One of the key factors in organizing and tracking your images is metadata. There are many types of metadata that Lightroom handles well. The two main groups of metadata are EXIF and IPTC.
EXIF stands for EXchangeable Information File and contains the details about the image supplied by the camera. Generally, the EXIF information should not be edited after capture. However, date and time corrections are usually allowed.
IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council) is where we enter most of our descriptive information that does not relate to the technical capture aspects of the image. Things like descriptions, keywords, creator, copyright data, etc.
Ever wonder if your workflow is sound and efficient? Are you following best practices in dealing with your valuable images? Nervous about keeping those files safe and backed up? Well, as Douglas Adams once told us, Don’t Panic! The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) with funding from the Library of Congress has launched dpBestFlow.org.
The best way to introduce you to this site is with their video tour. Take a look.
This is one rich and still growing repository of knowledge! You can spend hours here learning everything you need to know about how to handle your digital images.
The first time you installed Lightroom you were presented with The Five Rules. They were there in Lightroom 1, are still there in Lightroom 2, and can even be seen in the help menu of Lightroom 3 Beta. If you remember anything you should remember Rule 5.
What is Rule 5? The simple and elegant reminder to ENJOY. That’s right! Enjoy. We spend a lot of time practicing our art. Reading blogs and books to learn more about how to hone that craft. Laboring over our images. Striving for artistic perfection. And on and on and on…
Sometimes we lose sight of why we started down this path. Our passion can turn into drudgery if we’re not careful. Hence, the ever present reminder of Rule 5. Enjoy. So to that end I suggest you create what I call a play catalog.
How do you handle rejection? Rejected images, that is. When you import new images into Lightroom you are faced with the initial task of deciding what to keep and what to get rid of. If you haven’t had a chance to read my previous article on using the flags, Do You PUX?, I recommend you jump over there and read that first.
Welcome back. So now how do we handle these images marked with the Reject flag? Personally, I don’t like to delete images right away. I prefer to keep them around a little while and revisit my decision. Of course, if the shot is totally useless (too much blur, out of focus, really bad exposure, etc.) I just toss them.
You know that sinking feeling you get when you go to open a file and it’s not there or the entire hard drive just won’t mount? Your mind races. You wonder where you put that backup. Wait! Did you back that up?
It is usually an event like this that finally makes all those articles about backing up make so much sense. Well, if you haven’t paid heed thus far perhaps this article will finally give you that extra push. At least as far as Lightroom is concerned. That’s it. Start small and build up to full backups!
Before we look at what Lightroom provides for backing up we should touch on the general need for backing up your data overall. The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), with funding from the Library of Congress, has put together an amazing site that every digital photographer should visit regularly, dpBestFlow.org. For our purposes you should take a look at the backup sections for a complete discussion of backup philosophy. Develop the mindset that no file exists until it exists in three places (and one of those needs to be offsite!).
Adobe today launched the help system for Lightroom 3 Beta! You can access it by pressing F1 while in Lightroom 3 Beta or by pointing your browser at http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Lightroom/3.0/Using/index.html . Commenting will be enabled shortly so get ready! for more details visit the article on Phosphors, the blog from the Photoshop, Lightroom, and Bridge teams!
We’ve had some great questions come in in response to Got Questions? Just Ask! I’ll try to keep up so keep them coming! Let’s dive right in…
Q: Do I need to use the Adobe Bridge at all if I have Ligthroom and CS4? How does Lightroom replace the bridge (I’ve never used it b4)?
A: Perhaps the most basic difference between Lightroom and Bridge is how each approaches file management. Lightroom is a database oriented approach while Bridge is a navigational approach. Bridge will show you all file currently resident on your drive. Lightroom only shows you files that you have specifically imported into the catalog. Furthermore, Lightroom only allows certain file types into the catalog (i.e. – photography related files such as JPEG, RAW, etc.)
Bridge was designed with support for the entire Creative Suite in mind and is an excellent resource for that. While it is true that you can reproduce a lot of the Lightroom functionality in Bridge, Lightroom provides a more focused and cohesive view of a photographer’s workflow. There is a logical flow from module to module and action to action that is just not present in Bridge. If you have Lightroom and Photoshop or Photoshop Elements then you’ve got pretty much all you need for a full and complete photographic workflow and there is no need to ever open Bridge. However, if you also work with these files in Illustrator or InDesign or Flash or… then you will need Bridge. Bridge will make your life easier when working with multiple Creative Suite applications.
There are many sources of information about Lightroom out there on the web. Official sites from Adobe, sites dedicated to Lightroom (such as this one), sites where Lightroom is one of many areas covered, and numerous forums where Lightroom users can gather. But there is only one place that Lightroom enthusiasts can truly call home – Lightroom Forums.
This is the friendliest and most helpful group of Lightroom users to be found anywhere. Educational discussions, a free exchange of information, an atmosphere where new members can feel comfortable to ask any question. No snarkyness here! If you click on our forum link above you will see that you are introduced to Lightroom Forums! No sense reinventing the wheel! Read the rest of this story »
Do you have questions about Lightroom? Can’t find the answers out there on the web? Have no fear! We’re going to try something new at Lightroom Secrets – Reader Q and A! Send me your questions. I will compile and answer them here on the site.
So if you have a Lightroom related question you can send it to questions [at] lightroomsecrets [dot] com or send out a tweet using the hashtag #LRSQA. Operators are standing by…
Each week Brandon Oelling and the X=blog staff offer up oodles of information to help you streamline your digital image workflow, strengthen your business, tackle technology, and turn great images into memorable ones.
One of the key factors in organizing and tracking your images is metadata. There are many types of metadata that Lightroom handles well. The two main groups of metadata are EXIF and IPTC.
The first time you installed Lightroom you were presented with The Five Rules. They were there in Lightroom 1, are still there in Lightroom 2, and can even be seen in the help menu of Lightroom 3 Beta. If you remember anything you should remember Rule 5.
You know that sinking feeling you get when you go to open a file and it’s not there or the entire hard drive just won’t mount? Your mind races. You wonder where you put that backup. Wait! Did you back that up?
There are many sources of information about Lightroom out there on the web. Official sites from Adobe, sites dedicated to Lightroom (such as this one), sites where Lightroom is one of many areas covered, and numerous forums where Lightroom users can gather. But there is only one place that Lightroom enthusiasts can truly call home – 
