my LR workflow, whats yours & LR workflow - the continuation!

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liquidmonkey

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my LR workflow, whats yours?

some time back i asked 'whats a good workflow?' and didn't get too many answers so after a few weeks, i have a 'workflow' sorted and wanted to share my suggestions as it can be an often asked question for anyone new to digital photography.

feel free to comment and / or pick my workflow apart, i'm always open for suggestions and critism ;)

**************************************************
Photography Workflow with LR 2.' and PS CS3


Create Folder in appropriate year with appropriate heading,
  • 2''8
    • '8-'7-23 New Zealand
Transfer all photos in ‘'1 Original’ folder,
  • 2''8
    • '8-'7-23 New Zealand
      • '1 Original
        • 5MP
        • 6MP RAW
        • Friends Pics
Do a backup or synchronization at this point.

Import photos into LR…
Browse and rate all photos with:
  • 5 stars being an outstanding photo (experiment with in RAW)
  • 4 stars being a great photo (spend time to touch up in RAW)
  • 3 stars being an average photo (apply usual presets)
  • 2 stars being less than average (possible deletion)
  • 1 star being total shit and delete ASAP
  • ' star is a Panoramic or GIF and move to panoramic folder
  • FLAG any that need touch up in PS, ie, dust, cloning etc…
  • RED all photos to begin with and remove after being reviewed
  • GREEN any photos to be used in slideshows / facebook / website (keep below 8')
Remove any GIF or PANORAMIC photos and place in proper folder,
  • 2''8
    • '8-'7-23 New Zealand
      • Panoramic
        • Original
  • Panoramic photos are joined and processed using AUTOSTITCH, then the final jpeg is taken to PS and touched up for final presentation.
  • RAW images will NEED to be converted to jpg in order for the stitching process to work correctly.
Use LR to rename appropriately - 5MP-trip-###.

Do a backup or synchronization at this point.

If a photo needs touch ups, use the ‘edit in PS’ feature on LR and it will automatically change over to PS. Furthermore, when PS saves, it will rename (adds ‘EDIT’)and convert the NEF file into a TIFF and it is automatically put back into LR. Remember to save work in PS when finished.

Once a photo is finished the COLOR RED is turned OFF!!

Should have anywhere from half to a quarter of the original photos from a particular photo shoot / trip / adventure (depending on quality of shots of course).

Spend time looking at each RAW making adjustment as needed, if any! Use the XY view feature as this is great for comparing BEFORE and AFTER results as you tweak a photo.

Do a backup or synchronization at this point.

Use the GREEN photos to export 3 sizes for my website and use the 12'' x 9'' for Facebook.
  • Jumbo (12''x9'') originals that open in a new window from slideshowpro
  • Large (8''x6'') for high bandwidth viewers
  • Small (64'x48') for low bandwidth viewers
All adjustments and reviews should be finished and its time to UL to their appropriate spot on the web.

Do a backup or synchronization at this point.

If you ever want to show a Slideshow to friends / family at home or at a presentation, use the slideshow feature in LR.

**************************************************
 
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What's with the new Zealand folders ??
 
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Just a short question from my side. Why is your first step to create a folder, when you can do this automatically on import from your memorycard/camera?

I'll post my own workflow below in a couple of minutes.


 
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My workflow is as follows below. I have only created this file over the last two days, so I'm sure I forgot some stuff. Feel free to leave some feedback though.

On the first day (immediately after import) I try to do steps 1 and 2, step 3 on the second and consecutive days, step 4 whenever I have some time and step 5 whenever I need the photo(s). Between brackets I have added some shortcuts and comments.

1) Import
Import photos from CF card to External HD, settings:
-Move photos to new location (i.e. F:/photos/aviation/2''8/2''8'918_ehlw)
-File naming template (i.e. 2''8'918_ehlw_9876.CR2)
-Develop setting (User Preset)
-Metadata preset
-Standard previews

2) Add keywords
Grid View (G):
-Filter out keyworded photos (Custom filter)

Grid View (G) & Loupe View (E):
-Drag & drop remaining photos to keywords

3) Selection
Loupe View (E), hold Caps Lock and:
-Mark unwanted photos as rejected (X)
-Mark decent photos as unflagged (U)
-Mark quality shots with red color label (6) for developing

Grid View (G):
-Review rejected photos (Custom filter)
-Delete photos (Ctrl+Backspace)

Compare View (C):
-Compare ‘burst shots’ & identical static shots
-Mark unwanted photo(s) as rejected (X)
-Mark best photo with red color label (6)
-Repeat deleting process

4) Develop
Grid View (G):
-Select photos with red color label (Custom filter)

Develop mode (D):
-Basic panel (all tools)
-Tone curve panel (all tools)
-Detail panel (sharpening & noise reduction)
-Spot Removal (N)
-Crop Overlay (R)
-Mark photo with purple color label
-Edit remaining photos

Grid View (G):
-Select photos with purple color label (Custom filter)
 -Set ratings for edited photos (1 - 5, 1=low quality 5=top quality)

5) Export photos
Grid View (G) & Loupe View (E):
-Select photos with purple color label (Custom filter)
-Run Export preset to save as JPEG or open PSD file in Photoshop


Custom filters
I use the following Custom filters to see whether I forgot to do anything (all filters refer to steps in the workflow as mentioned above):
-Default (all photos)[FONT=&quot]
- [/FONT]Delete Queue (rejected photos)
-Develop Queue (red color label) [still need to be developed][FONT=&quot]
- [/FONT]Keyword Queue (photos without keywords) [still need to be keyworded][FONT=&quot]
- [/FONT]Metadata Queue (photos without metadata added) [metadata need to be added][FONT=&quot]
-[/FONT]Rating Queue (purple color label shots without rating) [photos that need to be rated]
-Ready for Publication (purple color label) [quality photos that were developed]

 Other tasks
On ‘rainy Sundays’ (when I’m bored) I do the following:
-Check Custom filters to see whether I have any work to do
-Remove redundant Catalogue Back Ups (My Pictures/Lightroom/Backups)
-Finding low-quality photos to delete (to improve overall quality of the photos)
-Synchronize folders to find ‘hidden’ photos
-Back up red & purple labeled photos to laptop (quite regularly)
-Back up all photos to DVD (about annually)
-And lastly (not unimportant)&#823'; Just enjoying my photos as much as I can ;-)
 
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DJdeRidder;229'2 said:
Just a short question from my side. Why is your first step to create a folder, when you can do this automatically on import from your memorycard/camera
Click to expand...

I have used Photoshop Elements for a long time, and I just switched over to Lightroon. In Photoshop Elements, the Adobe photo downloader automatically creates a folder with naming convention I specify, such as yyyy-mm-dd. I haven't yet found the option in Lightroom that automatically names a folder for this import batch from my camera. How do you automatically create a folder for this import batch using Lightroom? Thanks!
 
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To create a folder on import you should select "move photos to new location" or "copy photos to new location", then "Organize: into one folder", then choose "put in subfolder".

If you choose "Move to"/"Copy to" C:/photos, and choose subfolder 2''8-'9-18, the photos will be moved to C:/photos/2''8-'9-18. Next time you import you can create a subfolder like 2''8-'9-19.
 
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DJdeRidder;229'2 said:
Just a short question from my side. Why is your first step to create a folder, when you can do this automatically on import from your memorycard/camera?
Click to expand...


good point, i'll try that next time. i've been using the 'folder' method (with windows explorer or XYplorer) for about 3 years now and just really got into LR a month ago :)
 
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To automatically create year and date folders, in the Import dialog, there is an Organize: drop-down list. There are a number of "By date: ..." options which will automatically create the appropriate folders with various naming schemes.

This uses the date in the metadata of the picture to create and populate the folders.
 
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Thanks for laying out how you work with your images. I found it helpful to be able to go through and comment as that helped clarify several areas in my workflow that need to take more advantage of LR's features.

liquidmonkey said:
some time back i asked 'whats a good workflow?' and didn't get too many answers so after a few weeks, i have a 'workflow' sorted and wanted to share my suggestions as it can be an often asked question for anyone new to digital photography.

feel free to comment and / or pick my workflow apart, i'm always open for suggestions and critism ;)

**************************************************
Photography Workflow with LR 2.' and PS CS3


Create Folder in appropriate year with appropriate heading,
  • 2''8
    • '8-'7-23 New Zealand
Click to expand...
My scheme is similar, but I like things to show up in order so I use this:
  • 2''8
  • '1Jan
    • '2Feb
      • 2''8'22' Lake in the woods
      • 2''8'22' Big tree by the river
      • 2''8'224 Creek panoramic
      • 2''8'224 Creek flowing VID
I find the international date format of yyyymmdd much better than what I consider to be the ambiguous '8-'7-23 you use. When I get around to scanning in my old negatives, I'll want the century. I could probably not bother with the month level between the year and the photo folders, but I've found it helps a lot when I'm searching.

Like you, I set up my folders outside lightroom since the import function doesn't give me enough freedom. I also sometimes have videos I've made with the one camera that has a video mode. I keep those with the photos, and I expect LR 3 or 4 will include some level of video organizing.

Transfer all photos in ‘'1 Original’ folder,
  • 2''8
    • '8-'7-23 New Zealand
      • '1 Original
        • 5MP
        • 6MP RAW
        • Friends Pics
Click to expand...
Here we part ways, I think. I leave them all in the basic subject area. Perhaps I should create further subfolders since I've got a few with several hundred photos from three different cameras all mixed together. Such as an event like earthday. I try to keep the clocks on my cameras synchronized, so pictures taken with different cameras of a similar subject will turn up together. But since LR will show me the subfolder stuff too, perhaps I will go back to sorting them out by camera. On the other hand I can always use metadata to do that.

Also I don't think I'd do something like create a separate folder for Friends Pics unless they were taken by the friend with their camera. Instead I would use keywords to identify those. Or, if the subject is sufficiently different, I put them in a separate folder with the same date string, but a different descriptive phrase.

Sometimes at this point, depending on the contents of the folder, I select all and do a rename, e.g. Earthdance2''8-seq#-original filename. Another reason why I'd prefer to dump all the photos, even from different cameras, in one folder.

(I got the preset with newname-seq#-originalfilename somewhere on this forum)

Do a backup or synchronization at this point.
Click to expand...
I use an online backup service (Carbonite) which I've told to back up the master folder where all my photos are and it starts backing up as soon as I copy them there. It is slow, though. I also keep a back up on a USB drive and run backup to it as soon as I've got all my photos downloaded.

Import photos into LR…
Browse and rate all photos with:
  • 5 stars being an outstanding photo (experiment with in RAW)
  • 4 stars being a great photo (spend time to touch up in RAW)
  • 3 stars being an average photo (apply usual presets)
  • 2 stars being less than average (possible deletion)
  • 1 star being total shit and delete ASAP
  • ' star is a Panoramic or GIF and move to panoramic folder
  • FLAG any that need touch up in PS, ie, dust, cloning etc…
  • RED all photos to begin with and remove after being reviewed
  • GREEN any photos to be used in slideshows / facebook / website (keep below 8')
Click to expand...

I like this part, though I generally just do 1 or 2 stars for everything that looks like a keeper and wait till later to decide if I want to add more stars.

I also like throwing a color on everything to indicate I haven't reviewed them in detail yet. But I'm not sure I'd flag or select uploads at this point.

Remove any GIF or PANORAMIC photos and place in proper folder,
  • 2''8
    • '8-'7-23 New Zealand
      • Panoramic
        • Original
  • Panoramic photos are joined and processed using AUTOSTITCH, then the final jpeg is taken to PS and touched up for final presentation.
  • RAW images will NEED to be converted to jpg in order for the stitching process to work correctly.
Use LR to rename appropriately - 5MP-trip-###.
Click to expand...

For my panoramics, rather than move them, I select the images to be joined and rename them something like PanoCreek1-seq#-[original file name]. So I can end up with some pretty long names sometimes as the original filename by now could have an additional prefix I put on above. I stack each set of panoramic orginals, but leave them in the original folder.

When I get some time to create the panos, I export to a separate directory outside my date structure called panos, and put them in a subdirectory there by subject area. But having just this evening had to search for one, I'm thinking putting the exported jpg or tiffs in a subfolder like you've done is probably a better idea.

I have used autostitch, CS2 and Hugin for creating them, and at this point I like Hugin the best, autostitch second and photoshop last.

Do a backup or synchronization at this point.
Click to expand...
I just do a backup to my usb drives whenever I get to a stopping place.

If a photo needs touch ups, use the ‘edit in PS’ feature on LR and it will automatically change over to PS. Furthermore, when PS saves, it will rename (adds ‘EDIT’)and convert the NEF file into a TIFF and it is automatically put back into LR. Remember to save work in PS when finished.

Once a photo is finished the COLOR RED is turned OFF!!

Should have anywhere from half to a quarter of the original photos from a particular photo shoot / trip / adventure (depending on quality of shots of course).

Spend time looking at each RAW making adjustment as needed, if any! Use the XY view feature as this is great for comparing BEFORE and AFTER results as you tweak a photo.
Click to expand...

Since I've been working in LR2, I find I hardly ever want to go to PS to do anything. A few times, but mostly I'm quite happy with what LR2 can do.

At this point, once I've got them in LR2 and have done the initial renaming and sorting out and taken a quick look at each one and given it a star or two, now is when I go into a more detailed review and development as needed. This is usually the most time consuming of the tasks in my workflow, and I used to wish there was a bookmark feature so when I came back the next day I could pickup where I left off, even if in between I had to do something quick for someone else. But using a color to show which ones I haven't developed/evaluated yet is a good idea.

Now is when I add more stars if I think the image deserves it. Sometimes I will also pick out what I will upload where. But usually I'll rate everything in a folder first.

I don't use colors to do the sorting out of what goes where, to be honest, usually I just filter everything with one or more stars and go from there. But I'm thinking that what I will be doing, have done once already, is put them in collections. Then export the collection to my upload area where the directory structure is named by the targets.

There's a plugin for uploading to Smugmug, and since I don't really need to have those files cluttering up my hard drive (I can always export again), I use the plugin's temporary area which it deletes when done. But if I don't put them in a collection, I will lose track of what I've uploaded where. I size according to where they are going.

uploads
DA
LightPaintings
Landscapes
​
Smugmug
Haley portfolio
Landscapes
​
Facebook
​

Do a backup or synchronization at this point.

Use the GREEN photos to export 3 sizes for my website and use the 12'' x 9'' for Facebook.
  • Jumbo (12''x9'') originals that open in a new window from slideshowpro
  • Large (8''x6'') for high bandwidth viewers
  • Small (64'x48') for low bandwidth viewers
All adjustments and reviews should be finished and its time to UL to their appropriate spot on the web.

Do a backup or synchronization at this point.

If you ever want to show a Slideshow to friends / family at home or at a presentation, use the slideshow feature in LR.

**************************************************
Click to expand...
 
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great comments and some valid points, i'll be fine tuning my workflow (as i'm no pro by any means) as the weeks and months go on.

i will say one thing about this whole digital photo thing that i'm we sure we can ALL agree on.....IT TAKES A LOT OF TIME!!!!

someothername;23'6' said:
Thanks for laying out how you work with your images. I found it helpful to be able to go through and comment as that helped clarify several areas in my workflow that need to take more advantage of LR's features.


My scheme is similar, but I like things to show up in order so I use this:
  • 2''8
  • '1Jan
    • '2Feb
      • 2''8'22' Lake in the woods
      • 2''8'22' Big tree by the river
      • 2''8'224 Creek panoramic
      • 2''8'224 Creek flowing VID
I find the international date format of yyyymmdd much better than what I consider to be the ambiguous '8-'7-23 you use. When I get around to scanning in my old negatives, I'll want the century. I could probably not bother with the month level between the year and the photo folders, but I've found it helps a lot when I'm searching.

Like you, I set up my folders outside lightroom since the import function doesn't give me enough freedom. I also sometimes have videos I've made with the one camera that has a video mode. I keep those with the photos, and I expect LR 3 or 4 will include some level of video organizing.


Also I don't think I'd do something like create a separate folder for Friends Pics unless they were taken by the friend with their camera. Instead I would use keywords to identify those. Or, if the subject is sufficiently different, I put them in a separate folder with the same date string, but a different descriptive phrase.
Click to expand...

i hear u on the dates and we do use the same format. i just choose not to put in '2''8' and use ''8' instead. i am sooooooooooo down with the format, year-month-day, it should be universal IMHO :lol:
ps, since all my photos are split into years (so a folder for '2''8') i don't need the '2''8' in my directory listings.

someothername;23'6' said:
For my panoramics, rather than move them, I select the images to be joined and rename them something like PanoCreek1-seq#-[original file name]. So I can end up with some pretty long names sometimes as the original filename by now could have an additional prefix I put on above. I stack each set of panoramic orginals, but leave them in the original folder.

When I get some time to create the panos, I export to a separate directory outside my date structure called panos, and put them in a subdirectory there by subject area. But having just this evening had to search for one, I'm thinking putting the exported jpg or tiffs in a subfolder like you've done is probably a better idea.

I have used autostitch, CS2 and Hugin for creating them, and at this point I like Hugin the best, autostitch second and photoshop last.
Click to expand...

have never heard of HUGIN and will give it a try since you have used autostitch and rate it second place.
thanks for that tip!!


a little word about backups.
backups are great but can take a long time which is why i go for synchronization. instead of copying EVERYTHING again after i make changes, it only copies the changes. but then maybe you can set up your backup software like that, not sure??? just wanted to clarify that.

oh yeah, u mentioned somethings about 'friends' and this is the directory i put my friends pics in. for example, if i do a trip / adventure and my friends take pics too, i'll ask for their pics and put them there. that way i have everything from a single trip in one place.



thanks gain for the comments, much appreciated!!
i wish more would post how THEY work, i think EVERYONE could get a little something from everyone's methods for sure :mrgreen:
 
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I'm running into a problem with using the color labels for workflow status. I'd come up with
red - Not looked at yet
yellow - Development, retouch or cropping needed
green - keywording needed
blue - pano work needed
purple - print, sale or portfolio candidate

The trouble is that any given photo might be in more than one of the last four statuses, but a photo can only get one status at a time.
 
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LR gives lots of ways to 'label' your photos and i think its each to their own in that respect.
your right though, colors can only be ON or OFF and not combined so why someone would use multiple colors for photos that can have mutliple states is a little unclear to me.
in this case i think the
red is good
take away the blue and move your pano pics to a different folder
use a flag to replace the yellow label
keywording can be done when importing or later on via the side panels and i don't think it needs a color IMHO
and the purple color could b replaced by stars where 5 stars is to print, sell or portfolio.

this is only for the above example as i use a totally different system but hey, each to their own with LR labeling.

it would be cool if you could use multiple color labeling and even better if the colors stood out a bit more. i'm color deficient and have a hard time telling the difference but maybe thats only me :(
 
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someothername said:
I'm running into a problem with using the color labels for workflow status. I'd come up with
red - Not looked at yet
yellow - Development, retouch or cropping needed
green - keywording needed
blue - pano work needed
purple - print, sale or portfolio candidate

The trouble is that any given photo might be in more than one of the last four statuses, but a photo can only get one status at a time.
Click to expand...

First of all I would decide on what is the best sequence for your workflow.

I'd generally try to get the "bitty" stuff out of the way at the start so I wouldn't have to think about it again. This generally means metadata and keywording; apply at least a core set of keywords at the start of your workflow then if needed add more keywords to individual photos. But getting this headache out of the way early gives more peace of mind later and lets you concentrate on the more creative side of things.

You may consider using a "Candidate" keyword set and Smart Collection, so that at any point in your workflow if you decide a picture is a candidate for portfolio or sale you can apply a keyword and have it automatically added to that Smart Collection, whether it has been processed or pano worked or not, etc.

In my workflow, I generally do my picks & rejects first, then metadata and keywording. This gives my pictures a 1 star rating. No star means not looked at. 2 stars and above then goes into quality of picture.

Labels then describe if I've started processing a pic but unfinished, finished processing for myself, for client or for media. Virtual copies come into this as client & media copies usually have different metadata or copyright info.

Remember also that you can have more than one "Label Set" and if your workflow always follows the same logical sequence (some steps may be bypassed depending on image) you can have a label colour that represents different things - all of this is searchable, or you can make Smart Collections so that images move from one to the next according to their status in your workflow.
 
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stasber said:
First of all I would decide on what is the best sequence for your workflow.

I'd generally try to get the "bitty" stuff out of the way at the start so I wouldn't have to think about it again. This generally means metadata and keywording; apply at least a core set of keywords at the start of your workflow then if needed add more keywords to individual photos. But getting this headache out of the way early gives more peace of mind later and lets you concentrate on the more creative side of things.
Click to expand...

I'm still working on the sequence. Basically, it's still the same as when I was doing a lot of film years and years ago. I make a first run through all the shots from a shoot and make some preliminary judgments regarding which ones I'll work with more.

I see the sense of throwing some quick keywords at the whole shoot and adding a few more during my preliminary run through. I have been marking accepts with one star and once in a while when something jumps out at me I'll give it more during the first run through. But in looking over what Lightroom provides, the accept/reject buttons are pretty handy, though I'm loath to use reject if only because I don't want to accidentally select the menu item that deletes rejects. For some event shoots, I keep things I would normally reject because it amounts to a snapshot I know the person in it would like.

You may consider using a "Candidate" keyword set and Smart Collection, so that at any point in your workflow if you decide a picture is a candidate for portfolio or sale you can apply a keyword and have it automatically added to that Smart Collection, whether it has been processed or pano worked or not, etc.
Click to expand...
I like this idea. I've already set up a pair of keyword sets, one of which includes things like "To Flickr" and "To Smugmug", and another which has "On Flickr" etc. I think a candidate hierarchy will fit in nice with my workflow. Smart collections are slick. I just wish keywords were easier to use.

In my workflow, I generally do my picks & rejects first, then metadata and keywording. This gives my pictures a 1 star rating. No star means not looked at. 2 stars and above then goes into quality of picture.
Click to expand...

I like this approach also. When I'm trying to use colors to record my progress through a folder, I find I'm also doing stars. And with a largish backlog of photos processed prior to bringing them into Lightroom, it makes more sense than marking the whole thing red. This way, in the older folders that I want to organize, eventually everything will have at least one star without a mix of colors.

Labels then describe if I've started processing a pic but unfinished, finished processing for myself, for client or for media. Virtual copies come into this as client & media copies usually have different metadata or copyright info.

Remember also that you can have more than one "Label Set" and if your workflow always follows the same logical sequence (some steps may be bypassed depending on image) you can have a label colour that represents different things - all of this is searchable, or you can make Smart Collections so that images move from one to the next according to their status in your workflow.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what I want to use the colors for. I think keywords and stars provide more than enough control over the workflow process. Being able to have different sets of labels to associate with the colors strikes me as a sure way to confuse myself. I see the potential of having two photos with the same color coding but different labels sitting there side by side with me scratching my head while I reach for the mouse so I can click on something to find out what the colors mean in this case.

Perhaps if we had more shapes as well. Like now we have stars and rectangles. I wouldn't mind having sets of five colors of triangles, five colors of circles, pentagrams, whatever. I like having a way to put little visual cues about the photo in the grid view or along the bottom in develop, but I don't think I like having to click it to find out what it means. Probably not a problem when working with a single shoot, but earlier today, for example, I was searching and using the filter a lot. Since I've only got one set of colors right now, no problem. But when I'm filtering and bringing in photos from different folders, it could get confusing.

I wonder how many color blind photographers there are?
 
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DJdeRidder;229'3 said:

1) Import


2) Add keywords
Grid View (G):
-Filter out keyworded photos (Custom filter)

Grid View (G) & Loupe View (E):
-Drag & drop remaining photos to keywords

3) Selection
Loupe View (E), hold Caps Lock and:
-Mark unwanted photos as rejected (X)
-Mark decent photos as unflagged (U)
-Mark quality shots with red color label (6) for developing

Grid View (G):
-Review rejected photos (Custom filter)
-Delete photos (Ctrl+Backspace)
Click to expand...

Curious why you would apply keywords before selection? I apply a set of core keywords at import and if the entire imprort is rom one location or subject I'll add these at import as well. But the fine tuning of keywords happens after the initial cull. Actually it one of the last things I do.

And, why you go back to review rejected photo's?
 
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OP> Why rate no hopers? That is what the Reject Key is for!

For me:

Anything with 1* + is a Keeper, Reject the rejects, but give them a once over before deleting, 6 for HDR, 7 for Panorama, 8 for Focus Stacking.

Anything with ' is probably not good enough, but I don't actively dislike enough to delete.

Anything for a web gallery will be a Pick.

Only Keyword those that get a 1* + rating. Keep a Smart Collection which finds all Greater than or Equal to 1 star, with no Keywords applied (to keep a check on how diligent I have been!) I will also use Smart Collections for other workflow concepts such as Geocoding. They can be useful so that you can work in batches and see the numbers being reduced!

My folder structure is by date, 2''8.'9.29 with no additions.

Any further divisions or categorization would be done using Collections rather than folder structure.
 
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MMarz;239'5 said:
Curious why you would apply keywords before selection? I apply a set of core keywords at import and if the entire import is rom one location or subject I'll add these at import as well. But the fine tuning of keywords happens after the initial cull. Actually it one of the last things I do.

And, why you go back to review rejected photo's?
Click to expand...

Good questions. The subject that I photograph is very specific, namely military aviation. I work with an extensive, hierarchical keyword collection so entering keywords on import wouldn't make sence. The only overall keyword I could add to a set of imported photos is the location (airfield), but I already include that in the filename (universal four-letter code).

I delete photos after keywording because I want to be sure I don't delete photos with 'essential info' before I apply keywords (to keyword a photo I sometimes need info from another photo, like markings on the aircraft). I do actually mark photos as deleted while I'm in the keywording process, which I forgot to mention above.

Reviewing the rejected photos may not be the best description of what I meant to say. I mean that I take a look which photos I marked as rejected (to be sure I don't delete the wrong photos) before hitting Ctrl+Backspace. Some are visible as you hit the delete key, but I want to be able to scroll down to see all of them.
 
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Due to the huge number of spammers who seem to have taken a liking to the previous thread, I've now closed the other thread and we can continue discussing it on this thread. Once the spammers lose interest, I'll merge the 2 threads back into 1!!!

This was the other thread: http://www.lightroomqueen.com/community/showthread.php?t=3411
 
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Due to the huge number of spammers who seem to have taken a liking to this thread, I've now closed it and we can continue discussing it on a new thread I've started. Once the spammers lose interest, I'll merge the 2 threads back into 1!!!

This is the other thread: http://www.lightroomqueen.com/community/showthread.php?p=24'82
 
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I use X for rejects and 1-5 stars for quality.

Colors reflect the basic states in my workflow. I automatically assign red to all pictures while I import. Yellow after I've assigned keywords and green after basic editing.
That way it's very easy to see if a picture is finished with the workflow I want to do with all my keepers. It's easy to remember (traffic lights!) and easy to change state - just push 6, 7 or 8. It's also possible to just edit a selection of my pictures in a shoot and finish the rest later without loosing track.

I suggest using keywords and collection for other more detailed needs of marking the state in your workflow.
 
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good point on the 'reject' flag for deletions, i should probably do that :)
 
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Sverre;24'99 said:
Colors reflect the basic states in my workflow. I automatically assign red to all pictures while I import. Yellow after I've assigned keywords and green after basic editing.
That way it's very easy to see if a picture is finished with the workflow I want to do with all my keepers. It's easy to remember (traffic lights!) and easy to change state - just push 6, 7 or 8. It's also possible to just edit a selection of my pictures in a shoot and finish the rest later without loosing track.

I suggest using keywords and collection for other more detailed needs of marking the state in your workflow.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be much more easy without having to flag each image after every step you take? You can create a smart collection (or library filter preset) for photos that have not been keyworded for example. Then Lightroom will automatically load all photos without keywords for you!

That is the way I work, and it saves me a lot of time. I have filter presets for photos not containing keywords, not containing personal metadata and without ratings. I use only two color filters: red (for photos I think are worth developing) and purple (for shots that went through develop, so in theory when I need a photo I only need to press export).

From your explanation I conclude that you mark all photos red on import, so how do you know which ones to edit without loosing track?
 
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