“Where shall I put this?”

And suddenly you’re confronted with sliders, colour spaces, file formats, and a button labelled Don’t Enlarge, which sounds like something your doctor might warn you about.

This guide cuts through all of it.

Whether you shoot film and scan your negatives, or you’re exporting digital edits for web, print, or social media, these are the export settings that keep quality high and headaches low.

1. Export Location: Where Lightroom Deposits Your Creation

There’s no holy rule here. Lightroom simply needs a destination.

You typically choose between:

• Same folder as original – tidy, sensible, very grown-up.
• Desktop – chaotic neutral.
• A forgotten external drive – for those who enjoy surprises.

Film scanners:

If your “RAWs” are actually hefty 16-bit TIFF scans, export to a separate folder. You’ll thank yourself later when you aren’t digging through 800MB scans just to find one JPEG.

2. File Naming: Keep It Simple (Future You Will Thank You)

Lightroom’s naming options look like they were designed for someone archiving ancient scrolls.

The key is clarity. Use names such as:

• Filename_Web
• Filename_Print
• Filename_Instagram

Click Edit under File Naming to build your own naming preset. Lightroom shows a preview so you can confirm it doesn’t end up as:

“IMG_0058_final_final_USE_THIS_ONE(5).jpg”

3. File Settings: Where the Real Decisions Live

This is the part that actually affects how your images look after leaving Lightroom.

Best settings for the web

• JPEG
• sRGB
• Quality: 85% (Visually identical to 100%, half the file size)

Best settings for print

• TIFF
• sRGB or AdobeRGB
• 300 ppi
• Quality 100%

Film scanning note

If you scan negatives and edit digitally, export a TIFF archive version for safekeeping and a JPEG 85% copy for sharing.

There’s no visible difference online, and your laptop won’t sound like it’s trying to take off.

4. Image Sizing: What Actually Fits on a Screen

Digital cameras and film scanners create files enormous enough to wrap around a bus.

Instagram and most websites will simply crush them down anyway, so exporting full-size files is usually wasted effort.

Here are the ideal sizes:

Instagram

• 1080 px long edge
• 4:5 for portraits (1080 × 1350)
• 72 ppi

Websites

• 2048 px long edge
• sRGB

Printing

• Do not resize
• 300 ppi

**Important

Enable “Don’t Enlarge.”

Lightroom enlarges like someone guessing oven timings: confident, inaccurate, slightly alarming.

5. Output Sharpening: A Light Touch Works Best

Most images need a little sharpening at export.

Choose:

• Screen – Standard for web
• Matte or Glossy – Standard for print

Film shooters:

Go gentle. Grain + oversharpening = crackly concrete.

6. Metadata: What You Choose to Reveal to the World

Your metadata includes everything from ISO settings to (sometimes) GPS coordinates.

You can export:

• All metadata
• Camera info only
• Copyright only
• Or strip person/location details – recommended

Instagram strips everything regardless.

Flickr keeps most of it.

Facebook does whatever Facebook fancies that day.

7. Watermarks: Optional, Controversial, Easy to Add

Some photographers watermark like they’re signing a cheque.

Others refuse on principle.

If you want one:

• Use Edit Watermark
• Keep it subtle
• Never plaster it across someone’s face like a decal

Most people skip watermarks for prints but add them for social posts.

8. Export Presets: The Secret to Never Thinking About This Again

Set these up once. Then relax.

Instagram Preset

• JPEG / sRGB
• 85% quality
• 1080 px width
• 72 ppi
• Sharpen: Screen, Standard

Website Preset

• JPEG / sRGB
• 85% quality
• 2048 px long edge
• Sharpen: Screen, Standard
• Strip location & person metadata

High-Res Print Preset

• TIFF
• AdobeRGB or sRGB
• 300 ppi
• No resizing
• Sharpen for print (matte or glossy)

Final Thoughts

Exporting shouldn’t feel complicated.

It’s simply:

• A format (JPEG for web, TIFF for print)
• A colour space (sRGB for everything online)
• A size (1080 for IG, 2048 for websites, full-res for prints)
• A quality (85% is perfect)

Anything else is Lightroom drama.

Print what matters.

Share what makes you proud.

And never upload a full-resolution file to Instagram unless you enjoy heartbreak.

The post The Zuikography Lightroom Export Guide appeared first on Zuikography.