getting organised - PC hardware & directory setup for workflow?

Wookie

Wookie

Messages
764
Name
Lawrence
Edit My Images
Yes
I am rapidly sinking in a sea multiple copies of images floating across directories, cds, dvds and swapping between hard drives.

I am a pretty new digital user, got the 400d a few months ago, immediately realised it would be expensive to stack memory cards in kiddy shoe boxes like I did my prints and negatives from Boots.

With cd burner gasping as soon as I started using RAW I've realised dvd burner was essential for backup, but now finding that a 40GB hard drive is also wholly inadequate. I'm going to have to invest in bigger hard drive / server / usb external drives, and then there is the backup system needed (raid / usb hard drives / backup software?).

What sort of storage system hardware do people use on the PC?

and how is it organised?

I've been trying to use directories to separate the workflow (getting into the lingo here!).

Originals in one directory by date subdirectory as they come off the camera, backed up to daughter's pc and copied to dvd

then copy them to a "work in progress" by date, then grade photos and make a handwritten list of file numbers so I can move them into different subject categories using windows explorer

and then copied made of part edited & finished stuff is just flying everywhere as I swap between editing packages and they save to different default directories (often dumped in my pictures) and i have to go looking for them then relocate them to multiple save areas by category and end use (website resolutions & print resolutions, then there's unsharpened full res copy of final edit, and different crops and other speculative edits)

Its a mess, plus I've been trying to also use photos off daughter's camera and back them up too, and share them to her PC.

I keep on seeing Lightroom mentioned, but £200 is a big wad of loot for a directory structure.

currently trying to use the free canon software (zoombrowser for jpegs and star rating, hopping in & out of digital photo professional for RAW editing)
plus freeby packages such as paint.net and I've found arcsoft photostudio 5.5 loaded onto the pc by one of the canon cds too.
I've just got to go download GIMP to add total confusion.:bang:

:crying::crying::crying::crying:
 
I organise mine into 4 categories/folders.... RAW, Pending, Processed and Tiff. within each of those folders I have an identical folder structure based on date-location, makes it easy to find everything.

not sure if that helps.
 
Try Picasa as a free type of lightroom product?

I organise mine thus:

  1. Download Images from Camera into a folder called "to work on" and put in a sub folder by date
  2. Any RAW that I've edited gets saved as a PSD file with all the modifications intact, usually numbered (reason for this follows)
  3. PSD files are then converted to web size and saved as JPG, usually with a file name and a number (same as PSD)
  4. JPG files are saved in a file called "website"

Then when I've got a full DVD's worth of RAW files, it gets burned to DVD, and then they're removed from the HDD.

Think that makes sense :thinking:
 
OK - here's my wee attempt on the whole thing (and is what I have on my setup).

Adobe Lightroom for me is essential. It's not only a glorified directory strutcture (y)

I have two HP servers which have stored and mirrored copies of ALL original images and subsequently any PP that gets done within directories.

These servers are synched between each other on a daily basis.

My Mac Pro is where I initially 'dump' all of the pictures and sort through the dross ... once I'm happy with a folder of images they get sent to the server so I have replication instantly.

Then comes the time consuming side for me.
I add keywords in Lightroom based on location, name, people in the picture, theme etc. The library is based on the server, and has a backup database on the second server.

Regardless of directory strutcture at the backend, I can jump onto lightroom, select a person, then any other keywords that match and I can get instant access to those images.

I've got just over 1TB of images, my servers have GigE connections to my switches, as does my Mac. This does help when pulling images across it - but no quicker than what a Firewire 800drive could produce.

I know Lightroom is expensive, I used to use aperture which is a lot cheaper, but wanted to be able to run the library remotely on Windows also, which aperture doesnt currently support.

Now, for a home user I would highly recommend some sort of network or USB storage, preferably with mirroring.

The Buffallo Terrastations are superb. I have lived by them! They come in 1,2,3 or 4TB versions, can host print servers, support mirroring (which is what you want) and RAID.

Having data on two places is always better than one - regardless of how well it's protected :)

Hope this is of some use to you!

I'm sure everyone has their take on it, but this is what works for me.
 
I'm not ignoring you all, its great stuff and got me thinking. I've been doing a bit of research, reorganising, playing with packages I've already got plus picasa, lots of planning (or rather scheming) and looking at hardware/software options and costs.
One day soon it'll all make sense!
Thanks
 
Lightroom for me is essential! Couldn't live without it (photographically). It does everything for me.
Firstly I use LR to import the shots from the CF cards into a catalog (LR term), and copy the files onto my HDD. This takes basically a couple of clicks. Then you can play with your images within LR. Most of the enhancements you could want to make you can do in LR. You might want to use PS for more detailed PP, such as large amounts of cloning, but for me this is very rare. Once I have finished the PP, I generally export a full size jpeg, then resize it and sharpen in PS.

I don't need to create a "master" TIFF because all the changes that I have made are stored within the LR catalogue! That saves SO much HDD space (~50Mb per image)! If I want to create a 800-pixel sized jpeg for the web, its easy. If I want to create a full size image for printing, it's easy.

Now, backing-up. My current process isn't ideal, and I plan to change it soon. I'll tell you what I do though (I have a process written down so I don't forget :LOL:). I have an external HDD and a DVD burner.

firstly, I make sure that the .LRCAT file (LR catalogue file containing "reference" to all images within that catalogue, and also the changes that you have made to those images within LR) is in the same folder on my PC as the RAW files. Then I use Genie Backup Manager to sync the new files onto the EHDD. Then I burn 2 DVDs of the RAW files and .LRCAT file. Then to free up space of my PC, I delete the RAW files that Ive just burned to DVD and synced to the EHDD from my PC, then run GBM again to mirror my C: into another directory on the EHDD.

phew

As I say I plan on changing that. But for now it works fine - keeps space free on my PC and archives the RAW files.

Wouldn't be without LR though ;)

HTH (y)
 
I use Downloader Pro to get the RAW files to disk, it creates a sub directory on the hard drive under Images named e.g. 20071115 and to convert the RAW files I use BreezeBrowser (both by Breezesys). It places the converted TIF images in a new sub directory called 'converted' under yrmnthday. Once I've converted the files I'm going to, the whole lot gets copied to an external usb hd and once a month I burn a dvd with all the raws and the keepers of the images I've converted,

Nothing is set in stone however, if I have a quiet month I'll wait burn to dvd or make one specially for a particular day if needs be.
 
Wookie, I understand exactly where your coming from. I've had the same problems, organising files ect to ensure I know what's what. What works for me may not work for you, but I use the following system. OK I use Lightroom, but that's not important you van use other software but the end result is the same. Infact This method was one I devised before LR .

1. Import images onto computer. I use a simple year then shoot subject directory. i.e everything I photograph in 2007 goes into the 2007 folder. The I have subsequent folders Lake District October. You can add sub folders to your hearts content, but I usually find that one or two are sufficient.

2. back up images. I'm probably paranoid, but I copy to CD/DVD and to external hard drive. The External drive is a mirror of mu computer drive so the directory stays identical to the main computer. The CD/DVD has simply the shoot name, but its filed under the year in a storage box.

4 Processed images go to a seperate directory called "Developed". Here they're filed under what I wanted them for. For example 2008 calender.

This way the originals are alway where you put them , and you can find them again.

This works for me

Hope this has been of some help

John C
 
Chappers said:
Wookie, I understand exactly where your coming from. I've had the same problems, organising files ect to ensure I know what's what. What works for me may not work for you, but I use the following system. OK I use Lightroom, but that's not important you van use other software but the end result is the same. Infact This method was one I devised before LR .

1. Import images onto computer. I use a simple year then shoot subject directory. i.e everything I photograph in 2007 goes into the 2007 folder. The I have subsequent folders Lake District October. You can add sub folders to your hearts content, but I usually find that one or two are sufficient.

2. back up images. I'm probably paranoid, but I copy to CD/DVD and to external hard drive. The External drive is a mirror of mu computer drive so the directory stays identical to the main computer. The CD/DVD has simply the shoot name, but its filed under the year in a storage box.

4 Processed images go to a seperate directory called "Developed". Here they're filed under what I wanted them for. For example 2008 calender.

This way the originals are alway where you put them , and you can find them again.

This works for me

Hope this has been of some help

John C
Click to expand...

That's the method I'm going to use, thanks :)
 
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