Date-based: (See Figure 3.) In this example, we are loading 5 photographs into a new folder.It is at this point you select the date-based or subject-based structure you have chosen. In the Destination panel on the right of the screen choose your organizational structure, select (or create) the destination folder, and import your photographs. If you have new photographs to import, open Lightroom, insert the card containing your photographs into your computer, select a source, select the images you want to import, and select Copy New Photographs.Once you select a directory, you can create your own subdirectory, for example, My Pictures For example, in Microsoft Windows use C:\Users\\Pictures or on Mac, use //Pictures, where is your username. Select an existing directory for your photographs.For the purposes of this article, we will assume you are storing photographs on your internal drive. This may be on the internal hard drive of your computer or on an external drive. To simplify the process, you should put all your photographs in one place. Select a physical location for your photos.To add folders and photographs:įigure 3: Destination Panel with Date-Based Organizational Structure Having determined your organizational structure, you are ready to add folders and photographs. If you already have photographs on your computer also see Step 3 – Moving Existing Photographs. Step 2: Build Your Folder Structure and Populate Your Folders with Photographs Sort your folders and photographs by date.In practice, the organizational structure you select is a personal choice since in Lightroom, regardless of which organization structure you choose, with as little as a couple of clicks you can: Whether you choose a date-based or subject-based folder structure, you can also add subject-specific information to your photographs via keywords and change the names of image files during the import process to help you locate them. More advanced users who want to combine the date and subject organizational structures should refer to Step 4. If you prefer to organize photographs by subject matter, you will probably want to use a subject-based folder structure in which the folder name describes the subject of the photographs in that folder, as shown in Figure 2. Halloween) to a date folder name, (Library Tab > Right click on the folder name > Rename > Rename Folder dialog box). Notice that the folder names in Figure 1 are conventional dates such as “October 10.” There are 13 options for how dates are represented in Lightroom folder names, and you will want to choose the one that works best for you.Ī tip for the more organizationally obsessed among us is to name your folders in the form of YYYYMMDD (for example, 20131103 for November 11, 2013), so that they will appear in chronological order when you view them in the file system.įigure 1 also shows how the rename function can be used to add a subject, (e.g. Start by thinking about your photography in terms of the subjects you shoot and the approach you are most comfortable with when it comes to saving, storing and finding your photographs.įor instance, if you would like to store and access photographs by the date they were taken, then you will probably want to use a date-based folder structure, and your folders will be named by year, month and day, an example of which is shown in Figure 1.
Step 1: Planning your Organizational Structure Each of us should use a file organizational structure that works for us. No two photographers manage their photographs the same way and there is no one combination of organizational structure and folder/file naming convention that works for everyone. To manage the geek factor, there is a glossary for definitions of a few frequently used technical terms. Give you some examples of how you may use your organizational structure to more effectively manage your workflow.Īll of this can seem geeky, but the end result - a streamlined workflow, less time spent in front of the computer, and more time spent behind the camera - is worth the effort.
Provide you with action steps to guide you through the process.Give you some ways to think about organizing and managing your photographs, so that you can select an approach that works for you based on best practices and personal preferences.The purpose of this article is to give you that knowledge and a roadmap to quickly get up to speed. In either case, the end game is the same: creating a file structure that works for you and streamlines your workflow.
#LIGHTROOM KEYWORD MANAGER MAC HOW TO#
Deciding how to store your photographs or improve the way you currently store your photographs requires a little knowledge and a plan. This article is for new Adobe Lightroom users as well as those who already have photographs stored on their computer and are looking for a better approach.
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