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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> Lightroom Workflow Question
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04/17/2008 07:37:58 PM · #1
I'm struggling with keeping files organized with Lightroom and wanted some suggestions on how others are doing it.

So here are the steps I'm doing
1) import my RAW photos from my CF card into date named folders (perhaps with a custom name appended)
2) Do a pass through the photos flagging obvious rejects and giving a 1 star (or more) rating to obvious keepers. Also do keywords for all photos
3) Delete the rejects
4) Filter on photos with a star and use develop mode to do adjust exposure/crop/vibrance/curves etc. I don't like LRs spot editing so I skip that step in LR
5) If photo needs spot editing, or any mask related adjustments then I do control-E to load it into Photoshop to do my edits.

This is where I run into my problems. LR creates a copy of the photo to send to Photoshop. When I come back to LR I now have 2 files the raw and the .psd. If I edit another version I end up with 3 files. I'm not sure how do deal with these files and where to put them.

I typically at this point will do a pass through the photos again and assign a color label to the photos I want to do something with (like upload to flickr or print) and will make a collection of those photos. Then do an export and process the photos.

This isn't really working for me since I'm mixing raws, and edited photos together in the same folder. I also don't have a good scheme for keeping track of which photos I've exported and which ones still need to be exported and often finding myself reprinting or uploading a photo I've already printed/uploaded.

So what's your workflow and probably more important for me folder structure for keeping everything organized?
04/17/2008 11:29:36 PM · #2
First thing I do after import, is set a Red color label on all of the images. Then later, as I export them, I change the exported images to green. I'll use other colors to mean other things as well. But if an image is still red, it means it has never been exported.

I do similar to you in flagging all of the images I like with 1's first. Then I'll filter on 1's and go back through and look for any standout images and mark them as 2's. Depending on how much I need to whittle it down, I'll repeat this process as necessary.

I happen to like using LR's clone capability. Anything that can avoid a trip to PS saves me huge amounts of time. I'm really looking forward to LR 2.0 because I think I'll use PS even less.

I've never actually edited a file straight from LR. I always export all of my "chosen" files. Then if something needs to be edited, I'll do the edit from the exported directory.

I actually don't use LR for managing my files. I use ACDSee instead. So after exporting, I very seldom see the image in LR again, unless I decide that the exported file needs further refinement (too bright, too dark, need to lighten shadows, etc). If I'm doing a large print (16x20 or larger) I'll go back into LR and re-export the image as a 16-bit tif. Then I'll edit the tif. (still not launching directly from LR)

So we're accomplishing the same things, we're just doing it a little differently.


04/18/2008 01:12:58 PM · #3
Originally posted by dwterry:

First thing I do after import, is set a Red color label on all of the images. Then later, as I export them, I change the exported images to green.


That is a brilliant idea. I started using that scheme last night and it solved several issues that I was having. Thanks.
04/18/2008 01:32:00 PM · #4
I do it a bit differently - I import the images and immediately rate everything as a 2
Then I set the filter to only show images rated 2 or greater

I then flip through the images, marking rejects as a '1' and better images a higher rating (3 or more)
I might do another pass with the filter set to 3 or greater.
At the end I set the filter to 1 or less and delete everything rated that low.

The advantage is the rejects disappear instantly from view (but aren't yet deleted so you can trivially 'undo' if you change your mind)

The latest version of lightroom (v 2.0 beta) tries to handle the photoshop editing issues more intelligently. I hardly ever bother with photoshop any more so I don't have too many issues with things the way they are.
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