My NEW Adobe Lightroom workflow - FINALLY Understanding the Lightroom Library

[@arcticsound7341]

Hi Gareth, I think if you took a bit of time to learn the Import tab of Lightroom you will see how much more simple it is. You can do everything from within lightroom including creating import folders, tagging, flagging & rejecting and many other useful features. Your way seemed quite complex to achieve the same thing really. Cheers ☺️

[@chrismonsen]

Thanks for this tip... do you have any recommended video that explains this process by chance? Just installed lightroom today, total newbie. Thank you

[@plsm5882]

I have 1 folder for all my photos. Inside that I have yearly subfolders (not really needed). That's it. I use keywords, stars etc and smart collections for everything. One catalog on USB ssd (desktop & workstation) and one ssd for LR cache and a beefy graphics card. Backup photos and catalog to raid 5 storage and the cloud. Use small tablet and LR mobile when working out and about.

[@stuartreevephotography2587]

I'm retired now due to having seizures but I used to upload my RAW files (1000's of images) directly into Lightroom. I used to rate them direct in LR, get rid of the ones I didn't want, sometimes I might go through them individually a couple of times to make sure I've not missed any I don't want. Then I'd begin cropping/editing

[@Nijoto]

50 seconds in and I already love this video.

[@GarethDanks]

Seems were in the minority haha. thanks for the comment :-)

[@stevejarvis186]

I think what you're doing with respect is a bit confusing. I personally just have 2 folders in LRC one is labelled `RAW files to process` and the other is `JPEG files to process` and I just import photos straight into those folders. I then do all my processing in those folders of a particular shoot or day out and then when I`m finished I set up a folder in the Left hand panel and then drag all the completed photos from either the RAW or JPEG `process` folders into the permanent folder where they're now going to live. In the Left hand panel I have a folder set up for each year and then within that year I set up a folder for each shoot or day out like `05.07 Dartmouth and River Dart` . Thats the way I do it, and my master library of 66,000 photos is on a 5TB HDD which is backed up on two other HDD`s. Anyway I hope thats of interest to somebody, its the simplest and easiest way of processing and storing all my photos that I could come up with. Thanks for putting this video up its always interesting to see how other photographers handle all their photo catalogue.

[@ChipLinck]

You NEED a NAS! I use a DS1821+, as my primary NAS, and love it. You actually need two. One for primary use, and a second to backup the first. That takes care of 2 out of 3 copies for your work. Always online and accessible. Easy to expand. That stack of offline storage was painful to look at.

[@SgtSOB]

I personally use a Synology NAS and Adobe Bridge to organize/edit everything. Having folders and sub-folders is way more intuitive than trying to manage catalogs spread over multiple drives IMO.

[@MrWhiteKeys1]

You had me at "struggle with file management in Lightroom!" Now I'm REALLY paying attention to this video!!!

[@sampb0906]

Same! I had to switch to LrCC from mobile and legit was so confused at the way it manage files.

[@azaty]

I was escaping Lightroom for the same reason! Now I have finally found a simple way of managing files. Awesome video! Thank you!

[@appaketa]

OMG, that is so confusing. Import into Lightroom, avoid Bridge completely, you can edit collections, etc in LRC

[@judylindo6874]

OMG Gareth you are taking sooooo many steps that are not necessary. LR folders, keywords and collections is the way the go! I'm happy to help if you are interested. I can access any photo I need with one click with ease. BTW happy to see you back :)

[@GarethDanks]

Haha. That sounds like me 😂 thank you. I’m expecting a few digs from this 😁

[@judylindo6874]

@@GarethDanks It wasn't meant as a dig, I am serious I will try to help you make your life easier! If you want or you can continue with your way if that is what you are comfortable with :) And I totally understand that. I didn't "get" LR when I started but now I can't imagine my organization without it

[@maggiecollinsphotography195]

Judy I would love to see how you are doing it. I need this bad. Any chance you could do a video to show me? TY

[@Butwillitwork]

@@judylindo6874 I would love to as well, I do virtual folders, keywords and collections too but I always find a new way to improve my process

[@ourholm]

Judy, please share your work flow in LR. Or DM me.

[@peterrothwell4964]

Glad your back x

[@GarethDanks]

Thank you Peter 😊

[@jamesss1953]

I literally just subscribed to you 2 of your videos ago. Ive used Lr for a few years now and more recently Lr mobile. You can set up Lr to import onto a pre made folder in Lr on desktop, as soon as you slot in your memory card with photos it will import for you. Then VERY quickly (I also have to M1 chip MacBook pro) go through your images / grade with stars / colour grade and or delete! Seems you really need the synchronisation set up where by using an iPad to import to at cork place … import photos into Lr mobile on your iPad the photos will immediately sync via Adobe cloud. These are as shot or as edited on phone or iPad and full size. Means you could if desired form iPad/iPhone send to client on the spot. Editing using iPhone and iPad really good. Once home you can view them on MacBook pro, edit etc from where you left off. Hope this makes sense to you. Important - import from camera to iPad, or into iPhone … the synchronisation is as shot - no drop in MB etc. But setting up from Lrc on desk top they drop to kb’s hope this helps

[@TheGazmondo]

Wow what a great surprise, lovely to see you back Gareth !!

[@davidcontrerasm]

Just one thing: I've always thought that images should be ordered (tagged, descriptive names like date, etc) but also ACCESSIBLE. Having tons of pictures on a HD inside a cupboard is useless. I have all my photos on a Raid-1 NAS (14TBx2) connected to my router, which creates a private cloud I can access from any device all around the world. On my mac this shows as a local drive.

[@jeffstephens5266]

Hell that seems very complicated. I copy from my XQD card to a SSD drive. On the drive the images are divided into simple folders based on dates. I then import into LR from the SSD using the “add” button. Those folders on the SSD are then visible in LR. After that how you tag, rate, keyword etc or create collections is down to you. I also have a copy of the images from the XQD card on another SSD as back up along with the backup of LR. I always make sidecar files also as that means I can take my SSD drive with me anywhere in the world and work on LR even if it’s not on my computer.

[@wohfab]

Ah, you just reminded me of my Brecon Beacons trip from 2013. I had no camera back then, but your photos tell me, I should go back there and take my camera! Stunning imagery!

[@GarethDanks]

Thanks mate. Yeah we’re very lucky here.

[@johnlawrence4844]

Nice to see you back Gareth. It's nice to see you happy lol.

[@shadedshotsphotography]

Thanks for sticking through the tough times to share and post! My laptop died as well and it sucks.

[@TaoCovillault]

11:20 This thing with your star system seems odd to me... You have piles for that. You can even auto-pile pictures that have been taken on a defined time span, for example 0.2s. So it will stack all your HDR and focus stacks together. IMO, the star rating is for rating the quality of the pictures. I usually do 3 pass for selection, first pass I'll go through and flag the pictures I want to keep (later on, all non flagged pictures will be deleted). Then I pass a second time and put one star to all my favorites flagged pictures. Then I'll pass a third time and give 2, 3 or 4 stars to the best pictures. Then I make a color marking as: Blue for memories, Purple for edited (good quality) memories, Green for up for portfolio, Red for client order. And then I have smart collections with, for example: Portfolio = Green and Red with more than 3 stars. There is also an interesting method that I don't use but lightroom have a function to step down all marking. Basically it turns all flagged images into neutral and all neutral into rejected. It can be nice to use for faster workflow.

[@kenmeredith1952]

Tim Grey Learning, the guru on Light Room organization.....I point ALL of my students & workshops there....

[@warrenbutler7747]

Hi Garath ita good to see you with another great video thank you

[@JgHobley]

Have you tried using Photo Mechanic & Lightroom?

[@TaoCovillault]

9:11 Wow, that seems a little messy to me... You seems to say that you are open for suggestions to ingest files into lightroom, so here is my process: On the bottom of the importation window you have presets, I created one about 10 years and still use the same: - I create smart previews on import - Add to a collection withh all my pictures (this is for the cloud sync purpose) - Rename the files following the format: YYMMDD-{custom text}-{sequence number}-XXXX. Example: 230501-Portugal-Trip-80782.arw This way, if I look for a file in the finder, all are ordered by year, then month, then date ;) And I add keyword for each import. Then, very important, the destination folder is: - A folder with the year (YYYY) and a subfolder that starts with YYYY-MM-DD. So each day will be imported into a different subfolder automaGically ^^ Then I sometimes add the Custom Text as a suffix on the folder's name. this takes about 10-15mn to setup and then all you have to do on each import is: Write the custom text (that will name your files) and fill up keyword. and this way everything is organised automatically and if I look for a file, even if I don't remember in which folder it is and if I have been lazy to rename the folder, my keywords will help me for sure :D Basically I use lightroom for all my library management, I don't ever go to the folder through finder, I rarely use third party apps (and if I do, I do it through lightroom, so lightroom import it and create a pile with the original automatically). If I have to look for something, re-export or anything, I just open lightroom and all is there, and once again, the keywords help me to find any files ;) I always keyword, location, time of the day, subject, weather, the people who where present etc etc So I know that if I have even one of my friend that came to assist to multiple shoots who ask me BTS shots of her assisting me for applying somewhere or else, I just type her name in the search and I go all pictures from all differents shoots where she was present that comes up 🤩 For me it's a database even before to be a developpement tool🤣

[@nickyfoulkes8476]

Hi Gareth, I am not good at tags as I just can't be doing with typing them in. I use Lightroom to import having made a folder on the relevant drive & click copy. I have software to back up to a Seagate drive. I have to Western digital hard drives on the office floor which are dead & I cannot access any files on them at all. It might have been an idea to put your hard drives by year with labels on them. I must admit Lightroom file organisation is a little daunting at times & you are not alone.

[@FraserJKerr]

this was very helpful. Thanks

[@bobbowring1702]

I have had a seach for your histogram in bridge. It does not look like one at the moment, someone said try this I dont know if it will help you out Not directly. Open the DNG file in ACR 3.x, which has a histogram. I used to use adobe but not used them for years now I use Affinity and Capture one. good luck hope the little tip helps you out. Why dont you colour code your old storage drives and then on your catalouge put the colour on the different set, ie Brighton on drive marked red on your pc catalouge put a red star si if you look at a file with a red colour then you can just get the red drive out.

[@tonyfaulkner6210]

Great video, I'm glad to find someone else bad at filing photos. 😊😉

[@d33d19]

what do you do to back up those western digital backups.

[@owenrichards77]

Great video mate.I’ve struggling with backing up.

[@simracer1256]

Why do you whittle down in Bridge? You can do that in lightroom

[@GarethDanks]

I know mate but I’d rather only import what I want from the sd card to lightroom. Plus I prefer the way Bridge does it. Cheers for the comment

[@simracer1256]

@@GarethDanks yes, you're fartin' sparks!

[@GarethDanks]

Haha. I don’t know what that means. But it’s funny either way

[@LeeHallphotography]

Glad your back buddy hope youband the family are all well and safe. Glad you got your inspiration back on track

[@SimonWestPhotography]

I must admit I don’t use Bridge and create Catalogs in LR which I save in my Dropbox account folder. I create a folder for each event which works well although I also had a general photo folder that was getting quite hefty with 80k photos and now this year have broken it down to areas I.e, Carmarthen or Tenby etc. I guess there is no right or wrong way which is good in many ways. I can relate to all those remote hard drives. I never delete any photos.

[@kennywitham]

Seeing all those hard drives, you should definitely invest in a NAS system. Will let you have redundancy but also a single filesystem and (if you configure it properly) can access anywhere just like a private cloud.

[@movemountainsco.526]

can you use Lightroom catalogs on network attached storage?

[@kennywitham]

@@movemountainsco.526 Hmm, pretty sure you can as long as you are careful. Might not handle being opened by multiple computers at the same time but should work ok if you only use one computer attached!

[@ianhamer4294]

Good to see you back Gareth. I couldn't give advise you as it looks like your file management is on the same level as mine. Have fun learning mate.

[@GarethDanks]

Haha. Thanks ian. Yeah I’m expecting a hammering 😂

[@ngbaturin22]

now, why shouldn't I click that import button again?

[@markbaigent8373]

I fully switched to Bridge plus Photoshop workflow after getting fed up with the sluggish, bloated Lightroom.

[@arcanics1971]

I doubt I'm using LR right. I got it a year ago and I use it how it makes sense to me. No doubt, I am being daft. But damn, Gareth, even my obviously silly way is nowhere near as convoluted and needlessly complex as yours! I'm in no position to criticise, really. But I suddenly feel very efficient and organised!

[@arcanics1971]

PS: Loved your usage of the stars though! Genius!

[@oliviawestfall.4182]

This made me laugh out loud.

[@MooreCona]

Just use lightroom to rate your photos, that way you have a histogram

[@Jude2408]

Given up on Macs.

[@BizzleByron]

I’m just an amateur… but it looks like you desperately need a decent NAS system to consolidate (and backup with a raid solution) all your pictures into one place.

[@Shutterbun4]

An M1 MacBook Pro didn't impress you...? 🤔

[@kjeldholm4720]

See this video, and you will very confused about using LrC

[@darrenwadman6317]

Most confusing workflow on lightroom I’ve ever seen mate lol. You’re overthinking everything and seems like your brain going 1000mph lol. It’s so simple and straightforward. Dump bridge and check out other peoples workflow. Can save you so much time and headache lol. Best of luck G.

[@KarlaAdamsfit]

MAC pisses me off too...

[@CharlezMalasana]

This could be an minute TikTok

[@MrOkiparker]

I like your stuff....but that hurt my brain.

[@sundeepsembi6091]

Always love your vlog, but what you explain here is an absolute disorganised and haphazard mess. Get your self a massive NAS drive. Put all your images on that and back up to a cloud service as an external off sight backup.

[@dirkgibbens377]

This video bounces all over the place, doesn't carefully explain the keyboard actions, cluttered with non-relevant content and overall disorganized. More like a stream of consciousness narration. Needed to create a workflow for your presentation on how to describe your workflow for photos. LOL. Outta here less than halfway through...

[@glen-draketoolworks7186]

Wow. Dude. After 3.5 minutes of BS, I bailed. I thought this video was about file management, not the vicissitudes of your life. You might do better with a script.

[@SacredOm369]

Please, less complainy - more to the point faster. Good stuff!

[@pedromarquez114]

Wow, this was long and confusing

[@jorgemoro5476]

As an Apple user since 2002 and a shareholder since 1987 I think you need to learn how to handle your gear before you complain. Just sayin’

[@GarethDanks]

nonsense! apple have themselves acknowledged a fault and working on a fix.. unless your saying the 3 phone calls to apple were wrong too..