[stormtech]

I use a date scheme because it allows the files to be sorted easily. It also allows me to maintain some control over the file structure should I ever need to find something without Lightroom. In some cases I will have multiple folders for the same date, if I did multiple shoots in the same day and I feel a need to separate them. So I might have 2013-02-10 Waterfalls and 2013-02-10.

What is important is that you find a scheme that makes sense for what you are doing. My date scheme is a hold over from before Lightroom. I have images going back to 1981 in folders by date. Prior to LR that was the only way to find things. With LR I use the keywords and collections functions but I still keep the folder scheme out of habit and the desire to understand where LR is putting things.

I'm trying to understand how to work with the naming scheme of month/day etc. I see how your folder system works for you, but I'm trying to see how it would work for me.

Let's say I am looking for an image of a certain bird. I would have no idea of when I took any photos of said bird and would never be able to find it. So, this is how I have my file structure right now:



This works for me as I know where to look. If I want to find a Bluejay, I now look in my bird folders as I have the individual species in seperate folders.

But, I think I can just leave my folder structure as is for the LR import. What I am concerned about now is the individual image naming scheme. When I do any future imports into LR, I can still sort them into my present folders. But, I am trying to find what naming scheme to use. Actually I don't see why I need to have any naming scheme, but it has been pointed out that it is important to have one and stick with it for all imports.

So my question is what individual image naming scheme to use. I'm still not seeing the reason for needing this, but of course I would probably see the importance as I move forward with the program.

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Last edited by photolady95; 04-17-2016 at 02:47 AM.

[Miguel]

So my question is what individual image naming scheme to use. I'm still not seeing the reason for needing this

You really don't need to have a unique name for each individual image. One scenario where unique names could be useful is to avoid files having the same name. Don't know if this has happened to you (yet), but when you roll over the camera's odometer, the image numbers by default repeat themselves. Personally, that's not an issue because I preserve the uniqueness of an image file by initially uploading it from the memory card to a folder with the date of capture. In addition, within LR I assign the image to a collection and sometimes tag it with key words. The image's metadata is enough to keep LR from being confused anyway.

Your schema could work for you for a while. The problem with relying upon only folder-based organizing systems (within LR or just using Explorer or the Finder) is that the only way to accommodate an image that meets multiple search criteria is to duplicate the image and swallow hard drive space. Image change management also suffers greatly.

For example, say you went to the beach in 2012 with your family on vacation and photographed some cool red birds. What folder would you stick the image into? "Beach", "Vacation 2012", "Family", "Birds", or "Birds 2012" or "Red"? If you solely rely upon folders for organization, you'd have to replicate that 20MB file five times to fit those possibilities. Now LR only allows you to file one image per one folder, so you are quite limited in having the tool meet one's not unreasonable ways of thinking about images and their associations.

If you either use collections or apply key words that match the ones in quote above, then you are allowing yourself more possibilities at finding that image without having to create a unique name for each at import. A single image can be shared among multiple collections without using any additional storage memory as they are merely pointers to the original image in the folder. In fact, Lightroom is really an integration of coordinated pointers at many levels.

Get your hands dirty, it's almost impossible to screw things up in LR at this point for you.

M

[stormtech]

Get your hands dirty, it's almost impossible to screw things up in LR at this point for you.

That's exactly what I need to do now!

And thanks for the explanation - makes sense to me and shows the power of keywords. I will just have to get used to doing that. I am more concerned with the images I already have. Now thinking more of what you just said, I guess I could import the images I already have leaving them where they are. Since they do not have any keywords, I will still be able to find them the old way by looking in the folders. From now on, I should keyword my new images upon import. I'm good with that.

So of course, that brings an additional question - from now on with my new imports that I will keyword, where should I direct LR to put them?

[Miguel]

So of course, that brings an additional question - from now on with my new imports that I will keyword, where should I direct LR to put them?

Well, you may consider rephrasing that to be something like "where shall I direct myself to put them."

You are in control here. By default the images are in your existing folder structure and will appear in the Previous Import folder under the Catalog section on the left hand column. Key words are independent. Collections are more flexible and also independent. That's why I keep harping on collections. You create them to meet your information organizational needs. Create a collection (which appears like a folder with unlimited subfolders) named Red Birds, click on Previous Import and select all the red birds. Drag these to the Red Birds collection. Done.

If the red birds were photographed at Lake Michigan, create a new collection called Lake Michigan and drag the same red birds into that folder as well. If you happen to shoot some wooden boats on the lake, you can drag those to the Lake Michigan collection as well. Additionally, you are welcome to key word any or all of those images with "red" "birds" and "Lake Michigan."

There are many ways to get things done in Lightroom.

M

[stormtech]

Well, you may consider rephrasing that to be something like "where shall I direct myself to put them."

You are in control here. By default the images are in your existing folder structure and will appear in the Previous Import folder under the Catalog section on the left hand column. Key words are independent. Collections are more flexible and also independent. That's why I keep harping on collections. You create them to meet your information organizational needs. Create a collection (which appears like a folder with unlimited subfolders) named Red Birds, click on Previous Import and select all the red birds. Drag these to the Red Birds collection. Done.

If the red birds were photographed at Lake Michigan, create a new collection called Lake Michigan and drag the same red birds into that folder as well. If you happen to shoot some wooden boats on the lake, you can drag those to the Lake Michigan collection as well. Additionally, you are welcome to key word any or all of those images with "red" "birds" and "Lake Michigan."

There are many ways to get things done in Lightroom.

M

That is an excellent primer for Collections - thanks!

I'm ready to go now. Once I do my initial import, I plan to learn the rest of the program little by little in detail. I know enough to to confidently get started.

Thank you everyone!