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

If you're using LR and want to change the date/time for sorting purposes (or other purposes) here is how to do it.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

This won't help you now, but I shoot sports events with two, three or sometimes four cameras and have to keep my images in exact order. To do that, I always sync the cameras' clocks the day prior to the event. After even a few days they get enough out of sync that images shot rapidly with multiple cameras will end up out of sequence. The longer the time since I last synced the cameras' clock, the farther out of sequence the images will be.

Syncing the camera clocks is easy. I just use the USB cable and connect them to my computer. I then use a utility that lets me set the time/date to match the computer. Repeating that with all the cameras get them perfectly synced... for a day or two. I happen to shoot with Canon gear, but I know the same can be done with Nikon and others because I've done it when working with multiple shooters at large events. I have the utilities for all the major camera makers installed on my computer.

When not shooting and swapping cameras rapidly like I need to do at a sporting event, it's probably sufficient to set the camera clocks by hand. Anything within a few seconds is close enough. That probably would have been fine for your purposes.

But, you should have done this before starting your trip and possibly repeated the process several times during the trip.

Next, after importing all the images into LR all you need to do is go to the Library module, select all the images you want in sequence, then under the View tab select "sort", then "capture time".

You also can have the date/time displayed on the thumbnails in LR, if you wish.

Do this in LR now and you should be pretty close, unless the date/time settings of your cameras are way, way off.

Once that's done, you will need to review the images and see if anything seems out of sequence. If so, you can manually move things around in LR.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

Try this: https://www.lightroomqueen.com/time-camera-incorrect-change/

Cameraman

Hi:
I suggest you check the clocks on both the cameras to make suere they show the same time. If not there is a way in Lightroom to change the start time on all the photos taken by one camera to match the second camera. Unless the clocks on both cameras are synced, you will not be able to mix all photos in chronological order by time taken.

Hope this helps.

Cameraman

Hip Coyote

I have a slightly modified way of doing things. I create a folder for each year. When taking long trips/ events, I create a folder under the year for the trip, for example, 2021>0201 East Coast Trip" 0201 meaning the trip started Feb 1...it keeps the folders in chrono order in my LR. Obviously, if I go fishing in March, my folder for that event would be 0314 Fishing.

I then create a subfolder by day, in order of the days, and place the pics taken, regardless of the number of cameras, into that subfolder. For example, the subfolder would be 2021>East Coast Trip> 1Hiking.. I then do the same for the remainder of the days: 2 Leaf Peeping Tour, 3 Brewery Tour, etc. The 1, 2,3 puts things in order! That places everything in order by day. I then load all pics for that particular day into the subfolder and then cull from there. You can, of course, try to handle 2000 pics all at once, but I find it easier to use my system so I just get maybe 200 pics per day.

This helps me for a few reasons...I make photo books of our longer vacations...so I curate, edit, and then upload the selected photos, by day, to the web site I am using...I do not upload ALL photos I want to use for the book for the entire trip, just a day or two. I then do the pages for the day or two I uploaded then upload more. It makes things far easier in smaller bites...or should I say bytes?

Happy shooting

It sounds difficult, but actually works quite well and is easy.

I hope that makes sense...if not I can try to post a screen shot of how I have a hierarchy of folders to very easily organize my photographs. Let me know!

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

If you're shooting with multiple camera bodies as I occasionally do, it is certainly important to synchronize the date/time in all the bodies. The accuracy needed depends on what you are shooting. If you have multiple shooters shooting, the cameras should be synchronized to less than a second. If it's only you shooting one camera, then another, synchronizing within a couple seconds is probably OK. The accuracy needed is going to be different for sports shots than it is for vacation shots.

The precision needed in the time is a nother matter. If you shoot bursts you need sub second precision in your time recording. Here there appears to be a limitation in the renaming feature of Lightroom. You can add the time to the file name, for example, but it has one second precision. Shooting bursts, you might get up to 30 frames/second in some camera bodies. That means the precision necessary to separate the images is 0.01 second or less. I have not found a way to get LR to achieve that precision in file renaming. I have been using Downloader Pro for maybe a decade or so and it has that capability. Alas, having just gotten a MacBook Pro, I find that Downloader Pro is a Windows only application. Have not (yet) searched for a MacOS replacement.

lreisner Loc: Union,NJ

This is were LR shines as an organizer. Once they are in the library it is easy to create. First off it will be easy to pick and edit the pictures OP wants to keep. He can use the rating system and put them into collections and rearrange them any order either automatically or manually. Create a target collection and just hit "B" and it will automatically add the picture to the collection. OP can even make the slide show and book right within LR. I have done and doing all of this now. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it is simple enough. There are plenty of free videos. I have never used Blurb before, but have read good reports here and else where. The book module can export to a PDF file so the book can be printed at another vendor. The collection can be exported and used anyway that you want.

Hip Coyote

Perfectly stated.

Happy shooting

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Is there some special reason they must be viewed in order taken?
I would think that take the waffle tower look at all the keepers of it then decide an interesting sequence regardless of taken sequence.
Then next subject the same street shots same pure sequence could be boring.
Creative sequencing would be better.
Unless as I said that there is some legal or scientific reason for perfect sequence it is not the way to organize a presentation.

lreisner Loc: Union,NJ

When trying to process large numbers of pictures especially from a trip, it is easier to keep them in order, especially if there are a lot of similar pictures. When I download my pictures, I change the file names. In the file name I'll put the name of the place it was taken, ie city,state. That way five years from now I'll be able to find the pictures, even if I no longer have LR. I keyword the pictures.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

"I want to organize the keepers in a slide show in chronological order"

You said slide show.

lreisner Loc: Union,NJ

Yes you can put the collection in a slide show in Lightroom. Arrange the pictures the way that you want them in your collection. Then click on the slide show module. You'll be ready to go. You can add music or other effects. The tool bars are on the right panel. You can export the slide show in a couple of formats. Everything is under one roof.

Goodluck and have fun.