Hi Art,

I use Smugmug as one of my disaster recovery tools. I save my best pictures and pictures I want to share with family there as full resolution JPEG's. I currently have 20,000 pictures. Their pricing is reasonable for an unlimited number of pictures. I also have pictures from the 50's there that I copied from my father's stereo slides. The were very cool viewed through stereo viewer.

Hi Jack,

"Going forward I would import them into a year/month/date/file name based on the date shot and then add images to collections based on whatever structures you find useful."

I gather you are suggesting importing files into a separate Lightroom catalog for whatever date segment (year, month, or day) works best for the user, in Art's case day. Then adding adding that catalog to a Virtual Collection(s) (global and or topic based).

I use this approach and like it though my busy retirement hasn't allowed me to finish adding all my catalogs into a collection. I keep my images in Windows folders under \Pictures\Lightroom\year (which is automatically backed-up to OneDrive) with names like 20201112_Dogs. Having spent decades in I/T, I never use spaces or special characters other than "_" and "-" in file or folder names.

I create the folder first then create the new catalog in LR, using the same name and located in that directory, which results in the LR files (database, previews, backup, etc.) being in a subdirectory below the raw files \Pictures\Lightroom\20201112_Dogs\20201112_Dogs.

I started doing this because like Art I didn't want to be totally dependent on Lightroom to find files. This way I can pull an old folder from external drives or the cloud and the LR catalog is with the raw files.

Jim

Ansel did a lot of editing of his images in the darkroom. I read an article once about how he was one of the testers Kodak hired when they first developed color film. Ansel liked color but stayed with B&W because he could control the final look of the image in the dark room and he couldn't do that with color film. Dodge and Burn in the dark room become Contrast, Highlights, shadows,, Dehaze sliders in Lightroom.

I shoot Raw and use Lightroom so the picture looks the way I want it to, not how the camera's software manipulates it.

This argument is like saying Pro lenses don't make you a better photographer. They don't, but the create better images when shot by the same photographer using the same camera. I've gotten great pictures out of standard Nikon lenses (e.g., Nikon 18-200 DX), but when I bought a AF-S 70-200 mm 1:2.8E FL ED lens I couldn't believe believe how much faster it focuses and the sharpness of the images.

You have to learn the basics of photography to take consistently good images and you can't make an out-of-focus image look good via editing, but it is also true that shooting with the best camera and lenses you can afford and learning Lightroom and/or Photoshop will help create better photographs. Pro's use professional cameras, lenses, and editing software because they produce consistently better images.

I shoot a D610 at work and own a D500. I've been shooting DX cameras for years. The Huge improvement in the D500 and D7500 is the larger buffer size and superior high ISO performance over previous DX cameras. With my D7100 (and the D610) the buffer would fill after seven shots I've never filled the buffer on my D500. I don't hesitate setting auto ISO at 3,200. I've gotten decent pictures at ISO 20,000. My youngest grandson doesn't have to put up with a flash that the oldest had to when i was shooting a D90. I like shooting birds an not landscapes so the DX format works great for me. The D7500 has newer generation processor, video, and autofocus systems. I think the D7500 is currently the best low price option. I rented a Z6 this spring for a vacation in Florida and was very disappointed. Autofocus was much slower the my D500. At times I couldn't get it to focus for 4 or 5 shots. I'd wait for the next generation before moving to Nikons Z serious and be happy with the D7500.

Jim

I've used Smugmug for years and love it. Reasonable pricing and great site.

Jim

I use a current year external drive that I copy to a 5TB external drive with all of my photos and retain the annual drives. My most important backup is SmugMug.com full resolution JPEGs of all of my best / family photos backed up to Amazon storage for $60 a year for the power plan with unlimited storage and a great website to share pictures with my family and friends since they can download any picture they want. If I want all the pictures from a gallery on my work computer, I click on download gallery and SmugMug sends me a link to download a zip file of all of the photos. Offsite storage and photo sharing at a site I trust for a reasonable price. I have 20,000 pictures there and can pull up any one I want on my phone or computer whenever I want. I originally signed up to share pictures from my step daughter's wedding and love the site.

Jim

The best thing I've done, after buying a DSLR, was a 4 hour Lightroom class put on by a photographer and some youtube videos on it. Lightroom is great for quickly processing a lot of pictures quickly and editing them. Much easier to learn and use than Photoshop, which is the next level of perfection.

I agree with the other comments that you have to first learn to take good pictures then PP takes them to the next level. I've shot raw for years and when I retire in a few years there are many pictures I want to go back and re-process now that my PP skills are better, especially family wedding pictures with raw files I have that option.


JIm

I think a lot of the the responses are from FX shooters. 85mm gets you to 120mm on a d7100.

I rented a 24-120mm for a work event. Great quality images. Being a DX shooter new to FX I was surprised how large it is for the focal range. It was the perfect lens for groups on d610.

The 85mm 1.8 us also a very good lens, you'll do great with those two.

Jim

I love Smugmug for sharing and backup unlimited storage for $60/ year. Additional external and drives don't help if your house burns down or is hit
By a tornado. SmugMug doesn't take raw files so I save full size JPEGs. I'm considering their Amazon Vault or Google for raw file backups.

Jim

Thanks, my owl shot was taken at a nature center, so getting the bird to look in my direction wasn't the challenge it is in the field.

Jim

Hi Carol,

The 55-300 is a little smaller and lighter. I have one and recently got the 70-300 for work. I haven't shot the 70-300 enough, especially in good conditions to say it's better, but it generally accepted to be.

I tried two copies of the Tamron lens. I returned the first because the color rendition wasn't as good as Nikon's and the second had a bad focus mechanism.

I'd go with the 70-300 if budget allows, but the 55-300 is a good lens. Here are some shots from the 55-300 using a D7100 both at 300mm.

Jim

I got a chance to test this at work today. I copied a folder that contained the raw files and related catalog (my workflow) from the MAC to external drive formatted FAT32 and edited an image. Plugged drive into PC opened the catalog in LR all files were visable. Edited an image. Plugged back into MAC and again it opened no problem with PC edits visible.

Drive has to be formatted FAT32 or exFAT. I tried opening a MAC Extended formatted drive on Win 8.1 Pro computer and it wouldn't mount the drive.

Catalogs are on external drive, more below.

I can't test plugging an external drive into both since my home PC has LR 4.4 and all my files are now LR 5. It would only work on a exFAT formatted external drive. I just plugged an old external drive from my PC into the Macbook PRO and LR said it couldn't make changes because it can't write to an NTFS volume.

Macbook is my main LR machine and external drives are formatted MAC OS Extended so that Time Machine can back them up. Therefore, I always use Finder's Connect to a Server function to connect the the D: drive on my PC at work. Then copy the folder to my PC.

When I create a catalog I have it create a new folder lightroom/2015/20150203-Shoot-Name and save the catalog there. When I import I create a RAW folder in that folder and save the raw files there.

That allows me to open the MAC catalog that was copied to the PC on the PC and LR is ready to edit. Since the files are in the same relative location LR finds them.

I've also copied files from PC to MAC and been able to open the catalog and edit files and resave catalog.

I'm pretty sure that O/S copy command converts files to target format (e.g. change end of line from MAC's line feed to PC's carriage return and line feed). Not sure if MAC writes in PC format when connected to an exFAT drive.

I can try plugging a MAC external drive into my work computer tomorrow. It has 8.1 Pro which I'm pretty sure I've open MAC formatted external drives on before. I'll also try an exFAt drive between the two. My home PC is Win 7 and won't open MAC drives since it's not the Pro version.

Obviously, catalogs are on external drive (backup up via time machines and copies on another external drive).

I have copied photos and catalog from MAC made edits on the PC and copied only the catalog back to the MAC and all changes are present.

I recently purchased a 4TB external drive to put as a backup that has one master catalog. I copied all of my photo/LR folders from PC and MAC external drives. Now I'm going through doing a LR catalog import. It's bringing them in knowing exactly where the picture files even on ones where I imported the next day's shoot with the raw files in a new folder while hooked to the catalog in the prior days folder since it knows to go up one or two folders and look for a specific folder name.

I started my catalog per shoot when I first got LR long before I started shooting project and employee photos for work. Being and I/T nerd it's my nature to control the environment. It has come in handy now that I need to get a copy on the network and sometimes edit at work. PC with dual 24 monitors is much easier than a MACBook Pro, but the Macbook is nice when working at home at night in the family room watching TV. I also have LR set to backup catalogs at exit.

I agree. Admin should delete post recommending deleting catalog! That's the one thing LR can't recover from when no backup exists.

Solution proves LR can deal with operating system moves of photos. LR tools are the right way to movE them. I move catalogs between a MacBook Pro and PC using O/S copy all the time with no problems. I amazed how well LR works using the same catalog on different operating systems.

Jim

I advise against moving them again. LR does a good job of finding all the photos based on their relative location once you tell it where one is. Moving it back the same way now that LR has the new location will result in the same panic situation.

She should immediately backup the catalog the set catalog preferences to backup weekly. I see no backups of this catalog in search.

She should also open every folder in the LR folder list and make sure there aren't any others with the explanation point indicating missing files.

Jim

Mogul,

I'm glad you rpinted out that there are people who can't afford a PROFESSIONAL Wedding photographer. They're thrilled to get good pictures of their wedding. The Pro's aren't losing clients to Uncles or Aunts with good cameras.

I fall into the masochistic camp. Shooting weddings is extremely stressful and exhausting.

My stepdaughter had a formal wedding. They hired a "professional" photographer (who the groom's mother knew from the restaurant she bartends at - hint, hint), and I was told not to bring my camera.

I was called as I got out of the shower about a half hour before the wedding and told to get my camera and get to the wedding immediately because he only shot three pictures of the wedding party during the formal shoot before the wedding. I got two job offers that night -- from the DJ (my wife's ex's nephew) and the manager of the hall -- which I never considered.

I shot 1,800 pictures and had hundreds of very good ones posted on SmugMug in a week. The pro send a cd 9 months after the wedding and all of the pictures had a pink cast and only one rose to the level of mediocre.

I also shot my stepson's wedding then their cousin's who swore that her uncle, my wife's ex, approved me shooting the wedding which she didn't - his family didn't know I was shooting the wedding until I showed up.

Nothing like shooting three weddings where one of the families wants you dead, but that wasn't as stressful as pressure of delivering quality photos of a once (or twice, ...) in a lifetime event. Plus shooting in a stressful environment for five plus hours is exhausting.

Happily, the last wedding was four years ago and I've been shooting grandsons for three. I would shoot a family wedding again, but never for a stranger for money.

Pro's are welcome to the weddings, but there are many, as you point out, who can't afford them. One of my favorites was my wife's nephew's backyard wedding when the bridesmaids jumped in the pool in their dresses -- wish I had my camera.

Jim