# What is your file organization technique?



## Bulldogg629 (Jan 6, 2011)

The bane of my digital photography has been how to organize my files. You start off with RAW files, and obviously you want to keep those. Then you do your adjustments and maybe editing so you need to save a PSD ( I use photoshop). Finally, to have it printed you need to send a cropped JPG. I like to have mine printed with a signature in the corner, so I cant have 1 JPG that I crop depending on the size I want at the time of printing, because to save an 8x10 JPG, if I ever needed to print it later as 11x14 or 5x7, the re-crop would make the copyright signature too small or too big. Which means I need to save JPGs for each common size. Thats 6 different files for each photo. Storage space isnt really an issue for me, its just that so many different copies of the same photo seems terribly cluttered, yet saving photos in different crops and having some in 8x10 and others in 5x7 seems like an incomplete collection, shame for my photo collection that is my pride and joy. If this made any sense, does anyone have any suggestions? What different organization structures do you all use? Thank You


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## ghache (Jan 6, 2011)

I keep my raw file in a folder called Photography/YEAR/Date-Description

i sync my lighroom with that directory stucture so i get the same stucture in lighroom.

once i worked on the file in lighroom and photoshop,

I export the jpegs in Photography/Completed/YEAR/Date-Description

that way i have the raw file in a location and the finished product on another location.

I keep the same structure on my 2 backup drives.

If i crop a picture and want 3 different cropping. lets say a 5X7 a 8X10 and a 11X14,
i crop them in the size i want using the raw file. and i export the 3 files (create 3 different file for the 3 different crop.

Photography/Completed/YEAR/Date-Description/DSC_5344-5X7.jpeg
Photography/Completed/YEAR/Date-Description/DSC_5344-8X10.jpeg
Photography/Completed/YEAR/Date-Description/DSC_5344-11x14.jpeg

so if the client needs different size for printing. he knows exactly the files in needs to print to the right size.


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## Robin Usagani (Jan 6, 2011)

Save your self a headache and spend $300 on Lightroom 3.


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## Robin Usagani (Jan 6, 2011)

On the top of that I upload my files to zenfolio.  My clients can print whatever aspect ratio they want.  They can choose how to crop it (I can review it before printing).


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## Bulldogg629 (Jan 6, 2011)

ghache - so by saving a JPG from your adjusted RAW without a PSD, you lock in your final photo, granted the RAW holds onto the levels adjustments and such, but if you do any brush work or filters, that all gets flattened in the JPG and if you ever wanted to change that youd have to go back to the original RAW? Granted, its very rarely if ever that I need to go back and do that, so maybe saving a PSD can be skipped.

Schwettylens - I tried Lightroom a while back and I seem to remember thinking it was nice but I still had to send the file over to photoshop to go any heavier editing, where I could also just do the normal editing I was doing in Lightroom anyway. Are there any outstanding features I missed that warrant another look at it?

Thanks for the tips so far


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## ghache (Jan 6, 2011)

Bulldogg629 said:


> ghache - so by saving a JPG from your adjusted RAW without a PSD, you lock in your final photo, granted the RAW holds onto the levels adjustments and such, but if you do any brush work or filters, that all gets flattened in the JPG and if you ever wanted to change that youd have to go back to the original RAW? Granted, its very rarely if ever that I need to go back and do that, so maybe saving a PSD can be skipped.
> 
> Schwettylens - I tried Lightroom a while back and I seem to remember thinking it was nice but I still had to send the file over to photoshop to go any heavier editing, where I could also just do the normal editing I was doing in Lightroom anyway. Are there any outstanding features I missed that warrant another look at it?
> 
> Thanks for the tips so far


 
Actually when i open my raw file using photoshop, i work on a new copy that retains all photoshop change aswell.


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## Robin Usagani (Jan 6, 2011)

LR is more for workflow.  Yes it can do light edit but it is mostly for workflow.  The following sentence is true:

If you take Lightroom 3 from me, I will quit photography.  I dont think I want to do photography without it.  Just thinking about it is giving me a headache.


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## RauschPhotography (Jan 6, 2011)

Schwettylens said:


> LR is more for workflow.  Yes it can do light edit but it is mostly for workflow.  The following sentence is true:
> 
> If you take Lightroom 3 from me, I will quit photography.  I dont think I want to do photography without it.  Just thinking about it is giving me a headache.



Oh Schwetty... You wouldn't quit photography without Lightroom, would you?  Sure LR3 makes editing and the workflow process extremely easy, but I think you *could* live without it... (Not that you'd want to. I wouldn't want to, either!)


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## Robin Usagani (Jan 6, 2011)

No Im serious.  This thread brought back memory when I had to run those actions putting stupid watermark/signature, resize, etc. etc.  At the end of the day you have RAW, PSD, High Res JPEG, Low RES JPEG.. acccckkk..  Dont remind me!


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## ghache (Jan 6, 2011)

Schwettylens said:


> LR is more for workflow. Yes it can do light edit but it is mostly for workflow. The following sentence is true:
> 
> If you take Lightroom 3 from me, I will quit photography. I dont think I want to do photography without it. Just thinking about it is giving me a headache.


 
You are right
The workflow of lightroom is alot better than bridge for a simple reason that you have a catalog and that you can easily review the change you made with your history without having to create snapshot like photoshop.

I think the lightroom preset are alot faster and easier to work with than the photoshop actions.

I find the batch processing and mass export are also alot faster in lighroom.

I Also couldnt do without photoshop since photoshop will always be the ultimate tool for heavy work. Combined together, you cant ask for more.


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## AuroraPhotos (Jan 6, 2011)

The best article I have ever read on digital workflow was this one:  *Digital Workflow Using Photoshop and Adobe Camera Raw and Bridge | MCP Photoshop Actions and Tutorials Blog for Photographers *at MCP Actions Blog*.  *Hope it helps.


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