Please help - Exporting with capture date/time metadata

[mark10ri]

Please help! My partner and I work weddings and we would like to edit our own work for eachother and then merge. However, when we export the new files have a "created" and "modified" date of the day we exported, not the original wedding date. Can some one help me fix this? I would be forever grateful!!! Thank you in advance!

Mark

[erro]

You are probably looking at the "file" time stamps, and since an export is creating a new file it will have the timestamp of the time you did the export.

However, the timestamp in EXIF should be correct, assuming you don't strip of the metadata inthe export.

[Brad Snyder]

...and the issue being that photo software 'understands' the capture date, and that OS browser (Explorer/Finder) in general, does not.

I think if you tell us a little more about your exact process, between partners, we can come up with a solution. E.g., to Lr "guru's" there's no clear reason for you to be exporting and using Windows Explorer at some intermediate stage. The reasons for that are part of what we'll need to understand and help.

[Tomer]

...and the issue being that photo software 'understands' the capture date, and that OS browser (Explorer/Finder) in general, does not.

I think if you tell us a little more about your exact process, between partners, we can come up with a solution. E.g., to Lr "guru's" there's no clear reason for you to be exporting and using Windows Explorer at some intermediate stage. The reasons for that are part of what we'll need to understand and help.

Hi,

Before working with LR, I used to work with other editing tools which also carried batch abilities. One of the good things there was the option to "preserve last-modified date" during batch convertion (which is exactly like Export as we're creating a new file).
The thing is that I used to catalogue my pics/files based on the date/time on which I took the picture. When exporting via LR, the export process (as you've stated) give the new file the export timestamp so eventually in the OS level, the date/time has been changed. That prevents me from identifying the date on which I took the picture (during my filing which is done out of LR).
Trying to manipulate the name of the file to make it easier is not helping..

Any chance we can configure LR to preserve the last modified date while exporting (so the file timestamp won't change ?)

Thanks,

Tomer

PS. as example for a SW which does what I need check ACDSee (since it's early releases and till today)..

[Jim Wilde]

Hi Tomer, welcome to the forum.

I'm not sure I fully understand what you are saying, though I suspect you yourself aren't fully understanding the file export process. When you export a file from Lightroom (and assuming you choose not to minimise the metadata), the Win 7 operating system when writing the file will show a file creation date equal to the date/time that the export was performed. This is logical, it is after all a newly created file. At the same time, also because it is a brand new file, the date modified will be the same as the date created. However, because you have not minimised the metadata, the date the picture was taken is also preserved and can be displayed in the Explorer file properties box, or in a dedicated exif viewer, or even in the simple Explorer file management view (not by default, but you can customise the display to show a vast array of file metadata).

An example....I have just exported a picture originally taken last year, and set my Explorer view to include Date Created, Date Modified, Date Taken. Here's the result:



Does that answer your need? If not I'm still not understanding what you mean by "preserve the last modified date while exporting (so the file timestamp won't change)". Can you clarify....

[clee01l]

An example....I have just exported a picture originally taken last year, and set my Explorer view to include Date Created, Date Modified, Date Taken. Here's the result:



Does that answer your need? If not I'm still not understanding what you mean by "preserve the last modified date while exporting (so the file timestamp won't change)". Can you clarify....

The file creation date and the last modified date are each OS time stamps and AFAIK, applied by the OS API when a file is written new or changed. While LR or other applications might spoof this date it is not valid to do so and it might be illegal in some juried photo shows
Using the Explorer view that Jim has provided, you can even sort on any column displayed including Date Taken.

It should also be noted that LR is first and foremost an image manager. Everything you need to manage your images is available in LR and there is no need or reason to use Explorer/Finder or any other file manager to manage images that you have entrusted to LR and the LR catalog.