEG

Friday 30 May 2025, 22:44 by Nando Harmsen | 3,738 views | 3 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Do you use Lightroom or a similar programme? Do you shoot raw? Then you do not need to keep a JPEG after editing. Delete all JPEG files when you no longer need them.

Throwing away JPEG photos sounds unwise, but let me explain the idea behind it. The aim is to improve the efficiency and findability of your photos. And to prevent too many of the same images on your computer.

This is how I work. I shoot exclusively in raw image format and use Lightroom Classic as my photo database. This means that all the photos I take are imported into the programme and catalogued.

The latter means a logical organisation by subject, type, or kind of photo. This is done through a consistent organisation of the raw images on the hard drive, collections in Lightroom Classic, and of course the use of keywords.

The raw images in a neat, systematic folder structure. Use Lightroom to organise them further and to link keywords to them.
Using this system, every photo can be found effortlessly through Lightroom Classic. That is the main purpose of this programme. The condition is that you are consistent in following your workflow when importing your photos.

You can then select and edit the raw files until the photos are to your liking. Once that is done, you are finished. There is no need to export to JPEG until you need the photos. For example, for use on social media, for a client, or for another purpose.

If a JPEG is needed, you export to JPEG at that point. NEVER add this export to your catalogue, unless you have a very good reason. If you do, the photo will appear twice in the Lightroom catalogue: as a raw file and as a JPEG.

Make sure you export in the format you are going to use. Choose the dimensions in pixels, a print resolution if desired, and sRGB for JPEGs. Export to a temporary folder on your hard drive so you always know where they end up.

Specific export settings for a particular purpose. Once the photo has been exported, it has served its purpose. Do not tick the option to add the photo to your catalogue as well, to prevent cluttering your catalogue.
You can then use the JPEG images for the purpose you have in mind. Send them, use them to design an album, email them to friends, or put them on social media. Once you have done that, you can delete the JPEG images. They have served their purpose.

Why delete them? Because you no longer need them. The next time you want to use the same photos, it will be in a different format or at a different resolution. It is better and easier to export them again from the original edited raw file.

I do not keep JPEGs. After all, I have the RAW files. JPEGs go into a temporary folder and are deleted after use. They have served their purpose.
If you need to use the photos again, you can find them in the Lightroom catalogue. Collections and keywords make this quick and easy. It is infinitely more efficient than searching through folders full of hundreds or thousands of exported JPEG images on your hard drive.

By doing everything from Lightroom and exporting the images when you need them, you ensure that you use a single system. Keeping a separate folder alongside it with all the exported JPEG images only makes things messy and confusing.

I have used Lightroom Classic as an example. But this principle works in the same way for all other software that also uses a catalogue.

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About the author

Nando Harmsen has been photographing for more than 40 years. He specialises in wedding photography and landscape photography. Nando also gives talks, workshops, masterclasses and photo trips, and regularly reviews new and interesting equipment.

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3 comments

mousquito wrote on Tuesday 3 June 2025 at 10:37 | reply
wat mij betreft preek je voor je eigen parochie, maw ik doe dit ook. ik exporteer enkel de foto's die ik op dat moment nodig heb en 1 maal in de maand kuis ik de tijdelijke folder op. Het is inderdaad zo dat ik de foto's soms eerst in een kleinere resolutie exporteer om dan door te sturen naar de "klant" die geeft dan zijn mening en zegt welke worden gebruikt voor welke doeleind, ik krijg dan enkel de nummertjes door met commentaar. Dan gaan ze echt geexporteerd worden. Daarom ook dat ik moet zien welke ik weggooi bij het opruimen. Heb ik al feedback gehad of nog niet,... dus in mijn temp-folder zijn nog subfolders terug te vinden. Mijn "klantjes" zijn famillie of mijn hobbyclub, soms ikzelf ook
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Henk Kuipers wrote on Tuesday 3 June 2025 at 12:15 | reply
Leuk om een soort bevestiging te zien van de workflow die ook bij mij in de afgelopen jaren tot stand is gekomen. Op een soortgelijke manier ga ik namelijk zelf ook te werk.
De folderstructuur is weliswaar iets anders (yyyy-mm-dd <foto event benaming> en in plaats van lightroom gebruik ik DarkTable (ik ben nu eenmaal geen Windows fan).
Exporteren naar jpg doe ik steeds vaker in schermformaat (16:9) omdat steeds meer foto's op scherm worden bekeken (vooral ook bij de bespreking binnen de fotoclub). Bij de opnames probeer ik daar ook al zoveel mogelijk rekening mee te houden.
Deze manier van werken bevalt ook mij tot op heden zeer goed.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

Tim Groeneveld wrote on Wednesday 4 June 2025 at 16:30 | reply
Ik heb al jaren weinig jpg's meer op mijn harde schijf staan. Ik exporteer rechtreeks high-res jpegs naar de site waar ik mijn reportages oplever. Hier heeft die site een plugin voor in Lightroom. Als ik specifieke foto's nodig heb, bijvoorbeeld voor het maken van een album, download ik ze van die site. Ze zijn daar door de klant gemarkeerd. Ik download ze naar een tijdelijke folder die ik eens in de zoveel tijd weer leeg gooi.
Als ik andere jpg's nodig heb voor andere doeleinden kan ik ze snel alsnog een keer exporteren.
This comment was written in another language and has not been translated yet.

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Shoot raw? Throw away the exported JPEG

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