Questions re: folder names, importing from Bridge/My pictures to LR

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BostonRott

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Hi all,

This looks like a forum full of great info and helpful people! Thanks to Kiwi Geoff for leading me here. :cheesy::cheesy:

I am currently a PS CS3 user (Windows, XP). I am in year 2 of "picture a day" project, so I have lots of photos and lots of folders. My current naming structure is a folder named MMMYY, and then within that, daily folders named DDMMYY. For instance, I have Feb'9, and within that, '2'1'9, '2'2'9, etc.

In reading through Kelby's book and seeing the defaults for LR's import naming conventions, I think that YYYY/month/dd will fit my needs best. I have loaded LR to the computer but not yet imported anything to the catalog, b/c I want to be sure of how things will settle once I ask the computer to stir it all up. :D

So......I went back and created a 2''8 folder, and a 2''9 folder. Everything older than that is already off the PC due to size constraints.

Will LR create its own new folders of 2''8/month/dd and 2''9/month/dd or will it accept what is already present and just proceed forward? I shoot in RAW with a 12MP camera, so my files are not small and I'd really prefer not to have duplicates (or try to clean up a big mess of "what Bridge did" and "what LR did"). My intent is to get current stuff (on my PC and the external HD's) loaded into LR, and then proceed forward with only using LR to import photos, and hopefully not have to deal with Bridge anymore (hooray!).

I'm very excited by the power I see in LR's database (my main reason for purchasing it), especially the ability to remember what's on my off-line external HD's. :D :D

Thanks in advance for your help! :)
 
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Welcome to the forums Gretchen!

At import time, there is an option to "copy to new location" and organize by date. If space is limited, do it by chunks and remember to backup first!
 
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Bonjour Denis!

I would prefer not to copy to new location. I guess my simplified question is: Will LR leave alone my current photos and accept their naming structure?
 
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There is also an option at import time that lets you leave the files in the folders where they currently reside, so if you don't want Lightroom to make copies, then no copies are made.
 
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Hi Gretchen, welcome to the forum!

If you're happy with your current structure, the 'Add to Catalog at their existing location' option will work a treat.

If you would like Lightroom to adjust your folder structure, there is always the 'Move' option.
 
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Excellent, thank you all for the info and quick replies! :) I just may allow LR to re-arrange things, just as long as I don't end up with 2 copies of 3''Gb of photos! :shock: :D
 
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This is one great lady, of course she uses Nikon!!!:lol::lol::lol:

Gretchen, this is what I would do (and have done).
Import your files at the current location as mentioned.
Then as Victoria (The LR Queen) says "move" them within Lightroom to a structure that works best.
After some experimentation, I ended up with what seems to be the most common order.
2''9
2''9>2''9-'1
2''9>2''9-'1>2''9-'1-'1 Ballooning. The day folders have names as well. Sometimes I may have several day folders with the same day but different shoots.
I create the day folders on import and have the year and year/month folders already in place.
I moved all my files around in LR (to achieve this from the mess I had before. It is easy to use a high level folder in Library/Grid and sort by capture date. Then select the ones of the same date and hit the + button in the folder bar and create a new day one with the selected images.
It can take some time but is well worth the effort - it looks so tidy and organised in the end!!:shock:

Then all further grouping is done with collections.

Welcome aboard Gretchen, it's as friendly here as at the Café.8)
Don't forget that the on-line help is a great resource and I do recommend Victorias Secret Shortcuts -........... oops Book!!
 
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Thanks all! :) So far, I've imported only my 2''9 photos, so that if there were issues, it was less mess to clean up. Looks like it's running smoothly in terms of importing.

I tried to open a photo in Develop by simply clicking on the Develop module (from Library) and the whole program locked up (twice). So, I guess I have more reading to do and things aren't as intuitive as I'd hoped they'd be. :?
 
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Gretchen, I didn't see which version of Lightroom you're using. If you're not using 2.3RC, could I suggest you update. You can download it from http://labs.adobe.com and it's fixed some performance bugs, which may be related to your lock ups.
 
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