Taming Your Photo Library with Lightroom

Today, photo professionals and amateurs alike can quickly amass thousands of photographs. The challenge for photographers at every level is how to keep track of all those photographs. Where do you store them? How do you organize them? How do you find a particular photo when you need it? Adobe Lightroom is the leading solution for photographers' photo management needs, but its organizational powers come with a learning curve. In this practical and thorough guide, author Rob Sylvan covers everything photographers need to know about photo organization and management using Lightroom. Rob starts by getting you in the Lightroom frame of mind with an explanation of the import process and the relationship between your photos and the Lightroom catalog. Whether you're starting from scratch or trying to tame an unruly catalog, you'll find advice on best practices and workflows for reviewing, keywording, collecting, naming, applying metadata, moving, and finding photographs in Lightroom, as well as step-by-step solutions to such common problems as reconnecting missing photographs and restoring order after a catalog disaster. Through straight-to-the-point explanations honed by years on the help desk, Rob demystifies common areas of confusion, from collections to previews to filters and more. You'll learn how to: Wrap your head around Lightroom catalogs Avoid common mistakes and pitfalls Understand the relationship between the catalog and your photos Be in the driver's seat for all decisions relating to where your photos are stored Understand the importance of the import process Use Lightroom to keep your photos organized and easily accessible Work with your files on the go with Lightroom Mobile Become your own help desk

Contents Introduction 1 Getting in a Lightroom Frame of Mind Wrapping Your Head Around Lightroom What to Do Before You Start Using Lightroom Key Lightroom Files 2 Getting Oriented to the Library Module and Importing The Library Module's Interface Library View Options Customizing the Interface Importing Your Photos 3 File Management, Lightroom Style Understanding the Role of the Folders Panel Create New Folders and Remove Old Ones Using Lightroom to Delete Photos Using Lightroom to Rename Photos Reconnecting Missing Folders and Photos 4 Using Collections for Organization The Case for Collections Collecting Your Photos Maintaining Collections Over Time 5 Using Metadata The Metadata Panel Keywords Finding Faces and Assigning Names Tying Photos to Locations 6 Care and Maintenance of Your Catalog Built-in Backup How to Move a Catalog How to Rename a Catalog How to Export a Catalog 7 Increasing Lightroom Efficiency Presets and Templates Keyboard Shortcuts Custom Default Settings 8 Common Organizational Workflows Importing Photos Evaluating Photos Applying Keywords Finding Photos Exporting Copies for Output 9 Advanced Workflows Using Lightroom with Multiple Computers Catalog for the Road Import Multiple Catalogs into One Migrating to a New Computer 10 Integrating with Lightroom Mobile What Is Lightroom Mobile? Syncing Your Desktop Catalog and Mobile Device Working with Collections on Your Mobile Device Appendix: Troubleshooting Time for a Do-Over Resetting the Preference File Creating a New Catalog Uninstalling and Reinstalling Lightroom Finding Outside Help Index