Why do my Lightroom 3 originals look edited, and how do I keep the original version?
Asked 10/29/2010
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I import photos into Lightroom 3 and organize them in a parent folder. After editing, I export the edited version to a subfolder because I want to keep the edited files separate from the originals. But when I return to the parent folder in Lightroom, the photo appears edited instead of showing the untouched original. It seems like Lightroom may have overwritten the original. Is there a setting I need to change, or is this just how Lightroom displays edited images?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
9
The reason your "originals" look like the edited version is due to the way Lightroom works. By default, when importing, Lightroom puts a copy of your original import in its catalog. No matter what you do with your images in lightroom, there is already always an unmodified copy of the original.
Lightroom does non-destructive editing by default. You can always, at any time, get back to your unmodified original images as they were straight out of the camera. To do so, go into Develop mode, and find your history. The first entry in the history list should be "Import (mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss XM)". Selecting that entry will take you back to the unmodified original.

You can also use snapshots to give you point-in-time recovery options. You can snapshot before you ever make any edits, to create a second copy of your original image. Additionally, you can make snapshots at any time throughout your editing process. Selecting a snapshot will instantly revert your image back to that state. Every action, including selecting a snapshot, will be another entry in your history list, so even selecting a snapshot can be undone.
Generally speaking, you don't really need to manually manage originals and backups and the like. I was a bit confused by this when I first started using Lightroom as well, but once I figured out how it worked, I was able to greatly simplify my workflow. Whenever I import a shoot, I organize/tag/keyword, develop, then print. Once that is done, I close Lightroom and let it back up my catalog. I have a backup job set up in Windows that lets me perform differential backups on the location where I specifically choose to import my photos. This makes sure I have everything backed up, including my originals, my lightroom catalog and all its settings, my lightroom presets, as well as my edited image versions. I also use the "Open in Photoshop" command to open copies of my images in Photoshop for editing. This automatically stacks the image edited by lightroom with the copy I edit in Photoshop, and keeps them in the same folder. All of my images and any metadata associated with them are backed up with two simple jobs on a daily (or more frequent) basis.
Originally by user124. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user124
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
This is normal Lightroom behavior. Lightroom uses non-destructive editing, so your original file is not overwritten when you make edits in Lightroom.
What you’re seeing in the library is Lightroom’s preview of the photo with your edits applied. The original capture is still there unchanged.
To view or return to the untouched version:
- Go to the Develop module
- Open the History panel
- Click the first entry, usually labeled "Import"
That restores the image to its original, unedited state. You can also create snapshots before editing if you want easy restore points for different versions.
Exporting to a subfolder creates a new output file, but Lightroom will still show the current edit settings for the cataloged original unless you reset or step back in History. So there usually isn’t a missing setting—Lightroom is just showing your edits non-destructively rather than changing the source file itself.
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