Newbie needs help with Adobe Lightroom!

[Sgt_Strider]

Hey guys, I just got myself a copy of Adobe Lightroom and I have a bunch of questions to ask. First, I want to ask about keywords. Can the keywords be saved on to the JPEG files itself? Or it can only be saved into a database like Photoshop Elements? I want the keywords to be saved into the JPEG file so that when I upload it to Flickr, the site will be able to read the data off the JPEG files.

How do I save the keywords into the JPEG files? Is this a lossless process in which picture quality won't be degraded in anyways or mess with any other metadata?

Also, how do I set the order of the keywords? I'm also entering Chinese characters into the database, but for some odd reason, Lightroom ends up reorganizing all the Chinese keywords together and place the English keywords in another group. Thanks!

 

[Andrew Hayton]

Sgt_Strider,

I can't help with you chinese character question but the first part is easier. If you ctrl-s on any files that you want the keywords written to, this will embed the information in the jpeg header and also LR's database. Without doing this the information will only be in LR unless you have the autowrite xmp data set to on as your prefence. When you export a jpeg at 1''% or even upload the original there will be no loss of quality as it is only the header information that is changed and not the image.

 

[theturninggate]

Sgt_Strider,

The best way to get your images and keywords onto Flickr is to export them directly from Lightroom. You can do that using Jeffrey Friedl's Flickr Export plugin.

As for the keywords, Lightroom organizes them alphabetically. Every time you add a keyword, it will be alphabetized against the others. The OS is likely setup to prioritize one language over another in alphabetical order, maybe as determined by your system's language preferences. In any case, your keywords should stick and should also do their job.

Also, it will help us to advise you now and in the future if you would be so good as to fill in your signature with your system specs and other essential information. You can do so from within the "User CP" menu item at the top of the page.

 

[Mark Sirota]

Just to clarify those answers: If you export a JPEG with format "Original" rather than "JPEG", it will not change the image content at all. If you export as JPEG, even with Quality 1'', it will recreate the image and therefore will have gone through a decompression/recompression process.

That said, if all you're doing is adding keywords, you don't need to use Export at all -- just add the keywords and do "Save Metadata to File" (in the Metadata menu), or use the Command-S shortcut (probably Control-S on Windows). This will write the keywords right into the original JPEG file.

On the Chinese keywords -- LR is sorting the keywords list "alphabetically". If you want to force an order, you could include a number at the beginning, like "'1 family" "'2 wife" "'3 child". But that's a little ugly...

 

[Sgt_Strider]

Just to clarify those answers: If you export a JPEG with format "Original" rather than "JPEG", it will not change the image content at all. If you export as JPEG, even with Quality 1'', it will recreate the image and therefore will have gone through a decompression/recompression process.

That said, if all you're doing is adding keywords, you don't need to use Export at all -- just add the keywords and do "Save Metadata to File" (in the Metadata menu), or use the Command-S shortcut (probably Control-S on Windows). This will write the keywords right into the original JPEG file.

On the Chinese keywords -- LR is sorting the keywords list "alphabetically". If you want to force an order, you could include a number at the beginning, like "'1 family" "'2 wife" "'3 child". But that's a little ugly...

Thanks for the response guys. I think I'll do the Ctrl+S thing just to make things easy for myself.

The funny thing about Lightroom is that it doesn't seem to know how to sort the order of the Chinese characters. The Chinese language doesn't have an alphabet and it seems like Lightroom is just sorting it base on what it thinks is the appropriate order. I want to organize the Chinese words in order according to the romanization of it. It doesn't seem like I can do that.

 

[DonRicklin]

Thanks for the response guys. I think I'll do the Ctrl+S thing just to make things easy for myself.

The funny thing about Lightroom is that it doesn't seem to know how to sort the order of the Chinese characters. The Chinese language doesn't have an alphabet and it seems like Lightroom is just sorting it base on what it thinks is the appropriate order. I want to organize the Chinese words in order according to the romanization of it. It doesn't seem like I can do that.

Then prefacing the name with a Western Letter should help. As was noted Lightroom sorts by Alphanumeric sequence as the Finder or Explorer does.


Don

 

[Sgt_Strider]

I have a question in regards to caption. Do you guys enter your caption in the caption field under the metadata section? If so, can you enter a long caption? The space that Adobe allocates is a bit on the small side. I have somewhat of a long caption for one of my pictures on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawrencejunjielee/1476'428'8/in/set-721576'225824'375/

Do you guys think I can copy and paste it there and in the future should I upload it again to another site that recognize IPTC/XMP data, the captions will transfer perfectly on to the site?

One last thing and that involves the time. I set the time on my camera to local Beijing time when I was there during the Summer. The problem is that the camera and Adobe Lightroom doesn't realize that was the case. As a result, the time appears different on my computer as a result of daylight saving time. Is it possible I can use Adobe Lightroom and set the time to China Standard Time?

 

[theturninggate]

The caption field will expand to accommodate longer captions. Just type whatever you'd like into there and it should work out fine.

As for the time settings, look for Capture Time in the Metadata pane. To the right of the time, you will see a small icon with three horizontal lines on it. Clicking this will allow you to edit the capture time of an image. You can batch edit by selecting multiple images and change them all together.

 

[Bruce J]

I have a question in regards to caption. Do you guys enter your caption in the caption field under the metadata section? If so, can you enter a long caption? The space that Adobe allocates is a bit on the small side. I have somewhat of a long caption for one of my pictures on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawrencejunjielee/1476'428'8/in/set-721576'225824'375/

Look under the metadata pull-down menu and you'll find a setting for something like "large caption". This gives you a much bigger default space to enter your caption.

 

[Brad Snyder]

I have somewhat of a long caption for one of my pictures on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawrencejunjielee/1476'428'8/in/set-721576'225824'375/

Just wanted to see the monster caption, the Flickr page comes back as private. FYI

....brad s

 

[Sgt_Strider]

Just wanted to see the monster caption, the Flickr page comes back as private. FYI

....brad s

Sorry, but I don't understand what you mean by that.

 

[Mick Seymour]

look for Capture Time in the Metadata pane. To the right of the time, you will see a small icon with three horizontal lines on it. Clicking this will allow you to edit the capture time of an image. You can batch edit by selecting multiple images and change them all together.

Be very careful with this and preferably make sure your photo file is read-only. Whenever I've used it Lightroom does some weird stuff based on the local time of my PC. As far as could work out, it gets confused between GMT, your PCs local time and any daylight saving time in force. Essentially, the time Lightroom embedded in the file, as shown by Windows Explorer, was an hour out from the time I set in Lightroom. Once set in the file, it isn't easy to reverse because Lightroom seems to get doubly confused going the other way. This is a known issue that has been raised many times. I'm hoping the next release fixes it.

 

[Brad Snyder]

Sorry, but I don't understand what you mean by that.

When I click on the Flickr link in your previous message, Flickr tells me that the photo is "private". It really doesn't matter to me, I was just curious about your caption issue. When I saw the 'private' message, I just thought I'd let you know, in case it's a misconfiguration or something.

Here's a screen cap, attached:


....brad s

 

[Sgt_Strider]

When I click on the Flickr link in your previous message, Flickr tells me that the photo is "private". It really doesn't matter to me, I was just curious about your caption issue. When I saw the 'private' message, I just thought I'd let you know, in case it's a misconfiguration or something.

Here's a screen cap, attached:


....brad s

Sorry, I didn't realize that I made that picture private. Here is another example of what I was trying to show.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawrencejunjielee/1478627666/in/set-721576'2257359553/

 

[Sgt_Strider]

Be very careful with this and preferably make sure your photo file is read-only. Whenever I've used it Lightroom does some weird stuff based on the local time of my PC. As far as could work out, it gets confused between GMT, your PCs local time and any daylight saving time in force. Essentially, the time Lightroom embedded in the file, as shown by Windows Explorer, was an hour out from the time I set in Lightroom. Once set in the file, it isn't easy to reverse because Lightroom seems to get doubly confused going the other way. This is a known issue that has been raised many times. I'm hoping the next release fixes it.

Do you know of any other alternative software that will allow me to do that since LR has a bug?

On a separate issue, can LR batch resize all of my pictures? I want to resize my pictures for upload to Flickr and maintain the aspect ratio. Does anyone here have any recommendations for what the resolution should be in order to minimize the chance of people stealing pictures when they're posted in Flickr Groups?

 

[Mick Seymour]

can LR batch resize all of my pictures?

Have to tried the export dialog Image Settings Resize to Fit options. They make a pretty good job of resizing down or up.

 

[Mick Seymour]

Do you know of any other alternative software that will allow me to do that since LR has a bug?

I have not tried anything else but a Google of "+EXIF +tools" brings up loads of options.

 

[Sgt_Strider]

On a separate issue, can LR batch resize all of my pictures? I want to resize my pictures for upload to Flickr and maintain the aspect ratio. Does anyone here have any recommendations for what the resolution should be in order to minimize the chance of people stealing pictures when they're posted in Flickr Groups?

Anyone able to answer my questions above?

 

[Kiwigeoff]

Do you know of any other alternative software that will allow me to do that since LR has a bug?

On a separate issue, can LR batch resize all of my pictures? I want to resize my pictures for upload to Flickr and maintain the aspect ratio. Does anyone here have any recommendations for what the resolution should be in order to minimize the chance of people stealing pictures when they're posted in Flickr Groups?

Lightroom mat not have a bug, it may be just trying to co-ordinate/manage different camera settings/OS's/ etc that is the problem I am sure it is being looked at though and is not such an issue as it was earlier. I have no problem at all.
Batch resize is easy on export with restrain to fit. Enter the pixel dimensions you want, I use 8''x8'' so as landscape and portrait are the same (it sizes to the longest side).
I would thin that 72ppi would be a workable resolution. If you don't want your images to be downloaded, can't you just set that or add a watermark (not the best in LR yet) or don't put them on the web, after all it is a public domain. My view is that if you place it in public then you take your chance, it's a bit like taking photos in public after all.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Yes, you can batch resize when you export. Have a look in the export dialog, about 2/3 of the way down, and you'll find the settings. There's a quick rundown of the different settings here: http://photoshopservices.wordpress.com/2''7/11/16/whats-new-in-lightroom-13/ (scroll down!)

Once you put pictures on the web, there's always a chance of people stealing them. You could considering adding a copyright watermark if you're really concerned. I don't know what the generally accepted size is over on Flickr, but hopefully someone will jump in and fill in the gaps for us. I wouldn't usually put anything online above about 1'''px longest edge, usually smaller, if that helps.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Nice to see we're thinking the same way Geoff!!!

 

[Kiwigeoff]

Nice to see we're thinking the same way Geoff!!!

Sometimes, bit tired really - just processing file from a 3 hour shoot at a fire nearby with 1' appliances!! I got in fairly close.

 

[Brad Snyder]

Stewardess, let me help! I speak "Kiwi"!

(appliance = fire engine)

:cheesy:, brad s

 

[Kiwigeoff]

Stewardess, let me help! I speak "Kiwi"!

(appliance = fire engine)

:cheesy:, brad s

:lol::lol: