Today’s Question: I have JPEG copies of my raw captures, which I created by exporting to the same folder and added to the catalog. However, when I sort the images by capture time, the JPEGs are all at the end of the list of thumbnails rather than alongside the related raw capture. Why isn’t the sort working for exported copies?
Tim’s Quick Answer: The most likely explanation here is that the images were exported with limited metadata, so that there isn’t a value for the capture time in metadata and the image is therefore sorted based on the date it was created instead of the capture time of the original image.
More Detail: When you export photos from Lightroom Classic, you have several options for which metadata will be included in the derivative copy created as part of being exported. If you choose an option other than “All Metadata”, some metadata fields will be left blank in the exported copy.
For example, if you choose “Copyright & Contact Info Only” from the Include popup in the Metadata section of the Export dialog, only specific metadata fields related to copyright and contact information (from IPTC metadata) will be included. All EXIF metadata from the camera will be excluded, for example, which includes things like the camera equipment and settings fields, as well as the capture time.
Therefore, if you want to include the capture time in metadata for your exported images (including exported copies that you add back to the catalog) you’ll need to include EXIF metadata, which means choosing one of two options from the Include popup when exporting. If you choose the “All Metadata” option then all metadata will be included unless it is otherwise excluded, such as if you also then turn on the “Remove Person Info” or “Remove Location Info” checkboxes. If you choose the “All Except Camera Raw Info” option, then all metadata will be included (other than special exceptions) except for the settings for adjustments you applied in the Develop module.
Note, by the way, that if EXIF metadata is included, that does mean that in addition to capture time all other metadata from your camera will be included, such as the specific equipment and camera settings that were used. Also note that it is possible to always exclude specific keywords from metadata on export if you turn on the “Include on Export” checkbox in the Edit Keyword Tag dialog, which you can access by right-clicking on a keyword in the Keyword List and choosing “Edit Keyword Tag” from the popup menu.
