Understanding the Lightroom Catalog System

[@ColinHuijser]

He could have explained this in half the time but i've never been more relaxed in my life than i am right now. Love it.

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Thanks Colin 🙂

[@ColinHuijser]

@@PerfectPhotoCompany you should read audiobooks

[@tobinwazzan]

The voice, the flow, the graphics ... just perfect. Thank you a bunch.

[@franiuzzini7891]

This is John, not Fran and I am the one using LR 5. I find your tutorial one of the very best on the net regarding how to use LR 5 right off the bat. I too am a senior citizen and you should be very happy after reading this when I write to you telling you, you made my life in LR 5 much simpler and you have me smiling again this AM. God Bless You. I am now one of your followers. Thank you again.

[@vjvarrassi]

I have been watching tutorials for past day and a half, getting more or less confused. Then I found this one. AMAZING. You cleared up my confusion in 15 minutes. Instead of "show" you gave instruction. Thank you so much. This is the BEST explanation of the file management system in LR I have found. (after viewing at least 20 others) I have installed LR but was afraid to launch it because I had installed it and tried it once before only to screw up. I uninstalled it and the old catalog and then did a reinstall. Now I know what to do next. Thanks so much.

[@ChuckBruton]

One of the best starter of basic cataloging I've watched .........now a subscriber !

[@briannewnes7030]

Brilliant video, very helpful and easy to follow

[@richardhill1377]

Superb - fantastic graphics, with very clear audio delivered at the correct pace for someone to easily follow. Very professional - well done

[@SteveMarcus]

Seriously, is there even one bad review of this video? No! This is the best Intro to Lightroom I've watched. Nice work.

[@QuelleVueGiteRuraleSouyeaux]

How wonderful to listen to a calm Brit teaching us stuff and not a crazy American. Thanks - excellent approach.

[@CRISCRAVELLO]

I don’t think not even Julieanne Kost has ever explained it this clear. It finally all makes sense now. Thank you for this superb video! 🙏🏻👏👏

[@davide36923]

Beautiful work Frank. Better than Adobe's own tutorials.

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Thanks Dave. It makes it all worth while when I receive a brilliant comment like yours. Take care, Frank

[@kyliepollard6031]

This is incredibly helpful information to a new Lightroom user, especially one that is not overly computer keen. The best I have found on the subject. Thank you.

[@paulsharkey4185]

This is a totally awesome video!! Right at the beginning you stated that a person would become lost if they didn't understand the catalog system. This is very true.I can attest to that. You explained it so explicitly. THANK YOU so much!!!

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Thanks Paul : )

[@shannonlloyd7093]

Wow! After watching so many tutorials on Lightroom over many hours, finally this is the video that is easy to understand and totally make since of the Lightroom system. Thanks so much Perfect Photo Company, I look forward to watching more videos from you!!

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Thanks for the kind comment Shannon : )

[@sambro7796]

Super clear, love the slower talking for explaining things

[@truebro77]

The clearest explanation anywhere on the internet, thank you sir

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Thanks, and thanks for watching : )

[@ashfield001]

Thank you. Very helpful.

[@RyokuWeil]

I haven't even watched the video yet. But I'm dropping a like right away because that intro is fine af.

[@martynlejeune5191]

Simply Brilliant. Frank takes the confusion of Lightroom and puts into such a simple way to understand.

[@FrankMinghella]

Thanks Martyn

[@smalltalk.productions9977]

still relevant, especially as i attempt to move my entire apple library (60k images) into lightroom. thank you for the effort and the sharing. thumbs up.

[@andrevaca6700]

Thank you so much for this video. I kept searching for something that would visually represent how the lightroom catalog system works and these diagrams were perfect. Now I understand how I will set up my own catalog and maintain a consistent workflow. Currently subscribed and look forward to watching more of your tutorials. Thanks again!

[@steventom4540]

Frank I was always confused with other tutorials but you explained it perfectly Thank you

[@chandraford8116]

Thank you for the easy to follow and clear explanation of what happens. I need pictures and basic explaining.

[@Greg-fs8np]

Excellent video! I just recently installed LightRoom and have seen many instructional videos. This is the clearest and most helpful that I have come across.

[@dagopakar]

One of the best and most clear tutorials for Lightroom I have seen. Looking forward to the future tutorials.

[@vipinpatel4545]

Very simple to understand, perfect for 76. Great and thank you

[@fernandaferrari9587]

I just want to say congratulations for your work...not just easy to understand but I can imagine the time you took to make the presentation.

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Thanks Fernanda : )

[@tobyratcliffe4534]

I know this is an old video, but this addition is relevant. If you use multiple devices to edit photos, like an ipad, or a desktop and laptop, creative cloud only can sync one catalog. This makes it difficult to separate my job photos and personal photos and edit them on multiple devices. Nothing is perfect, but lightroom is still a great choice for the price.

[@Mark.McLaren]

Awesome tutorial mate.. Easy to follow and great presentation . Thanks for taking the time .. Helped me a lot !

[@wildlizzard1]

By Geroge, I think I've got it! Thank you! You just confirmed my summation of the previous video. You make it so simple and easy to follow. I'm starting over (only had 150 photos imported so far so not bad). Best training video ever. Straight and to the point.

[@omarjan6374]

Very good explanation....even I could understand it .... I think....

[@nigelburley1047]

The best explanation of the Lightroom Catalog system that i have seen, many thanks!

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

You're welcome Nigel

[@yana_yoga]

WOW. Really, just wow. Great pace, simple language, really great visuals. Best tutorial I have seen.

[@victoriamovchan8470]

I love your tutorials! They are so clear and easy to follow. A pinch of humor you throw in every now and then is also great :)

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Thanks for the nice comments Victoria. Plenty more videos to come : )

[@reginaldworthington7558]

Great job on this. Very well broken down so easy to set up Lightroom properly from the get-go. Thank you.

[@Rdavis6593]

This is an informative video. Thank you.

[@balthebat]

Absolutely brilliant tutorial, perfect tempo and extremely clear

[@Simon-Little]

Great tutorial

[@mehmetnasuhogullar3826]

GREETINGS FROM TURKEY. GREAT JOB YOU'VE DONE. THE BEST AND MOST EXPLANATORY VIDEO I'VE CHECKED OUT IN AN EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND LR BASICS BEFORE STARTING. UP TO THE POINT. WISH YOU ALL THE BEST...I WILL BE CHECKING ALL YOUR TUTORIALS FROM NOW.

[@nicoleatx]

Thank you for explaining this! I watched a stupid number of videos before I found yours, which explained it clearer and better than all the others.

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Thanks Nicole : )

[@mickolsen3718]

EXCELLENT!! This tutorial is the business. Frank you are a great teacher. Thank You

[@gahrahm11]

This is really a great video. Explanation is clear and easy to understand for somebody who doesn’t not know about light room . Now I feel so safe because found this tutorial. Thank you.

[@michaelbailey1578]

What a cool RAW engine. Excellent vid.

[@imtiazemanjra596]

Fantastic! The nest video n graphics seen on the subject. You have made the concept so simple and logical. You made all my confusions ( especially on the catalog n folder/s) very clear. Thank you.👍👍👍

[@robertsonegueye8087]

Thank you so much. The way you explained it all demystified my fears.

[@philglendon6218]

Brilliant easy to follow explanation, thank you, a lot!

[@msmith9604]

Thanks Frank, this is so detailed and has massively helped me to understand how Lightroom works. I have watched several of your video's and all have been fantastically detailed. I have also looked at you website I would like to sign up for some courses in the future once Covid restrictions are lifted. Stay Safe.

[@thecherishedlife]

Thank you so much! It's dumbed down just enough without making us feel dumb, lol. Thank you!

[@roccozampaglione5512]

First time in your site you were so clear it was really easy to understand thank you

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Thanks Rocco : )

[@simonbrownportfolio]

That was just an amazing tutorial, the pace and tone is amazing.

[@johnvirginiasvideos5892]

Outstanding, good to see a Lightroom video that deals with the concept of a catalog and explains it.

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Thank you : )

[@petertang2618]

very clear . It is a must to start with a concept before using the software. Thank you.

[@malistoryteller]

This video is just what I was looking for! you couldn't have explain it all better, thank you so much!

[@danielpittman889]

Paris... Texas... so far so good. But what if I go to Paris, TX?

[@gdurkee]

This is great. I teach GIS and at the start of each class, I emphasize starting life with a logical file structure and standardized file naming conventions and how it'll save the students grief and unhappiness months and years later. . I'm going to redo my videos based on your overall outline. Thanks.

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Thanks George : )

[@oscargutierrez2285]

Grasias amigo. Very simple and to the point.

[@sutv6754]

I was very excited and really liked your style. The only problem is nothing works in my light room the way it does on yours. Mainly when going to my external hard drive where all my folders are there are not the names I made up but deeper folders with numbers next to them. So that is a stop in the traffic moment. I followed your instruction to the t.

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Hi. Thanks for watching and sorry to hear you are struggling. I have a full Lightroom course on Skill Share and Module 3 should help you understand the filing structure. If you use the link skl.sh/3kof1cG you will get two months free access to my course and other courses you may be interested in. Hope this helps. Kind regards, Frank

[@gottahabet]

Hi Frank! Your video greatly helped me understand the system, and now I want to implement it. But, I have some questions... I have hesitated using LR regurlarly in my pro work because I've been so dang confused as to how I should set all this up, and I know how it's important to get it right from the beginning, as you say. I have preferred to stick with Bridge with my work because I get it and I've used it for years, but I know I'm missing out on LR's processing and organizing power. Your video explains the LR Catalog concept brilliantly, and I want to now RESET my photo file organization system according to the way you describe here. Unfortunately, I already have THOUSANDS of photos on my drives, going back years. They are, however, already divided into individual folders using some semblance of the "date, place, event" system you advocate. Can I still be rescued, or should I just not bother to use LR at all? On my Mac I have all my photo folders, both pro and personal, stored in the Pictures folder on the Mac HD. I also have that backed up to an external drive or two. So, can that be the same as what you call your PHOTOGRAPHS folder, or do I need to still make a new folder called PHOTOGRAPHS (or whatever) as you did here? I also want to set up at least two Catalogs, one for pro work, the other for personal, that sounds like a sensible system. Or, since I do different types of pro work, such as portraits and real estate, should I have separate Catalogs for those as well? So now whenever I come back from a work shoot, do I first create a folder for those new shots in the larger PHOTOGRAPHS folder, and then import them into LR? Because with Bridge, I'm just uploading the photos from the card straight into Bridge and off I go culling and editing. Also, when choosing the DNG or XMP sidecar methods, how and where in the process does one choose which way to go? Thanks, I appreciate your time!

[@MrKen-wy5dk]

Thank you for not using obnoxious background music.

[@marjorieraggoportraits4578]

Genius! Thank you for the great explanation and beautiful graphics.

[@FrankMinghella]

Thanks Marjorie 🙂

[@lukesharp6121]

Exceptional! Thank you!

[@bkeati7]

The Best I have come across. Systematic treatment of the subject,Great job ! Thank you for your hardwork!

[@ninastefansdottir3007]

Thank you for explaining so well. Very helpful!

[@normansparrow1222]

Fantastic and easy to follow introduction to the maze of Lightroom catalogs!

[@jackherlihy3179]

Very helpful. I'm like the guy starting over. Thanks

[@cece86ita]

Can I just have one catolgue pointing to photography folders which are on different hard drives? In this case, shouldn't it be better to save the catalogue on the Os drive? Also, if I want to have a backup of one of my external hard drives, which is the fastest way to periodically syncronize it to the backup drive? Many thanks!!

[@hawiianpwr]

Perfectly done, thanks!

[@210caulfield]

Brilliant. Thank you for explaining it by use of diagrams. This really helped me.

[@SteveBott1963]

What an absolutely brilliant tutorial, great graphics and explanation make it all so easy to understand.

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Thanks Steve

[@poyntz55]

Thanks for making what can be complicated so easy.

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Thanks Tony : )

[@danwaldie4661]

It’s all beginning to make sense. Thank you.

[@chrisclear4735]

Great Tutorial Viewed a few others but this was much better and easier to understand, cheers. Looking forward to more.

[@DjVojto]

is there a difference to have catalog created in photo folder on harddrive or on external drive in photo folder there?

[@alexbrown1446]

This was incredibly helpful, clear and simple to follow. Thankyou!

[@IvanValdiviaMedina]

Best video I found on this matter! Thank you!

[@PaulW98Z]

I have a question. I am getting ready to buy a new external hard drive to store all of my images on. Once bought, I will be transferring all of my images from their current drive over to that drive. Once I change their location to the new drive, will that affect Lightroom’s catalogs as far as when I reopen the image in LR, will LR put the previous edit on the image or will I have to re edit the image?

[@philipgardiner2003]

Question: When you clicked on your Iomega drive in LR I noticed that the My Photograph catalog you created was one of the folders along with Family, Wedding, Crosby Bench etc. If it is a Catalog why would it show up there and what do you do with it?

[@lizzyboyd7696]

Hi Frank, really useful video, really helped me get my head around how Lightroom works. I have a question - should you not move folders around then, after you have imported images into Lightroom? I have previously put my images from the memory card onto my desktop to work on them from there, and then moved them onto an external hard drive once I'm done working on them. This will not work with the LR cataloging system will it? Thank you in advance.

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Hi Lizzy. Yes you're correct in thinking that best practise is not to move folders around. Also the desktop is not an ideal place to place your imported photographs. I did work like that when I first dabbled in photo editing many years ago - then I saw the light 😆Glad you enjoyed the video. Stay safe 🙂

[@lizzyboyd7696]

@@PerfectPhotoCompany Thanks for your reply, it's been so so helpful! My concern was that editing photos when they're on an external hard drive, or a NAS, could slow that process down, but it works fine does it? Thanks a lot, really great video, just watched it again :)

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

@@lizzyboyd7696 Hi Lizzy. Using an external drive will be fine. I would suggest a SSD drive as they're very quick to read and write. LR does tend to run a little slow anyway during the course of a long editing session. I typically switch off and give my iMac a little 10 min rest if that happens. Thanks for watching and stay safe.

[@gordonmelrose57]

Great explanations, thanks. Can you explain what happens if you have to move your photographs folder to another drive?

[@greyaf5318]

Hello, please if you don't mind can you share with me what you used to create the illustrations in this video?

[@erniehayden]

EXCELLENT! One of the best discussions regarding Lr and Catalogs! Fantastic and Thank you!

[@gailynhill2009]

Hello! Great Video! First, do you have to have the hard drive plugged in at all times to have your catalog saving to that? Is there a way to do it and not have to have the hard drive plugged in all the time? ( I typically edit on a laptop while watching tv.)

[@gailynhill2009]

Right now I use ACR and have my own filing system on a hard drive (and also a back up hard drive) that saves my final photos and also the raw + xmp of every photo.

[@jackieconnell7183]

awesome tutorial,can you tell me what is the shortcut to add a photo to fav.

[@Freddy2Noel]

A brilliant presentation. Thank you, Frank. If you have time, can you tell me if I can keep a VERY large catalog in Dropbox (+70GB) and access it from different computers (iMac + MacBook Pro) with all the photos kept on a Drobo NAS Network Hard Drive? Thank you.

[@TryMyMartini]

I think I get it. But what if I want to take one of those folders out of my PHOTOGRAPHS folder on my external, and move it to my internal drive to work on for a bit, then move it back to my external once I'm done?

[@LokiDWolf]

NEW SUBSCRIBER!!!! lol Ok, I've been using LR but definitely not as efficient as I could've! I really like this video. It was as if someone was right there sitting with me showing me, step by step. Yes, there are other videos but I have to admit that the 5th grade level with the visuals really helped someone with a very ADHD mind like mine. Heh! I just built a new pc and had to reload all software. In doing so LR had to get reinstalled. Which means clean slate to start over with the thousands of photos I have. And I dreaded having to organize it because though I had LR I didn't quite understand all the features. This sincerely helped! Will look for more of your videos to go further! Cheers!!!

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Beautiful comment. Thank you :)

[@kenkeenan6416]

What would you recommend to do if you have already been using lightroom in the wrong way. How do you start again if that is the right phrase. Thanks

[@MrRaynbo]

My question too! ... but still awaiting a reply I see.

[@stewieemonster]

One Question. Do you discourage locating the catalog on the computer? If so, why? My thinking is that by locating the catalog on the external drive, you will not be able to view or edit your photos unless tethered to the drive. Since external drives can be bulky, it can be difficult to edit on the move. This video is very helpful though, thank you.

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Hi Stewart. I would personally recommend using a portable SanDisk Extreme SSD drive, they're tiny. Also consider making 'smart previews' when importing photographs and saving them to your computer. Lightroom will create an identical smaller version which you can edit on the move. When you return home and hook up your SSD drive any edits you have made on the smaller version will be applied to the full version. Hope this helps 🙂

[@turbonium100]

I agree with the others, this is excellent. A lot of effort has gone into this - thanks for taking the time to do it.

[@FrankMinghella]

Thank you : )

[@madshauerslev]

this tutorial was just what i needed. Thank you very much sir

[@eduardoduarte232]

Do you have any Lightroom backup videos?

[@sosoa2z20]

Hi thanks for really useful & simple explanation Just wonder what software did you use to explain this step ( the PowerPoint boards ) Thanks

[@PerfectPhotoCompany]

Hi. I used Apple Keynote : )

[@RichardGingrasPhotography]

Excellent tutorial. Very clearly explained.

[@jamesho2337]

I use Mac Photos Library to keep my photographs. Can I create a LR catalog to import photographs from Photos Library?

[@tectorama]

Well explained. Although ---- There seems to be a thinking which says if you use Lightroom you must use catalogues. I virtually never use them myself, I use Lightroom purely for editing RAW files and saving as Jpegs. Catalogues which are created automatically, are deleted. Although I still have the option of saving a set of photos as a catalogue, but which I hardly ever do... On the various LR help forums, most of the problems seem to be catalogue related.

[@ericlawrie7044]

I need to store my Lightroom catalog on a new drive as my 1TB local system drive is running out of space. I tried running the catalog from a regular internal HDD drive but Lightroom speed suffered badly - the lag I got was a pain. I am purchasing a second SSD, this time 2TB. I have considered two options, however. i) Use the new 2TB drive as my new local system drive and sharing it as my Lightroom Catalog location. Or ii) install the 2TB SSD as a 2nd local drive dedicated exclusively to the Lightroom Catalog. So existing smaller 1TB SSD is for system files only and the new 2nd drive is Lightroom Catalog only. Would there be any loss in performance having a dedicated, in this case 2nd internal SSD, for the Lightroom Catalog rather than sharing the system drive with Lightroom?

[@kongchang1]

Great way of explanation! I have been using LR since LR 4 and that time there was no CC, so now I have bunch of LR 4, 5, 6,and now LR CC and its kinda messed up , how do I combine all the LR into one catalog?

[@athvas57]

Easy to follow, thank you!

[@bsdgffishtuna5186]

i have a lightroom catalogue with over 30k images; how do i break it up into smaller catalogues?

[@franciscoortega2829]

Loved watching. Although I'm pretty adept at using LR and organizing my files, this video actual gave me a better understanding of how everything functions. HUGE THANKS!!

[@MathiasWeber]

If you catalog file is on an external harddrive, does this mean that you can only edit the images if your harddrive is connteced to your computer? Why not create the catalog file on you internal hard drive so that the catalog is always with you?