ORGANIZING YOUR PHOTOS, PART 2: Using Keywords
Welcome to part two of an article series on organizing your photos with Lightroom Classic. In part one, we talked about what organization means and what types of organization a photographer should consider. Now let’s talk about categorical organization and the advantages of using keywords for this purpose.
Imagine you’ve just returned from a big shoot. You’re at your computer and importing your new images into Lightroom Classic or migrating them over to a set of folders. What do you do after the import is done? Are you supposed to keyword first? Are you supposed to flag or rate your images by stars or colors, and is starting with one over the other more efficient? Are you supposed to create Collections, and if so, what’s the proper way to organize by Collection, and what do you name them? Where should you begin and what should you do?
Believe it or not, there’s not a “right” way to do this nor a best tool to start with. The reality is that it just doesn’t matter. There are lots of ways to approach organization. It’s about having a deeper understanding of the tools at hand so you can choose the right path for you. Good organization fits the way you work. So let’s begin by talking about ways you can tailor organization tools to suit your needs.
Generally speaking, there are two “needs” one has to consider when creating a workflow. First, consider your ability to adapt to the difficulties of working with a program as complex as Lightroom. Is learning new things
