Lightroom Question on RAW and JPG

[patrick9x9]

Ok so here's my question. i take RAW+JPG in camera. Put them all in a folder. load that folder into LR. on the thumbnails at the bottom i don't see 2 separate files like in the folder in windows explorer or when i open them in CS5, its one image that says RAW+JPG. So my question is when i click on that and start editing am i editing from the RAW state or the JPG? Should i separate the RAW and JPG files in different folders and import only the RAW files to LR? Thanks.

[Andrew76]

If you go to "Edit" then hit "Preferences", on the first page, which is called "General", you can click a box about 1/3 of the way down that says "Treat JPEG files next to RAW files as separate images". Then, when you import, you will see both side by side. If you only see one image, I'm pretty sure it's the RAW file that you see. Hope that helps!

[patrick9x9]

That helps a great deal. Thank you very much.

[patrickjohnson]

When you shoot RAW you have access to sharpening and noise algorithms in a program like Lightroom that are way more powerful than those found in your camera.It’s easier to work through large batches of images when you’re using a workflow centric program like Lightroom or Aperture.

[HenkB]

...Should i separate the RAW and JPG files in different folders and import only the RAW files to LR? Thanks.

"Should" has nothing to do with this. It's a matter of taste and comfort. For some the Raw + Jpg feature gives the photographer jpg product to immediately send while retaining the raw as a negative or work file. For others, if the shot is only marginally interesting, the raw will be trashed and the jpg retained as a record. I imagine other schemes must be legion, as well. I started shooting Raw + Jpg (on the D70 which only offered the +jpg in basic) and found after a while that I really had no use for the out-of-camera jpgs. With Lightroom it is easy enough to generate the jpgs I need at the most appropriate sizes for their use from the edited (or unedited) files.