DropYourFiles

Blog · October 29, 2026

Lightroom export settings for clients.

“Can you send ones I can post? These take forever to load.” Each file is 38 MB.

For finals your client will keep and print, export JPEG at full size, quality 90 or higher, in sRGB. For posting, a second set at 2048 px on the long edge is plenty. Adobe’s own advice is sRGB for photos shared online, so save anything wider, like Adobe RGB, for a print lab that asks for it.

By Vitaly Kibenko

The finals, at full size.

  1. File Naming

    Pick a Rename To option that uses custom text and a sequence, type the job’s name in Custom Text, and set Start Number if the count shouldn’t begin at 1. Your client can then say “Smith-0142” instead of “the one by the window”.

  2. File Settings

    Image Format JPEG, Quality 90 to 100, Color Space sRGB. Leave Limit File Size To unticked.

  3. Image Sizing

    Resize to Fit unticked, so every photo goes out at full size. Leave Resolution as it is: without a resize it changes no pixels, it tells a printer how big to print, and Adobe calls 180 to 480 ppi suitable for inkjet.

  4. Output Sharpening

    Matte Paper or Glossy Paper if you know prints are coming, Screen if not, at Standard. Adobe notes this is added on top of any sharpening from Develop.

  5. Metadata

    Include the copyright and contact info and nothing more. That leaves out the camera details and the location, which matters for anything shot at a client’s home.

  6. Watermarking

    Off. A final is the clean file.

A smaller set for posting.

Same settings, with Resize to Fit on Long Edge at 2048 pixels, Quality around 80, and Sharpen For Screen. The Lightroom desktop app has the same size built in: its JPG (Small) choice caps the long edge at 2048 pixels.

Save both as export presets, so the next job is two clicks. Sending photos from Lightroom to a client has every panel in one table, and the steps from the export to the link.

One export, two sizes.

If you deliver on DropYourFiles, export the full-size set and stop there. When your client downloads, they choose Original, the file you exported with its own name, or Web size, a 1600 px JPEG made for them (web size vs high resolution explains the two). Your client gets something to post without a second export from you, and the full-size file still arrives without losing quality.

Questions.

What color space should I export for clients?

sRGB, unless a print lab asks for something else. Adobe advises sRGB for photos shared online.

What size should I export photos for clients?

Full size for the finals, with Resize to Fit off. For posting, 2048 pixels on the long edge.

What JPEG quality should I use?

90 to 100 for the finals. Around 80 for a set meant for posting, which keeps the files far smaller.

Should I send TIFF or JPEG?

JPEG, unless the contract or a print lab asks for TIFF. Lightroom Classic exports both, as well as PNG, DNG and the original file.

How should I name exported photos for a client?

The job’s name and a number, set in Lightroom Classic’s File Naming panel with Rename To and Custom Text. A number gives your client a plain way to say which photo they mean.

Keep reading.

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