This is a description of my Lightroom workflow.
It is not meant to be presented as the only way to do things, just something that works for me at the moment (January 2016). I have two methods of file organization. I consider Lightroom the primary method. The secondary method is just defining a folder hierarchy that enables conventional searching. I have described that at
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user_page.jsp?upnum=1595I should note that I use a PC, not a Mac or Linux. I started personal computers with an Apple IIa about 1977. When the Mac came out there was a strong market for the PC. Apple limited peripherals to Apple. The PC allowed third party peripherals. Since I was hooking up my computer to other equipment, there were many more peripherals available for the PC than there were for the Apple. Been using PCs since then.
I have started to use the color labels as a way to categorize the status of my images. No label for images that I haven't done anything to yet. A red label means I have looked at the image in the initial pass and it's worth further consideration. A yellow label means I started editing, but haven't finished it yet. A green label means the image is ready to go. A blue label means the image was sent to Photoshop for further processing, either as a single image or part of a group. The image returned from PS as a new image in the catalog has "CC15" added to the file name [edit: it's now CC17 as of November 2016] so it's distinct from the original image(s) sent to PS. I give that new image a yellow or green label, as appropriate. I also take the new image from PS and the original images sent to PS and stack them. A purple label means that the image is something that doesn't fit into any of the other categories.
The color labelling system makes it easy to determine at a glance which images need more work.
So my workflow is:
(1) Take some pictures. If I'm using multiple camera bodies, I try to remember to check the date/time on each body so they match.
(2) Take the card from the camera and insert it into the card reader. (You can also just attach your camera to your computer via a USB cable if you camera has that capability -- I prefer to take out the card).
(3) My computer is set up so that when I place a card in the reader it activates a program, Downloader Pro, which reads the card and presents on the monitor thumbnails of all the images it finds. I can select individual images, or select a group by date, or select all the images.
(3a) Downloader Pro asks me for a "job code". This can be most anything. e.g. a PO number. I enter a short text describing the subject of the photos I'm downloading. Downloader Pro can then take the files from the card and rename them during the downloading process. The files on the card retain their original name from the camera but the files that are transferred to the computer are renamed. The program has a template for the new file name that I have supplied to it in the program preferences. The new file name is [job code] [YYYYMMDD] [HHmmSSss].NEF (I shoot raw only, Nikon cameras). The file name now tells me what the shoot is about (from the "job code" ), the date (YYYYMMDD sorts numerically into chronological order), and the time. Date and time come from the EXIF data. I used to use an index number, but since I started using more than one camera body it would be difficult to assign sequential index numbers given downloads from two or more different cards. Using the time solves that problem. Note that in the format HHmmSSss, SS is the seconds and ss is hundredths of a second. I occasionally shoot bursts and the bursts can be between 5 and 14 shots/second, so the fractional second is necessary here.
(3b) Downloader Pro can then create the appropriate folder to receive the files. Again, I supply a template for the folder name and path. My choice for the folder name and path is /photos/[Year]/[Job Code]/RAW, e.g. /photos/2016/Thanksgiving 2016/RAW/[raw file names].
(3z) I should note that Lightroom has the capability of renaming files at import time. I discovered this after I had worked Downloader Pro into my workflow, so I have not changed my workflow. Moreover, I believe that Downloader Pro is more highly automated than LR when it comes to defining the folder path. I have only one text string to enter, the "Job Code". The rest is all defined by the program preferences I have entered. Another advantage of Downloader Pro is that it can use the capture time in the filename down to 0.01 second. Lightroom can use the time, but is limited to 1.0 second granularity. Having moved to a Mac in 2022, I had to write a program to emulate Downloader Pro since DP is not supported in MacOS.
(4) Once the files are downloaded to my computer, I can import them into Lightroom. I open the import dialog, find the appropriate folder with the new files. I then add the keywords appropriate to all (or at least most) of the files. Then I click on "Import". Lightroom is set to ADD files, not COPY them or MOVE them or convert to DNG. (DNG is the subject of another discussion. I have a compilation of internet postings {as of January 2015} at
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user_page.jsp?upnum=1419) . From this point on, my workflow is independent of whether or not I'm working on raw files, dng files, jpg files, tif files, or psd files. (I don't do much in video). Lightroom defaults to showing the imported images in grid view, sorted by "added order". I have not found a way to change the default, but I prefer to view them chronologically. I can change the sort order to "capture time" or to "file name" since the date/time in the file name can sort that way.
(5) Now that the pictures are in LR, I'm looking at them in the "previous import" filter of the library module. Instead of looking in the grid view I switch to loupe view so I can see a fairly large image. I then run through the images with the arrow keys. If an image looks like it has possibilities, I press "6", which gives the image a red label. When I'm done looking through those files I can proceed to editing, but first:
(5a) I go through all the photos and add additional tags where necessary. I put generic tags on all the images at import, but now I add names of people to appropriate images or whatever other descriptions could be useful (places, sub-events). If I work in grid view I can select all the images appropriate to a particular tag, add the tag, and it goes on all the images. If I'm in loupe view the tag only goes on the primary selection.
(6) If there are a lot of photos without a color label, I can filter them out so they don't distract me from the better shots. There are two ways to do this. In the Library grid view clicking on the "attribute" filter allows you to filter on the color labels. I click on the red, yellow, green labels (and blue and purple if I am using them). That will show you all the images with some color label. Another way to do this instead of clicking on all the label colors, I click only on the "unlabelled" color block (far right in the color labels). That shows me all my rejects. By hitting Ctrl-A I can highlight all of them, then hit "x" to flag them rejected. Then I can unclick the unlabelled block and click on the no flag and pick flag filters. That will hide all the unlabelled images. Flagging them as rejects doesn't reject them, it just puts that flag on. I will probably delete them later, but I leave them as is for now.
(6a) With the "good" pictures showing, I can go to the "Develop" panel and edit the pictures. During development I may find something that need further work in Photoshop. I first change the label to blue (indicating it's the basis of a Photoshop edit) and send it on to PS. When it returns, I have LR set to rename it by adding "CC15" (since I'm using the CC photography package. When the 2016 version comes out I'll change the add-on to "CC16" [edit: it jumped through CC15.5 directly to CC17]) to the file name. I generally save it as a PSD file. When it comes back from PS, the new file shows adjacent to the original file assuming I have the library grid view set to sort by either capture time or file name. I can then change the color label to green (or yellow if it needs more work). I select the original file(s) in addition to the psd file and stack them all together.
(7) Once I get through all the files I can filter on green and select all and export all as jpg. I place the jpgs into the folder just above the folder holding the raw files, i.e. /photos/[Year]/[Job Code]. The final images and all the original files are all in one folder and a subfolder so they're easy to back up.
(8) Before leaving LR, I go to the File Explorer, select the folder, and send it to the local backup disk. Once the backup is complete, I return to LR, filter on all the files without labels (and/or with reject flags). I can then delete them. I delete them from the disk as well as the catalog. No reason to clutter up my disk with stuff I don't want. I already cluttered up my backup disk with them so I can retrieve them if I make an error.
(9) Having done with the processing, I exit LR and back everything up. The last step in the workflow is to take the camera card, replace it in the camera, and reformat it. The original files, the processed images are all on my computer and on the backup also. Time for a clean card.
There's some discussion on whether it's really necessary to reformat the card in the camera instead of in the computer. I suspect it isn't but I do it anyway.
******************************************************************
Update history:
20161216: update to reflect a change in the file name template. Since I started using more than one camera body the use of an index number can be confusing since photos arranged chronologically will not have sequential indices, and photos arranged by index number will not be chronological. Instead of an index number, I use the time from the EXIF data.
20221020: updated to reflect the use of homebrew software in place of Downloader Pro since the Mac does not support DP.