Lightroom catalogues ...am I missing the point?
Jun 10, 2018 05:48:32 #
Like one of your earlier respondents- I too have been a Pro photographer and teacher for many years and over that time have developed a filing system that works well for me. IMO if you have a good filing system that works for you, then LR's library module is completely unnecessary (unless you take so many photos of similar subjects that you need to colour code or "star" rate them!) I prefer to use Bridge and Photoshop. Bridge is purely a browser but does enable you to open photos directly in Photoshop. If you need more processing then you can open your images directly in Adobe Camera Raw. ACR uses the same RAW processor as LR and is, in my opinion easier to use. I like the "Iconised" access to panels rather than the vertically tabbed panels in LR.
Jun 10, 2018 05:51:09 #
Don’t feel dumb. I took a college course that covered LR and could never grasp it. I dumped it and am looking for a better replacement.
Jun 10, 2018 06:48:45 #
rmalarz wrote:
I'm not a huge LR user. However, the little I know is that LR likes to keep track of everything. So, if you move a file without LR "knowing" about it, that can cause some issues. Things have to be copied, moved, deleted, etc. through LR.
--Bob
--Bob
And that's one of the biggest drawback of LR for me. I like to go directly to my D drive and add, delete, or move files. With LR, I have to do all of that in the left panel of Lightroom, and I find that very awkward.
Jun 10, 2018 06:49:09 #
Martha Krohn wrote:
Don’t feel dumb. I took a college course that covered LR and could never grasp it. I dumped it and am looking for a better replacement.
Try Affinity.
Jun 10, 2018 07:15:41 #
Don’t delete Raw files that you worked on in LR. All changes are non destructive. I only export jpgs the I want to post online or send in for contests etc
Since you have the originals you do not have to save the exported jpgs
Since you have the originals you do not have to save the exported jpgs
Jun 10, 2018 08:17:31 #
fotobyferg wrote:
Hi Bill,
Actually, I do like LR...just confused on the catalogue system. I don’t always get the “back up images” text box when I exit LR. Should I see it every time?
Are you saying that, when I see that text, I could customize the storage location...or just continue to use its default location?
I am about to head out for another rugby game...but would like to see your screenshots.
Thanks!
Actually, I do like LR...just confused on the catalogue system. I don’t always get the “back up images” text box when I exit LR. Should I see it every time?
Are you saying that, when I see that text, I could customize the storage location...or just continue to use its default location?
I am about to head out for another rugby game...but would like to see your screenshots.
Thanks!
There are great utube videos to help with LR also B&H Tim Grey, Julian Kosh, and Adobe I found them very straight forward on how to organize and manage the Catologue
Joe
Jun 10, 2018 08:29:20 #
When you import to LR it saves the meta data but your photos are stored on say your D drive. LR knows where every photos is . It is like a in library you have your catalog box and then the books on the shelf , if you take a book off the shelf and don’t tell the catalog box then the book can’t be found
Jun 10, 2018 08:31:04 #
fotobyferg wrote:
OK, I am probably about to set myself up for some ... (show quote)
Your solution is easy. Import that jpg folder where you have exported finished images. "Tell" LR were they reside. If it helps, think of LR like the old card catalog in the library when we were growing up. Let's say you pulled Volume 2 from the Encyclopedia and put it on a shelf somewhere else in the library. How would the librarian know if you didn't tell anyone? The book is still in the library, it just needs to be cataloged at its new location.
Better example, you copied 4 chapters, spiral bound them, threw away Vol 2 (your RAW files) and and left the new notebook (your jpegs) in the science section on a random shelf. You have lost the ability to refer back to the original Vol. 2 and told no one where your copied 4 chapters are. Good luck to the next user (LR) finding that notebook!
By the way, deleting the RAW files has nothing to do with not finding your jpegs. It is purely because you have not cataloged them.
Keep shooting and have fun!!
Jun 10, 2018 08:42:22 #
“Your solution is easy. Import that jpg folder where you have exported finished images.“
Yes, I thought I would try that just to see if I could repopulate them into LR.
If unsuccessful, no big deal...as I still know where everything is located using my current system.
Mostly, I’d just like to achieve a better understanding of LR.
Yes, I thought I would try that just to see if I could repopulate them into LR.
If unsuccessful, no big deal...as I still know where everything is located using my current system.
Mostly, I’d just like to achieve a better understanding of LR.
Jun 10, 2018 08:43:14 #
I save images in LR in folders labelled with the date the images were made. I can usually remember to within a couple days when I made the images I am looking for. Nothing sophisticated, but it works for me. I also do most of the processing in LR and only go to PS for things I can't do in LR.
Jun 10, 2018 08:47:40 #
Since I use LR to import all my photos, I am very grateful for the catalog system. The key wording is one of the main features. So, when I import the photos, I add the keywords. Later, when I want to see all of my photos that have a particular keyword attached, I search on that keyword. All photos are then shown, regardless of what file folder they are stored in. (Assuming they are in the LR catalog to start with, of course.) I can further refine my search by including more keywords. The actual file structure does not matter... name them as you choose. The keywords are the important step that will be helpful later.
If you choose to move photos, say from one HD to another, use LR to do that task. LR will then know where those photos are located. The catalog system is a database, so work within that environment.
Personally, I have over 20,000 photos in my LR catalog. Searching for, as an example, "horses, wild, NC, beach" will locate the few photos that fits those words. And, it does it immediately, regardless of the file structure. I love it! 👍🤓👍
If you choose to move photos, say from one HD to another, use LR to do that task. LR will then know where those photos are located. The catalog system is a database, so work within that environment.
Personally, I have over 20,000 photos in my LR catalog. Searching for, as an example, "horses, wild, NC, beach" will locate the few photos that fits those words. And, it does it immediately, regardless of the file structure. I love it! 👍🤓👍
Jun 10, 2018 09:27:34 #
gvarner
Loc: Central Oregon Coast
I look at it as a nomenclature issue - instead of calling it Import, they should call it Locate. It gives me a better handle on visualizing what happens in LR. Within LR, when you Import, the program locates the file(s) on a drive or in a folder or subfolders and records that location in its database. The database applies a pointer to the file and says here it is. And so, if you move the file to another location or delete it, you have to do it inside of the LR program so it can keep track of it. Any file tagged by LR, when the file is on an external drive, has to have its drive connected to your computer for LR to locate it.
I use PS Elements but it's database, called the Organizer, is essentially the same as LR's since they are both Adobe products. I copy all my photos from my SD card to my computer and put them in a folder with a "yyyy mo brief text descriptor" name. Thus, all my folders are listed in the directory tree in "yyyy mo" order down the left side of the screen when I open the program.
Always use LR to move files or folders that are in its database or else it will not know where they're located and you will have to go through a rather stressful routine to help LR find them. Copying them can be done outside of LR since the location of the originals is not changed. Hope this helps.
I use PS Elements but it's database, called the Organizer, is essentially the same as LR's since they are both Adobe products. I copy all my photos from my SD card to my computer and put them in a folder with a "yyyy mo brief text descriptor" name. Thus, all my folders are listed in the directory tree in "yyyy mo" order down the left side of the screen when I open the program.
Always use LR to move files or folders that are in its database or else it will not know where they're located and you will have to go through a rather stressful routine to help LR find them. Copying them can be done outside of LR since the location of the originals is not changed. Hope this helps.
Jun 10, 2018 09:33:51 #
Lightroom works like this:
Pretend you have a kitchen drawer full of recipes you've never tried. They are in boxes that are marked with the type of recipe i.e. deserts, vegetables, main course, breakfast, dinner, lunch etc. Lets say you have another drawer next to the first drawer with the same labeled boxes but that second drawer is for recipes you've tried. So when you pull out a recipe from drawer 1 and then try it, then you put it in drawer 2 for safe keeping. You know where that recipe is right? Ok, now say your significant other comes into your kitchen and takes some of the recipes and moves them somewhere and you didn't see where. Now you have no idea where they are because you didn't move them, the other person did.
This is the same thing for LR. When you import the photos using LR, LR knows where it put them. Then when you use LR to edit them, it knows what's been done. But if you edit them using Photos, or iPhoto, LR has no idea what's been done because it didn't do the editing nor does it know where the final product went because it wasn't used to edit and save that image.
So look at LR as a computerized list of your images. LR doesn't put the images in LR, it simply makes a list of where they are, and what's been done to them. It's simply a list. But if someone else goes to your list and erases some, then you have no idea where they went. So to make a long story short, you must use LR from beginning to end with your photos or it doesn't have a clue what's been done to them - especially if they have been moved or deleted by some other program.
Pretend you have a kitchen drawer full of recipes you've never tried. They are in boxes that are marked with the type of recipe i.e. deserts, vegetables, main course, breakfast, dinner, lunch etc. Lets say you have another drawer next to the first drawer with the same labeled boxes but that second drawer is for recipes you've tried. So when you pull out a recipe from drawer 1 and then try it, then you put it in drawer 2 for safe keeping. You know where that recipe is right? Ok, now say your significant other comes into your kitchen and takes some of the recipes and moves them somewhere and you didn't see where. Now you have no idea where they are because you didn't move them, the other person did.
This is the same thing for LR. When you import the photos using LR, LR knows where it put them. Then when you use LR to edit them, it knows what's been done. But if you edit them using Photos, or iPhoto, LR has no idea what's been done because it didn't do the editing nor does it know where the final product went because it wasn't used to edit and save that image.
So look at LR as a computerized list of your images. LR doesn't put the images in LR, it simply makes a list of where they are, and what's been done to them. It's simply a list. But if someone else goes to your list and erases some, then you have no idea where they went. So to make a long story short, you must use LR from beginning to end with your photos or it doesn't have a clue what's been done to them - especially if they have been moved or deleted by some other program.
fotobyferg wrote:
OK, I am probably about to set myself up for some ... (show quote)
Jun 10, 2018 09:37:29 #
gvarner
Loc: Central Oregon Coast
fotobyferg wrote:
“Image files are not in the catalog.”
So, if I am understanding correctly, the catalog just contains the edit info, right?
Tomorrow I will review all these kind responses and see if I can increase my understanding. That would be great.
So, if I am understanding correctly, the catalog just contains the edit info, right?
Tomorrow I will review all these kind responses and see if I can increase my understanding. That would be great.
The Catalogue, when you Import, creates a pointer to where the file is located and attaches its edits to that pointer. It also creates a thumbnail that you see displayed in the program with all the other file thumbnails that are in its database.
Jun 10, 2018 10:38:57 #
jerryc41 wrote:
And that's one of the biggest drawback of LR for me. I like to go directly to my D drive and add, delete, or move files. With LR, I have to do all of that in the left panel of Lightroom, and I find that very awkward.
They are photos not a deck of cards they don't need shuffling
Lightroom is actually fairly nice about moving files the only time there is a problem is when the folder exists at the destination already.
I just had a couple of PSD files these needed to be dragged over as photos not folders, handy thing is the name of the source folder is in the bar above the film strip so if you forget where they should be going e.g same folder name on another drive that bar will remind you.
I think i will probably use the checkbox Gene suggested using for my exports and add them to the catalogue automatically and also in a subfolder of the original folder.
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