Exporting To CD/DVD from Lightroom

This post is in response to a question presented by a reader who asked what's the best way to export to a CD/DVD from LR.  The simple answer is:  just the same as you export to the hard drive.  But the long winded answer necessary to fill space on this blog is:  there is a difference in how you do that!  burn to a cd/dvd is a little bit longer process than simply  burning to the hard drive.

Let me point out first that this option is not available in the 64-bit version of LR, only the 32-bit version.  This is true in LR 3, I'm not sure about previous versions.


As you select EXPORT from the lower left portion of the screen in the LIBRARY module (or from the File option on the tool bar), you will get this window:

Please note the pull-down box with the destination options were opened for this blog and will usually only display the current selection You'll have to click to open the pull-down menu.

After selecting the CD/DVD option and making any other selections you need to make prior to exporting, choose the EXPORT button near the bottom right of the window.

This will pull up this window:

As may be obvious, this is where you select the drive to which the files will be exported.  Many computers have multiple CD or DVD burners and here's where you make your choice along with selecting the burn speed.

 Next this window will appear:

This is your chance to label the CD/DVD.  Enter the label or simply select CONTINUE.


LR will then show on the top left portion of the screen this indicating that the files are being prepared before writing them to the disk.

Then, the last step, the files will be burned to the disk.

After this process is complete, LR will return you to the LIBRARY module.

If you are using a 64-bit version of LR, forget the above!  Simply EXPORT the files to a location on your hard drive and then later copy them to a CD/DVD using Windows or your Apple operating system's file handling features.

As always, I hope this helps!  Let me know if you have any questions.

My Visit to the Windy City

I'm back sports fans, after an extended hiatus!

Part of the hiatus was due to a trip I took to Chicago to attend a meeting related to my day job.  I wasn't particularly looking forward to this meeting, mostly because I don't consider myself to be a big city kind of guy, whatever that means.  The last meeting of this organization I attended was held in Santa Fe New Mexico which is a mecca for photographers.  I didn't view Chicago this way and didn't even want to take a camera.

But, what is a photographer without a camera, so I decided to make the effort to carry a camera and a couple of lenses on the off-chance that I would get an opportunity to get some images of the concrete jungle.

And am I ever glad I took it!  It turned out to be a great opportunity for photography and some different kinds of images for me.  Certainly most of my images turned out to be skyline and architectural but, let's face it, skyline images done right can be awe inspiring.

A cruise on the Chicago River was the perfect place to capture the buildings and skyline.  The last leg of the cruise took us right out to the opening into Lake Michigan and far enough away that I was able to capture images for a panorama that I love:

And the ever-popular Willis tower (formerly the Sears Tower):

A late night walking excursion along the river gave me an opportunity to try some new tricks and get the images below:

The trick about the night shots?  Set your camera's white balance to shade.  It makes the images more golden than it probably would be but makes the image more desirable in my opinion.

If anyone is interested in how to do the panorama stitched shot, let me know and I'll blog it!

Later!