Today’s Question: In your answer about the exported JPEG copies that were added to the catalog and didn’t sort in the correct order, you didn’t mention why the exported copies might be added to the catalog [in Lightroom Classic]. Is there any real reason to do this? I didn’t realize it was an option, and my exported photos are never added to my catalog.
Tim’s Quick Answer: The only reason to add a photo to the current catalog when exporting is to continue managing the derivative image in the context of Lightroom Classic. For example, if you export a photo for purposes of sending to a printer, you may want to retain that derivative copy so you can easily send the exact same image again later.
More Detail: I generally don’t add exported images to my Lightroom Classic catalog. That’s because those derivative copies are generally intended for some temporary purpose, I don’t want the additional clutter of those “extra” files in my catalog, and if I need to export the same image again I normally want to be sure that any changes I’ve made since the previous export are included in the new export.
That said, many photographers do prefer to add at least some derivative images back to their Lightroom Classic catalog. This can be done by turning on the “Add to This Catalog” checkbox in the Export Location section of the Export dialog. Note that in general when using this option you may want to choose the “Same folder as original photo” option from the “Export To” popup so the derivative image will be stored in the same folder alongside the original it is based on.
As noted above, one of the reasons you may want to add an exported image to the catalog is to be able to have access to the exact same version of an image. For example, if you offer images for sale as prints, it is common to retain a specific print version of the image so you know the print will be based on the exact same file with the exact same appearance very time you print the image.
My recommendation is to consider whether you’re creating a derivative copy that you want to continue to manage in your catalog with the ability to access that exact version of the image, or whether the derivative is for a temporary purpose that doesn’t require the image to be added back to the catalog. For example, if you’re exporting a JPEG copy to post to social media sites, there probably isn’t a reason to retain that derivative copy in your catalog.
