Tikva Loc: Waukesha, WI

I have about 5,000+ photos that I have saved on my D drive of my laptop. These photos are organized by year and then date. Older photos that were scanned are separated into another category. I'm wondering if it makes sense to 'move' all of these photos to Lightroom to organize. I would do some editing in LR CC and then do further PP in PS CC which I already use. Would appreciate some advise from anyone with experience in moving 'old' photos into LR. I would have to learn LR, but I figure I can do that with some on-line classes and a good book since I'm familiar with PS CC. Any suggestions appreciated.

lsimpkins Loc: SE Pennsylvania

You do NOT have to move your photos into LR. They can stay exactly where they are. The Import function in the Library Module has the Add option that basically leaves image files where they are, but tells LR their location. Once the Import is completed, you can add key words and make image adjustments to your heart's content.

For a complete source of learning LR, I highly recommend Laura Shoe's DVDs. Check out her website for some free lessons.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

In all actuality, you don't move photos to LR. You simply point LR at the drive and directory and it will catalog them for you. LR creates a file in which all of the data is kept.
--Bob

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

No need to move anything. Just point LR in the right direction and it will import all your existing photos retaining your existing folder structure. If you have RAW files, chose convert to DNG on import, if they are all JPGs, choose copy and let 'er rip.

Just remember, when you drink the Lightroom Koolaid, it becomes your only cataloging and folder management software. Get Scott Kelby's Lightroom CC book or devour all the YouTube content.

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

https://youtu.be/y-FIksuiBXo

Or

1. Click the Import button in the lower-left corner of the Library module.
2.From the main menu, choose File > Import Photos And Video.
3. Drag a folder or individual files from the Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac OS) into the Grid view, and then skip Step 2.

Mundj Loc: Richmond TX

I agree, Laura Shoe is a great resource. Her video courses are an exceptional value.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classroom in a Book to learn Lightroom. There's more there than you think and this book is great at helping you master the tool.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

What image file attributes or file header tags does Lightroom use to sort and catalog. Are all of your image files from digital cameras that were fairly comprehensive in EXIF creation. Or do some come from scanners. Might LR screw up your storage system. Long ago I got LR-1 to try out and decided I did not really need it. Nearly all by images were scans so the only tags would be scanner date and my naming of the file. Of course, I expect newer LR versions do more the LR1 but I have Photoshop.

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

Lightroom Video Tutorials from Adobe.

http://blogs.adobe.com/jkost/lightroom-training-videos

Here is Adobe TV

http://tv.adobe.com/show/the-complete-picture-with-julieanne-kost/

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

You do not need to move any folders into LR just use import and ADD The folders stay where they are and LR now knows there location

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Although 5,000 sounds like a lot, it's really not that bad. Look up articles about keywording and organizing in LR, and take it slowly. If you set up a good system in the beginning, you,'ll be able to maintain and use it. Many people start with categories like, What, Where, Who.

Keywording -
http://digital-photography-school.com/power-keywording-lightroom/

Organizing -
https://www.lightroomqueen.com/organize-photos-folders/?utm_source=The+Lightroom+Queen&utm_campaign=5a920d5ddf-Mailchimp_2017_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_17d5f8afbe-5a920d5ddf-340689973&mc_cid=5a920d5ddf&mc_eid=5082ece098

Instruction -
https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/tutorials.html
http://tv.adobe.com/product/lightroom/
http://www.lynda.com/
https://www.creativelive.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/AnthonyMorganti
https://www.youtube.com/user/AdobeLightroom/featured
http://digital-photography-school.com/brief-introduction-lightroom/
http://creativenerds.co.uk/tutorials/lightroom-photo-effects/
https://www.youtube.com/user/AdobeLightroom/videos

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Lynda.com has very good videos, and you can try them for a week or so for free. If you want to continue, you pay $25 for full access for a month. Then you can stop and digest what you've seen.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

It does make sense to import your photos to LR because it makes your editing workflow in LR and PS much easier. And your photos will not actually be IN LR, they will still be on your HD. The "Import" function is just connecting the LR catalog to your images so it can "read" them. Also, backing up the LR Catalog does not back up the actual images, so you need to configure your backup system to ensure the images are also backed up.

The important thing to remember, once your images are connected to LR, you should not make any organizational changes directly to your HD folder. All changes should be done within LR, and will automatically be changed in the HD folder. Any edits you make in LR will also show up there with the exception of "virtual copies" [also called "proof copies"] - they will be there, but as .xmp side-cars. I do not like having these, so I make sure they all go through PS and are saved as .tiff files, then delete the .xmp files. Others do it a bit differently, you will figure out what works for you.

Other files that do not show up in the HD file are .psd - all you will see is an icon.

twillsol Loc: St. Louis, MO

jgunkler

I did this a couple of years ago with over 10,000 photos and I'm very glad I did it. You've got much good advice already, to which I'd only add:
1. Just read up on using the LR Library module. Ignore everything else LR can do, for now. You can learn these other things when you're ready to begin using them.
2. I recommend that you begin by "importing" a folder at a time and add all of the Keywords that apply to the entire folder during import. At the very least you can add the year. Do this for a few folders so that you get a feel for what LR is doing. Then, if you want, you can import in larger batches. You will go back folder by folder, later, to add Keywords to groups of photos at once.

Keywording is both the most time-consuming and the most important thing you'll do to organize your photos. I did it whenever I could set aside 15 minutes or more. Very glad I did it!!

3. LR has the ability to recognize and label faces. Read up on how to do this. When it works well, it's a time saver. But I wouldn't try to capture every face correctly. Be content that many will be identified but some won't. If LR is confused it won't label the face, so I have not found any that were mislabeled. There are still quite a few that do not have name labels, though.

Enjoy learning and using LR. It's a great help, and a lot of fun, too, especially when you start editing your photos.