Workflow question (Mac users)

Iren

Iren

Messages
624
Name
Irina
Edit My Images
Yes
I am just trying to get my head around the workflow process, so few silly questions.

So I figured out how to download all the photos from my camera to macbook pro wirelessly, so what's next?

They are downloading to All my files section, where do I keep them afterwards?
Do you open them in Lightroom/photoshop, delete all the rubbish and work with whats left and then save them to? Photos on MacBook? other folder? online cloud or external hard disc?

Basically I would really appreciate any input about your workflow with client and your own photos (especially Mac book users as I am new with it)
 
I would personally ignore the editing software until you have your images safely stored where you know where to find them.
I always download to 'My Pictures' within 'My Documents'. I have subfolders for each year and then an additional subfolder under that for each shoot which is date labelled plus the camera and a brief description. I would suggest you use the American date format Y/M/D as the files will automatically be kept in strict chronological order. e.g. '17011701_D750_Family'
The '01' after the date is the shoot number so I can keep different shoots on the same day apart. The camera detail is there because I have more than one that I use and it saves me having to keep looking at the metadata.
That's just the way I do it, there are of course many other solutions to the same problem.
Having safely filed your images ( and ideally backed them up) you can then import them or edit them in a program of choice.
 
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@Clactonian , she's a Mac user ;)

Firstly doing it wireless is slooooooow going but I guess if you're happy then fine.

Secondly, they are not downloading to 'All My Files' as that is just a search folder that searches for, well, all your files. It will be putting them somewhere, maybe in your photos folder - it depends what program you are using to import them.

The best thing to do is let Lightroom import the files (either from the memory card reader or use a cable) and it will store them in a date based filing structure, you can leave it like that (I do) or you can tell it to do something different, up to you but do add some keywords so you can find them easily. Then, you can make Collections of your events or photos and add to that collections the good photos you want to keep, then you can export those photos to a separate folder as your keepers.
 
My workflow - works for me - not presuming it's the best, but it keeps everything apart from a single drag & drop in LR (also not a mac user - but the principle is the same. Oh - and not a pro.)

Return from shoot, insert mem card into reader and drag files into "Dump" folder. Repeat with multiple cards. (Reason: LR imports faster from disk than from a card and can only import one card at a time) (If your setup is different - to follow this you'd need to get your wireless to drop them into a dump folder)
In LR - I have the "Dump" folder showing, so I Sync it to pick up the new photos using "Add"
Once imported, give them all a 1st pass deleting all the crap (I just press "X" to mark as rejected and have a filter set to hide rejected so they appear to disappear. One key press to get rid)
Remaining photos get dragged (In LR) into appropriate folders in MyPictures (could be anywhere you store your photos). Create new folders if necessary in LR.
-At this point, backup software monitoring the folders all my pics go in picks up the file change and starts backing them up. Dump folder isn't part of this structure, so I don't back up crap.-
Clear out the Dump folder (either in your file explorer, or remove the filter and delete from within LR)

I'd echo the part about wifi or cheap card readers. I invested in a Lexar card reader and it massively increased the speed of the process. The above with 2 cameras (thus at least 2 cards) usually takes me no more than 5 minutes - excluding the 1st pass and I have an automatic backup. My LR catalogue is backed up daily - again on an automated process.

I usually keyword my import with a top level keyword - because very often it's the same. This drops the photos into smart collections for detailed crit & keywording "later" (i.e. whenever I'm really bored!). But that's a whole different discussion.
 
Clactonian said:
I would personally ignore the editing software until you have your images safely stored where you know where to find them.
I always download to 'My Pictures' within 'My Documents'. I have subfolders for each year and then an additional subfolder under that for each shoot which is date labelled plus the camera and a brief description. I would suggest you use the American date format Y/M/D as the files will automatically be kept in strict chronological order. e.g. '17011701_D750_Family'
The '01' after the date is the shoot number so I can keep different shoots on the same day apart. The camera detail is there because I have more than one that I use and it saves me having to keep looking at the metadata.
That's just the way I do it, there are of course many other solutions to the same problem.
Having safely filed your images ( and ideally backed them up) you can then import them or edit them in a program of choice.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply and good point about American date format, I'll keep that in mind
I am not sure where to find my photos now :) I can see them within All my files, but they are not in my photos....
Do you save edited images to the same folder as original and keep both? Where do you back up yours?
 
Nawty said:
@Clactonian , she's a Mac user ;)

Firstly doing it wireless is slooooooow going but I guess if you're happy then fine.

Secondly, they are not downloading to 'All My Files' as that is just a search folder that searches for, well, all your files. It will be putting them somewhere, maybe in your photos folder - it depends what program you are using to import them.

The best thing to do is let Lightroom import the files (either from the memory card reader or use a cable) and it will store them in a date based filing structure, you can leave it like that (I do) or you can tell it to do something different, up to you but do add some keywords so you can find them easily. Then, you can make Collections of your events or photos and add to that collections the good photos you want to keep, then you can export those photos to a separate folder as your keepers.
Click to expand...

I've noticed its quite slow, so need to get adapter for the cable.
I had to contact apple support to locate files and they are in my pictures, will move them to Photos, but not sure if thats the best place to save them as in Photos I have pictures from iPhone as well, unless I create folders...
Where do you have your folders in Pictures?
 
Just some thoughts from a PC user not Mac.

I choose where my files are placed (into a folder naming and structure of my choice) and then import them into Lightroom. This also gives me the opportunity to do that initial keywording as part of the import step.

For the record I use a card reader and the card and it is stored until I have backed up. Then formated for future use.

NB think carefully now about your file naming structure now before you import too many images & folders. Without going into details I did it badly to start with but now based on year > sub folder location (where taken) & date > sub folders within if there is a natural need to sub divide the files based on subject.

The choice is yours but choose carefully to suit your needs:)

Also, make sure you make a back up copy of the imported images onto at least one (ideally two) external hard drive. DO this before you delete them from the memory card! Note- memory cards and hard drives can do fail, so backup early in the workflow for peace of mind, especially so if you are photographing for business!

Edit - for what is worth I have multiple internal hard drives and copy from my LR catalogue drive to one other as a quick redundancy 'backup' precaution
 
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I down load my files to my pictures I store them in date order. Then in to lightroom and then onto photoshop
 
My workflow - Mac AND PC.

Download the images from the memory card to a dated (YYYY.MM.DD) folder within a folder for the year (or a special event if appropriate). How they are downloaded is not important - what matters is that you put them somewhere in a filing system that allows you to locate them directly, without having to hunt. I then import into Lightroom, adding metadata at the time of import to help with locating them later using text search.

My present editing computer has an SD card reader slot built in, but when my Macbook did not I bought an adapter for a few pounds and put the card in that - no cables, no faffing behind rubber covers - for a fast, easy import.
 
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I download from Camera to a folder on the desktop first.
Then i download a second copy from camera to an external hard drive into an master annual folder which then has monthly subfolders within it.
Verify that both folders have imported correctly.
From there, I import from desktop folder into lightroom.
Remove flash cards and replace into camera and format.
Then i delete any obvious unwanted images from the catalogue and remove from folder (command backspace on mac - remove from disk)
then rank the images within lightroom and start working on the obvious favs.
Export final edits to another folder on the desktop for printing or electronic posting.

rinse and repeat.
 
I've recently had to upgrade my storage system as I had filled up the internal hard drive on my iMac so I've been looking at my workflow. This blog helped me think about my new workflow though I use carbon copy cloner (it basically does the same job).

https://www.scottdavenportphoto.com...ckup-photos-with-g-tech-drives-and-chronosync

Like @Box Brownie back ups are very important especially if you are doing this as a business. There are plenty of videos out there showing how different people/businesses operate their storage system/workflow. For a hobby I have a master drive, onsite backup and off site backup plus hi res jpegs uploaded to my website as 'cloud storage'. Im thinking of adding a second portable drive as an offsite backup, that way I will always have a copy offsite along with a second onsite backup.

I've used Lightroom for the last 5 years, it's a great way to organise my images. It's great for only saving the RAWs, completing all editing (non destructive edits) and only export in the format I need when I need them. This has saved having multiple copies of the same file (RAW, TIF, JPEG) as I only need to have the RAW and Lightroom catalogue file saved on the hard drive. Lightroom keeps the same file structure and creates the folders on my hard drive all from within Lightroom. I decided on my file structure when first setting up Lightroom, year-month-day folders has worked well for me.
 
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Iren said:
I've noticed its quite slow, so need to get adapter for the cable.
I had to contact apple support to locate files and they are in my pictures, will move them to Photos, but not sure if thats the best place to save them as in Photos I have pictures from iPhone as well, unless I create folders...
Where do you have your folders in Pictures?
Click to expand...

Photos. The problem with Photos is that it stores your pictures in an a rather inaccessible library and if you use Lightroom and Photos you end up with duplicates across your computer and things can end up a bit of a mess, or at best you use loads more storage space. You can use Google Photos as a way of automatically backing up and uploading if you like as it doesn't make copies and is actually rather good.

However, the first thing to do if figure out how to import to Lightroom, it sounds as though you have one of the new Macbooks with USB-C so just buy the cable that links to your camera (or the adapter, which will come in useful) and go from there.

You can also get LR to import from where the photos are now on your computer so have a go at that.

edit: it would be helpful to know what you are trying to achieve using Lightroom/Photoshop and whether or not you shoot in raw. If not you could just use Photos and get some of the rather good plugins.
 
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Iren said:
I am just trying to get my head around the workflow process, so few silly questions.

So I figured out how to download all the photos from my camera to macbook pro wirelessly, so what's next?

They are downloading to All my files section, where do I keep them afterwards?
Do you open them in Lightroom/photoshop, delete all the rubbish and work with whats left and then save them to? Photos on MacBook? other folder? online cloud or external hard disc?

Basically I would really appreciate any input about your workflow with client and your own photos (especially Mac book users as I am new with it)
Click to expand...
Everyone has their own system and you will develop what suits you best. I like my system because I think it is safe and logical and keeps track of everything so long as I work within Lightroom from start to finish.
If you have Lightroom, it is by far the best (for me) database management system as well as being an excellent high-quality image processor. If your camera uses an SD card, use the appropriate port on your laptop or buy a simple card reader as suggested by @ancient_mariner.
The import function on LR allows you to enter keywords for the download batch. Assigning keywords at this stage, even before applying your numbering system, is most important, as it means in the future, along with the EXIF data, you can readily search and find key worded images out of many thousands in a very short time. This is the advantage of the LR data management system as it avoids the need for the traditional cumbersome hierarchical folder system, which you won't remember anyway once your catalogue grows to several thousand or more images.
For the editing phase, I use three folders. I import in stages, first to a "Raw Import" folder, in the main Pictures folder. From here I make a selection to a "Convert to DNG_Rename" folder (I use a simple numbering system customised as "My name", followed by the year and a sequential number for that year) and then to "GPS_Keywords". Finally I will refine and add to the key wording so that I don't need to create any other folders other than a year folder.
I put the edited raw files into the year folder and then erase the "Raw_Import folder, so that it is clear for the next import.
From the raw files in the Year folder, I export jpegs etc as required.
Iren said:
Thank you for the reply and good point about American date format, I'll keep that in mind
I am not sure where to find my photos now :) I can see them within All my files, but they are not in my photos....
Do you save edited images to the same folder as original and keep both? Where do you back up yours?
Click to expand...
Backing up is a separate issue and I regularly backup the "Pictures" folder to three separate external hard drives.
Iren said:
I've noticed its quite slow, so need to get adapter for the cable.
I had to contact apple support to locate files and they are in my pictures, will move them to Photos, but not sure if thats the best place to save them as in Photos I have pictures from iPhone as well, unless I create folders...
Where do you have your folders in Pictures?
Click to expand...
I use a Mac but I would never use Apple Photos. Apple seem to do everything possible to make it difficult to work in conjunction with competitors software.
Hope that helps and good luck!
 
Box Brownie said:
Just some thoughts from a PC user not Mac.

I choose where my files are placed (into a folder naming and structure of my choice) and then import them into Lightroom. This also gives me the opportunity to do that initial keywording as part of the import step.

For the record I use a card reader and the card and it is stored until I have backed up. Then formated for future use.

NB think carefully now about your file naming structure now before you import too many images & folders. Without going into details I did it badly to start with but now based on year > sub folder location (where taken) & date > sub folders within if there is a natural need to sub divide the files based on subject.

The choice is yours but choose carefully to suit your needs:)

Also, make sure you make a back up copy of the imported images onto at least one (ideally two) external hard drive. DO this before you delete them from the memory card! Note- memory cards and hard drives can do fail, so backup early in the workflow for peace of mind, especially so if you are photographing for business!

Edit - for what is worth I have multiple internal hard drives and copy from my LR catalogue drive to one other as a quick redundancy 'backup' precaution
Click to expand...

Thank you for sharing your process.
I've decided to go by year and month for my personal photos and created Clients folder within a year for others; personally I don't like too many folders, so that hopefully will work for me.
I do have one external hard drive, but need to get adapters for new mackbook pro, but do you use cloud or any other online storage systems? Do you store clients photos forever or just for the period of time?
Does LR keep all your edited photos, so thats one way to store them? sorry for a lot of questions :)
 
ancient_mariner said:
My workflow - Mac AND PC.

Download the images from the memory card to a dated (YYYY.MM.DD) folder within a folder for the year (or a special event if appropriate). How they are downloaded is not important - what matters is that you put them somewhere in a filing system that allows you to locate them directly, without having to hunt. I then import into Lightroom, adding metadata at the time of import to help with locating them later using text search.

My present editing computer has an SD card reader slot built in, but when my Macbook did not I bought an adapter for a few pounds and put the card in that - no cables, no faffing behind rubber covers - for a fast, easy import.
Click to expand...

Thank you! I like the idea of card reader and can see quite a few people use it.
Do you store processed photos on the same original folder? Delete unprocessed or just have 2 copies - one processed and one not?
 
gremlin16 said:
I download from Camera to a folder on the desktop first.
Then i download a second copy from camera to an external hard drive into an master annual folder which then has monthly subfolders within it.
Verify that both folders have imported correctly.
From there, I import from desktop folder into lightroom.
Remove flash cards and replace into camera and format.
Then i delete any obvious unwanted images from the catalogue and remove from folder (command backspace on mac - remove from disk)
then rank the images within lightroom and start working on the obvious favs.
Export final edits to another folder on the desktop for printing or electronic posting.

rinse and repeat.
Click to expand...

thank you!
Sounds logical and simple enough for me. Where do you store edited photos then? Next to raw copy? new folder?
 
BrynBoru said:
Everyone has their own system and you will develop what suits you best. I like my system because I think it is safe and logical and keeps track of everything so long as I work within Lightroom from start to finish.
If you have Lightroom, it is by far the best (for me) database management system as well as being an excellent high-quality image processor. If your camera uses an SD card, use the appropriate port on your laptop or buy a simple card reader as suggested by @ancient_mariner.
The import function on LR allows you to enter keywords for the download batch. Assigning keywords at this stage, even before applying your numbering system, is most important, as it means in the future, along with the EXIF data, you can readily search and find key worded images out of many thousands in a very short time. This is the advantage of the LR data management system as it avoids the need for the traditional cumbersome hierarchical folder system, which you won't remember anyway once your catalogue grows to several thousand or more images.
For the editing phase, I use three folders. I import in stages, first to a "Raw Import" folder, in the main Pictures folder. From here I make a selection to a "Convert to DNG_Rename" folder (I use a simple numbering system customised as "My name", followed by the year and a sequential number for that year) and then to "GPS_Keywords". Finally I will refine and add to the key wording so that I don't need to create any other folders other than a year folder.
I put the edited raw files into the year folder and then erase the "Raw_Import folder, so that it is clear for the next import.
From the raw files in the Year folder, I export jpegs etc as required.

Backing up is a separate issue and I regularly backup the "Pictures" folder to three separate external hard drives.

I use a Mac but I would never use Apple Photos. Apple seem to do everything possible to make it difficult to work in conjunction with competitors software.
Hope that helps and good luck!
Click to expand...

Thank you for the detailed reply. It does help and I started to get my head around it all.
 
Iren said:
Thank you for sharing your process.
I've decided to go by year and month for my personal photos and created Clients folder within a year for others; personally I don't like too many folders, so that hopefully will work for me.
I do have one external hard drive, but need to get adapters for new mackbook pro, but do you use cloud or any other online storage systems? Do you store clients photos forever or just for the period of time?
Does LR keep all your edited photos, so thats one way to store them? sorry for a lot of questions :)
Click to expand...
Lightroom is based on a catalogue of data which references to the original images you store on whatever drive in your computer or elsewhere. It does not contain the original of the image, which, no matter what you do in LR, remains as original. That is why Lightroom does not alter or change the original. Lightroom applies the edits only when exporting the image as e.g. a jpeg. The jpeg will have the LR edits embedded in it, but the original raw file remains unaltered.
When you backup LR you are not backing up the original of the image. It is the catalogue of all the edits, EXIF data, keywords etc which LR backs up in whatever drive you choose.
Backing up images is a separate action outside of Lightroom, for which you can buy specialised backup software. I use Chronosync. If you just perform backups for Lightroom, you will not be backing up the image files.
You have to choose the destination of the edited file when you export. You can choose to store it alongside the original raw, or create a new destination folder anywhere you like within your system.
Hope that helps!:)
 
Iren said:
Thank you for sharing your process.
I've decided to go by year and month for my personal photos and created Clients folder within a year for others; personally I don't like too many folders, so that hopefully will work for me.
I do have one external hard drive, but need to get adapters for new mackbook pro, but do you use cloud or any other online storage systems? Do you store clients photos forever or just for the period of time?
Does LR keep all your edited photos, so thats one way to store them? sorry for a lot of questions :)
Click to expand...

Year and month is OK if you're not producing much work, but if you're shooting a couple of hundred images a week or more then it could be easy to lose track of the original files. Also if you're doing work for others then it may be more effective to store by customer within the monthly folder.

Online backup is only as good as your internet connection, and cloud storage may be subject to loss without warning.

Is there a reason not to store client photos forever?

Lightroom does not edit images - what it does is record the changes you have made without actually modifying anything. The final images are only produced when you export.
 
Iren said:
thank you!
Sounds logical and simple enough for me. Where do you store edited photos then? Next to raw copy? new folder?
Click to expand...

The edited photos are just held within the Lightroom catalogue. Just to clarify (apologies if you understood this already) lightroom doesn't mess with the actual photo. It just writes a list of changes which it only uses within the program itself. So the 'edited' photos are actually one copy of the originals with a note stuck to it. Exported photos are modified and they go in their own folder.

Hope that makes sense?
 
Thank you everyone for the detailed reply about your workflows. I have better understanding now how it works and def will get card reader to save the time.
Final question about back up, looks like most of you use external hard discs (or several), anyone using iCloud/dropbox etc? You have to pay monthly for large amount of space, but in case hard disc files etc and its easier to access from the cloud? (or not)
 
and can anyone recommend card reader? Is this one ok? Looks like I still need to get adapter for USB with the new matchbook pro :/
EC Technology SD Card Reader Aluminum Superspeed USB 3.0 Multi-In-1 Card Reader for SD/CF/Micro SD-Silver
 
Iren said:
Thank you everyone for the detailed reply about your workflows. I have better understanding now how it works and def will get card reader to save the time.
Final question about back up, looks like most of you use external hard discs (or several), anyone using iCloud/dropbox etc? You have to pay monthly for large amount of space, but in case hard disc files etc and its easier to access from the cloud? (or not)
Click to expand...
I would never trust my work to an external source over which I have no direct control. My hard drives don't need an internet link, they are difficult to hack and I can store as big files as I choose. Hard drives or SSD's are becoming cheaper all the time. Only use I make of the cloud is for swapping iPhone images through iCloud on a social basis. Dropbox is fine for specific file transfers but not for permanent storage.
 
Iren said:
EC Technology SD Card Reader Aluminum Superspeed USB 3.0 Multi-In-1 Card Reader for SD/CF/Micro SD-Silver
Click to expand...
I use this exact same model and have found it satisfactory. I use it in conjunction with an Anker data hub into the back of my desktop iMac.
 
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Iren said:
and can anyone recommend card reader? Is this one ok? Looks like I still need to get adapter for USB with the new matchbook pro :/
EC Technology SD Card Reader Aluminum Superspeed USB 3.0 Multi-In-1 Card Reader for SD/CF/Micro SD-Silver
Click to expand...

Most card readers should be good. One that often gets mentioned is the Lexar SD and CF reader, its USB connection too.

Iren said:
Thank you everyone for the detailed reply about your workflows. I have better understanding now how it works and def will get card reader to save the time.
Final question about back up, looks like most of you use external hard discs (or several), anyone using iCloud/dropbox etc? You have to pay monthly for large amount of space, but in case hard disc files etc and its easier to access from the cloud? (or not)
Click to expand...

Are all of your images going to be stored on only your MacBook? If they are what would happen if it got stolen or the hard drive failed? Are you planning on photography being a business? If you are and data was lost how would you meet your clients needs?

The 3-2-1 backup method is quite easy to understand and can be implemented several ways (external drives, offsite drives, NAS, cloud storage). The important thing is you have more than one copy of data (also remember a single all in one RAID1 drive isn't a backup as the whole array could fail losing both copies. If you google '3-2-1 backup method photography' there is plenty of information out there. Backup programs like Carbon Copy Cloner or Chronosync making backing up easy and to the point where you hardly get involved (they are setup to schedule and start themselves, they even email me to say if they were successful or not).

I found this one:

https://www.slrlounge.com/data-backup-3-2-1-rule-need-implement-now/

All of my editing is done in Lightroom, I personally don't have a need for anything else. I only store the RAW's and they they are imported by Lightroom and into a folder structure on my master hard drive. I only ever create 'final jpegs' when I need them. They are used and then deleted to save hard drive space. If I need an image again I export it from Lightroom specifically for that use. This saves having several copies of the same image on my hard drives. Uploads of hi-res jpegs to my website are one through a Lightroom plugin (drag the images across and click publish).

My storage system is:

Master RAID0 external drive- my working Lightroom catalogue and RAW storage.
Onsite backup of the master external drive (RAID1 3TB drives x2 in one enclosure).
Offsite backup of the master external drive (2TB portable drives- soon to be two portable drives so one can be a second onsite backup whilst the other is offsite, and ensures there is always a copy offsite).
Hi-res final jpegs stored in a hidden folder on my website (not perfect solution but its only a hobby so good enough for me).

I basically need to have simultaneous failures or theft of 3 (soon to be 4) hard drives in two different locations to lose all of my RAWS and Lightroom edits data. To lose literally everything my website 'cloud' hi-res storage would have to be lost at the same time. My Carbon Copy Cloner backups are setup for what they call 'safety net', it saves any deleted or altered files since the last backup onto the backup drive. Like it says, its a safety net in case I've accidentally deleted a file or have my Lightroom Catalogue file corrupt, I can always go back and find it as long as its within the last 120 days as I have it set to auto delete after 120 days to save storage space.

Edit: forgot to mention I also have time machine set up for the iMac internal hard drive (no photos stored on there) as its back up.
 
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ancient_mariner said:
The one I have looks like these @ <£3 each, so cheap enough to bung in the camera bag:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kubik-Sing...qid=1484763554&sr=1-8&keywords=sd+card+reader
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Integral-U...id=1484763554&sr=1-21&keywords=sd+card+reader

I don't recall what the data transfer rate is when using it on USB 2.0, but don't recall it being too slow. The one you picked out looks nice, but bulky with the cable if you want to carry it around.
Click to expand...

Data transfers speeds will depend on memory card and receiving hard drive speed too, but I personally wouldn't use USB2 reader on a new macbook pro if a USB3 reader can be used instead. USB2 is supposed to be max 60MB/s whilst USB3 is max 625MB/s, but in reality both are probably slower. If the memory card is slower than either a USB2 or USB3 reader then it would be the limiting factor.
 
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ancient_mariner said:
The one I have looks like these @ <£3 each, so cheap enough to bung in the camera bag:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kubik-Sing...qid=1484763554&sr=1-8&keywords=sd+card+reader
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Integral-U...id=1484763554&sr=1-21&keywords=sd+card+reader

I don't recall what the data transfer rate is when using it on USB 2.0, but don't recall it being too slow. The one you picked out looks nice, but bulky with the cable if you want to carry it around.
Click to expand...

thank you! looks quite portable. With the new matchbook and no direct usb plug in, I still need to figure out the adapter
 
Thank you for detailed explanation and the link.
I used to save all on one external hard drive and then something gone wrong and I lost all my photos going few years back :(
Now again, I do have 1 external hard drive, but I like 3-2-1 rule and will get another one to make a copy, just need to think if I get online storage or physical copy for 3rd. As I don't have dedicated space where I process the images(I do on my laptop), portability or size is important.

rob-nikon said:
Most card readers should be good. One that often gets mentioned is the Lexar SD and CF reader, its USB connection too.



Are all of your images going to be stored on only your MacBook? If they are what would happen if it got stolen or the hard drive failed? Are you planning on photography being a business? If you are and data was lost how would you meet your clients needs?

The 3-2-1 backup method is quite easy to understand and can be implemented several ways (external drives, offsite drives, NAS, cloud storage). The important thing is you have more than one copy of data (also remember a single all in one RAID1 drive isn't a backup as the whole array could fail losing both copies. If you google '3-2-1 backup method photography' there is plenty of information out there. Backup programs like Carbon Copy Cloner or Chronosync making backing up easy and to the point where you hardly get involved (they are setup to schedule and start themselves, they even email me to say if they were successful or not).

I found this one:

https://www.slrlounge.com/data-backup-3-2-1-rule-need-implement-now/

All of my editing is done in Lightroom, I personally don't have a need for anything else. I only store the RAW's and they they are imported by Lightroom and into a folder structure on my master hard drive. I only ever create 'final jpegs' when I need them. They are used and then deleted to save hard drive space. If I need an image again I export it from Lightroom specifically for that use. This saves having several copies of the same image on my hard drives. Uploads of hi-res jpegs to my website are one through a Lightroom plugin (drag the images across and click publish).

My storage system is:

Master RAID0 external drive- my working Lightroom catalogue and RAW storage.
Onsite backup of the master external drive (RAID1 3TB drives x2 in one enclosure).
Offsite backup of the master external drive (2TB portable drives- soon to be two portable drives so one can be a second onsite backup whilst the other is offsite, and ensures there is always a copy offsite).
Hi-res final jpegs stored in a hidden folder on my website (not perfect solution but its only a hobby so good enough for me).

I basically need to have simultaneous failures or theft of 3 (soon to be 4) hard drives in two different locations to lose all of my RAWS and Lightroom edits data. To lose literally everything my website 'cloud' hi-res storage would have to be lost at the same time. My Carbon Copy Cloner backups are setup for what they call 'safety net', it saves any deleted or altered files since the last backup onto the backup drive. Like it says, its a safety net in case I've accidentally deleted a file or have my Lightroom Catalogue file corrupt, I can always go back and find it as long as its within the last 120 days as I have it set to auto delete after 120 days to save storage space.

Edit: forgot to mention I also have time machine set up for the iMac internal hard drive (no photos stored on there) as its back up.
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after reading all of above, I came up with this
  • Download (using card reader) to My Pictures
  • Sort by folder - Year/month/date, then year folder; clients folders within the year
  • go through photos, delete the ones I don’t want to keep (or shall I do that in LR?)
  • Clean the photo camera card
  • Back up the original photos on 2 external hard drives (or 3 ;)
  • Upload photos to LR, edit and export the ones I need into edited folder in My Pictures under relevant date, then back up
Does this sound reasonable? Am I missing something?
 
Iren said:
after reading all of above, I came up with this
  • Download (using card reader) to My Pictures
  • Sort by folder - Year/month/date, then year folder; clients folders within the year
  • go through photos, delete the ones I don’t want to keep (or shall I do that in LR?)
  • Clean the photo camera card
  • Back up the original photos on 2 external hard drives (or 3 ;)
  • Upload photos to LR, edit and export the ones I need into edited folder in My Pictures under relevant date, then back up
Does this sound reasonable? Am I missing something?
Click to expand...

Lightroom is designed primarily for cataloguing. Use it first rather than last (well, just use it for everything).

-Import using Lightroom to My Pictures, into whatever folder structure you like (Lightroom will create the subfolders in My Pictures for you if you tell it to).
-Back up.
-Format card. You have these two the wrong way around in your list above. If you clear the card before you've backed up, what do you do if something was corrupted on import, or your hard drive crashes?
-Use Lightroom to edit the shoot, deleting ones you don't need to keep, and marking others for processing.
-Use Lightroom to process them - and / or external software such as Photoshop or whatever if you prefer.
-Export for the specific need you have, then delete the exported files after you've used them (uploaded, sent to whomever, printed them, whatever you're doing with them). No need to just export a bunch of finished photos for no reason unless you want to clutter up your hard drives and waste a bit of space.
 
Let LR do all the filing, it will automatically do your second point for you. START by importing into lightroom directly from the memory card, makes it so much more easy.

The real benefit of LR over many other solutions are that it acts as a file management and cataloging system too so you use that for importing, selecting keepers (I rarely delete anything, just flag the keepers and move to a collection) and exporting.

Also, two hard hard drive backups seems a bit overkill for me unless it is your main source of income and your clients won't be happy with large JPG files. I keep all this year's shots on the system HD, backup everything else to an external and keep all my exports in the cloud.

Some people want more but, without trying to be rude, considering you don't know how to use LR or even how a Mac stores its files, jumping to dual HDs/RAID or whatever seems massively overkill. You will naturally figure these things out when the need arises.

edit: beaten to it :)
 
Nawty said:
Also, two hard hard drive backups seems a bit overkill for me unless it is your main source of income and your clients won't be happy with large JPG files. I keep all this year's shots on the system HD, backup everything else to an external and keep all my exports in the cloud.

Some people want more but, without trying to be rude, considering you don't know how to use LR or even how a Mac stores its files, jumping to dual HDs/RAID or whatever seems massively overkill. You will naturally figure these things out when the need arises.
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The internal drive on her iMac will fill up though. Then when she needs space to be able to use the computer she's down to one copy of each file. Two external drives for a few quid isn't over the top I don't think. Everyone's different of course, but for me, personal photos are more important than some boring crap for work anyway. :)
 
Opinions will vary about the right way to work. *Personally* I would move files manually and then import into LR so that I KNOW where they have been put, rather than allowing other software to manage the location.
 
ancient_mariner said:
Opinions will vary about the right way to work. *Personally* I would move files manually and then import into LR so that I KNOW where they have been put, rather than allowing other software to manage the location.
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Thank you! Now I have 2 opinions about importing files and sorting them, so will try both manually and with LR and see what I prefer.
Thanks a lot for the input
 
Jayst84 said:
Lightroom is designed primarily for cataloguing. Use it first rather than last (well, just use it for everything).

-Import using Lightroom to My Pictures, into whatever folder structure you like (Lightroom will create the subfolders in My Pictures for you if you tell it to).
-Back up.
-Format card. You have these two the wrong way around in your list above. If you clear the card before you've backed up, what do you do if something was corrupted on import, or your hard drive crashes?
-Use Lightroom to edit the shoot, deleting ones you don't need to keep, and marking others for processing.
-Use Lightroom to process them - and / or external software such as Photoshop or whatever if you prefer.
-Export for the specific need you have, then delete the exported files after you've used them (uploaded, sent to whomever, printed them, whatever you're doing with them). No need to just export a bunch of finished photos for no reason unless you want to clutter up your hard drives and waste a bit of space.
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Thank you for the detailed reply, I need to be careful not to formal card too soon
I will try using LR and do it manually (structuring and sorting files) and see what I prefer, but now I def have more clear view and next steps
 
ancient_mariner said:
Opinions will vary about the right way to work. *Personally* I would move files manually and then import into LR so that I KNOW where they have been put, rather than allowing other software to manage the location.
Click to expand...

Well you know where they've been put using Lightroom just the same as any other method because you can select the exact location of the import. But the default of creating a folder structure based on date seems logical enough to me when combined with LR's catalogue function.

Manually importing them onto the hard drive and then importing them into LR adds a pointless and time-consuming extra step.
 
BrynBoru said:
I would never trust my work to an external source over which I have no direct control. My hard drives don't need an internet link, they are difficult to hack and I can store as big files as I choose. Hard drives or SSD's are becoming cheaper all the time. Only use I make of the cloud is for swapping iPhone images through iCloud on a social basis. Dropbox is fine for specific file transfers but not for permanent storage.
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The point of having an online backup is that it's offsite, so if you're burgled or have a fire, the data is still safe. It's difficult to quantify to relative risks, but I would have thought Amazon losing my data is no more likely than having it burned or stolen at my end. Home backup combined with offsite backup is safer than home backup on its own.
 
The thing to remember with a backup is that it's only useful if you can restore data from it. As @snerkler found recently, sometimes even large organisations like Flickr have hiccups that can mean your data gets modified or lost - sometimes it's temporary and sometimes there's no recovery for you. Backup 'in the cloud' is completely outside your control, so although the chances are good that they won't lose your data (or give it to someone else) you can never really be either sure or do anything about it. And if you live somewhere without high-speed broadband then backup online may not even be feasible anyway.

martsharm said:
Well you know where they've been put using Lightroom just the same as any other method because you can select the exact location of the import. But the default of creating a folder structure based on date seems logical enough to me when combined with LR's catalogue function.

Manually importing them onto the hard drive and then importing them into LR adds a pointless and time-consuming extra step.
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Yes, it takes a little more time. I've never felt happy with Lightroom's file relocation software, not that I can claim it's let me down, but it was an unfamiliar process compared to one that I know works easily and without trouble. And I doubt it takes much more time to download manually and then import - the difference will be less than the time required to process a single image or maybe even add keywords to metadata.
 
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