Over time, you may have ended up with a load of duplicated photos that you need to clean up. Merging catalogs can introduce duplicates, but so can importing photos with Don’t import suspected duplicates unchecked, importing exported photos or using the catalog on more than one device can also clutter your catalog with duplicate photos. Whatever… Click to continue
How do I rearrange existing photos into a new dated folder structure?
Last week, we discussed how to create, rename and delete folders, and how to move photos between folders. If you’re moving to a dated folder structure, Lightroom won’t create the folder structure automatically, but it can help. Here’s how: Create your new dated folder structure in the Folders panel. Month folders inside of year folders… Click to continue
How do I reorganize my Folders panel?
Lightroom only automatically organizes photos (for example, into dated folders) while importing, but if your existing folder structure is a mess, you can tidy it up manually by creating, moving, renaming and deleting folders and photos. While Lightroom doesn’t care where the photos are stored, it does make it easier to back up and move Lightroom.… Click to continue
How do I copy metadata or edits between photos?
In last week’s post, we identified all of the duplicate photos in your catalog and deleted many of them. There may still be some duplicate photos left, whether these are real files on the hard drive or virtual copies created during the merge process, with edits you don’t want to lose. For example, you may… Click to continue
How do I clean up my keyword list?
In the previous post, we learned how to start keywording from scratch, but many Lightroom users have already added a few keywords, so this week, we’ll do some cleanup. How do I edit an existing keyword? If you want to edit a keyword, perhaps to correct the spelling, simply right-click on the keyword in the Keyword… Click to continue
How do I assign keywords to my photos?
Having decided how you’ll keyword your photos and whether to use a flat list or hierarchy, you can either start by building your keyword list in the Keyword List panel and then apply these keywords to your photos, or you can start keywording the photos and allow your keyword list to build gradually. Adding your… Click to continue
Should I use flat or hierarchical keywords?
In the last post, we were talking about the kind of keywords to add to your photos, but this week, let’s talk about the pros and cons of flat vs. hierarchical keyword lists. On the left, we have a single long flat list of keywords, and on the right, a hierarchy of keywords nested inside other… Click to continue
What kind of keywords should I assign to my photos?
In previous weeks, we’ve discussed the benefits of keeping all of the photos in a single catalog and using Lightroom’s tools to organize them. For the next four posts in the series, we’re exploring keywords. Keyword tags are text metadata used to describe the content of the photo. Unlike collections, keywords can be stored in the metadata of… Click to continue
My rating workflow
In the previous post in the series, we discussed how to apply flags and star ratings to your photos, and how to filter them… but when you’re faced with thousands of photos, where do you start? How do you decide which photos deserve which ratings… and how do you keep the meaning of the ratings… Click to continue
How do I use flags and star ratings to identify my favorite photos?
In the last post, we discussed using collections to group photos. You don’t need to create additional collections for your best photos, because you can use flags/stars and filter them. Flags vs. Stars Lightroom offers multiple ways of rating your photos. Flags have three different states—flagged (picked), unflagged and rejected. It’s a popular ranking system among Lightroom users,… Click to continue
How do I create and manage collections?
In the “Why use collections to organize photos?” post, we learned why you might want to use collections to group photos. Now let’s learn how… How to create a collection To create a collection, scroll down to the Collections panel, which you’ll find in the left panel group in all modules, click the + button at… Click to continue
Why use collections to organize photos?
In previous posts, we’ve learned how store photos and videos in folders on your hard drive, but now let’s start organizing them into virtual collections based on their content. Collections are designed to group photos and videos for a specific purpose. Unlike folders, a single photo can be in multiple different collections without taking up extra… Click to continue
How do I use the Import dialog’s Destination panel to put the photos in per-shoot folders?
In the last post, we learned how to automatically place photos into dated folders, but if you need to find photos outside of Lightroom, you may want to store your photos in a year/shoot-named hierarchy instead. This still meets the best practice principles described in the How to organize your photos post. Here’s an example of a… Click to continue
How do I use the Import dialog’s Destination panel to put the photos into dated folders?
In an earlier post, we briefly discussed using the Destination panel to choose where to select the location for your photos, highlighting the folder in white. We also said that Lightroom can automatically organize the photos into subfolders for you, and that any folders that Lightroom creates are placed inside your selected folder. How the… Click to continue
How do I organize photos into folders?
Once you’ve decided where to store the photos on the hard drive, you then need to decide how to organize them. There’s no right or wrong way of organizing photos on your hard drive, but there are some basic principles that can help you avoid problems. It’s worth spending the time to set up a logical folder… Click to continue