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Importing

Lesson 11 from: Adobe Lightroom Classic CC Workflow for Photographers

Daniel Gregory

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Lesson Info

11. Importing

Import a template catalog to your catalog to re-create a workflow organization scheme for each project. Then, work with file handling on importing files. Learn shortcuts for importing images, like creating import presets.
Next Lesson: Metadata

Lesson Info

Importing

So I'm gonna come back over now to the catalogue, were been working in, and I'm gonna goto file and I'm gonna goto import from another catalogue. So when I select that, it's gonna ask me which catalogue do you want to import? So there is my primary workflow template catalogue. He's got a three on it because this has been living with me for three generations of light room. It just gets updated every time, like he's got an update. When I select that, I'm gonna click, choose, and then it brings up the scary dialog box of asked me. Well, what am I going to do when I import? I want to import all the photos I want to copy new photos to their new location. This is the location. It doesn't really matter to me if there were existing photos already in the catalogue. So it looks at the catalogue and says, Well, you've got duplicates. It would ask me, What do you want to do? You want me to merge the metadata and virtue and keep the virtual copies? You want me to just keep the settings? Um, I click...

import. That photo's been imported, but now down here in my collections. Here's that temp one. And there's that entire workflow. So now I'm just gonna come in here and rename this top one metal project. And I said, go ahead and was, uh, moved to the top of the stack. So there's that metal project. Now I'm gonna do another project file import from another catalogue. It's like that same one choose important down here. Now, again. Is that temp one rename? That s Yellowstone. Now I have my entire Yellowstone workflow built. So I used that same thing over and over again for my projects. And now I have an initial import for Yellowstone in that group. I will go to Yellowstone over and over and over and over again. It's just one of my places I like to photograph, So I'm gonna head back to Yellowstone. So how do I use this than efficiently during importing? So I build this kind of up front. Now, let's step into the import dialog box and see how can I use the collection model and make importing more efficient? Okay, so I'm just gonna bring up the important dialogue box command shift. I control shift. I import button file menu. They really want you to get those photos in the light room lots of ways over under file handling, they've added the option had to collection for anybody who thinks Adobe does not listen to your feature request. At a photography conference, I went to the adobe booth. I met with one of the engineers, and I said, When I work, this is my work flow. When I import, I have to import. I didn't have to go to a previous import Select all, and I have to drag it into that collection. I'm like, Not a big deal doesn't cost me a lot of time. It's just a little bit annoying. I would love on import to able to put it in the collection automatically Next release feature Was there not hard for them to implements? It was easy. They didn't have to re engineer a bunch of stuff. But it was in that conversation that I had that Adobe listened and responded. And so in that world of the subscription and all those pieces coming together, people say online when you're have issues like Oh, tell Dobie, send this feature requests in the request Hey, listen and will respond may not be immediately, and the feature has to make sense and all that. But they do listen, This was huge for me. This was a really big update, almost as exciting as the drag, the development. Palin. When I click on add collection, there's my collections. There's Yellowstone initial import. I want you to put it into that collection. So now when I'm importing those photographs, they're automatically going to go into that collection. I don't have to about remembering to Adam. I don't remember. Change him. They're just going to go into that that particular folder, and I'm importing into my catalogue here, So I've got my normal stuff by date. All that gets set. Now here's the other piece I like to do to save myself. Time and energy in the import modules. I'm working on projects now. It doesn't work for every single import. Sometimes I'm walking around town and I see stuff that's metal on by kids in a stroller and portrait where I just random day shooting. But if I've got targeted shooting like I've been to Yellowstone, or I'm out at one of the places on Whidbey and I one important my would be catalogue down here at the bottom of the import dialog boxes import preset. So if I come down here, I can choose to create a new saved preset. It's gonna ask me for the name. Now, this particular preset is targeted to take the images and put them in that yellow stone import collection automatically. So grab whatever you have and it saves the priest that's going to save every little check box I got here in terms off. Don't import the suspected duplicates. Rename the files all the normal stuff. We would do workflow. Want to rename my files with my name. I want to play the metadata whatever Gonna dio But I'm gonna call this Yellowstone. So small version of the import dialog box source comes input In my memory card. There's classroom imports. I choose the Yellowstone import. I know that the initial import on the collection is checked. The photos were going to go there. They're gonna be have the right name, the right date, and I just have 15 20 import presets done most of the time. When we think about efficiency in workflow in light room, we talk about the development module. I built presets so that I don't have to move the slider bars. I make a high. I s l o I s So I've got sharpening this preset seems like it's not that big a deal. But if you do photographs were you change the name, you have a different naming convention based on what you do, and you want to rename photo sometimes with your name, and then you also shoot and your client requires that their name being the file name and not your name. You build a preset that has the right naming convention on it. Save the preset, and it's always that way. You don't have to worry about missing something. They're forgetting something. Reliability, consistency, repeatability. The preset makes it consistent and repeatable, and as long as you select the right preset, it's reliable. So you're again. You're the problem here. Always is going to be you is the problem. Um, for that so every piece gets saved, their if you import into two different locations for whatever reason and some of your photos go hear some of your photos go there because of hard drive storage space. Ah, preset that splits that, So you make sure they go to the right place. If you make a change to it, you can come down and always update the preset. If you don't want it anymore, you can delete the preset. You can rename it, I say, Oh, it's not called Yellowstone. It actually needs to be Yellowstone in, ah, Grand Tetons because the projects changed. Rename that I've got that precept there for For Important. So collection allows the photos to be in many. I could easily move the photos around, but by importing and put him into that collection, I get that opportunity to make that a lot easier once I have that workflow set up. Remember, I had print have the word portfolio there. So now if I come up to that search collections, I spell it right. There's where Portfolio Portfolio. I see just the collections that had would have my portfolio on them, so I can now easily find my portfolio images. And then I say, Well, you know would be really nice. Could I have a collection that showed me actually all of my portfolio images in one spot? But I don't want to drag and drop him. That's me. Screen up again. I want that repeatability. I'm gonna create a smart collection, and I'm gonna create where the Not location where the sources collection contains portfolio open. I'm gonna name it so we don't lose it. This is ah, portfolio for you to come on because I have a portfolio here. I'm just gonna go back to the grid view. It's good wall photos. Okay, so I have a portfolio there. I'm just gonna grab some images here. We'll drop him into that portfolio. Well, come down to the Yellowstone one into the final, and we're gonna grab these images. Put them in that portfolio. Come back. Search for two is in there. I could type Port Folio. I lost my smart collection. What? I put it when I stick it. I probably hit it in here, didn't I? The other it is. So there's the 24 photos that got instantly updated in that portfolio. So this is showing me every image that was in every portfolio collection. So that's how to use the smart collection to see this is everything that's in the portfolio. So if somebody wanted to see my entire portfolio. I don't have to hunt Peck for everything. I can really just go here. Export. That smart collection is a catalogue. Here's my catalogue important portfolio stuff, or I get to the point where I'm like this is what matters. If the world ended tomorrow, it's the portfolio images export. The collection is a catalogue. I've got my 200 images, 50 images, one image. Whatever you have, put that off site for storage. Put it in Dropbox Google. Wherever you thumb drive, give it to your neighbor. Whatever. You now got all your critical photographs there and if you update a month later, you just grab this same portfolio folder. So makes that little. Well, they're easy, easy Earth. So that's my The catalogue piece gives you that flexibility to have the one to many organized however you want. And like I said, that little instant workflow piece you build the collections with one photo in and then you can you go there now before we move in. A little bit of the library organization kind of little pieces the the nuclear option

Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student
 

I watched this course live. Really good!. Of course, I like all of Daniel Gregory's classes. It's a real treasure when one finds a really good teacher who thinks like oneself. I thought that I already knew Lr well so I was really surprised about how much I learned from this course. I learned so many ways to improve my workflow efficiency.

Anne Dougherty
 

I was impressed by the amount of information covered in depth, and by Mr Gregory’s teaching style. I’m somewhat new to Lightroom and found his explanations of its capabilities, and why you would use it rather than Photoshop for specific processes, enormously helpful. I especially appreciated his lessons covering printing. This is invaluable information. Great class.

Warren Gedye
 

This was a great course. Daniel certainly explains it well and in terms I can understand! Super worth it and learnt loads of new tricks! Great job!!

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