How to convert raw files into jpeg in lightroom

If you are new to using Lightroom , it can be a daunting editing software at first to use. But after a few hours of use, you can start to see the simplicity behind its design. I know it took me quite some time to get a hang of.

In this guide I am using Lightroom 5 as my workflow, but these same steps should apply to almost any version of Lightroom that you are using. Why are we striving to degrade the quality of our shots? Surely we should be trying to keep as many details intact as possible, right?

Well…yes and no. Raw files are perfectly fine for us photographers, as we have the complex, often expensive software capable of displaying them — thanks Lightroom. Converting our raws into JPEGs allows others to view the images, which is kind of the idea of photography. Raws contain way more information than JPEGs, which unfortunately means that they take up a lot more storage space. Compressing these files into the JPEG format frees up tons of storage real estate.

If your device has been recognized, it will be featured in this list. Lightroom will then open a menu displaying thumbnails of the images stored on said device. There are many reasons why you would want to convert these files into JPEG, the main one being so you can actually upload and share your photos online!

Before you can convert anything into a different file type, you need to select it. You can select files in your filmstrip or the Library Module, depending on your style. You can tell that an image is selected based on the highlight around it. If you want to select multiple files at once , hold the Command or Control key and click between your desired images.

There is no way to convert your files entirely inside the program. Instead, you need to export your file to a new location where it will be converted. Clicking on the drop-down arrow, select JPEG from the list of file types. Now make sure your quality slider is set to for the best export quality. Now that your file settings are in order, you need to tell Lightroom where you want your converted JPEG file to go. At the top of the export window, find the Export Location panel. In the Export To option, click the drop-down menu and pick between the different options.

In this case, I will make life easy and select Desktop as my export location. Now you can decide whether you want your file to export into a subfolder or just appear as a file outside of a folder. Now you have an export location set and a subfolder created specifically for your converted JPEG file. Once the process is complete, you will find your converted file saved in your specified export destination! As you probably noticed, there are a lot of other export options available during this process.