Using Lightroom 5 along with third party software's and the export option?

[russellsnr]

Hi, Using Lightroom 5 along with third party software's and the export option?
When I export from Lightroom to for example Photomatix and use the option to re-import the only way I seem to be able to see the re-imported image in the film strip of L/R is if I use the All Photos option in L/R.
The problem with this is if I have say 50 images to import and work on and already have 500 images within L/R I have to look through 550 images to find the re-imported one.
I no there must be a way of re-importing an image back to the Last Imported folder in L/R where there would be only those last 50 images plus that one, but cannot figure out how to do this so any and all help gratefully received.
Thank You
Russ

[davidedric]

Don't know Photomatix, but if I create a collection and edit an image in one of the Nik modules, say, then the modified image gets returned to the collection. Could you make a Collection of your 50 images and take it from there?

Dave

Edit: If you can't get an answer here, I recommend heading over to www.lightroomforums.net where someone will surely know if it's possible to do what you want.

[DanK]

I don't use Photomatix either, but I can yell you what I do with external editors. I export the images from LR to a subdirectory of the original directory. For stacking, which i do often, I have created a preset that stores the images in the format I want (in that case, 16-bit TIFF in prophoto) in a subdirectory named 'burned for stacking'. When I am finished editing the images in the external program, I save them to that same subdirectory. I then go back into Lightroom and synchronize the parent (original) directory, which will automatically sync the subdirectory as well. LR will then display thumbnails of the new images.

It works fine, with one catch: if you don't want the files you originally exported, you have to delete them from the subdirectory (I do this in a file manager) before synching in LR. For example, when I stack images, I export as many as 25 images to the subdirectory, none of which I want to keep. I just want the new composite image, and of course I can regenerate the original exports easily. So, I keep only what I want in the subdirectory and then sync. this works well for me.

[rpcrowe]

One of the reason that I never liked Lightroom is the reason many people really like it. I never liked the Lightroom process of importing, saving and cataloging images. I also don't like the Photoshop Elements System of importing, saving and cataloging images.

I am sure that the problem is one of user error but, I am extremely comfortable with importing, saving, cataloging and exporting my images using the combination of Adobe Bridge and Photoshop CS6. I have thousands upon thousands of images and can access any one of them through my CS6 and Bridge with no problem at all. It has always been my theory that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" and my Bridge/Photoshop combination supplemented by NIK Software is certainly not broken; for my use at least.

I have a directory, sub-directory and sub-sub-directory system that works well for me.

My only problem with saving an image in my Photoshop/Bridge system was when I tried to save an image of a dog named J.J. as a JPEG. Photoshop kept changing the image name to J.JPEG. I ended up solving that problem by phonetically (BTW: shouldn't "phonetically" be spelled "foneticly" - if you are spelling, "phoenetically"; phoenetically) spelling the name, "J.J.", as JayJay.