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| Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 - ebook
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Adobe Lightroom - Importing your Digital
Camera Files into
Lightroom
The Import Photos dialog
window for Adobe Lightroom allows you to make one
very important File Handling
decision that should be available in all file cataloging systems.
Should you let Adobe Lightroom keep all your images in its own
database or should you keep your images where they are and only let
Adobe Lightroom reference your existing image
files? On the other hand it also allows you to convert all your RAW
image files into Adobe DNG files and then save them to the Lightroom
database, which will make it easier to share metadata files across
applications.
Reference files in existing location - means you get to be the
master of your own file management system and you can even keep your
image library on a series of external hard disk drives that can be
removed from your computer and locked up at night or easily moved to
another location. Lightroom will leave your files where they are and
only store thumbnails and indexes, which can be accessed even when your
file library is off line. Although your files will need to be on line
for
any major editing.
Copy files to
Lightroom Library - this process copies files from their storage
location to the Lightroom Library database. If you do not already
have a backup of your files and want your images to reside in the Adobe
Lightroom database this is a wise choice.
Move
files to Lightroom Library - this process
moves your files from their existing
location to the Adobe Lightroom library database, be very careful that
you have an external backup of your files before you use this method of
storing your files within the Adobe Lightroom database.
Copy photos as Digital Negative (DNG) - I am starting to lean in this direction. My personal
preference so far has been for Reference
files in existing location, but I am now planning to move all my
files to newer, faster, larger internal and external hard disk drives,
so I will
probably start using the referenced file setting, less and less as time
goes by, and convert all my RAW files into DNG files.
Copy to: You can
select where you want your Lightroom image database to reside.
The Organize: box acts
somewhat like a file browser, if you decide to import a folder that
contains folders. You can either import all the files in one go or
segment them by folders and make decisions about what folders you want
or don't want to import. Plus you can organize by, date, name, etc.
Backup to: You can
make a
backup at the same time you are importing your files to your Lightroom
database. This means that you can download your images from your flash
memory cards to your Lightroom database and make a copy to a second
disk drive at the same time. I
highly recommend using this file import option, in the studio and on
location.
Develop Setting, Metadata and Keywords can also be assigned to
the contents of a folder before it is imported.
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Adobe Help:
Reference, copy or move photos into
Lightroom
When importing photos into Lightroom, you have a choice of whether to
reference the photos in their existing location, move the photos into a
specific folder, or copy the photos into a specific folder.
1. In the Library
module, do any of the following:
• Click the Import button.
• From the main menu, choose File > Import Photos.
• Drag a folder with photos or individual photos into the Grid view.
(Skip step 2.)
2. In the Open
dialog box, navigate to and select the folder containing the photos you
want to import, and then click Choose Selected (Windows) or Choose (Mac
OS).
3. In the Import
Photos dialog box, select one of the following from the File Handling
menu:
Import Photos At Their
Current Location - Keeps the photo files in their current
location using the current folder structure. Skip steps 4 and 5.
Copy Photos To A New
Location And Import - Copies the photo files to the folder you
choose, including any sidecar files.
Move Photos To A New
Location And Import - Moves the photo files to the folder you
choose, including any sidecar files. Files are removed from their
current location.
Copy Photos As Digital
Negative (DNG) And Import - Copies proprietary camera raw files
to the folder you choose and converts them to the Digital Negative
format (DNG).
4. If you are
importing photos by moving or copying them, do any of the following to
specify where to import the photo files:
• To choose a folder, click Choose, navigate to and select the folder
you want in the Browse For Folder (Windows) or Open (Mac OS) dialog
box, and then click OK (Windows) or Choose (Mac OS).
• To create a folder, click Choose, navigate to the folder you want in
the Browse For Folder (Windows) or Open (Mac OS) dialog box. Click Make
New Folder (Windows) or New Folder (Mac OS), name the new folder, and
then click OK (Windows) or Choose (Mac OS).
• To choose a previously chosen location, click the triangle next to
Choose and then choose from the pop-up menu.
5. If you are
importing photos by moving or copying them, choose one of the following
from the Organize menu:
Into One Folder -
Copies or moves the imported photos into a new folder.
By Original Folders
- Maintains the original hierarchy for the folders containing the
imported photos.
By Date - Specifies
a date name for the folder containing the imported photos.
6. Select Ignore
Suspected Duplicates to not import any photos that might be duplicates
of existing photos in the library.
If you deselect this option and accidently import duplicate photos, no
files are overwritten. There will be two copies of the same photo.
7. (Optional)
Select Backup To and then choose a destination to create backup copies
of the photos while importing.
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