Today’s Question: How do I retain capture information in an image edited in Photoshop from Lightroom Classic? When I edit an image and save it either as a PSD and then look at later and open the Get Info data, it only shows the date of modification, not the capture date. Sometimes I want to find that original image and it’s tough when my catalog is so large and I’ve edited the photo a year or more later.
Tim’s Quick Answer: The derivative image created with this workflow will retain the original capture date and other metadata you had updated. You just need to use software such as Lightroom Classic (or Bridge for those not using Lightroom) rather than the operating system to view the image metadata.
More Detail: When you create a derivative image based on an original capture, such as by sending an image to Photoshop from Lightroom Classic using the Photo > Edit In command, the derivative image will inherit the metadata from the original image. That includes the EXIF metadata from the camera such as capture time, camera gear info, and exposure settings, as well as any metadata updates you’ve applied such as star ratings and keywords.
The confusion in this case comes from the fact that when you use the Get Info (Macintosh) or Properties (Windows) command to view file information in the operating system, you only see the date the file was created and the date the file was modified, not the date of capture from the camera EXIF metadata. Those dates will obviously not match the original capture date, since you are creating the derivative image after the original had been captured (potentially years afterward, for example).
The solution is to browse the image metadata for the derivative image using software such as Lightroom Classic (or Bridge), which enables you to see the original capture date that is inherited from the original image, in addition to the date the derivative file was created and modified.
Because of all this, you can locate a derivative image in Lightroom Classic (or Bridge) based on the capture date, such as by using the Capture Date option for the Sort popup on the toolbar below the grid view display. For example, if the derivative image and the original capture are in the same folder, or if you browse the All Photographs collection in the Catalog section at the top of the left panel in the Library module, the two files will appear next to each other because their capture times will match.
