[Pan Kleks]

So I've been using Lightroom to edit my photos for years now and never had a problem with it. But I think I've been using it incorrectly as far as saving my photos.



Here is how I've been using it:

I would make a folder on my desktop and then import the photos from my SD/Flash card into that desktop folder. I would then open LR and import that same fold from the desktop into it.


I would then make another folder on my desktop with a name like "edited France photos" and then after I was done editing one photo at a time I would save it in that folder. I would then delete the original folder from the desktop where the SD/Flash photos were imported to. I then freely moved that desktop folder with edited photos anywhere I wanted to.



I recently got back from a long vacation and I imported over 100 photos into LR, so obviously I couldn't edit all of them in one sitting. When I went to reopen LR the next day I couldn't find the photos!

So I reimported them again....and they again disappeared! I don't understand how I can import the photos into LR and then they just disappear. I must have done this like three times....each import was like over 300MB so LR just ate up like 1GB of space yet it says there are no photos....


I feel like such a noob but how are you guys importing/saving photos using LR?

How are you opening up previous photos in LR that you worked on a month ago?

Are those photos in RAW or TIFF?

I just checked the folder that I used to import the photos from (from desktop to LR) and that folder is now empty! So it was imported but nowhere to be found in LR....

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Last edited by Pan Kleks; 01-16-2020 at 08:17 PM.

[Bruce Clark]

Here is what I do.

• Open Lightroom in Library Module.
• Insert card from camera in PC
• Import settings are Copy to an existing folder on my computer ie >Photos>AA New Imports. I call it "AA New Imports" so it is the top of the folder tree.
• LR then ejects card after copy is completed.
• At this point I have the RAW files on the SD card and in the AA New Imports folder.
• Verify that photos are in fact in the AA New Imports folder at which time I remove the SD card, put it back in camera and reformat.
• From This AA New Imports Folder I decide what I want to do with the images. Rate them with a * rating, delete them or move them to other folders.
• The key thing is that all folder/file operations are carried out with in Lightroom.
• All copy, delete, move, rename functions must be done by Lightroom otherwise LR will not be able to find the images.

The key thing to remember is LR Catalogue is a Catalogue it is NOT an operating system. LR does not back up your photos. While it can move things around, rename things and so on, if any such moves are done outside of Lightroom then has no record of the changes and things appear lost.


If images are 'lost' you have several options depending on how bad you think the problem is.
if you can see the folder where the photos should be them you need to have LR synchronize that folder. That should find the photos and get them back into the catalog.
If you can't find them that way you may need to forget LR for a whlle, go back to the operating system and rebuild your file structure from scratch. Put you images where you want them and then restart lightroom point it at the root folder for your photos and then synchronize from there.

It can get very messy. I recommend a youtube video

You Tube

You Tube

Good luck. I have been there done that

[beachgardener]

If you need to move or delete photos do it from within Lightroom, that way Lightroom can keep track of them.

I prefer to have a permanent location for my images, I transfer them into those folders via SD card, then I tell Lightroom where they are, Import, When saving edits I choose to let Lightroom create a Developed folder within that image location folder for the edited image, that way I am in control of my images. Rather than just letting Lightroom manage them, I know others prefer to let Lightroom do it all.

[tokyoscape]

I am a kind of not a Lightroom classic user now. (but I am using the Lightroom CC on the portable device.)

I try the Lightroom classic in past, but its workflow or better say the way it manages photos is not really suite me mainly because it uses the database to manage files that force me to do like what the two earlier answers said. Adding, moving, editing and deleting files using Lightroom only so that I don’t mess up its database.

I am using a lot of hard drives and computers including many more graphic and video editing software. Lightroom can't show the preview of all file formats I have to deal with, that is one problem. Sometimes I just want to move photos in an external hard drive on a computer with no lightroom installed and I couldn’t do it, that is another big problem. So I switch to use Bridge to do the file preview and management then I use CameraRaw for photo’s post-processing which is the same engine Lightroom is using. That allows me to skip the headache Database things in Lightroom and Bridge can preview many more of Adobe software I am using too.

This is just an idea; try Bridge in combination of CameraRaw! You should have them already if you have Lightroom or Photoshop installed.

but beware, Cameraraw doesn't have or use history panel like in Lightroom.
You can reverts back to default, you can do unlimited undo redo and it will save your edit in the raw file so when you re-open the image, your last edit still there but remember, no History panel.

[mattt]

Lightroom has likely remembered a setting and imported to a previously named destination.
I import all images to an external drive and when that drive gets full I start a new catalogue. Maybe not ideal for some users but I know where to find things and Lightroom works with that method.
As for finding your lost photos you may have to do that manually- but don’t re import, just use the tool in Lightroom to remap the thumbnail to the new file location - that way your edits will be preserved. Another possibility- have you created a new catalogue? It wouldn’t have any images or thumbnails to show you.

Remember- Lightroom is non destructive- it carries all your edits around in a sidecar file that it applies to your original image whether it is tiff, jpg, or DNG. The catalogue not only identifies where originals live, but also organizes/coordinates sidecars with originals.

Don’t panic!

[steephill]

I use Lightroom's import function to copy images from a card reader to my choice of folders on the PC's internal hard disk and an external hard disk for backup at the same time. At this stage LR is simply replacing the use of the Windows File Manager and saving a step. It also means that LR knows where your images are and you don't need to go searching for them every time like you do with other PP programs.

I tag on import where possible and add specific tags if needed in the recently imported view before switching to general catalog view.

Everything gets included in one catalog, if I want to use subsets then there are collections, folders and sets of metadata which make that very easy.

I also automatically apply a basic preset on import which gives me a base for further editing work.


Once edited I create disposable export versions which get sent to an export folder for wider distribution before being deleted. No point in keeping them as LR can recreate them easily if needed. Ultimately all I have is the original image stored where I want it, LR knows where it is and has a list of PP instructions to apply to it when I want to see it.

[mohb]

Lightroom saves all my originals in Picture folder as default, these can be used without using lightroom

[ramseybuckeye]

When you import files in LR, it is not moving the files, only indexing their location, which if a direct import from camera or card has been set by you, so if you move those photos or folders outside of LR you've broken the indexing. But always check (in LR) when you import, somehow your import instruction can occasionally change and put your new folder in the wrong spot. You can also save more than one picture at a time.

You can save a little time by directly importing from your camera or card directly through LR. You set the import dialog (while in the Library module)and select the folder you want to import into, it will make a new folder of your chosen name if you want it to. In my case I've created a 2020 folder and as LR imports, it creates a folder within the 2020 folder named the day's date, if I have photos from multiple dates it created multiple folders and places the image files in the folder of the date they were taken. Then I will go to the Develop module and select which photos I want to keep by flagging them, pressing P for pick or X for deletion, perform the PP (usually presets) on the images I want. I'll then delete the images marked for deletion and select the flagged images for export. The export dialog lets you select where you want the images stored (and several other options (such as file type, quality, size), I will usually export all to the original folder, then do additional selective exports to upload to Adobe Stock, or a folder for printing or other specific use.

Now this all works very well in LR Classic or the older versions, LL CC is a different animal and it wants to take over organization. I only use CC on an ipad for mobile use. Most of those I will later import into the LR Classic for better control.