Lightroom - reducing file size

Mozziephotography

Mozziephotography

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Name
Stephen
Edit My Images
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Working my way steadily through my catalogue in Lightroom. Trying to re-organize it in such a way that I can find things more easily and get rid of "stuff" that I know I don't want any more. There are a number of folders which contain fell and road race images. Is it possible to reduce the size of each dng or should I just export them as jpegs and ditch the originals?
 
The DNG's are your original raw files, do you need to delete them? Lightroom stores the changes as a delta file and applies this to the original raw. When you export these are applied to the jpeg etc.

If you're running out of room why not add another disk, even an external USB and move the older files to this using the folder view.
 
I've already taken up half of a 3TB external HD. That's why I'm being brutal with some of my work. Can't see why anyone would want an image from 4 years ago at a fell race. Sod's law, if I wipe them ... Think the best thing to do is to save them as jpegs and free up more room. The only ones I really want to save are holidays. If I can find time, save the best dozen or so from each shoot and jpeg the rest.
 
Other stuff.

1. you can store original RAW files inside the DNG (.NEF, .CR2, etc.) If you did that (most people don't, so you probably didn't), then you could remove those to free up space.
2. there are DNG compression options, including lossless and lossy (very new). The lossy gives you smaller sizes but obviously is a compromise, might be a middle ground between dumping the DNG and keeping the JPG, and keeping the DNG.
 
mossienet said:
I've already taken up half of a 3TB external HD. That's why I'm being brutal with some of my work. Can't see why anyone would want an image from 4 years ago at a fell race. Sod's law, if I wipe them ... Think the best thing to do is to save them as jpegs and free up more room. The only ones I really want to save are holidays. If I can find time, save the best dozen or so from each shoot and jpeg the rest.
Click to expand...

LOL, I've got about 12Tb of storage in my PC. I actually go back over images from time to time, mostly the cars and racing, but also from football matches and family shots.

Not long ago I sold an image of a seascape from 3 years ago to show the damage a storm had done to a local landmark. Loved lightroom for that. I was able to find it and email it within minutes, getting me the sale :)
 
Personally, I am brutal. Unless a photo is either worth printing and selling or has emotional significance, I will delete it. Any photo I thought was worth keeping five years ago and have not since looked at gets deleted.

That goes for my film negatives as well. After 45 years of film photography I only have a few hundred negatives.
 
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