My Workflow
I'm not the most organized person in the world (just ask my family), but when it comes to photography I like having things nailed down. This means creating a system that provides me with easy and well-organized access to my files and a rock-solid backup plan for peace of mind.
Importing into Lightroom
Before we move on to editing images, I want to give you a quick overview of how I manage images. I think the key to managing any image library is organization and backups. Here's a quick rundown of my management essentials:
- Use a simple folder system that's easy to navigate. I organize all of my images in one folder, labeled Pictures, and further group them into folders by year, then subject (as in Pictures>2011>Paris).
- Enter keywords before importing. I'm a big fan of using keywords to help find images easily, so enter as many relevant keywords as possible before you import into Lightroom.
- Import each raw image and convert it to DNG (Adobe's Digital Negative format). The benefit of this is having one archival-quality file.
- Pause before you delete images from your memory card. First make sure you have imported them correctly and have at least one good backup. I recommend making a second backup to an external hard drive or RAID device, like a Drobo.