cindo51

Ok, I don’t know what an ‘EXIF’ ?!

cindo51

I’m just reading about it now! Thanks!

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

See How to view the EXIF metadata of any photo on Mac

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

You seem to need some training on working with LR. Or, use Q&A like here, for some brief explanations.

Ref Export and TIFF and long-term storage: a, LR is a non destructive editor as well as b, RAW files are read-only. So, as long as you have both 1 - the original RAW and 2 - the LR edit instructions, you have all you need always to export any format of that image file, as well as to continue editing all your LR-import images. You only need to export the as-needed format of the edited image, typically just a JPEG of the pixel resolution needed for a specific purpose (print, online share, etc).

To your storage, if you're using TimeMachine as your back-up, you just need a single large 'primary' plug-in drive that is configured to also automatically copy (backed-up) to the cloud. Put your image files onto that connected drive and consider that drive as the 'master' copy of all image files, the back-up is then the cloud.

EDIT - I don't use TimeMachine. The comment above in the replies about TM being limited and older files might be lost as newer files are added, consider just a 2nd local plug-in drive that you periodically update with new / modified files from the primary drive.

Rick Garside

If you are trying to find the original file, try using the Mac finder. Use all the variations of that date you mentioned, if it was part of the name of the file, it will pop up and show you where it is on the computer. If you remember the name of the file, try variations of it and see if any appear. Once you can find it in the finder - you'll know where it is buried on your Mac.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

If the date and time is in the meta data it must be associated with the name of the file.

Forget about Adobe. Any operating system can to locate the file by its original name on one of your drives unless you have deleted it.

If you deleted it locally but backed it up externally or copied it to a CD/DVD, the name is all you need to locate it there.

Real Nikon Lover Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Some good information here. One of the biggest issues for file organizing (photos) is developing a standard naming convention and storage process/sequence. As previously mentioned, naming by date and creating a unique folder(s) to store raw/jpg/post processed photos is an anchor for future searches.

I create an incident/event folder name with date i.e.- Alaska Cruise 21 June 2023 and sub folders:Raw, JPG, Vid, PP, Web.

I download all the original files and copy the top folder and sub folder/files onto two drives. As I post process each photo I save them within the appropriate sub folders.

The use of "Tags" helps in additional searches using Tag name as search criteria.

My current project is going back and finding my best of the best and putting them together in a project folder for book publication.

Good luck.

cindo51

All of you have helped me so much... my past habits were not good ones...and I will move forward with a commitment to a new system. I am more than flummoxed about what I have in my history... I don't know how I can ever go back and 'reorganize' 15 years of photos!?

Thank you again! All of you!

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

I just re-processed about ten years of digital images to take advantage of the latest improvements in Capture One and what I have learned over the last decade.

Because they were in folders in one place it took me less that two days to complete the work.

If I were still using Lightroom it would have driven me nuts.

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

A little bit at a time.

Lightroom collections are a useful tool here. Produce a set of smart collections. Each collection will contain all the photos from a given year (from the capture date metadata). Once you have your photos sorted you can organize them one year at a time. Breaking the job into small chunks will make it more manageable.

You might even export the collections to 15 new catalogs, one per year. Then you can work on one year's data in its own catalog. When you're finished you can move to the next year's catalog. When you get through them all you can merge all the catalogs into a new master catalog.

I did that about a decade ago. The first couple years were easy because I hadn't gotten into the habit of taking too many photos. The later years took more time. If you can't get through a catalog in one sitting, you can display numbers on the library grid view. View > View Options > Show Grid Extras > Expanded Cells. Just get as far as you can, write the number of the image where you stopped on a sticky note and stick it on the monitor. You will know where to take up the task next time.

cindo51

Wow..well, congratulations! And yes, it has driven me nuts, and moving forward, I will probably be MIA for the rest of my life!!

Thanks!

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

I have always done it that way for digital files. Collections played no part in it.

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

Yes, you can add files to a folder manually or even in groups from a search. But I referred to smart collections. You can define a criterion for inclusion in a smart collection. Whenever that criterion is matched, the image is included in the smart collection. No further action is required on your part. And years later, when you add another photo that matches that criterion, the new image is added to the smart collection. Even if you have forgotten that the smart collection exists. And the criterion doesn't have to be a date. It can be a lens used for an image. It can be a camera body. It can be a red color label. It can be an image without keywords. Lots of flexibility.

There are advantages to using folders. There are advantages to using a database. It's a matter of what you need and what you know how to do.

Need is subjective. Your needs and my needs are not the same.

cindo51

Thanks! I did find the original CR2 file...and the 'capture date' is there, but it is so confusing. On that date I was here in CT based of everything else, pictures etc.... I guess it's a fluke! I will reform my ways but this is one that I won't ever figure out...

Thank you so much! It's all been so helpful!

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

I use an Access database for my scanned film and folders for the images.

I don't need collections or a database for digital.

Access database


Scanned film folders

(Download)