LR vs PS file structure

[Discobolo]

I am trying to establish a workflow for using LR (1.4) and PS3 using the same principles that I used for using PS3 by itself. I have described it below. Can anyone give me advice how best I can achieve what I am trying to do? Perhaps I am not using LR correctly. I am a photo enthusiast, not a professional, and take 5' or so images a couple of times a week. Of those 1'', I may consider five or ten to be the “best”. So we are not talking large numbers of images in my workflow.
My PS workflow involved first downloading all photos into a Chrono file. From there I would delete the bad ones and pick the best ones, and leave all the others alone. Then I would copy my best images into a separate Best folder. Then I would back up the Chrono files on an external hard drive. Later I would back up the Best files when I was finished working on them. The important point is that I segregated copies of my best photos from all the others and backed them up separately. I had the best photos saved in two places, once in the Chrono files and again in the Best files.
Now I use LR and begin the same way by importing everything in a Chrono file. I am stuck when it comes to the next step. I could take the best photos and move them into a Best Collection, but the Collection version of this image is not a “real” copy like the PS copy was. I cannot back up the Chrono and Best files separately because there is only one file, the Chrono file. The Best file does not exist.
There may be a way to use Export and Import as a way to make real copies of my best and to put them in a separate files, but I don’t know what that way would be and it seems a bit complicated on the surface. The only images I want to keep linked to the LR database are the best ones. I want to delink all the others and simply back them up and get them out of the way.
So, what I am trying to do is to make real copies of my best images, put them in a separate file that will remain on my hard drive (backed up of course) and have them be the “original” as far as LR is concerned.
Is this a reasonable objective? If so, how can I do it? If not, can you suggest a better way to accomplish what I am trying to do? Many thanks.

 

[Brad Snyder]

Disco, I'm afraid I won't be much help here, since my workflow is almost the opposite, being a real 'packrat' and keeping everything, always, forever.

I did want to take a second and welcome you to the forums. I'm certain some of our members will have some suggestions for you.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

I'm a packrat like Brad, but I think I'm following you.

Just run a couple of things past me... what exactly is a Chrono file? And you want LR to see the best files in the Best folder, and the other files in the Chrono folder. Is that right? Where do each of those reside?

 

[dj_paige]

Discobolo ... I don't have a whole lot of answers for you ... but many people who go from a Windows based file system to a databased file system (like Lightroom) need to undergo a mental paradigm shift ... you need to break out of your old ways of thinking, and not do things that you used to do, just because you always did things that way.

So, let me give you just one example. You said: "...what I am trying to do is to make real copies of my best images, put them in a separate file that will remain on my hard drive (backed up of course) and have them be the ‘original’ as far as LR is concerned". With Lightroom, the concept of original and copy is somewhat blurred, and anyway; the need to separate your copy from original is blurred (because Lightroom keeps track of what is where, so you don't have to) and if you make a copy in a collection and it is not a "real" copy, so what? By backing up the catalog (which Lightroom can do for you automatically), you have a copy of this not "real" copy of your image. Any time you want a "real" copy for use outside of Lightroom, its easy to make one.

 

[Scott O]

Lightroom just replicates your file structure. It doesn't make one itself. If I understand you correctly, outside of LR I would make a copy of the images you want to focus on in a different folder or subfolder. Then import the new folder into LR. So you then would have 2 folders of images, one with all and one with the good ones. You could keep both folders or delete the one you didn't want from your LR catalog (don't delete the images). As an alternative you could keep all images in their folder and use stars or colors to mark the good ones. Then you can select based on this and the others will still be there but not show... Boy, I hope this is clearer than it sounds!

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Lightroom just replicates your file structure. It doesn't make one itself. If I understand you correctly, outside of LR I would make a copy of the images you want to focus on in a different folder or subfolder. Then import the new folder into LR. So you then would have 2 folders of images, one with all and one with the good ones.

I was thinking along similar lines, although I wasn't thinking of leaving Lightroom to do it - just make a subfolder and drag the favs into it within LR itself.

 

[Scott O]

Victoria...I hadn't thought of doing it that way as I always do my organization stuff out of LR with Windows Explorer. But your way would obviously work and quite likely be easier and faster.

 

[Discobolo]

Thank you Victoria, Scott and DJ. Some light bulbs went off in my head after studying you comments and suggestions.
First let me address Victoria’s question regarding the Chrono folder. When I import images from the camera I have LR organize them by date, hence the “chrono” name for this folder. This folder has all my images in it except for the bad ones that I delete after importing. I keep the good ones and the best ones. I want to handle the best ones in a special way that involves having a *copy *of them in a separate Best folder. The Chrono folder will have all the photos, including the best ones, and the Best folder would have only the best in it. This way I could back up the folders separately and also easily remove from LR and PC all but my best images.
It seems I have two alternatives. One is to follow Scotts suggestion and to use another application (I would use Bridge) to make a new Best folder and to copy the Best photos into it. I would then import the Best files into LR. I would achieve my objective of having two separate folders, the Chrono folder with all the photos (including the best ones) and the Best folder with only the best images. I could then easily remove the Chrono folders from my PC to free up space and delink the files in LR to remove them from the database as well.
This is a cumbersome solution. I tried Victoria’s suggestion of dragging the images to the Best folder but this is a Move function not a Copy function. (Right?) I would be removing the Best images from the Chrono folders, something I don’t want to do. Question: is there any way to Copy in LR and to make a file that LR will treat as a unique image? This would be less cumbersome. Another Question: what is the least cumbersome way to make copies of images and put them in a separate Best folder?

The second alternative is to use stars and colors to identify the best photos in LR. This is what “normal people” do I suppose. The problem have with this system is that I want to have my Best images in a separate folder so I can work with them easier and back them up separately. I want to remove all the non-best images from my PC and from LR and to have them on my external hard drive. Question: let’s say I have backed up my Chrono files on my external hard drive and have removed all but the best images from LR as well. That would leave me with only the best images in LR and on my PC. Is there any way to then export these files in a separate Best folder? In my experiments, I find that LR continues to link these images to the original Chrono folders even when I try to export them to a new folder.
I hope this makes sense. Thanks again.

 

[Kiwigeoff]

Thank you Victoria, Scott and DJ. Some light bulbs went off in my head after studying you comments and suggestions.
First let me address Victoria’s question regarding the Chrono folder. When I import images from the camera I have LR organize them by date, hence the “chrono” name for this folder. This folder has all my images in it except for the bad ones that I delete after importing. I keep the good ones and the best ones. I want to handle the best ones in a special way that involves having a *copy *of them in a separate Best folder. The Chrono folder will have all the photos, including the best ones, and the Best folder would have only the best in it. This way I could back up the folders separately and also easily remove from LR and PC all but my best images.
It seems I have two alternatives. One is to follow Scotts suggestion and to use another application (I would use Bridge) to make a new Best folder and to copy the Best photos into it. I would then import the Best files into LR. I would achieve my objective of having two separate folders, the Chrono folder with all the photos (including the best ones) and the Best folder with only the best images. I could then easily remove the Chrono folders from my PC to free up space and delink the files in LR to remove them from the database as well.
This is a cumbersome solution. I tried Victoria’s suggestion of dragging the images to the Best folder but this is a Move function not a Copy function. (Right?) I would be removing the Best images from the Chrono folders, something I don’t want to do. Question: is there any way to Copy in LR and to make a file that LR will treat as a unique image? This would be less cumbersome. Another Question: what is the least cumbersome way to make copies of images and put them in a separate Best folder?

The second alternative is to use stars and colors to identify the best photos in LR. This is what “normal people” do I suppose. The problem have with this system is that I want to have my Best images in a separate folder so I can work with them easier and back them up separately. I want to remove all the non-best images from my PC and from LR and to have them on my external hard drive. Question: let’s say I have backed up my Chrono files on my external hard drive and have removed all but the best images from LR as well. That would leave me with only the best images in LR and on my PC. Is there any way to then export these files in a separate Best folder? In my experiments, I find that LR continues to link these images to the original Chrono folders even when I try to export them to a new folder.
I hope this makes sense. Thanks again.

You may want to try collections and virtual copies for your best, then you could export them as a catalog, with negative files and you would have copies. You may like to look here: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Lightroom/2.'/WSC'9A'7'C-7'3A-47ca-B473-62454756B1D4.html

 

[Victoria Bampton]

First let me address Victoria’s question regarding the Chrono folder. When I import images from the camera I have LR organize them by date, hence the “chrono” name for this folder.

I'm with you!

Question: is there any way to Copy in LR and to make a file that LR will treat as a unique image? This would be less cumbersome. Another Question: what is the least cumbersome way to make copies of images and put them in a separate Best folder?

Easy - select the files and go to Export. Select file type 'original' and choose where to put your 'best folder'. You can also import that back into LR using the 'Add to Catalog' checkbox, but then obviously the files would be duplicated.

Option 2 - do the move within LR, so that LR now sees the 'best' location for those files, and the files are only shown once in LR. Then in Explorer go to the best folder and copy the files back to the chrono folder so that they backup there as usual.

 

[Discobolo]

Victoria, thanks for showing me the way. Roger