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02-14-2016, 12:50 PM   #1
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Deleting Collections

Ok, I have all my images organized in Lightroom using folders, and sub folders. When I Imported from Aperature it brought in a bunch of collections with the same images as the ones organized by folders. I really don't need, or want the collections since everything is already organized in folders. If i delete a collections do the pictures in that collection also get deleted from the folders holding the same images, and if so, how can I get rid of the collections? Just seems redundant.

02-14-2016, 01:37 PM   #2
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Collections are not folders they can be deleted without bothering the files. But since these came over from aperture I would suggest a small test first.

Delete a file from within the collection it should just remove it from the collection not the folder.
02-14-2016, 02:49 PM   #3
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Folders in Lr are the same (i.e. identical to in form and function and location) as folders in the Finder. So ~/Pictures/Mom is the same folder you see in Lr as "mom" in that path. Aperture has nothing like that; the "folders" in Aperture were very different. These Lr/Finder folders have the same rules: an image file can only be in ONE folder at a time. If you drag from one folder to another on the same volume, it moves it, it does NOT copy it (indeed, you can't copy at all within Lr).

Collections and collection sets in Lr are more like projects, albums and folders in Aperture. In that they are virtual and do NOT exist in the Finder. I assume you know the rules for project-folder-album in Aperture; in Lr, collections act like albums, in that ONE image can be in several collections at one time (as opposed to the Lr/Finder folders). So that photo of Jane in /Pictures/Mom could be in several different collections (like "relatives," "people," "portraits," etc) but ONLY the folder Mom. Collection sets hold collections, but NOT individual files (sorta different from stuff in Aperture).

This means collections serve very different purposes than folders, and are far more flexible. You have smart collections, eg, and collections can be synched with Lr Mobile. You have some special collections, like "recent import" by default. Images are often collected for publishing in collections.

I'd say most Lr users copy images into folders from SD cards once, then never move them. I use date based folders as many do. My collections, however, change all the time. I tend to use them for sorting and filtering, finding, temporary groups, all sorts of stuff. Adding and deleting images from collections is super fast; moving images in folders requires a move in the Finder as well, and takes much more time, especially if you store some photos on externals.

But most of all collections don't require choices like should that picture of Jane go into the folder with the date, or the portraits folder, or the people folder, etc. With collections it can go into any or all containers.

So they are most definitely NOT redundant, although you may have wound up with the same collection structure as folder structure as an artifact of coming from Aperture.
02-14-2016, 02:51 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by Tony3d Quote
Ok, I have all my images organized in Lightroom using folders, and sub folders. When I Imported from Aperature it brought in a bunch of collections with the same images as the ones organized by folders. I really don't need, or want the collections since everything is already organized in folders. If i delete a collections do the pictures in that collection also get deleted from the folders holding the same images, and if so, how can I get rid of the collections? Just seems redundant.
A collection is just like a playlist. When you delete a song from a playlist it is just removed from the playlist and not your total collection of songs.

So when you remove a photo from a collection it is just the link to the photo that is removed and not the photo itself.

Before you do this though, many people find collections to be very useful in organising photos. You don't need to delete the collections, just collapse the collections pane. That way they are there when you find you need them.

After importing my photos for a particular shoot into Lightroom I make a collection set as a top level folder, then make a collection below that called "Whole Shoot" where all the photos go. Then I make another collection at the same level called "Selects" where a link to the best or selected photos go. You could also make collections for photos to print, photos for Uncle Jim, et cetera.

You can also make smart collections for specific tasks, like finding photos without copyright information, or photos without GPS coordinates.

Regards

Chris

02-14-2016, 08:39 PM   #5
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Thanks everyone. Great explanations! Liking Lightroom so far!
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