Prepping Files Using Lightroom
(Exporting a Lightroom catalog + Smart Previews)
*Photos courtesy of Benjamin Clifford.
Step-by-step instructions for exporting a Lightroom catalog + Smart Previews:
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Open your catalog in Lightroom Classic. Please be sure you're using Lightroom Classic versions 11, 12, or 13, as we do not accept earlier versions of Lightroom.
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Select the images you'd like us to edit. Select all by clicking on one image and then pressing CMD-A (Mac) or CTRL-A (Windows).
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*Optional step* (If you have any image you've already edited in your Lightroom catalog, please select those as well and label them in green so we can use them as editing reference. You can do this by right clicking on the image and selecting 'Set Color Label', then select 'Green'. You do not need to include the total amount of green images in the total image quantity when you submit an order with us).
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Then go to 'File' in the upper left of Lightroom.
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Once you're in the 'File' tab, go down to 'Export as Catalog'. A window should pop up, go ahead and name the Catalog whatever you'd like.
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At the bottom of this window, you should see 3 check boxes. Please be sure to check only the box for 'Build / Include Smart Previews'. Make sure all other boxes are unchecked. I'll include a screenshot of what this looks like!
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On the left-hand side of this window, you can select where you're saving the files to. Please make sure they are saved to the Desktop of your computer.
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Go ahead and click 'Save' and a folder will be created on your Desktop.
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Please be sure that both the Lightroom Catalog + Smart Previews are in the folder, please also include the .lrcat-data file (Smart Previews end in 'Smart Previews.lrdata' and a Lightroom Catalog ends in '.lrcat').
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Right-click the folder and select "Compress Items" if you're on a Mac/Apple. If you're using Windows you'd right-click the folder and select 'Send to' and then select 'Compressed (zipped) folder'.
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***Please note, you'll only receive the option to upload your files after you've filled out the order form and paid for your order!***
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We've added a new feature on our website that allows you to upload a zipped file directly to our server, so you can skip getting a link for us entirely! :) You would just need to make sure your files are zipped into one zip file, and that the zip contains the Lightroom catalog, Smart Previews, and .lrcat-data. You can do this by going to your Account Dashboard, clicking 'Upload Images', then clicking the 'Upload Images' button to be taken to our uploader. From there, just upload your zip file. :)
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Or if you'd prefer, you can take the newly created zipped folder and upload it to either Dropbox, WeTransfer (wetransfer.com), or Google Drive. You can find an article that further details how to get a shareable link here! You can then upload this link directly to the website by going to your Account Dashboard/Orders Panel and selecting "Upload Images".
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Please do NOT rename your original unedited RAW files after sending us your catalog. If you'd like to rename your files, please do so before creating a catalog to send us. :)