NoSocks Loc: quonochontaug, rhode island

I'm a thick-headed old fart who can't seem to grasp the theory behind Lightroom's Library. Maybe I just spent too many years in Windows, but I can't figure out why I can't find a file to work on in Lightroom. I use a Mac and it seems like a simple File>Open>Browse command would make life easier. Leave the damn catalog structure to those who want it and just let me into a file to do a little enhancing. I do a lot of Real Estate pictures for my own listings and mainly want to straighten vertical perspective error when shooting with a wide angle to straighten the vertical lines on the sides. Somehow, I've been able to get to a shot a few times, but I can't seem to repeat the procedure. I don't need Lightroom to run my life; just let me do some simple edits. Anyone know of shortcuts?

rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX

I may be misreading this but it sounds like you are trying to use Lightroom without importing the images you want to work on.
The only way to use Lightroom (That I know of) is by importing images. Once imported, images are easily found to edit.
Please ignore if I misunderstood.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

Go to Youtube and search sync files in Lightroom. I'm a real estate photographer and I don't use the library in Lightroom except to import my images — then I go right to the Develop module. I make two folders in Finder on my Mac on an external drive. Ex: 1 folder is called 1234_Front_St and the other is called 1234_Front_St_Finals. I copy my raw images from the SD Card or CF Card to the first folder. I then import those images into Lightroom and do my edits. When I have completed an image I export it to the second folder. I always create my folders using the street address on an external drive. When I have completed processing all the images I dropbox them to the agent from the finals folder. This system works extremely well for me. As far as syncing goes — I don't sync. I'm sure I could sync some and I do often use Previous which is almost the same thing but rooms and editing changes from room to room — as does the lighting and vertical or horizontal corrections. It doesn't take long and it works well. Good luck.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

So your problem seems to be that you're a Windows user on a Mac and not familiar with its file structure? It's why I never went to a Mac, I guess.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Good suggestion well explained, David!
And buy the way, Lightroom works just fine on my Mac.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

Why not do your work flow in your image editor directly. As you have LR is your image editor Photoshop. I have never used LR (got version 1 to try it out and never upgraded) much. I like my image cataloging and storage system because it makes sense to me - and for myself I am the only person who matters. Besides rhe only things that LR knows about your images is what it finds in the EXIF data. House with yard of tall trees, no way.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

When I have a variety of subjects to import from an SD card, rather than importing all at once I import in stages, selecting all the images for a specific subject for an import, and doing an import for each subject until all of the card is imported. That keeps the subjects separate right from the start.

I would also recommend re-naming the folders to indicate the contents, rather than just leaving them identified by the date, and doing that early on. Re-naming is easy - just right-click on the folder and select RENAME. You might find some of the other right-click options useful.

NoSocks Loc: quonochontaug, rhode island

Thanks, David. I admire your always helpful and thorough answers. I'll follow this work flow along and see if I improve.

NoSocks Loc: quonochontaug, rhode island

I was a Windows user but converted to Mac a few years ago. But Windows is a little like the flu; tough to get completely out of your blood.

NoSocks Loc: quonochontaug, rhode island

I have Adobe CC so I could use Photoshop as well but I thought I'd try to learn Lightroom first. Maybe that's the wrong approach.

NoSocks Loc: quonochontaug, rhode island

Thanks for your help.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Lightroom works quite nicely, once you learn how it works. Actually it is very simple. Import your images from your camera (or SD card) into Lightroom, let Lightroom put them on your disk for storage, and edit/print them from Lightroom.

Lightroom only edits images that have been imported into the Lightroom catalog - the catalog is really a list of what images have been added, where they are and what adjustments are done to them.

Use Lightroom to manage your files, and do not fall into the trap of moving them or deleting them in your file manager.

Lightroom is a very very powerful and comprehensive file manager for your images along with being a powerful parametric non-destructive editor.

Watch a few getting started tutorials and you will be well on your way.

Lightroom is a great tool to fully organize your images as well as provide a great editor and front end for Adobe Photoshop - when editing files in Lightroom you can easily send them to Photoshop for final editing, and the finished product returns back to Lightroom to be cataloged and managed within Lightroom.

You can easily have over 100,000's of images within a single Lightroom catalog, instantly searchable by most any criteria, metadata, etc. Lightroom is a great database & editor for your image collection.

Start here: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/how-to/import-photos.html?playlist=/ccx/v1/collection/product/lightroom/segment/photographer/explevel/beginner/applaunch/orientation/collection.ccx.js

LarryFB Loc: Depends where our RV is parked

Mac or PC, Lightroom works essentially the same. The problem is the OP doesn't want to learn Lightroom. I view Lightroom as a catalog/organization program first and a Post Processing Program second. Lightroom excells as a catalog and organizational tool (if you learn how to use it) and a very good (slightly limited when you consider PhotoShop) Post Processing program.

If you don't want to use its organization capabilities, it will becomd frustrating, although there are some work arounds.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

As a PC user, I do not know a lot about a Mac. But I do know LR. From what you said, it sounds like you are having trouble finding your images in LR. If this is the case, it may be that you have not set up your files so that LR can find the images you want to work on. In reality, your images are not saved within LR, they are saved to a folder on your Hard Drive. Any images you have imported into LR are saved to that folder, and all LR does is create a "catalog" from which it brings up your saved images so you can see them and edit them.

First, you need a folder on your HD with the "same name" as the folder in your LR Folders section (LR CC images, or whatever you want). When you have pictures on your camera, use LR's import dialogue to choose the source (memory card) and the destination for them (LR's Catalog). (Some people prefer to import images directly to a Pictures file on their HD, in which case they still have to use LR's import dialogue to bring them into LR.) From the Catalog, you can then select them all and click on them and move them into the "same name" folder in the Folders section just below the Catalog section. You can leave them alone, in chronological order, or you can create new sub-folders for different real estate locations.

When creating sub-folders for different locations, you MUST do it inside LR. Otherwise, LR will not be able to find the images you want to see in its catalog. Do this by highlighting the images, then right-click on the master "same name" folder and choose "create folder" and make sure the box is checked that says you want to include those pictures in the new folder. Type in a name for that folder and click OK.

Once you have done whatever edits you wish in the Develop Module (on a "virtual copy"), that edit will appear in the catalog right next to the original. They will not be shown in your "same name" folder on your HD because they actually only exist as a set of "instructions", not as a stand-alone photo. To get those edits into the HD folder, they need to be exported to your HD "same name" folder, choosing a format for them (.jpg, .tiff, etc.) Then they will then be ready to send off by email or share on social media. This is also where you can choose a watermark to put on them, change the size so they are small enough for email, etc.

When you close LR a dialogue pops up asking you to choose a destination. Find the "same name" folder on the HD and choose that. This keeps LR happy!
Once everything is all set up, you only need to import your photos into LR, and they will automatically also show up on your HD.

I hope this answers your dilemma!

Susan

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I believe one stumbling point for new users of Lightroom is "importing images". That's what LR tells you to do, but LR does not contain your image when you "import" it. It only stores the location of your image file. The file is not moved and the image is not saved by LR. LR only stores the location of your image so it can work on it. If you move or delete your image, LR does not know where to find it until you go through a simple process to tell LR where it is now.

Just think about it for a minute. Why would LR need to store your image? Most image files are a few Megabytes. If LR stored all the images you "imported" into it, the catalog would be many gigabytes in size, and for some people, many terabytes. And since your image file is already in your computer there's no need for LR to duplicate it in the catalog. So it just saves the location of your file, which is a small amount of data.

If you are getting LR to deal with your images directly from your camera card, you will want to copy the files from the card onto your computer hard drive. Otherwise when you remove the card from the reader and put it back in the camera, LR will not have access to the file to work on it.

By the way, you can set LR to back up at regular intervals. When it backs up, it is only backing up the catalog containing the location of your images. It does not back up your images. You have to do that in a separate process.