How do you use labels to categorise your files?

[kckong]

Hi I'm new with LR and in this forum.

Just wondering how the pros use labels to categorise their files / images.

Thanks for your suggestions on any particular systems

 

[Ian Farlow]

Don't know how the pros use labels, but here is how I do it:

NOTE: Bear in mind that I import all images into a top-level folder called New Imports, cull them from that folders, and then move them to their final location. I am sure others do it quite differently...

 RED: Needs Review - I apply this label to all images imported via a metadata preset. This tells me that these are new images that I have not culled.

 YELLOW: Needs Placement - When culling, I either rate images as rejects or apply the yellow label. This way I know that I have reviewed the images and now need to move them to their final home.

 GREEN: Needs Metadata - Once moved, I then apply metadata not applied during import, such as location name, city, state, etc. I also apply the last label that I use, noted below.

 BLUE: Needs Keywording - Blue labelled images need to have keywords assigned to them. Once I have added keywords, I remove the BLUE label and end up with images with no labels. This tells me that all my culling and cataloging functions are finished.

 PURPLE: Temporary - I only use this when I need to temporarily tag an image for some process unrelated to the above steps.

For me, doing it this way lets me reserve all five star ratings for just that: ratings.

Hopefully this helps and gives you some points to consider...

 

[kckong]

Thanks Ian for sharing the way you use the color labels. I just found out that the default, though customisable, labels are:
Red - to delete
Yellow - color correction needed
Green - good to use
Blue - retouch needed
Purple - to print

Wonder why Red is "to delete" ... wouldn't flagging a bad image "reject" do the job?

Anyone else care to share their color labelling system?

 

[Victoria Bampton]

When processing, for example, a wedding with 3 or 4 mixed cameras, I use colour labels to be able to quickly identify the different cameras for syncing settings.

 

[Ian Farlow]

Red is set to "To Delete" by default because Lightroom offers several different ways to do things to fit different workflows. No one right way, that's for sure.

By the way, using my method may seem pointless when you sit down and work all the way through from import to finish, and I suppose it is. The way I see it, though, is that if I am in the habit of applying these labels to my images each step of the way (as described above), then if I need to stop at any point, I know just where I left off without having to take notes or make a wild guess. It also allows for multiple overlapping import sessions without losing my place in the workflow for each import session, if I needed to go that route.

Just a thought.

 

[kckong]

When processing, for example, a wedding with 3 or 4 mixed cameras, I use colour labels to be able to quickly identify the different cameras for syncing settings.

Oooh, that's an interesting one! At the moment I'm shooting with one body, so it's not an issue yet. I can only imagine that the images from the 3/4 cams will probably be renamed eventname-seq#

Though it does make me think about how to deal two different images from diff cams with the same file #... it's a possibility, isn't it? LOL how would LR deal with that?

On another plane, I now have duplicate file numbers as I pass the 1',''' mark eg DSC_'''1 for the very 1st frame I took & the 1',''1st frame ... but that's another issue involving archival.

btw, can I have different color label sets (systems / definitions) for different groups of images? Should each group be organised as catalogs?

 

[Ian Farlow]

What about camera serial number? Very effective way to distinguish between multiple cameras. Plus, most cameras that I am aware of (semi-pro to pro) allow for text to be embedded into each image taken, such as owner, or sometimes even another text string, or even modify the file name coming out of the camera. All of these can be used to identify the camera during import and processing in Lightroom.

Yes, you can have different color label sets, and as far as I can recall, you can even apply different label sets to the same image. So, say you are using my label set, one image may show RED for Needs Review, and then when you change to Victoria's label set, that same image might show GREEN for Canon 1D Mark III.

Victoria? Am I correct on this?

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Yes, you can have different color label sets, and as far as I can recall, you can even apply different label sets to the same image. So, say you are using my label set, one image may show RED for Needs Review, and then when you change to Victoria's label set, that same image might show GREEN for Canon 1D Mark III.

Victoria? Am I correct on this?

I wish you were Ian.... but no, sorry! It can only have a single colour label, and it's tough to see if you've assigned a label in another set, so I tend to stick to one.

 

[Ian Farlow]

Dang... I just did a quick experiment. You can, sort of, use two different color label sets, but not exactly like I was explaining it. Well... now I'm embarassed...

 

[Victoria Bampton]

No need to be embarrassed Ian, I did a fair few tests to figure that one out!!

 

[Brad Snyder]

Another way I use color labels:

I'm one of the minority asking for larger 'keyword sets'. For my horse show practice a keyword set of 9 is just not enough.

I use the color labels to roughly sort my pix, during the cull/develop process into 'keyword set' groupings. Reds use keyword set 'a', blues use set 'b', etc.
effectively creating a keyword set of 45. It sounds awkward, but it's the fastest way I've found so far. I want an arbitrarily large key word set so badly I can taste it. Still experimenting with LR2, in this area.