Way to Allow someone else to add Keywords to Photos

[bguess71]

Lightroom Version Number

Lightroom Classic version: 10.1.1

Operating System

1. macOS 11 Big Sur

Hello,
I am currently photographing and archiving family photo albums that my mother sent me. There are well over 1000 photos to capture and catalog. I have been trying to research a way to allow my mother to add keywords to photos remotely. I am using LRC and see that Lightroom CC does not allow for keywords to be imported into LRC. The only way that I can currently figure out how to allow her to remotely add keywords to specific photos is to:

1. Send her a copy of the LRC catalog on external disk
2. Have her import the catalog into LRC on her local machine
3. Add keywords to photos
4. Export the catalog back to the external drive
5. Have her ship me the external drive back
6. Import and merge the catalog on the external drive with my current catalog on my machine

If there are other workflows, software, plug-ins, etc that will allow the adding of keywords remotely, I would appreciate any information. Also if there are other threads that cover this topic, please point those out as well as I was not able to find anything in my cursory search.

I want to keep using LRC and not migrate to Lightroom CC.

TIA.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

That is indeed the way, except for sending a physical drive back and forth. Zip the catalog and use something like WeTransfer.com to send each other the catalog.

 

[clee01l]

That is indeed the way, except for sending a physical drive back and forth. Zip the catalog and use something like WeTransfer.com to send each other the catalog.

The catalog and the Previews (at least) are needed to view the images. The catalog file alone is not sufficient.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[bguess71]

Is it possible to use another catalog program to do the keywords and then import into LRC?

 

[prbimages]

One workaround is for you to share the photos with your mother by syncing them and sharing an album. She can use a web browser to view the album and add comments to photos with any relevant information - e.g. "Aunt Hanako at Gustav's house in Redfern - Christmas 1969?" The comments WILL sync to your Lightroom Classic, and you can then code the information into keywords as you see fit.

Advantages: Your mother doesn't need anything other than a web browser (and a free Adobe login). You don't need to send catalogs back and forth. Your mother doesn't need to be particularly computer-savvy. You remain in control of the keywording, rather than ceding that responsibility to your mother (who might use keywords that are not useful to you, or who might structure them differently, or who might accidentally delete or modify keyword structures that are important).

Disadvantage: You need to do the extra work of converting the comments into keywords.

 

[Jim Wilde]

One workaround is for you to share the photos with your mother by syncing them and sharing an album. She can use a web browser to view the album and add comments to photos with any relevant information - e.g. "Aunt Hanako at Gustav's house in Redfern - Christmas 1969?" The comments WILL sync to your Lightroom Classic, and you can then code the information into keywords as you see fit.

Advantages: Your mother doesn't need anything other than a web browser (and a free Adobe login). You don't need to send catalogs back and forth. Your mother doesn't need to be particularly computer-savvy. You remain in control of the keywording, rather than ceding that responsibility to your mother (who might use keywords that are not useful to you, or who might structure them differently, or who might accidentally delete or modify keyword structures that are important).

Disadvantage: You need to do the extra work of converting the comments into keywords.

Exactly what I was going to suggest when I read the OP.

 

[bguess71]

The catalog and the Previews (at least) are needed to view the images. The catalog file alone is not sufficient.


Sent from my iPad using Tapata

One workaround is for you to share the photos with your mother by syncing them and sharing an album. She can use a web browser to view the album and add comments to photos with any relevant information - e.g. "Aunt Hanako at Gustav's house in Redfern - Christmas 1969?" The comments WILL sync to your Lightroom Classic, and you can then code the information into keywords as you see fit.

Advantages: Your mother doesn't need anything other than a web browser (and a free Adobe login). You don't need to send catalogs back and forth. Your mother doesn't need to be particularly computer-savvy. You remain in control of the keywording, rather than ceding that responsibility to your mother (who might use keywords that are not useful to you, or who might structure them differently, or who might accidentally delete or modify keyword structures that are important).

Disadvantage: You need to do the extra work of converting the comments into keywords.

I’ll look into this. I looked at using Adobe Bridge but the description field was only like 120 characters. Do you happen to know how big the comments section is ? Translating the comments to keywords is not an issue as I can then standardize them as I go.

thanks to all for the creative thinking on this issue.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

The catalog and the Previews (at least) are needed to view the images. The catalog file alone is not sufficient.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Correct. I should have said 'zip the catalog folder' the first time. When the catalog is sent back, you do not have to send the previews however.

 

[Jim Wilde]

Do you happen to know how big the comments section is ? Translating the comments to keywords is not an issue as I can then standardize them as I go.

I don't know if there's a hard limit, if there is it's not one that I've ever reached. I have a friend in the US that I share albums with and we frequently get into long conversations on a particular image using the Comments function, and each comment can often be more than 500 characters. Also the Comments function allows for a full "back and forth" conversation, with again no apparent limit on the number of comments per image.

 

[bguess71]

I don't know if there's a hard limit, if there is it's not one that I've ever reached. I have a friend in the US that I share albums with and we frequently get into long conversations on a particular image using the Comments function, and each comment can often be more than 500 characters. Also the Comments function allows for a full "back and forth" conversation, with again no apparent limit on the number of comments per image.

Instead of the comments, could she just use the keywords in Lightroom and then I can transfer them to LRC manually? Although the comments allow for a more free flow answer that might be easier for my Mom to enter. Also you can see the comments in LRC directly. I am seeing advantages and disadvantages to each process.
Thanks again for the response. I think this will be the method I go with as it will allow for simultaneous work on the project. Tasks can be done in parallel instead of a waterfall process.

 

[Jim Wilde]

Yes, she could enter the keywords directly into Lightroom, but that would mean:

a) Installing the Creative Cloud desktop app, plus Lightroom, on your mother's system. As your license only allows for two concurrent activations of your Creative Cloud desktop and associated apps, you'd be maxed out and couldn't activate your own second system. Which may or may not be an issue.

b) I'd have to point out that such a usage would be in technical breach of your license agreement, which again may or may not be an issue.

c) Your mother would have access to all images that you'd synced to the cloud. Again, this may or may not be an issue.

Personally, if I was doing something like this with my family I'd definitely go the LrWeb shared album route, as I think it would be a lot easier to manage (and communicate). Although the comments do indeed sync back to LrC it might get a bit kludgy trying to copy and paste stuff between the comments section and the Keyword list in LrC, I think I'd find it easier copying and pasting from a web browser into the LrC Keywords list, there'd be no need for constant scrolling between the two panels in the LrC window.

 

[JanMartin]

I am not experienced in this at all, but I thought I read where someone put LR Mobile on their parent's phone, had them use the photographer's login and let them edit?

 

[Jim Wilde]

I am not experienced in this at all, but I thought I read where someone put LR Mobile on their parent's phone, had them use the photographer's login and let them edit?

Yes, that's another possibility. The problem with that (for me at least) is that it gives the other person full unrestricted access to all the images that are in my cloud account, which is something I would never do unless in the direst straits. It's probably OK if the cloud is only being used to house a single set of images put together for the specific purpose of collaboration with another user, but my use of the cloud extends to my entire library. It would be far too easy for them to inadvertently mess things up, so the shared album method is a far safer and thus more suitable method.

 

[clee01l]

It would be far too easy for them to inadvertently mess things up,

And since Lightroom Cloudy has no version control backup, it is not possible to recover catastrophic errors made by others or yourself to the data in the cloud.

 

[prbimages]

... someone put LR Mobile on their parent's phone, had them use the photographer's login and let them edit?

This won't solve the original poster's problem, which is to allow the other person to update the keywords. Keyword changes won't sync back to the original Lightroom Classic.

 

[stevedo]

Maybe there's another way of skinning this cat:

1. Finish scanning all of the photos so that they are ready for keywording.
2. Share your screen with your mum using something like Skype (other screen sharing apps are available).
3. Talk through the photos with your mum in real time and you add the keywords.

Just my humble opinion but "there are well over 1000 photos" doesn't sound like too many (unless you mean there are 50,000) and these could be keyworded fairly quickly.

The benefits to my mind would be:

1. You can maintain full control of your keywords and apply them in a consistent manner.
2. No need for your mum to type lots of comments that you then need to interpret. I obviously don't know your mum but suspect that typing lots of notes may become a little tedious.
3. No need to try and synchronise anything anywhere and keep track of different catalog versions, albums etc. (and any associated backups), especially given some of the current limitations of Lightroom as stated above.
4. I imagine that there would be no licensing implications in this scenario.
5. You get to do something, although virtually, with your mum.

I have no idea if this scenario would work for you. As I said, just another way to look at the "problem".