There is an easier way to move the photo files from your SSD to your NAS Drive, all in one step. You open LR, go to Library and drag the Garden folder from your SSD to the Q2 folder in your main Photo Library. LR will take care of moving the files and repointing the catalog to right place. It's much safer if you let LR do it.
I work similar, but one difference for me is my LR catalog is saved on OneDrive and marked to keep on my device. This allows me to access my catalog from any device I have OneDrive installed and I feel it is faster with the file directly on the MacBook. I have my entire photo directory on my ssd and backed up on a schedule to IDrive. I am hyper diligent at culling my images so I don’t waste space on the drive. This seems to work very well for me and I don’t worry about losing my images with multiple backups. I also keep enough cards for the entire trip. That is a great tip.
You can automate the copying from your SD card to the SSD (and your computer's HD) by telling Lightroom to also copy the files to another location while importing them. You need to choose MOVE (not COPY or ADD) files during import and then you can not only select the primary target folder for your files (that could be SSD/2022/Q2/Garden, following your structure) but also the the place for the secondary copy (eg ComputerHD/Pictures/2022/Q2/Garden) by checking the 'Make a Second Copy To' just below the 'Don't Import Suspected Duplicates'. You can then choose where to put those second copies. For the primary target folder, you can either follow the Lightroom proposal of sorting things into a folder by date or you can choose 'into subfolder', enter the name of your folder and then in the next field choose 'Into one folder', navigate in the drop-down list to where you want to go, right click your chosen parent folder and you'll see where Lightroom will import the files. Not necessarily faster (or more convenient), but all within Lightroom - for those who are scared by the idea of also having to work in the Finder and copying files around by drag&drop.
Instead of copying the files to your NAS and then having to remap the catalog previews to the folder on the NAS you could just move the folder from your LEXAR SSD to the NAS inside LR. Also, when using the LR on your iPad and the Adobe cloud you can goto LR Classic Preferences > LR Sync and choose the location you would like the sync photos to be saved too. I set mine up so the the LR Cyan cloud photos save automatically to the NAS.
thanks, I've looked at various "lightroom workkflow" videos and articles, this was the clearest and made most sense to cover working while away, and integrating with a NAS
In particular, thanks for sharing your 'out in the field' workflow as well. Being able to keep everything in sync between multiple devices makes for really flexible and powerful reviewing, editing and cataloging workflows.
Thank you for sharing! That's a fantastic explanation of a really good workflow. Keeping the catalog on a dedicated external SSD is super smart. I had stopped using smart previews because my catalog was getting so bloated early on, and often one of the first things I sacrifice when building a laptop is internal hard drive space. Any time you want to do another video on the minutia of file storage, workflow, and syncing between your computers and iPad, know that I will watch that video in a heartbeat!
Lightroom 1.0 was released in early 2007, I got it free due to having a Pixmantec RawShooter licence and Adobe had bought Pixmantec and incorporated some of their tech in Lightroom. I’ve had all my photos in Lightroom library ever since and always interested to see other peoples Lightroom file management to improve my own
An interesting explanation, Nigel. I'm a LR user since the initial version and enjoy using it. LR has evolved greatly since version 1, but in order to utilize all these nifty innovations, one needs to keep hardware current too. My mid 2010 iMac and MacBook Air are no longer supported by Apple, aren't compatible with more recent OS versions, thus limiting me to LR 9.4. I wouldn't mind switching from LR to another app but I'd be losing all my LR image processing. Rats!
Thank you for the video and explaining your workflow, Nigel! I decided to simplify my workflow to Camera -> LR for iPad + small SSD -> culling + light editing in LR for iPad -> Adobe Cloud -> MacBook (my main computer). Like you mentioned in posts below, I hit the 20GB quota pretty soon. After thinking about this, I decided not to fiddle with copying files manually and not to buy NAS (a pretty expensive hardware). Instead, I pay for Adobe's 1TB plan 20$/month. This way, I follow 3+1/2/1 rule: 3 RAW copies, 2 local, 1 cloud. That is, I have copies on my iPad (smart previews), RAWs on a small 2TB portable SSD, cloud, and MacBook. To keep the storage low, once I import everything to iPad first, I immediately cull images and only keep the flagged/picked ones (delete the rest). For me, paying 20$/month was more acceptable than buying a NAS and carrying it around since I am also a "digital nomad".
Awesome. Thank you for this. I've got some practicing to do! I've had the same LR catalogue since 2012, but never knew how to get everything from my external hard drive into that catalogue without making a complete hash of it all! This was a great help.
This was the first one that I saw that illustrates Classic as the primary and then Cloud as a secondary portable medium. I have been having a similar setup for about 2 years now and watching your workflow reassures my setup. Some differences are that: - I use an external SSD for ALL of my local photo store (not just for Catalog). All my NAS photos fits in that SSD. However, folders in that SSD are mounted folders from Synology NAS. So I don't need to do the "copy to NAS" process that you illustrated. It auto syncs it. I only take photos, so I understand why this process may not physically feasible for people who shoot lots of videos. - I don't bring Laptops anymore. I just use iPad workflow and that workflow is exactly as you mentioned. - I now use ACASIS m.2 external drive enclosure when I am on the go (I don't take my attached SSD out anymore). It can act like an hub and houses an internal SSD. I copy photos from cards to Acasis hub for backup on the go. - I keep all of my Collection synced from Classic to Cloud (LR syncs only previews in this direction). This ensures that iPad has all the history if I need to search for older ones. - I also do a "Clean Step" on the Cloud. When importing via iPad, this puts the original up in cloud. I like to have single source of truth for the original (NAS/SSD). So I tag the iPad Imports with a label so I can quickly get to it and delete those photos later. I don't do this as meticulously as I want to...
Thanks for the ipad tips Nigel. I've been importing on the iPad and letting CC upload, download and sync everything into LrC. But this leaves a mess of smart previews and originals in the cloud that I get round to cleaning up at a later date. Your process of deleting the downloaded photos in LrC straight away via the finder and then pointing them at the photos on the HD solves this issue. I'll have start doing this
Excellent information, thank you! I've been trying to figure out how to use LR on my Ipad recently, I think this will help. Glad to see the teaser about your first trip back outside! Looking forward to the next video.
This is great. I use my internal Mac ssd and back up to an external SSD. I also have a 2TB iCloud subscription so in case of a local fire / flood, everything is also replicated in the cloud.
Thank you Nigel, excellent video as always. I started using my phone + iPad to do culling/editing on the go and I adopted a similar worklow. I find that Lightroom still needs to improve in this area. In particular, it would be helpful that files don't have to go through Creative Cloud for syncing ; that just the previews/edits are synched. This is especially relevant when shooting RAW, where the files are very large and slows down synching considerably. I would love to keep the files on a USB drive while away from home, which I can then connect to my workstation when I get back home. This is probably why you choose to only sync/edit your flagged photos in your workflow, I use the same trick.
I'm lucky I have a 15.6" Windows laptop that has 2 x M.2 slots, I've just purchased 2 x Seagate Firecuda 530 4TB drives, pretty much the fastest SSDs with the second longest drive life TBWs that I could find. I'll have oodles of ultra fast SSD storage for my "catalog", no I don't use Lightroom, but I do appreciate you illustrating a perfectly logical multi-backup strategy to make sure those unique moments in space-time are captured and retained for posterity, and if you're a professional making money off your images as you do, for an income as well. I do a similar thing with my folder naming strategy, I use year and month.
I found this very useful and informative. I have been keeping my catalogue on an SSD for a while now, but the additional information about using the iPad and how to sync everything is very helpful.
Good to see you vertical again! Thanks for a very interesting and useful video that I shall certainly need to watch a few more times to take in all the content - either that or get a brain boost!
I have my own system where I take my MacBook on location and after each day I transfer all images from the SD cards onto my MacBook which are then backed up on Onedrive automatically. So I have the images on the SD card, MacBook hard drive and Onedrive. When I get home I synch them onto my iMac. I find this process suits me adequately backing up my photos and I can check them on my MacBook each evening and work on them on my iMac. I also have a WD remote storage where I back up the hard drives of my iMac and MacBook periodically. Belts and braces!
Thank you for this great information. I have always had only one LR catalog and kept it on an external SSD. I also have my recent couple of years on the same SSD and my earlier years on my NAS. Your information was very useful to help me refine my system... and remind me to move more of my recent year files to the NAS. I will use your system during my next trip. The iPad system lost me a bit... perhaps will revisit as an option in the future. It's nice to see you upright once again!
Brillant ! Made me reorganise all my pictures folder into a single LR catalog, (it was a mess previously) and adopted your PC/ipad workflow. Feel like a new man :)
For me, as far as card management, I tend to number my cards and use them sequentially. I also do flip over the XQD and CFExpress cards. For the SD cards I flip the lock mechanism on them so the camera cannot format this. By using them sequentially I sort of have an idea of which cards are used and which are blank, and I do the same with batteries too (number them and start with battery 1 in the beginning of the day). As far as backup, I have 3 external portable SSDs (2 - 1TB and 1 - 2TB Drive). The 2TB is my main editing drive where I store my photos and catalog; the other two SSDs are backups of the shots I've gotten during the trip. So I backup my cards from the days' shooting to my laptop, and then the two 1TB SSDs and I take one of the 1TB SSDs with me at all times, so I have a second copy off-site, and then my laptop and the other 1TB SSD in the hotel, so if something were to get stolen, I would have a spare copy in another location. IF I have time, I'll upload my "keepers" to the cloud at the hotel. For a portable workflow (at least for Microsoft Windows users) IF you assign your external SSD a set drive letter within the Windows settings (so it's always assigned a specific drive, say "D:\") you can actually copy your catalog to your portable SSD and re-point the catalog so it looks for your files on the D:\ (this is why you have to have a set drive letter for this to work). Then you run your ctalog off your external SSD and all of your files are also on the external SSD so moving between computers is just a matter of plugging the drive in and starting LR. For me, I have LR set to ask me which catalog I want to open each time. And it's important that each computer you use the portable SSD and LR Catalog on has the same drive letter (ie. my laptop and desktop always map the external 2TB SSD - which is where my files and catalog are stored -- as "D:\" on both machines). I'm sure there is a similar way to do this on a Mac, and one good reason you should just store your images on an external drive in the first place. That way if you decide to move your catalog to an external drive, it should find your files normally (without hassle; although there is a way to relocate the files within the LR catalog if it complains it can't fid them). I've found this workflow and setup to be very easy because everything I need (catalog and photos) is on the external SSD drive. I would recommend that you have LR Classic set up the same (same preferences/settings) on all machines you plan to do this on. There may be a slight performance hit running everything from an external SSD over USB-C or USB 3.0 but in my opinion, the benefits outweigh the slight speed difference (slow-down, which really isn't noticeable unless you're doing some heavy batch editing or something, then it might be noticeable).
I use a similar method, but all movements are made within the Lightroom Structure. I have a temporary folder on my laptop that I import to. I can then do some edits and retain it. As a backup I'll copy to an external drive. When I return home I drag and drop the folders within the Lightroom structure into my permanent dual external thunderbolt drive (I don't have a NAS, but have dual redundancy). That removes the need to reidentify the location of the photos in Lightroom. Long ago it was stressed to me to import and move the files using Lightroom.
Great video. I have my catalog spread across 2 different drives. One in my desktop and one usb 3 external drive. I like the idea of the NAS drive. I’ve been looking at upgrading to a NAS for a while but have never done it.
I think it is good to describe this rather complicated procedure for someone who has both a desktop and a laptop and external storage. I have decided to have only one machine since 2009 when I switched to Mac (again) from Windows. The MacBook Pro was powerfull enough (although with fans running too loud in recent years) to run Lightroom (Classic) and edit 50+ MP files. I use an external monitor in my office and on the go a 16" screen on the MBP is fine for editing. I keep the LR catalog on the internal drive of the MBP and the most recent photos from the last several years as well on the internal drive. Older photos I move to an external drive. I now use the MBP Max 16" with a 2TB SSD. This machine is more than powerfull and completely silent. So I never have to think about where my catalog is and I import through LR from the memory cards and I use Timemachine to backup my MBP. I have in the past also done similar sessions on teaching using multiple machines and LR on my workshops, but I have stopped this as I found that it was too complicated for many. I found also that some of my participants had a real mess in their LR setup. I have had a real failure on any of my MBP's since 2009 but I do backup to multiple drives not only at home but only on my trips using Timemachine. External drives are synchonized using Chronosynch. In addition I backup everything in the cloud using Backblaze.
Tricky, is the operative word. There seem to be many different approaches to individual file structure. I lean toward overkill on making backups of my of my raw files. End up with multiple copies of many not so good images, 🤣 but storage is relatively inexpensive. One day, I'll have a NAS. 👍🥂
Absolutely brilliant. Thanks for this very helpful instructional video. I’ve had a few attempts at cataloguing with Lightroom but messed up. I’m going to rewatch again right now! I’ve not attempted it again in case I lose some of my precious catalogue.
I tried to move from a laptop to an iPad Pro for travel but have found it too confusing. If I watched this video 10 times in slow motion I might be able to follow it, but I would forget the process by the next time I tried to use it! Or Adobe would change something else about the cloud and syncing. I’ve learned to dread trying to travel and do anything with my photos with the iPad and the cloud. This has convinced me to relegate the iPad Pro to overpriced Kindle status and just buy the laptop I should have bought when my last MacBook Pro died. I guess this is thanks for the push. Good video, though.
Ah very useful tip on repointing files between Lightroom and Lightroom classic did not realise you could do that. I guess this means ultimately you can make minimise your cloud storage by only syncing the catalogue item not the whole raw file? My folder structure is year/month/day and I tend to keyword the locations (if I remember), I find that easier as my camera names the folders with the date automatically. Thanks for the video, hope you are recovering well.
Hi Nigel, when you say you have 3 backups, i think they are 2 because importing in LR with "Add" doesn't make any copy. It just adds the path/reference of the image inside lightroom, using the file from where it. So ad that poit you have a copy only on the SD and SSD, they're not copied inside the PC. If the SSD fails before getting back to home, your only copy is on the SD.
One of the issues I see most with folks just getting started with Lightroom is that they can get easily confused between copying/moving photos outside Lightroom and copying/moving photos inside Lightroom. Many instructors say only work within Lightroom to create and manage your folder structure. If you are familiar enough with computers to do it the way Nigel describes, great, but many people (even long standing Lightroom users) are not.
Great explanation Nigel - the iPad sync area is one that I've been mulling over for a while as I was thinking about getting an iPad Pro but wasn't sure how that would work alongside my desktop.
Definitely recommend it! Find it really useful to be able to import everything onto LrC on my desktop, flag the picks and save them to the Cloud. You can then use the iPad and Lr CC to do your edits and it all syncs back up without having to move any of the files around
Thanks @@aquaaddisIt was the going the other direction I was mainly struggling to get my head around - how to get edited images on the iPad to sync back to the desktop and catalogue
@@davidqueenan ah got you! I've had a few issues getting it to sync back, but if you have all of you images in a Collection, the edits should sync both ways from your desktop to your iPad, whenever your connected to an internet connection. Hope that helps!
@@aquaaddis Thanks Ben - that's reassuring - I wasn't sure if the edits would be retained if the file was reimported, as Nigel showed, and then replaced with the version on the cloud.
@@davidqueenan beware if you have the 20Gb plan, after a long trip or shoot you may need to sync your files back from the iPad to desktop in 20Gb chunks, each time removing them from Synced Photos to allow the next chunk to sync...
Thanks Nigel for the workflow! Loosing photos is a nightmare.. I thought I've lost 5 years of photos due to a failing HD (but found DVD backups, well it was my generation 😉).. now I have 3 copies of all and will certainly set up a NAS from an old salvaged PC. Working on windows, I use SyncBackFree to manage the backups (and as it was mentioned in a comment, I am careful with mapping the HDs). So far, working with an external SSD is quite convenient indeed. I wonder how do you keep track of the edition updates of some particularly photos or if you just rely on the Lightroom history capability for each photo?
Excelent. I am interested in your workflow for an iPad as I want to use one for short trips. Hopefully Adobe will improve the workflow in a future release as this will be a very portable set up! There might also be an improvement in the soon to be released iPad OS!
I have my iMac for home (main) edits. I have been contemplating giving my MacBook Air M1 to my wife and replacing it with the 12.9 iPad Pro, which leads me to this question: If you didn't have a laptop in the mix, would having only the iPad on the road limit the amount of work that you could do (or how many days you can be 'away') while on the trip? My wife needs a new laptop and my Air is relatively new, so I am trying to decide whether to buy the iPad or perhaps upgrade to the 14" MacBook Pro. It would be nice to own both, but I will be retiring soon (if inflation cools down) and can only justify buying one. I like the improved screen on the iPad, so the 14" MBP would bring the same screen, only without the ability to edit using the pencil. Thanks in advance for your input, and looking forward to when you are able to journey further than your garden again!
What would be really useful, when it comes to Lightroom on portable devices, is a tutorial on editing images to make sure that what you see on screen is what you get in a print. Given screens are calibrated for a particular fixed environment, but not everyone can be in the same place (or sitting next to a printer to do test prints but instead are sending files away to print) for every edit, how best to set the screen and software for reliable results?
I would say you have to rely on the histogram to know if you are under or over exposed. I am more concerned about color calibration on the iPad. My MacBook is calibrated, but not my iPad.
@@douglasadams1105 That's true, but not every shot is meant to have perfectly balanced exposure. Some kind of trick to ensure you can achieve (for example) dark-but-not-too-dark would be gold dust.
That makes sense. With more and more work done on mobile devices I am sure there will be a solution for this in the near future …if there isn’t one already that we aren’t aware of.
Great video. I don’t use a laptop. I have everything on an iMac and ssd drives. However, when I travel I shoot all my images with my Pentax gear and then copy the files onto my iPad. Once there I import them into Lightroom. I do edits in Lightroom on my ipad. Once home when I turn on my iMac they are down loaded for me to continue to work or print. I feel like I don’t even need a laptop. I have the 13 inch iPad Pro. Thanks. Steve.
This was an interesting segment. Keeping the catalogue on an SSD has been in the back of my mind for some time. Looks like you have a good workflow - I have been using a passport wireless drive in the field for quick back up, plus the hot spot makes a great way to quickly share from my mobile. The pesky bit was the multiple catalogues… which you have demonstrated is unnecessary. TFS.
Thanks for the video. When you say Lightroom do you mean Lightroom as in Lightroom CC or Lightroom Classic? Adobe’s renaming is a pain. My understanding if you mean “Lightroom “ is it is stored on a cloud anyway. The storage on Lightroom (CC) is a money spinner for Adobe. If using the cloud version, ie Lightroom, can you save direct to the ssd and not save on the Adobe cloud. I’m trying to minimise paying for cloud storage. Last but not least could I do the same with Adobe Bridge straight to the SSD and your own drive back in the studio and again avoid Adobe cloud storage. Thanks.
For Windows, if you assign drive letters then use 'high' letters, the end of the alphabet. The reason is that Windows assign 'low' letters and even if a drive has an assigned letter, if that is not available because one has left e.g. a USB stick connected, it will assign the next letter. So what is the D: is all of a sudden an E: drive, actually the next available letter. I do not use D to F for permanent assignments, leaving them available for Windows and occasionally connected devices.
Very complex work around. I always use : important file into LR ‘mobile’ and once at home I open LR mobile and LR classic where the photos will synch with my see on 2 different places. So copy in the LR cloud, LR mobile local files and LR classic local files.
This needs care if you only have the 20Gb Adobe Plan! However you can sync them across to Lightroom Classic in batches of 20Gb, and once each batch is synced, remove those images from Synced Photos - treading very carefully. That’s what I do.
@@timpindar correct, but I have 1tb in the LR cloud. And once I am at my limit I will create a second LR catalogue and delete this cloud archive as I have the photos on 2 different places. As a non-professional I don’t think that I need more backups :)
Lot of great infos here! I'm just gonna need to watch this video while testing on my laptop, for to me to understand better how it works, because it is indeed quite complex. I love the idea of editing pictures on the tablet. However, I just have one frustration for Lightroom on Android, it's that you can't move the develop module to the left, which is a big problem for left-handed like me to edit with a pen. Apparently that option is on iOS version, so I hope it will come soon on Android
How large of an SSD do I need for the Lightroom catalog? I have been having this exact problem with editing on the road. Thanks for all the help to solve it.
I could have used this during my recent two week adventure to Croatia! Thanks for the info. Do you need to do anything special when you are moving the catalogue the first time to the ssd?
Thx Nigel for your inputs. You said no speed issues while using LR and storing Raws on your NAS, agree. But did you ever tried make some changes in PS (out of LR) then saving again back to NAS? I‘ve got serious saving problems😢same setup you use… Any advice? Cheers
I "export as catalogue" by right clicking the laptop lr folder then import that on the main computer. You can then drag the folder to final location. Different but same outcome 🤩
Is there a reason you don’t just MOVE the images from the “imported photos” folder to where you want them on your NAS and then import the rest of the images from your SSD to the same folder (with “Do Not import Suspected Duplicate Photos” checked)?
@@NigelDanson Thanks!! I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time but just didn’t wanna complicate/screw-up things. Now that I’ve seen you do it successfully, I’ll give it a try 😃
@@EverythingCameFromNothing this is what I ended up doing. It was quite tedious to backtrack all the imported photos as I do these quick series on my iPad. Another tip would be to show the file path, name and extension on the thumbs 0 this way you would know when the file is in the correct location.
I am not sure I understand how you blend the catalogs. You started the external is a backup. Do you update the backup and LR pills the backup changed into the main?
I must say I am a bit surprised that you make this so complicated. I use Lightroom (not classic) and cloud storage. My iPhone have Lightroom, my Mac have Lightroom. And my backup computer have Lightroom with local storage enabled. If I do anything on my iPhone it will sync. If I add photos on any of the three devices it will store in the cloud and on the Lightroom with local storage enabled. Out on trips I connect my SD to my phone and it will upload raw files to the cloud storage.
@@NigelDansonAlso doesn’t work if you don’t have WiFi. I did this for a fairly short trip during which I had no connection, it took over 3 days to sync up to the cloud once I got home.
I don’t have a laptop or desktop so exclusively using Lightroom on an iPad….. what is the best way to export photos for printing, ie to export them as highest resolution or ppi for printing online? Hope that makes sense??
Hi Nigel, I can see you are working now with the newest powerful MacStudio and Mas Display monitor. Since you are into printing all time for your photographs, I am wondering if the colour accuracy is sufficient for you rather than using EIZO ColorEdge CG or BenQ SW271C 4K?!
It is an amazing monitor. I have a BenQ and although theoretically it has a better colour space I prefer the Mac monitor. It did need calibrating though as was a little warm.
@@NigelDanson but even after calibrating, iMac is quite different than Benq for printing! How you trust your photographs for printing on your iMac monitor?
I take a similar approach when away from home in terms of backing up images. Do you back up to cloud storage when you get home Nigel. Is there not a risk of loss if your NAS is in your house and you dont have an off site back up?
Do you use backup software to move the photos from your SD or CompactFlash card to your laptop/desktop computer and/or SSD? I have heard that most file corruption occurs when moving large amounts of data between drives. And how long do you keep the originals on your card and laptop hard drive before deletion (until you check they're "correctly" on the NAS)? Thanks.
Maybe a slightly different topic but still this question is bothering me for a while now. I used to convert all my raw files into dng files when importing them into lightroom. But it keeps messing with my storage system and space because i have everything twice in different formats then. I would like to have just one of them. Do I have to use dng in Lightroom or does it work with just raw? Maybe thats only possible with the up to date version? I am using an old Lightroom version atm but guess i will upgrade soon. Any tipps on that? Much appreciated and as always a nice video Nigel!
I’m slightly confused by the setup. When you say the Raws are on the NAS but the catalog is on ssd, does the ssd have the file location set as the NAS? Something isn’t making sense to me. (I also use a NAS setup but differently)
Is it not just easier to do all imports through Lightroom (as opposed to Lightroom Classic)? That way everything just syncs on all devices as soon as they are connected to the internet and files are copied to whatever storage device I use at home (currently just an external ssd). Lightroom (as opposed to Lightroom Classic) surely has enough editing features for any editing to be done while on the road. Well, that works for me anyway, and it works regardless of whether I upload on my Ipad or my Macbook.
Adobe needs to really simplify the whole syncing procedure between LR and LRC. I would like to be able to upload my images to either app and have them just 100% sync. Currently it just doesn't work without jumping through hoops and juggling. If I delete images on one it doesn't always delete altogether depending upon which app I originally uploaded to. Its all very confusing when it should be extremely simple.
Next file management challenge. I’ve 15yr of Lightroom library raw photos stored on multiple external hard drives and I want to move them to a new Synology NAS.
If I understand you correctly, you have your catalog and catalog backup on the same NAS and when you delete the photos SD/CF cards, as well as from the SSD no other copy, right? So you have no backup of your data and your NAS is a single point of failure. That means if your NAS corrupts all your data, all your photos are lost. Or do you have another NAS/HDD/cloud storage backup?
The catalog is on the SSD. The back up of catalogue is on the NAS. All photos are on the NAS and they are backed up to backblaze online. So I can have 2 hard drives fail and still have redundancy and online back up.
Nigel, I also use Backblaze, but my understanding is that you can’t back up folders which are on a NAS? I don’t have a problem with this for my photos as I keep them on my desktop PC (backed up to the NAS), but for other folders eg music which are on the NAS can’t be backed up directly to Backblaze..?
Thanks, Nigel. Really useful and timely post. It's a video that I was hoping you would make for some time. You did do something similar to this last year (or maybe 18months ago) but this one is far clearer. It has helped me better understand the Catalogue and how you use your NAS drive. I currently do something similar but put my finished images on Flickr (for backup and retrieving client images when they remember they want an image some months/years later). I also back up all my RAW files to a cloud service. I am just thinking about getting a NAS. You said you run your RAW files directly from the NAS. Are you hardwired to the NAS (in your office) or just online? KR, Keith
Keeping my catalog (US spelling) on a portable hard drive worries me. What happens if it is dropped, gets damaged, lost or stolen, or is even confiscated at an airport (I’ve seen this happen in Egypt). Otherwise I do things mostly the same but any photos on my MacBook or portable hard drive I export as a catalog to copy into my main Lightroom catalog which remains on an external hard drive attached to my IMac (backed up to another external hard drive). Lots of different ways to do things as always.
There is an easier way to move the photo files from your SSD to your NAS Drive, all in one step. You open LR, go to Library and drag the Garden folder from your SSD to the Q2 folder in your main Photo Library. LR will take care of moving the files and repointing the catalog to right place. It's much safer if you let LR do it.
I work similar, but one difference for me is my LR catalog is saved on OneDrive and marked to keep on my device. This allows me to access my catalog from any device I have OneDrive installed and I feel it is faster with the file directly on the MacBook. I have my entire photo directory on my ssd and backed up on a schedule to IDrive. I am hyper diligent at culling my images so I don’t waste space on the drive. This seems to work very well for me and I don’t worry about losing my images with multiple backups. I also keep enough cards for the entire trip. That is a great tip.
You can automate the copying from your SD card to the SSD (and your computer's HD) by telling Lightroom to also copy the files to another location while importing them. You need to choose MOVE (not COPY or ADD) files during import and then you can not only select the primary target folder for your files (that could be SSD/2022/Q2/Garden, following your structure) but also the the place for the secondary copy (eg ComputerHD/Pictures/2022/Q2/Garden) by checking the 'Make a Second Copy To' just below the 'Don't Import Suspected Duplicates'. You can then choose where to put those second copies. For the primary target folder, you can either follow the Lightroom proposal of sorting things into a folder by date or you can choose 'into subfolder', enter the name of your folder and then in the next field choose 'Into one folder', navigate in the drop-down list to where you want to go, right click your chosen parent folder and you'll see where Lightroom will import the files.
Not necessarily faster (or more convenient), but all within Lightroom - for those who are scared by the idea of also having to work in the Finder and copying files around by drag&drop.
Instead of copying the files to your NAS and then having to remap the catalog previews to the folder on the NAS you could just move the folder from your LEXAR SSD to the NAS inside LR. Also, when using the LR on your iPad and the Adobe cloud you can goto LR Classic Preferences > LR Sync and choose the location you would like the sync photos to be saved too. I set mine up so the the LR Cyan cloud photos save automatically to the NAS.
Thank you for this clear explanation, it helps me a lot.👍
thanks, I've looked at various "lightroom workkflow" videos and articles, this was the clearest and made most sense to cover working while away, and integrating with a NAS
Awesome, thank you!
Thanks
Thank you! Great video - Love your Lightroom Course - highly recommend.
Good to see you coming back to life and looking better each week.
In particular, thanks for sharing your 'out in the field' workflow as well. Being able to keep everything in sync between multiple devices makes for really flexible and powerful reviewing, editing and cataloging workflows.
Thank you for sharing! That's a fantastic explanation of a really good workflow. Keeping the catalog on a dedicated external SSD is super smart. I had stopped using smart previews because my catalog was getting so bloated early on, and often one of the first things I sacrifice when building a laptop is internal hard drive space.
Any time you want to do another video on the minutia of file storage, workflow, and syncing between your computers and iPad, know that I will watch that video in a heartbeat!
Great help. Just what I was looking for.
Relatively simple Nigel.
Good to see you outside 👏👏
Stay safe 🇦🇺
Thanks I do something similar but also mix in a windows machine. I’ll try some of your tweaks.
Thanks Nigel, always so interesting and very helpful. Learning something new everytime I listen to your video. Best,
I am happy that Lightroom (cloud) is enough for my needs.
So easy: import, sync, backups…
Oooo perfect timing, off to the states next week! Will watch with much interest this evening 👍😄
Lightroom 1.0 was released in early 2007, I got it free due to having a Pixmantec RawShooter licence and Adobe had bought Pixmantec and incorporated some of their tech in Lightroom. I’ve had all my photos in Lightroom library ever since and always interested to see other peoples Lightroom file management to improve my own
Thank you for the video. I've been trying to figure out a way to work between Lightroom Classic and CC for a while now.
An interesting explanation, Nigel.
I'm a LR user since the initial version and enjoy using it. LR has evolved greatly since version 1, but in order to utilize all these nifty innovations, one needs to keep hardware current too.
My mid 2010 iMac and MacBook Air are no longer supported by Apple, aren't compatible with more recent OS versions, thus limiting me to LR 9.4.
I wouldn't mind switching from LR to another app but I'd be losing all my LR image processing. Rats!
Thank you for the video and explaining your workflow, Nigel!
I decided to simplify my workflow to Camera -> LR for iPad + small SSD -> culling + light editing in LR for iPad -> Adobe Cloud -> MacBook (my main computer).
Like you mentioned in posts below, I hit the 20GB quota pretty soon. After thinking about this, I decided not to fiddle with copying files manually and not to buy NAS (a pretty expensive hardware).
Instead, I pay for Adobe's 1TB plan 20$/month. This way, I follow 3+1/2/1 rule: 3 RAW copies, 2 local, 1 cloud. That is, I have copies on my iPad (smart previews), RAWs on a small 2TB portable SSD, cloud, and MacBook.
To keep the storage low, once I import everything to iPad first, I immediately cull images and only keep the flagged/picked ones (delete the rest). For me, paying 20$/month was more acceptable than buying a NAS and carrying it around since I am also a "digital nomad".
This felt like a targeted add because I was talking about my traveling setup earlier today.
Thanks, Nigel! I was actually just wondering about your process in the field. Very helpful!
Awesome. Thank you for this. I've got some practicing to do! I've had the same LR catalogue since 2012, but never knew how to get everything from my external hard drive into that catalogue without making a complete hash of it all! This was a great help.
This was the first one that I saw that illustrates Classic as the primary and then Cloud as a secondary portable medium. I have been having a similar setup for about 2 years now and watching your workflow reassures my setup. Some differences are that:
- I use an external SSD for ALL of my local photo store (not just for Catalog). All my NAS photos fits in that SSD. However, folders in that SSD are mounted folders from Synology NAS. So I don't need to do the "copy to NAS" process that you illustrated. It auto syncs it. I only take photos, so I understand why this process may not physically feasible for people who shoot lots of videos.
- I don't bring Laptops anymore. I just use iPad workflow and that workflow is exactly as you mentioned.
- I now use ACASIS m.2 external drive enclosure when I am on the go (I don't take my attached SSD out anymore). It can act like an hub and houses an internal SSD. I copy photos from cards to Acasis hub for backup on the go.
- I keep all of my Collection synced from Classic to Cloud (LR syncs only previews in this direction). This ensures that iPad has all the history if I need to search for older ones.
- I also do a "Clean Step" on the Cloud. When importing via iPad, this puts the original up in cloud. I like to have single source of truth for the original (NAS/SSD). So I tag the iPad Imports with a label so I can quickly get to it and delete those photos later. I don't do this as meticulously as I want to...
Thanks for the ipad tips Nigel. I've been importing on the iPad and letting CC upload, download and sync everything into LrC. But this leaves a mess of smart previews and originals in the cloud that I get round to cleaning up at a later date. Your process of deleting the downloaded photos in LrC straight away via the finder and then pointing them at the photos on the HD solves this issue. I'll have start doing this
Really clever! Thank you Nigel!
Yes - Such good explaination
Brilliant. Many thanks Nigel - a really useful video of a great Lightroom Workflow.
I have different catalogues for the areas of photography I shoot. Makes it much quicker to locate specific folders.
Excellent information, thank you! I've been trying to figure out how to use LR on my Ipad recently, I think this will help. Glad to see the teaser about your first trip back outside! Looking forward to the next video.
This is great. I use my internal Mac ssd and back up to an external SSD. I also have a 2TB iCloud subscription so in case of a local fire / flood, everything is also replicated in the cloud.
Thank you Nigel, excellent video as always. I started using my phone + iPad to do culling/editing on the go and I adopted a similar worklow. I find that Lightroom still needs to improve in this area. In particular, it would be helpful that files don't have to go through Creative Cloud for syncing ; that just the previews/edits are synched. This is especially relevant when shooting RAW, where the files are very large and slows down synching considerably. I would love to keep the files on a USB drive while away from home, which I can then connect to my workstation when I get back home. This is probably why you choose to only sync/edit your flagged photos in your workflow, I use the same trick.
I'm lucky I have a 15.6" Windows laptop that has 2 x M.2 slots, I've just purchased 2 x Seagate Firecuda 530 4TB drives, pretty much the fastest SSDs with the second longest drive life TBWs that I could find. I'll have oodles of ultra fast SSD storage for my "catalog", no I don't use Lightroom, but I do appreciate you illustrating a perfectly logical multi-backup strategy to make sure those unique moments in space-time are captured and retained for posterity, and if you're a professional making money off your images as you do, for an income as well. I do a similar thing with my folder naming strategy, I use year and month.
I found this very useful and informative. I have been keeping my catalogue on an SSD for a while now, but the additional information about using the iPad and how to sync everything is very helpful.
Your video so clean ..love it
Good to see you vertical again! Thanks for a very interesting and useful video that I shall certainly need to watch a few more times to take in all the content - either that or get a brain boost!
Thanks. Yes there was a lot in this one.
Brilliant, thanks Nigel, I use a laptop and have been cautious about transferring to my desktop. Should be ok now👍
I have my own system where I take my MacBook on location and after each day I transfer all images from the SD cards onto my MacBook which are then backed up on Onedrive automatically. So I have the images on the SD card, MacBook hard drive and Onedrive. When I get home I synch them onto my iMac. I find this process suits me adequately backing up my photos and I can check them on my MacBook each evening and work on them on my iMac. I also have a WD remote storage where I back up the hard drives of my iMac and MacBook periodically. Belts and braces!
Thank you for this great information. I have always had only one LR catalog and kept it on an external SSD. I also have my recent couple of years on the same SSD and my earlier years on my NAS. Your information was very useful to help me refine my system... and remind me to move more of my recent year files to the NAS. I will use your system during my next trip. The iPad system lost me a bit... perhaps will revisit as an option in the future. It's nice to see you upright once again!
Brillant ! Made me reorganise all my pictures folder into a single LR catalog, (it was a mess previously) and adopted your PC/ipad workflow. Feel like a new man :)
Wow - that was quick!
For me, as far as card management, I tend to number my cards and use them sequentially. I also do flip over the XQD and CFExpress cards. For the SD cards I flip the lock mechanism on them so the camera cannot format this. By using them sequentially I sort of have an idea of which cards are used and which are blank, and I do the same with batteries too (number them and start with battery 1 in the beginning of the day).
As far as backup, I have 3 external portable SSDs (2 - 1TB and 1 - 2TB Drive). The 2TB is my main editing drive where I store my photos and catalog; the other two SSDs are backups of the shots I've gotten during the trip. So I backup my cards from the days' shooting to my laptop, and then the two 1TB SSDs and I take one of the 1TB SSDs with me at all times, so I have a second copy off-site, and then my laptop and the other 1TB SSD in the hotel, so if something were to get stolen, I would have a spare copy in another location. IF I have time, I'll upload my "keepers" to the cloud at the hotel.
For a portable workflow (at least for Microsoft Windows users) IF you assign your external SSD a set drive letter within the Windows settings (so it's always assigned a specific drive, say "D:\") you can actually copy your catalog to your portable SSD and re-point the catalog so it looks for your files on the D:\ (this is why you have to have a set drive letter for this to work). Then you run your ctalog off your external SSD and all of your files are also on the external SSD so moving between computers is just a matter of plugging the drive in and starting LR. For me, I have LR set to ask me which catalog I want to open each time. And it's important that each computer you use the portable SSD and LR Catalog on has the same drive letter (ie. my laptop and desktop always map the external 2TB SSD - which is where my files and catalog are stored -- as "D:\" on both machines). I'm sure there is a similar way to do this on a Mac, and one good reason you should just store your images on an external drive in the first place. That way if you decide to move your catalog to an external drive, it should find your files normally (without hassle; although there is a way to relocate the files within the LR catalog if it complains it can't fid them). I've found this workflow and setup to be very easy because everything I need (catalog and photos) is on the external SSD drive. I would recommend that you have LR Classic set up the same (same preferences/settings) on all machines you plan to do this on.
There may be a slight performance hit running everything from an external SSD over USB-C or USB 3.0 but in my opinion, the benefits outweigh the slight speed difference (slow-down, which really isn't noticeable unless you're doing some heavy batch editing or something, then it might be noticeable).
I use a similar method, but all movements are made within the Lightroom Structure. I have a temporary folder on my laptop that I import to. I can then do some edits and retain it. As a backup I'll copy to an external drive. When I return home I drag and drop the folders within the Lightroom structure into my permanent dual external thunderbolt drive (I don't have a NAS, but have dual redundancy). That removes the need to reidentify the location of the photos in Lightroom. Long ago it was stressed to me to import and move the files using Lightroom.
I think this is safer (and easier) than Nigel's suggestion of moving files outside LR and then repointing.
Thank you. This is really useful information.
You are welcome!
Great video. I have my catalog spread across 2 different drives. One in my desktop and one usb 3 external drive. I like the idea of the NAS drive. I’ve been looking at upgrading to a NAS for a while but have never done it.
I’ve been looking for a guide like this for ages. Thanks, that’s really useful!
Glad it helped!
Some good thoughts in here, even for those of us who use products other than Adobe's.
Great video. Very interesting and on point. Now I am quite motivated to re-structure my workflow and involve the NAS more! 😁
I think it is good to describe this rather complicated procedure for someone who has both a desktop and a laptop and external storage. I have decided to have only one machine since 2009 when I switched to Mac (again) from Windows. The MacBook Pro was powerfull enough (although with fans running too loud in recent years) to run Lightroom (Classic) and edit 50+ MP files. I use an external monitor in my office and on the go a 16" screen on the MBP is fine for editing. I keep the LR catalog on the internal drive of the MBP and the most recent photos from the last several years as well on the internal drive. Older photos I move to an external drive. I now use the MBP Max 16" with a 2TB SSD. This machine is more than powerfull and completely silent. So I never have to think about where my catalog is and I import through LR from the memory cards and I use Timemachine to backup my MBP. I have in the past also done similar sessions on teaching using multiple machines and LR on my workshops, but I have stopped this as I found that it was too complicated for many. I found also that some of my participants had a real mess in their LR setup. I have had a real failure on any of my MBP's since 2009 but I do backup to multiple drives not only at home but only on my trips using Timemachine. External drives are synchonized using Chronosynch. In addition I backup everything in the cloud using Backblaze.
Tricky, is the operative word. There seem to be many different approaches to individual file structure. I lean toward overkill on making backups of my of my raw files. End up with multiple copies of many not so good images, 🤣 but storage is relatively inexpensive. One day, I'll have a NAS. 👍🥂
Absolutely brilliant. Thanks for this very helpful instructional video.
I’ve had a few attempts at cataloguing with Lightroom but messed up.
I’m going to rewatch again right now!
I’ve not attempted it again in case I lose some of my precious catalogue.
Great video Nigel, and very timely given that one of my external hard drives has just failed, but hoping Seagate can recover the files.
Very useful set of tips. Go Giants (well, you do sport one of their caps)!!
I tried to move from a laptop to an iPad Pro for travel but have found it too confusing. If I watched this video 10 times in slow motion I might be able to follow it, but I would forget the process by the next time I tried to use it! Or Adobe would change something else about the cloud and syncing. I’ve learned to dread trying to travel and do anything with my photos with the iPad and the cloud. This has convinced me to relegate the iPad Pro to overpriced Kindle status and just buy the laptop I should have bought when my last MacBook Pro died. I guess this is thanks for the push. Good video, though.
Ah very useful tip on repointing files between Lightroom and Lightroom classic did not realise you could do that. I guess this means ultimately you can make minimise your cloud storage by only syncing the catalogue item not the whole raw file? My folder structure is year/month/day and I tend to keyword the locations (if I remember), I find that easier as my camera names the folders with the date automatically. Thanks for the video, hope you are recovering well.
Hi Nigel, when you say you have 3 backups, i think they are 2 because importing in LR with "Add" doesn't make any copy. It just adds the path/reference of the image inside lightroom, using the file from where it. So ad that poit you have a copy only on the SD and SSD, they're not copied inside the PC. If the SSD fails before getting back to home, your only copy is on the SD.
One of the issues I see most with folks just getting started with Lightroom is that they can get easily confused between copying/moving photos outside Lightroom and copying/moving photos inside Lightroom. Many instructors say only work within Lightroom to create and manage your folder structure. If you are familiar enough with computers to do it the way Nigel describes, great, but many people (even long standing Lightroom users) are not.
Great explanation Nigel - the iPad sync area is one that I've been mulling over for a while as I was thinking about getting an iPad Pro but wasn't sure how that would work alongside my desktop.
Definitely recommend it! Find it really useful to be able to import everything onto LrC on my desktop, flag the picks and save them to the Cloud. You can then use the iPad and Lr CC to do your edits and it all syncs back up without having to move any of the files around
Thanks @@aquaaddisIt was the going the other direction I was mainly struggling to get my head around - how to get edited images on the iPad to sync back to the desktop and catalogue
@@davidqueenan ah got you! I've had a few issues getting it to sync back, but if you have all of you images in a Collection, the edits should sync both ways from your desktop to your iPad, whenever your connected to an internet connection. Hope that helps!
@@aquaaddis Thanks Ben - that's reassuring - I wasn't sure if the edits would be retained if the file was reimported, as Nigel showed, and then replaced with the version on the cloud.
@@davidqueenan beware if you have the 20Gb plan, after a long trip or shoot you may need to sync your files back from the iPad to desktop in 20Gb chunks, each time removing them from Synced Photos to allow the next chunk to sync...
Thanks Nigel for the workflow! Loosing photos is a nightmare.. I thought I've lost 5 years of photos due to a failing HD (but found DVD backups, well it was my generation 😉).. now I have 3 copies of all and will certainly set up a NAS from an old salvaged PC. Working on windows, I use SyncBackFree to manage the backups (and as it was mentioned in a comment, I am careful with mapping the HDs). So far, working with an external SSD is quite convenient indeed. I wonder how do you keep track of the edition updates of some particularly photos or if you just rely on the Lightroom history capability for each photo?
Excelent. I am interested in your workflow for an iPad as I want to use one for short trips. Hopefully Adobe will improve the workflow in a future release as this will be a very portable set up! There might also be an improvement in the soon to be released iPad OS!
I have my iMac for home (main) edits. I have been contemplating giving my MacBook Air M1 to my wife and replacing it with the 12.9 iPad Pro, which leads me to this question: If you didn't have a laptop in the mix, would having only the iPad on the road limit the amount of work that you could do (or how many days you can be 'away') while on the trip? My wife needs a new laptop and my Air is relatively new, so I am trying to decide whether to buy the iPad or perhaps upgrade to the 14" MacBook Pro. It would be nice to own both, but I will be retiring soon (if inflation cools down) and can only justify buying one. I like the improved screen on the iPad, so the 14" MBP would bring the same screen, only without the ability to edit using the pencil.
Thanks in advance for your input, and looking forward to when you are able to journey further than your garden again!
What would be really useful, when it comes to Lightroom on portable devices, is a tutorial on editing images to make sure that what you see on screen is what you get in a print. Given screens are calibrated for a particular fixed environment, but not everyone can be in the same place (or sitting next to a printer to do test prints but instead are sending files away to print) for every edit, how best to set the screen and software for reliable results?
My main tip on that is edit in a darker room and have the mobile device on low brightness
@@NigelDanson That's pretty much what I do, but how dark and how bright is guesswork that makes it tricky to get consistency
I would say you have to rely on the histogram to know if you are under or over exposed. I am more concerned about color calibration on the iPad. My MacBook is calibrated, but not my iPad.
@@douglasadams1105 That's true, but not every shot is meant to have perfectly balanced exposure. Some kind of trick to ensure you can achieve (for example) dark-but-not-too-dark would be gold dust.
That makes sense. With more and more work done on mobile devices I am sure there will be a solution for this in the near future …if there isn’t one already that we aren’t aware of.
Is there a video on setting up and using NAS?
Awesome video as always! Just wondering what your SD and Express card case is called I like the look of it.
Great video. I don’t use a laptop. I have everything on an iMac and ssd drives. However, when I travel I shoot all my images with my Pentax gear and then copy the files onto my iPad. Once there I import them into Lightroom. I do edits in Lightroom on my ipad. Once home when I turn on my iMac they are down loaded for me to continue to work or print. I feel like I don’t even need a laptop. I have the 13 inch iPad Pro. Thanks. Steve.
With the 20Gb plan, this works but you have to sync them in batches.
Hello, Can you access to your NAS via cable if internet doesn't work? Love your videos by the way. thanks
Great how-to guide.
Just wondering how the Mac Studio & display is compared to a iMac
This was an interesting segment. Keeping the catalogue on an SSD has been in the back of my mind for some time. Looks like you have a good workflow - I have been using a passport wireless drive in the field for quick back up, plus the hot spot makes a great way to quickly share from my mobile. The pesky bit was the multiple catalogues… which you have demonstrated is unnecessary. TFS.
Thanks for the video. When you say Lightroom do you mean Lightroom as in Lightroom CC or Lightroom Classic? Adobe’s renaming is a pain. My understanding if you mean “Lightroom “ is it is stored on a cloud anyway. The storage on Lightroom (CC) is a money spinner for Adobe. If using the cloud version, ie Lightroom, can you save direct to the ssd and not save on the Adobe cloud. I’m trying to minimise paying for cloud storage. Last but not least could I do the same with Adobe Bridge straight to the SSD and your own drive back in the studio and again avoid Adobe cloud storage. Thanks.
Hi Nigel, did you just email asking me to send a message via telegram for a free gift? I’ve heard there are a few scams about making offers. Thanks.
For Windows, if you assign drive letters then use 'high' letters, the end of the alphabet. The reason is that Windows assign 'low' letters and even if a drive has an assigned letter, if that is not available because one has left e.g. a USB stick connected, it will assign the next letter. So what is the D: is all of a sudden an E: drive, actually the next available letter. I do not use D to F for permanent assignments, leaving them available for Windows and occasionally connected devices.
Very complex work around. I always use : important file into LR ‘mobile’ and once at home I open LR mobile and LR classic where the photos will synch with my see on 2 different places. So copy in the LR cloud, LR mobile local files and LR classic local files.
This needs care if you only have the 20Gb Adobe Plan! However you can sync them across to Lightroom Classic in batches of 20Gb, and once each batch is synced, remove those images from Synced Photos - treading very carefully. That’s what I do.
@@timpindar correct, but I have 1tb in the LR cloud. And once I am at my limit I will create a second LR catalogue and delete this cloud archive as I have the photos on 2 different places. As a non-professional I don’t think that I need more backups :)
Lot of great infos here! I'm just gonna need to watch this video while testing on my laptop, for to me to understand better how it works, because it is indeed quite complex. I love the idea of editing pictures on the tablet. However, I just have one frustration for Lightroom on Android, it's that you can't move the develop module to the left, which is a big problem for left-handed like me to edit with a pen. Apparently that option is on iOS version, so I hope it will come soon on Android
Merci !
How large of an SSD do I need for the Lightroom catalog? I have been having this exact problem with editing on the road. Thanks for all the help to solve it.
I could have used this during my recent two week adventure to Croatia! Thanks for the info. Do you need to do anything special when you are moving the catalogue the first time to the ssd?
Thx Nigel for your inputs. You said no speed issues while using LR and storing Raws on your NAS, agree. But did you ever tried make some changes in PS (out of LR) then saving again back to NAS?
I‘ve got serious saving problems😢same setup you use…
Any advice? Cheers
I "export as catalogue" by right clicking the laptop lr folder then import that on the main computer. You can then drag the folder to final location. Different but same outcome 🤩
Yes - I used to do that Simon. It works well.
Is this an option on iPad?
@@JonathanBowyer I don't have an ipad but can't see why not :-)
@@JonathanBowyerSadly, no. I’ve put that exact request into Adobe.
Is there a reason you don’t just MOVE the images from the “imported photos” folder to where you want them on your NAS and then import the rest of the images from your SSD to the same folder (with “Do Not import Suspected Duplicate Photos” checked)?
No - that would work as well
@@NigelDanson Thanks!! I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time but just didn’t wanna complicate/screw-up things. Now that I’ve seen you do it successfully, I’ll give it a try 😃
@@EverythingCameFromNothing this is what I ended up doing. It was quite tedious to backtrack all the imported photos as I do these quick series on my iPad. Another tip would be to show the file path, name and extension on the thumbs 0 this way you would know when the file is in the correct location.
I am not sure I understand how you blend the catalogs. You started the external is a backup. Do you update the backup and LR pills the backup changed into the main?
Are you saying you keep your working catalog on that external drive?
I must say I am a bit surprised that you make this so complicated. I use Lightroom (not classic) and cloud storage. My iPhone have Lightroom, my Mac have Lightroom. And my backup computer have Lightroom with local storage enabled. If I do anything on my iPhone it will sync. If I add photos on any of the three devices it will store in the cloud and on the Lightroom with local storage enabled. Out on trips I connect my SD to my phone and it will upload raw files to the cloud storage.
That works until you have 200gb+ of photos on one trip
Please do not reply to the message you just got as it wasn't from me
@@NigelDansonAlso doesn’t work if you don’t have WiFi. I did this for a fairly short trip during which I had no connection, it took over 3 days to sync up to the cloud once I got home.
How is the Mac Studio + studio display doing for image processing?
I don’t have a laptop or desktop so exclusively using Lightroom on an iPad….. what is the best way to export photos for printing, ie to export them as highest resolution or ppi for printing online? Hope that makes sense??
is there any option to edit photos directly from ssd? and save them directly into ssd?
Hi Nigel, I can see you are working now with the newest powerful MacStudio and Mas Display monitor. Since you are into printing all time for your photographs, I am wondering if the colour accuracy is sufficient for you rather than using EIZO ColorEdge CG or BenQ SW271C 4K?!
It is an amazing monitor. I have a BenQ and although theoretically it has a better colour space I prefer the Mac monitor. It did need calibrating though as was a little warm.
@@NigelDanson but even after calibrating, iMac is quite different than Benq for printing! How you trust your photographs for printing on your iMac monitor?
I take a similar approach when away from home in terms of backing up images. Do you back up to cloud storage when you get home Nigel. Is there not a risk of loss if your NAS is in your house and you dont have an off site back up?
Yes - I should have mentioned this. I back up to back blaze.
Do you use backup software to move the photos from your SD or CompactFlash card to your laptop/desktop computer and/or SSD? I have heard that most file corruption occurs when moving large amounts of data between drives. And how long do you keep the originals on your card and laptop hard drive before deletion (until you check they're "correctly" on the NAS)? Thanks.
Be careful if working with Windows. You’ll need to make sure the SSD is mapped to the same drive letter on both laptop and desktop machines.
I wish either Microsoft or Adobe would store the volume NAME and not the drive letter. This messes up so many people.
Maybe a slightly different topic but still this question is bothering me for a while now.
I used to convert all my raw files into dng files when importing them into lightroom. But it keeps messing with my storage system and space because i have everything twice in different formats then. I would like to have just one of them. Do I have to use dng in Lightroom or does it work with just raw? Maybe thats only possible with the up to date version? I am using an old Lightroom version atm but guess i will upgrade soon. Any tipps on that? Much appreciated and as always a nice video Nigel!
Can you do this with just an iPad and no laptop or computer?
???Easy for you to say. ... I have Android tablet. Can't find an app to read my Express card from a file manager. What app (s) that will work?
I’m slightly confused by the setup. When you say the Raws are on the NAS but the catalog is on ssd, does the ssd have the file location set as the NAS? Something isn’t making sense to me. (I also use a NAS setup but differently)
Is it not just easier to do all imports through Lightroom (as opposed to Lightroom Classic)? That way everything just syncs on all devices as soon as they are connected to the internet and files are copied to whatever storage device I use at home (currently just an external ssd).
Lightroom (as opposed to Lightroom Classic) surely has enough editing features for any editing to be done while on the road.
Well, that works for me anyway, and it works regardless of whether I upload on my Ipad or my Macbook.
Adobe needs to really simplify the whole syncing procedure between LR and LRC. I would like to be able to upload my images to either app and have them just 100% sync. Currently it just doesn't work without jumping through hoops and juggling. If I delete images on one it doesn't always delete altogether depending upon which app I originally uploaded to. Its all very confusing when it should be extremely simple.
Next file management challenge. I’ve 15yr of Lightroom library raw photos stored on multiple external hard drives and I want to move them to a new Synology NAS.
To access Lightroom, you must subscribe to a plan. If you stop your plan, you lose access to the program and the images you have stored in the cloud.
If I understand you correctly, you have your catalog and catalog backup on the same NAS and when you delete the photos SD/CF cards, as well as from the SSD no other copy, right? So you have no backup of your data and your NAS is a single point of failure. That means if your NAS corrupts all your data, all your photos are lost. Or do you have another NAS/HDD/cloud storage backup?
The catalog is on the SSD. The back up of catalogue is on the NAS. All photos are on the NAS and they are backed up to backblaze online. So I can have 2 hard drives fail and still have redundancy and online back up.
@@NigelDanson Thanks for the explanation. That helps a lot for understanding of your workflow and backup concept which I really like.
Nigel, I also use Backblaze, but my understanding is that you can’t back up folders which are on a NAS? I don’t have a problem with this for my photos as I keep them on my desktop PC (backed up to the NAS), but for other folders eg music which are on the NAS can’t be backed up directly to Backblaze..?
Thanks, Nigel. Really useful and timely post. It's a video that I was hoping you would make for some time. You did do something similar to this last year (or maybe 18months ago) but this one is far clearer. It has helped me better understand the Catalogue and how you use your NAS drive. I currently do something similar but put my finished images on Flickr (for backup and retrieving client images when they remember they want an image some months/years later). I also back up all my RAW files to a cloud service. I am just thinking about getting a NAS. You said you run your RAW files directly from the NAS. Are you hardwired to the NAS (in your office) or just online? KR, Keith
All the way thru I was wondering how you used Cloud...the first time I opened it I filled up the meagre storage in minutes 😂
You must only have the 20GB cloud storage.
@@hughjohns9110 5 !!!
Yes - Adobe get you with that and you have to upgrade to make it useful
Sir I'm a big fan of u how ru sir
Keeping my catalog (US spelling) on a portable hard drive worries me. What happens if it is dropped, gets damaged, lost or stolen, or is even confiscated at an airport (I’ve seen this happen in Egypt). Otherwise I do things mostly the same but any photos on my MacBook or portable hard drive I export as a catalog to copy into my main Lightroom catalog which remains on an external hard drive attached to my IMac (backed up to another external hard drive). Lots of different ways to do things as always.