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Setting Up Your Photo Directory on a Mac
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Jul 15, 2018 20:22:41   #
Keven Loc: Grandview, WA
 
I have a question on setting up my folders for Light Room on my MAC. With Windows I set up a Main photo directory and then sub directories for different types of photos such as Travel, One folder for each of my kids, Landscapes, Animals, and other such topics. Then when I did a photo shoot I would copy the pics from my camera into the appropriate directory so I can go back later and find them. I would then import the pics into Light Room from the sub folders on my hard drive. However with a Mac if I use the Picture app it does not let me so this. I have to set up different Albums... Is there a way to set things up the way I had it in windows? I welcome your ideas for those of you who use MACS.

Thanks for your responses.

Keven

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Jul 15, 2018 21:14:40   #
Medoitham Loc: Haslet, Texas
 
I set mine up on an external hard drive in a folder system such as yours. Then I import them into Lightroom. I could never make photos do what you are asking. Maybe somebody smarter than us will give us an answer.

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Jul 15, 2018 21:34:28   #
kcooke Loc: Alabama
 
Keven wrote:
I have a question on setting up my folders for Light Room on my MAC. With Windows I set up a Main photo directory and then sub directories for different types of photos such as Travel, One folder for each of my kids, Landscapes, Animals, and other such topics. Then when I did a photo shoot I would copy the pics from my camera into the appropriate directory so I can go back later and find them. I would then import the pics into Light Room from the sub folders on my hard drive. However with a Mac if I use the Picture app it does not let me so this. I have to set up different Albums... Is there a way to set things up the way I had it in windows? I welcome your ideas for those of you who use MACS.

Thanks for your responses.

Keven
I have a question on setting up my folders for Lig... (show quote)


I believe you can do the same thing using finder which is the file browser. Do not use the picture app.

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Jul 15, 2018 21:54:20   #
rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA
 
Keven wrote:
I have a question on setting up my folders for Light Room on my MAC. With Windows I set up a Main photo directory and then sub directories for different types of photos such as Travel, One folder for each of my kids, Landscapes, Animals, and other such topics. Then when I did a photo shoot I would copy the pics from my camera into the appropriate directory so I can go back later and find them. I would then import the pics into Light Room from the sub folders on my hard drive. However with a Mac if I use the Picture app it does not let me so this. I have to set up different Albums... Is there a way to set things up the way I had it in windows? I welcome your ideas for those of you who use MACS.

Thanks for your responses.

Keven
I have a question on setting up my folders for Lig... (show quote)


Why don't you just let Lightroom import direct from an memory card reader into a folder you select? When LR reads from a memory card it performs a copy/convert to the target directory.
This is pretty basic, so I assume that "advanced" iOS can do the same?

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Jul 16, 2018 00:04:59   #
wrangler5 Loc: Missouri
 
Do NOT use Photos if you're using Lightroom. You can use the Finder as kcooke suggested, but the reality is that you can just use LR to create, and manage, whatever folder structure you want.

On my Mac Mini I always have LR import from a card to a single folder - mine is called Initial Import, on the external drive where all my images reside. I do the initial review of things in the Initial Import folder, delete the ones that aren't keepers, and then decide where I want to save the rest of 'em. If the images go into a folder that's already in place (and indexed in LR) then it's just a matter of selecting the images in the Initial Import folder and dragging them to the destination folder where I want 'em. If I don't have a folder already created, it takes only a couple of keystrokes IN LIGHTROOM to create a new folder - that creates the folder on the hard disk AND indexes it in LR so I can drag the images to it. The point is, though, that ALL of this is done inside LR - which means LR always knows where you've put things.

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Jul 16, 2018 06:07:02   #
jccash Loc: Longwood, Florida
 
Medoitham wrote:
I set mine up on an external hard drive in a folder system such as yours. Then I import them into Lightroom. I could never make photos do what you are asking. Maybe somebody smarter than us will give us an answer.


That’s exactly what I do on my MBP. I don’t use the Mac program.

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Jul 16, 2018 08:03:50   #
BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA
 
Keven wrote:
I have a question on setting up my folders for Light Room on my MAC. With Windows I set up a Main photo directory and then sub directories for different types of photos such as Travel, One folder for each of my kids, Landscapes, Animals, and other such topics. Then when I did a photo shoot I would copy the pics from my camera into the appropriate directory so I can go back later and find them. I would then import the pics into Light Room from the sub folders on my hard drive. However with a Mac if I use the Picture app it does not let me so this. I have to set up different Albums... Is there a way to set things up the way I had it in windows? I welcome your ideas for those of you who use MACS.

Thanks for your responses.

Keven
I have a question on setting up my folders for Lig... (show quote)


In general:

Master Lightroom Catalog [I never use the Apple Photos App!]
Year
State or Country
City, park name, etc

I also include the site/location name in the File name when importing.
Keywords are the "key"
Always have the following
Year, State/country, Location.
Major feature: water, river, waterfall, rocks, trees, grassland, wind, clouds, etc.
Keywords, if well chosen, will allow you to find virtually any image in your archive.

My way, you mileage will vary. Just use something that works for the way you work.

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Jul 16, 2018 08:34:41   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
Keven wrote:
I have a question on setting up my folders for Light Room on my MAC. With Windows I set up a Main photo directory and then sub directories for different types of photos such as Travel, One folder for each of my kids, Landscapes, Animals, and other such topics. Then when I did a photo shoot I would copy the pics from my camera into the appropriate directory so I can go back later and find them. I would then import the pics into Light Room from the sub folders on my hard drive. However with a Mac if I use the Picture app it does not let me so this. I have to set up different Albums... Is there a way to set things up the way I had it in windows? I welcome your ideas for those of you who use MACS.

Thanks for your responses.

Keven
I have a question on setting up my folders for Lig... (show quote)


I suggest using Lightroom - a very masterful digital asset manager.

I had a scheme in place since 2000, that had a single master folder, with a subfolder for each year, and a subfolder for each time I used the camera with a date and description in the title field. Below that were my images, and below that were my working, layered files, which were tiffs, then later psds.

It was easy to adopt Lightroom, as it did not require that I change what I was already doing.

Using your scheme would make me crazy, since in a given event/outing/trip I may take pictures that belong to multiple categories, which would mean either making multiple copies, for multiple destination folders, or spend a lot of time placing images in their subject-based folders, and then remembering where they all went.

Arranging my folders on a drive in a simple sequential hierarchy, then using Lightroom to assign a single image to an endless number of collections, eliminates any need to make subject-based folders. This screenshot is a Windows Explorer view, but it would be no different in Finder.

In 2006 I switched to shooting raw, and I no longer keep jpegs. In Lightroom, I have the original or "master" raw file, and a 16 bit ProPhoto psd file with layers and masks and all of my edits. If I need a jpeg/tiff/png file for any reason, I generate a new jpeg from a collection of export presets. This keeps my drive clear and uncluttered. It only takes a couple of seconds to find any image - using collections, then searching within a collection, or merely doing a keyword search, metadata search, etc -

What you did in Windows was way too much work - you are making individual folders where it would be far easier to make individual virtual collections, thus ending the duplications and the potential of losing edits by overwriting a file or even losing a file.

.


(Download)

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Jul 16, 2018 09:06:19   #
jsktb Loc: Westerly, Rhode Island
 
I realize this does not address your question. But, Luminar 2018 will soon be releasing a digital management program according to a recent email. I got rid of PSElemlents recently and changed over to Luminar 2018 and I am very pleased with it. I agree that photos on the Mac is not very good.

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Jul 16, 2018 09:07:37   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
Keven wrote:
I have a question on setting up my folders for Light Room on my MAC. With Windows I set up a Main photo directory and then sub directories for different types of photos such as Travel, One folder for each of my kids, Landscapes, Animals, and other such topics. Then when I did a photo shoot I would copy the pics from my camera into the appropriate directory so I can go back later and find them. I would then import the pics into Light Room from the sub folders on my hard drive. However with a Mac if I use the Picture app it does not let me so this. I have to set up different Albums... Is there a way to set things up the way I had it in windows? I welcome your ideas for those of you who use MACS.

Thanks for your responses.

Keven
I have a question on setting up my folders for Lig... (show quote)


Yes. Use the Apple Image Capture Utility that came with MacOS. It can be set to open INSTEAD OF Photos when you plug in a camera or mount a flash with DCIM folder(s) on it. You can create new folders from within it, and send selected images to each folder.

It’s a head scratcher at first, but once understood, it is quite powerful. Don’t let the simple interface fool you!

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Jul 16, 2018 09:39:21   #
gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast
 
I use Elements on a PC and I do this:
Copy my SD card photos to an external drive in a folder using "yyyy mo text descriptor" as the naming convention. Then I copy that folder to wherever I want it on my hard drive. Then Import those files into the Elements Catalogue where I assign appropriate tags. That's my workflow.

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Jul 16, 2018 11:20:07   #
Keven Loc: Grandview, WA
 
Thank you everyone who replied. I appreciate your insight and instructions.

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Jul 16, 2018 11:38:39   #
DanielB Loc: San Diego, Ca
 
I suggest an external hard drive - you will be chewing your Macs hard drive up space up quickly. Here's what I do as far as file setup. "photos/Lightroom/Lightroom 2018 (I create a file for every year)/sub folders: Weddings, Event/Portraits.../ Then your jobs under those categories folders.
Keven wrote:
I have a question on setting up my folders for Light Room on my MAC. With Windows I set up a Main photo directory and then sub directories for different types of photos such as Travel, One folder for each of my kids, Landscapes, Animals, and other such topics. Then when I did a photo shoot I would copy the pics from my camera into the appropriate directory so I can go back later and find them. I would then import the pics into Light Room from the sub folders on my hard drive. However with a Mac if I use the Picture app it does not let me so this. I have to set up different Albums... Is there a way to set things up the way I had it in windows? I welcome your ideas for those of you who use MACS.

Thanks for your responses.

Keven
I have a question on setting up my folders for Lig... (show quote)

Reply
Jul 16, 2018 12:07:26   #
Keven Loc: Grandview, WA
 
DanielB:

Thanks for the suggestion of using an external HD. That is what I was doing in Windows and I didnt back up the external hard drive and lost eveything. I though if I loaded my PICS on my MacBookPro (256G) then did the back up I would experience the dreaded loss of all my pics again. If you have another suggestion I would certainly appreciate it? I'm not sure how I would back up an external hard drive without having it on my Mac's drive.

Thanks again,

Keven

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Jul 16, 2018 12:46:44   #
DanielB Loc: San Diego, Ca
 
Sorry for the bad syntax. I'm typing with 2 fingers taped up on my left hand.
DanielB wrote:
I suggest an external hard drive - you will be chewing your Macs hard drive up space up quickly. Here's what I do as far as file setup. "photos/Lightroom/Lightroom 2018 (I create a file for every year)/sub folders: Weddings, Event/Portraits.../ Then your jobs under those categories folders.

Reply
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