larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I agree with pithydoug. There should be an option within your menus to tell the camera not to start over with the numbering every time. I do not shoot a D5500, so cannot give you specific guidance, but look in the Shooting menu or the Setup menu for an option that will allow files to be numbered continuously without resetting to zero every time you format.

Hopefully someone with your same camera will chime in and provide more specific instruction.

Larry

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Inadvertent duplicate message deleted.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

I have a D5500 and there is indeed a way to have it run consecutive numbers up to 9,999. Go to the "Shooting Menu" and in that, to "Reset shooting menu." Select "No" as that option.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

Sorry, I left some out. Go to page 255 in your manual and it runs you through the file number sequence options.

mkaplan519

I agree with fourlocks. Change your camera setting so you get 9,999 pictures. When I import them to Lightroom, they get imported to a folder by date ex:2017-07-15. I change it (In Lightroom) by adding on the event ex: 2017-07-15 Dylan's Baseball Tournament. By using the keywords in Lightroom, you can find any photos you are looking for. Lightroom can have the same photo name more than once as long as they are in different places. There is no right way, just do it the way you feel comfortable and do it consistently.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

As to duplicate names, see your camera's Reference Manual, page 240.
As to file system: I don't use Lr, but have a very simple file system in File Explorer (Windows Explorer):
Year -> Month -> Event . With events (like vacation) that span two months, filed under the month it began.

aellman Loc: Boston MA

I like to have an abbreviated subject name and date as part of the filename. I record the date as 071617. I you have more than one of the same shot, add a number, like subject1_061717.As you can see, I use underscores to separate items in the name.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

There are many ways to handle the file-naming. First, you should go into your camera's menu and find the place where you can change the file naming. This way you will not have it re-setting the numbers with re-formatting the card. With Nikon cameras, the typical file name is DSC0001 on up to DSC9999. If you reach 9999 it will turn over to 0001 again. You can have it that way, which makes it possible to know by the file name if this is an older or a more recent photo. All other information about the photo can be entered into the Metadata as Keywords.

If you want to personalize the set-up, there are many ways to do it. I have two cameras, so changed the DSC to 73Z for my D7000 and 81Z for my D810. With only one camera, you can choose something else, such as initials, the year, etc. If you want to do it differently, just change it in the camera menu. Short is better, which is why I leave the numbers part of the file name alone. Pro photographers will often change the file name to reflect a particular shooting session, including date, or whatever is appropriate. Not being a pro, I do not bother with any of that.

When your photo numbers reach 9999, then you will need to think about making any additional changes. Because the metadata of each photo is unique, LR will not mix up the photos. But for your sake, it is best NOT to have any duplicate numbers.

It can also be done during import by looking on the right-hand side and designating a file name. The drop-down menu offers several options. I do not use this because with two cameras I would forget to switch and it would get all mixed up! But with one camera you can set it and leave it checked.

Once you settle on how you want to name your files, you can go into the metadata of each photo that has a duplicate number and change it. Just be sure to be consistent and then will work out for you. [Look at other metadata to see when each was taken, which will help with re-numbering. You can first go to View, choose Sort, and then choose Capture Time - this puts them in order of when taken, including both date and time of day. Just make sure you remember that it will automatically choose Descending, so the oldest are at the end, newest at the beginning.]

NEXT is to decide on a system for your overall Catalog! This is also a very individual choice, based on preference and what is practical. A Pro will order photos by shoot, date, etc. My choice is what I call the "filing cabinet system". I have different "file drawers", which are folders for the broad topics such as Maine Photos, Vermont Photos, People, Natural World, etc. Inside there are sub-folders for individual topics such as Harbors in Maine, Rivers and Lakes in Maine, Bennington Area, Pownal Area, Rivers and Lakes in Vermont. Within each of these sub-folders there are folders for the years these images were taken. The ways to divide things up so it is easy to find them are many, which is why it is such an individual preference. [Many rely on keywords to find images, but I do not because it never seems to work for me.]

Hope this helps. The information on how to adjust camera settings is in the manual, which may help clarify a lot of what people are telling you here on UHH.

Susan

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Can you change your camera to use a different name using a consecutive numbering system that doesn't start over every time you format the card? My drone camera can go either way.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I store files in folders with a name of yyyy mo and dd if needed, plus a short description like Bryce Canyon. LR's data base catalogue system keeps track of folder names as well as file names. You could have exactly the same file name for different photos in different folders and LR would not be confused. I use Elements which uses a similar catalogue system to LR's. lots of my scanned photos have the same file name, like scan0009. So if I do an Export as new file I'll do a rename, say starting with 1. That way every file would end up in a sequence of 1-01scan1009.jpg, 1-02scan …, and so on.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

I keep the file names assigned by the camera, and I have my camera set to continue the numbering sequence. That way I don't come up with duplicate names except every 10,000 images. Why reinvent the wheel? I do not allow LR to rename anything, but once I have a "title" for an image, I will add that info to the finished image. I have found after decades of shooting that applying year divisions gets complicated. After awhile I cannot remember what year I was where and shot what - particularly when it's a shot at a place I frequent a lot! And I find that using subject names for folders instead of locations makes finding a particular image a lot easier.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

I see no need to name every picture. I just leave the name using what the camera generates. My directory structure is similar to yours. I would be
2017-->
smith wedding date
xyz Zoo date
xyz Zoo date
etc

The navigator plane in mine sorts by subject then date. I can visually get to things in a hurry and often not need the search. Anyway tomaytow tomootoo


I can use keywords if i want find the elephant using the search. I don't care that the file is named L1234a123.cr2

DaleE

I use ViewNX2 (Free Download) to transfer my pictures from the camera to the computer. You can set it up to rename each picture YYYYMMDD-(Time Taken using 24 hours military time 6 spaces--132400=1:24PM) then the name the camera gave it. I use JPG. The number from the camera starts over after 9999. On some I add the name of those in the picture (20170704-223423DSC_8935John&AliceFireWorks.JPG--"10:34PM" You can sort by name and all pictures stay in order taken.). I create files such as (1968 01Jan and 2017 07Jul, this way all files stay in order.)

Pumble

Just a thought that I haven't seen anyone comment on. Why are you re-formatting the cards to begin with? When you transfer the files off the card, the card will be blank and the numbering should simply continue. There is no real purpose to reformat the card unless there is something wrong with the file structure on it. It isn't like the NSA is going to ask for it so that they can recover deleted files. Just a thought.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Big time disagree. Over time the cards get into problems. You can never go wrong with with formatting your cards. You can get into trouble not doing it. The files taken off the card are really still there, the software just tweaks a bit or two to say it's gone. Format, zeros out the disk directory.