Re: Where are the RAW files?
When you Import files into Lightroom, and in this case you are importing RAW files, then LR knows about them, and adds them to the database.
When you modify the files, and Export it as a JPG (in this case), then LR doesn't keep "track" of those, which you surmised.
The reason is you didn't import them. If you re-imported them all, then it would. Otherwise, what you export out, isn't "logged".
I see that some would think it is a bad thing, but it doesn't bother me. LR is still keeping track of the RAW files, and it still knows what I did to them.
If you want to make different images from the same "master" image, you can do that. You do NOT have to copy the image. Doing that will eat up more hard drive space. You can and should use a "virtual copy".
If you right-click on an image (in Library or Develop modules), an option about in the middle of the menu is to Create a Virtual Copy. Choose that.
You can tell it is a virtual copy because in the lower left corner of that image, there is a "page curl". It is just a copy, but you can do all your normal image changes and export it or whatever.
Why? One popular advantage to virtual copies is in B&W conversion. You take the images as color files. Make virtual copies of them, and convert them to B&W. Now you have inside of Lightroom, sort of a RAW file for color and another for B&W.
You can have as many virtual copies of an image as you want. Make one and change the WB. Make another and make it B&W, Make another and move the color sliders wildly. Another can have....
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