What's your lightroom image management workflow..

[Murchu]

Hi,

I'm wondering how lightroom users use lightrooms array of categorisation options to keep track of their images, and perhaps pick up some tips and tricks myself.

The big issue I'm wrestling with at the moment, is how to keep track of exported images uploaded to the web, or that I've had printed, and would be curious to hear how folks manage to keep track of images they've uploaded or printed, so as to be easily able to keep track of them/ recall them quickly when necessary. For uploaded images, I've tried the Publish Services, but found they led to all sorts of funkiness and weirdness, which led me to abandon them.

I'm curious as to how people here use lightroom to keep track of their images, and use the array of generic categorisation tools like flags, stars, colours, keywords, et al, within their own image management workflow.

My own lightroom workflow in this regard is below, what's yours..

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Presently, everything that comes into lightroom, I try to sort using the star system, as follows:

0 stars - new imported images that have not been reviewed yet
1 star - reviewed and found to have no redeeming qualities to make it worth keeping
2 stars - any images deemed worth keeping, regardless of image quality reasons, i.e. images that have sentimental qualities or serve some utility purpose like equipment images, etc
3 stars - images I deem good
4 stars - images I deem better
5 stars - images I deem best

Occasionally pick flags are used in quick and dirty ways, when I need to quickly flag images for some immediate purpose at hand.

Keywords are also used, but mainly to provide image context and help to quickly find thematic images like travel, etc, or to drill further down within those themes.

Likewise, with the above star ratings, keywords, and other indigenous camera metadata, I find it easy to use smart collections to keep track of images, although by no means have gotten to the point where I use collections to comprise some album structure for my images, like I've seen mentioned before.

 

[johannielscom]

But, how to get the images in Lightroom properly?

But, how to get the images in Lightroom properly?

Chances are, most people will answer this with regards to what they do to an image once it's available in Lightroom.

I'll happi to share my m.o. when it comes to getting the image in Lightroom in the proper, maximum-organized way.


1) When scanning an image, I use this naming convention:

20130323-35KodakTriX400-1

This is an image that was scanned March 23rd, 2013, is in 35mm size, was shot on Kodak Tri-X 400 and it's the first image from the roll.

My scans are saved to my Mac Mini harddrive folder named 'scanfolder'.



2) In Lightroom I use Auto Import (in the File menu). Choose the Settings option.
My NAS has a folder 'photography', in it is a folder named '2013' and in there is a folder named '201303'. I point Auto Import to that folder and tell it to create a folder named '20130323-35KodakTriX400' in there.



3) Now, I tell Auto Import to move all files from the harddrive folder 'scanfolder' to the NAS folder '20130323-35KodakTriX400'

As a result, I can keep all scans from a roll in one folder and the names they have reflect where to find them on the NAS, for future reference.



4) For digital files, I use a similar naming convention and also import them into the same folder '201303'.

Digital easily lands in the same folder as the current month and the naming convention for scans forces me to keep my backlog to a minimum. Wouldn't want images shot in March end up dated September, right? 🙂



5) When putting pictures online, I copy the filename into a 'description' box or the like so that I can online published images on my harddrive later.


I hope this is of use to people. I plan to write an article on the matter on my new website. I had one on the old site but it needs updating.

 

[tase]

mine's actually pretty simple - which might develop to a problem in the future, but up until that I'll work as follows:

After importing and moving everything to it's right folder (camera/month/import) I'll go through the images doing some quick editing and marking everything I want to go through once again with flags.
After having sorted out like this one time I'll go through them again removing flags and leaving just the stuff I really want to publish or print.

That's pretty much it - to keep track which stuff I already edited I just keep an eye on the small "already-edited" icon in the bottom right corner of the thumbnail.
Pictures I published on flickr will show up in the "export to flickr" section of the flickr plugin - so there's no need to track that some other way.

Other than that I just keep everything in proper subfolders named "blog_850px", "HR", "print" and so on.

 

[jarski]

The big issue I'm wrestling with at the moment, is how to keep track of exported images uploaded to the web, or that I've had printed, and would be curious to hear how folks manage to keep track of images they've uploaded or printed, so as to be easily able to keep track of them/ recall them quickly when necessary. ...

I'd just limit places where and how much post online. keeping some kind of diary what went where does not make much sense. personal choices are FB for pics for friends I've met in real life, and Flickr for photo hobby. IMO all this is just chatter, main thing is to have everything well catalogued and in backups, so it can be found easily later.

 

[Murchu]

All good stuff, am always keen to see how others work, and pick up improvements to adopt.

@ Johan, very much agreed. Picked up that habit in my work days, and has carried through to my image management too.

@ tase, simple is good 🙂 Seems I never pay much attention to those little thumbnail icons, perhaps I should in future..

@ jarksi, not so much about limiting where I post, so much as keeping track of what I post, and versions of images. To manage all this within in lightroom, is my lofty aim.