LR 6.7 Import Preset question

[hereugo]

I just upgraded to LR Perpetual 6.7. When I import the import preset is always "none" and I have to go and change to the preset that I want. Under LR 5.7 somehow I had it always default to the import preset I wanted. How do I set the import preset to automatically use something other than "none"?

 

[clee01l]

I've never figured out how to get this set consistently either. If I set it once and import, sometimes if I import again the previous import preset will still be there, If I exist LR and restart, it always reverts to "none"

 

[hereugo]

Strange, because I know it did not work that way for me using LR 5.7. Always was the last import preset I had used before. I know I will be forgetting to set it properly at times, so it's annoying.

 

[Jknights]

I've never figured out how to get this set consistently either. If I set it once and import, sometimes if I import again the previous import preset will still be there, If I exist LR and restart, it always reverts to "none"

I am glad that you are experiencing this as well Cletus.
I thought it was me being incompetent.

I think it is one area that needs improvement in LR (apart from the ability to have Layers).
I would also like to be able to have multiple different import presets (one per camera) so that I can use to rename my images to my catalog naming format and also ideally for my Fuji cameras to put my copyright info into the image EXIF since Fuji doesnt allow that to be done in camera.

 

[Jim Wilde]

It shouldn't matter. LR may not select the last used import preset, but it does remember all the settings from the last import.

 

[Gnits]

I would also like to be able to have multiple different import presets

It is possible to have Metadata Presets and Development Presets. Find these on the Right Hand Panel.

It is also possible to combine these as you would wish within an overall Import Preset.

The Import Dialogue screen has multiple serious User Interface Design flaws. One of the most glaring is that the input box to select the User Import Presset is at the bottom of the screen. As a result, very many Lr users are totally unaware of its existence. This input option should be on the right Hand Panel.

There are multiple other flaws / shortcomings of the Import dialogue screen.

As this is one of the most important processes to get absolutely correct it is depressing that this has been so badly treated to-date (and the last effort was a total and utter failure).

 

[Jknights]

My biggest issue is that at present the import preset doesnt allow me to rename image files as I want.
I want a preset for each camera so that I can rename files from their default in camera format to my naming I use in my filesystem and LR catalogs.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

My biggest issue is that at present the import preset doesnt allow me to rename image files as I want.
I want a preset for each camera so that I can rename files from their default in camera format to my naming I use in my filesystem and LR catalogs.

Really? I use import presets all the time and I rename files upon import. I always use the same rename scheme though.

 

[Jknights]

Really? I use import presets all the time and I rename files upon import. I always use the same rename scheme though.

Can you give an example of your renaming scheme or a description of how you rename.

I want to rename from the default camera format e.g. from my Fuji XT2 DSCF1234.RAF to XT2-1-1234.RAF, or from my Nikon D500 DSCN1234.NEF to D5C-1-1234.NEF
Ideally one preset would do it all but that needs to read the EXIF and get the camera model so I am prepared to have one preset per camera that is hardcoded for the camera model.

 

[Gnits]

See the attached pdf.

I have a certain sympathy with what you want to do, as I also wanted to be able to be able to apply a camera code to my filenames at import. The reason was to avoid duplicate filenames (ie multiple cameras used on the same project when the file sequence numbers go back to 1)

My file naming convention is MoB_JJJJ_Xnnnnn.ext ..... where :

MoB. My initials and makes it easy to recognise my own images.
JJJJ. Project / job number.
X. Camera code. I allocate a letter to every one of my cameras and use Z for other peoples cameras.
nnnnn Unique (within Lr) incremental reference number.

The reason for this scheme is that
a. I want to keep the job number (JJJJ) with each image and its children.
b. I want to allocate a unique number(nnnnn) to each raw file (which travels with all its children).
c. I want to be able to recognise (outside of Lightroom) images within a project folder which belong to different cameras (code X).

You can do most of this within the Lr import dialogue, but you will need to manually select which import preset to use each time per camera and is error prone.

I have automated this outside of Lr by writing my own mini app, which interrogates the Exif info to get the camera serial number and from the serial number I give it a specific 1 digit code. I gave up trying to automate this using Lr and or PhotoMechanic.

This scheme suits my workflow. I am not trying to push it as a solution for others.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Can you give an example of your renaming scheme or a description of how you rename.

I want to rename from the default camera format e.g. from my Fuji XT2 DSCF1234.RAF to XT2-1-1234.RAF, or from my Nikon D500 DSCN1234.NEF to D5C-1-1234.NEF
Ideally one preset would do it all but that needs to read the EXIF and get the camera model so I am prepared to have one preset per camera that is hardcoded for the camera model.

I rename as follows: My initials (JWE), a D for digital camera shots or an A for an analog (scanned) image, followed by YYYYMMDDHHMMSS, followed by the original number of the file. So an image shot today could be JWED-201611091435151234.CR2 This scheme makes it certain that I can never have a duplicate name, I can shoot with multiple cameras (which I do) and I'm sure that my images are in 'shooting order' when sorted in file name order.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

P.S. As you can see, my renaming scheme does read and use file metadata (the date). You can also have it add the camera model name (I don't use that, but it is possible), so I don't see why you would have a problem with one renaming scheme for all images.

 

[Jknights]

Thanks Gnits.
I will try and work through your PDF file.

 

[Jknights]

Johan, Thanks for the example.
That looks like a good system for ensuring unique filenames.
I would use it but I tend to work with two or three cameras so I think I would need to use a modified but similar system to try and keep files in Capture time order.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Johan, Thanks for the example.
That looks like a good system for ensuring unique filenames.
I would use it but I tend to work with two or three cameras so I think I would need to use a modified but similar system to try and keep files in Capture time order.

No you don't need any modification, this is designed for just that. I use up to four cameras at a time. This system ensures that there can be no problem, providing you synchronize the time of all cameras.

Think about it: 'JWED-YYYYMMDDHHMMSS' gives each file a unique time stamp, unless you shoot a series of images at more than 1 fps. My Canon EOS-1D X can shoot 14 fps, so that is a potential problem indeed. However, because I also add the original file number at the end (so if the original image is called 'IMG_1234.CR2', then the new file name will be 'JWED-YYYYMMDDHHMMSS1234.CR2') there still is no problem. It also doesn't matter that another camera could potentially be at 'IMG_1234' too, because I will never fire two cameras at the exact same time. I may use up to four cameras, but that means I switch between cameras all the time. And that means that 'JWED-YYYYMMDDHHMMSS' will be different, because it always takes more than one second to switch between cameras...

 

[Jknights]

Well I can't do a single import renaming preset but I can do a set of custom ones for each and all of my different cameras.
That helps somewhat.
I dont want to change my image file name conventions now after so many years but I do appreciate the uniqueness of Johan's naming convention even between cameras.

Also I have made a preset to update my EXIF from the Fuji cameras so that I can update the EXIF with my copyright. Needs to do some tests to see if it exports correctly and everything.

Thanks for your help and encouragement to add this useful tweak to my cataloguing workflow.

 

[Gnits]

use a modified but similar system to try and keep files in Capture time order.

Remember you can sort your grid by capture time very easily. Also, Lr has very powerful search and selection tools in the grid view (use '\' shortcut key) which are much easier to use than trying to find the info in the file name.

Keep your file naming convention as simple as possible, but worth making sure you do not create duplicate file names.

 

[clee01l]

Well I can't do a single import renaming preset but I can do a set of custom ones for each and all of my different cameras.

I have several Import presets. Each responds to a specific condition. Renaming files on import is not necessary or important (IMO). File name has no role in my LR workflow. If I need to know which camera, lens, etc. was used for a particular image or group of images, the metadata filter in a grid view will tell me that. Also I can have a Smart preview that can collect images by camera or camera combined with other characteristics, collect images to any level of granularity.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Yeah, it's personal. If you only shoot for your own use, then you don't need to rename images. As long as they end up in different folders, there is no problem having duplicate file names. If you shoot professionally however, it makes sense to use unique file name so you can send samples to clients and they can refer to file names to tell you which one they want.

 

[Gnits]

Yeah, it's personal. If you only shoot for your own use, then you don't need to rename images. As long as they end up in different folders, there is no problem having duplicate file names. If you shoot professionally however, it makes sense to use unique file name so you can send samples to clients and they can refer to file names to tell you which one they want.

I agree ... my file names have a job number and a unique image number. There is no guarantee the person I may be exchanging files with is using Lr.

One great aspect of Lightroom is that it does facilitate multiple different workflows to suit different operational scenarios.

 

[clee01l]

my file names have a job number and a unique image number. There is no guarantee the person I may be exchanging files with is using Lr.

Why would you be sending unedited originals? Exports are what the client should be seeing. File naming conventions for exports are certainly appropriate. There is no need to rename originals in this case as long as there is a trail in LR that links back to the original.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

Why would you be sending unedited originals? Exports are what the client should be seeing. File naming conventions for exports are certainly appropriate. There is no need to rename originals in this case as long as there is a trail in LR that links back to the original.

True, but to me the easiest trail is an original and an exported file that have the same name. That's why I do rename my files, but quite frankly I don't see why we would discuss this at all. Everybody can decide whether or not he/she wants to rename files, that's not the issue. The issue was how to do that if you decide you want to do it.

 

[Gnits]

Why would you be sending unedited originals?

True, but to me the easiest trail is an original and an exported file that have the same name.

I do exactly the same. I can easily trace any derivatives back to the original raw (or psd if I have reworked in Ps). Raw files never get sent anywhere.