# How Many Lightroom Catalogs



## bruce282 (Nov 23, 2010)

I'm setting up my new LR3/CS5 environment.

I have a bunch of pictures from my P&S days on my laptop. I also have several hundred since I got my D90 and F3. These are all personnel photos. 

Before I start importing them to LR I'm trying to decide on a folder layout.  I have an external 1tb drive as a backup device. I've read some folks use the date as a folder name, others use the location, and others use something completely different.

I would to separate my digital and film images. My question is should I make catalog for each type and then sub-divide that based on the camera ( I have 3 film and 2 digital cameras right now), or keep everything in one big catalog and split them by type inside the single catalog.

I'm putting some thought into this now so that 6 months down the road I don't have a total SNAFU and have to start all over.


Bruce


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## myfotoguy (Nov 24, 2010)

My structure is by year, then under each year sub-directories by month.

I put all random shots from a month in the month folder. Unless I had a day or big event, then under the month I would do something like "11-15-2010 Como Zoo".

I combine all my camera models together. I use a program that allows me to sort by camera model if I need to (from the exif). Sometimes I rename the file name to include the camera model in the file name.

Since I tag all my photos, and my organizer (ACDSee) allows sorting and grouping easily, this system works well for me.

That works well for me. A little more on my view about it... Myfotoguy: Where Did I Put That Picture? A Guide for Managing Your Image Files


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## KmH (Nov 24, 2010)

bruce282 said:


> *How Many Lightroom Catalogs*
> 
> Bruce


Just 1, because Lightroom can only open 1 at a time.

Any more than 1 catalog and you lose the main reason for having Lightroom in the first place, database management.

Concentrate on collections.

I highly recommend: *The DAM Book*, *Digital Asset Management for Photographers* by Peter Krogh.


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## Big Mike (Nov 24, 2010)

> It doesn't matter. Lightroom can only open 1 catalog at a time.


That's true, but you might not want all your photos in one catalog. 

I know some photographers who use a separate catalog for each gig (wedding for example).  They rarely or never need to have shots from different weddings open in LR at the same time, so it doesn't matter that they are in different catalogs.  

The same theory applies to personal photos etc.  If you will never need different groups of images open at the same time, then it's perfectly fine to have them in separate catalogs.  But it can make it a pain if you are searching for something and don't know what catalog it's in.

On the other hand, the only downside to one catalog is a large file and the whole 'eggs in one basket' issue, but backing up can alleviate that.  

Either way, it's still very important to have a file structure that works.  And the file structure is a completely separate issue from catalogs.  You can have one catalog that pulls images from all over or you could have many catalogs from a very organized file structure.


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## orb9220 (Nov 25, 2010)

Yep agree with good folder structure. Mine is by main Images folder then camera model first as started out with a panasonic FZ-7 then to Nikon D40 and up the chain to D90. So Images>Camera model>Year>Month>Day folder structure and always use of adding tags before importing into lightroom. The more tags the better at searching and finding images. And then imported to primary location then backed up to secondary usb drive.

Will have to look into Catalogs as have only a vague general understanding of them and never have used them.
.


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## Big Mike (Nov 25, 2010)

> Will have to look into Catalogs as have only a vague general understanding of them and never have used them.


Everything you do in Lightroom is using a Catalog.  That's the main file that Lightroom opens.  Like many people, you are probably just using one Catalog then.

Collections, like Keith mentioned, are a great tool to keep your photos organized withing a catalog.


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## orb9220 (Nov 28, 2010)

Thanks for the info Big Mike. 
As been using Lightroom like a souped up Picsa and just now delving into it's power.

Been watching some video tuts and learning a Lot of new things.
Like the power of the adjustment brush.
.


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