- The main Import dialog
- Copy as DNG, Copy, Move, or Add?
- Importing files from a card
- Source panel
- Content area
- File Handling panel
- File Renaming panel
- Apply During Import panel
- Destination panel
- Import Presets menu
- Importing video files
- Adding photos from a folder to the catalog
- Importing photos via drag and drop
- Auto Imports
- Importing photos directly from the camera
- Layout Overlay view
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Apply During Import panel
The Apply During Import panel (Figure 2.21) lets you choose the Develop settings and metadata information you wish to apply to photos as they are imported into Lightroom. For example, the Develop Settings menu lets you access all of the Develop settings you currently have saved in the Develop module Presets list. This is extremely useful because it means you can instruct Lightroom to apply a favorite Develop preset to photos as they are imported. In Figure 2.21 you can see that I selected one of the default Lightroom settings: General – Auto Tone. I generally find this develop setting useful whenever I want to auto-adjust photos as they are imported into Lightroom.
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Figure 2.21 The Apply During Import panel.
Sensible folder naming and file naming can certainly make it easier to retrieve images later, but as your library grows you will begin to appreciate the benefit of using EXIF metadata and other types of metadata to help track down your files, especially when searching a large catalog collection of photographs. The Library module offers a number of ways to search for a specific image or groups of images. For example, the Library Filter bar can help you search for files using criteria such as by ”Date,” ”Camera,” or ”File Type.” This method of searching requires no prior input from the user, of course, but in the Apply During Import panel you can add custom metadata and keywords to your photos as they are imported and thereby ensure that such informational data is present in your files right from the start. Next to the Metadata item is a pop-list. This lets you access any metadata templates that you have pre-saved (see page 566 for more about working with metadata templates). Or, you can click New... to open the Edit Metadata Preset menu shown in Figure 2.22. You can use this dialog to create brand-new metadata templates. Admittedly, the dialog shown here is rather tiny, so check out the above page reference if you would like to see the preset dialog contents more clearly. Metadata presets are particularly useful where you wish to add common information that conforms to the Telecommunications Council (IPTC) standards. This can include information such as your contact details and image copyright status.
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Figure 2.22 You can use the Metadata Preset dialog to create Metadata presets that you can then use to apply to all newly imported images. The information sections shown here all conform to the standard IPTC format that is recognized throughout the photo industry.
The Keywords section can be used to add shoot-specific metadata, such as the location name or other descriptive terms for the photos you are about to import (there is more information in the keywords metadata section in Chapter 10 about the best ways to organize and apply keywords). Also, once you have an established keyword list, as you begin to type in a keyword, Lightroom can auto-complete your entries by referring to the current Keyword List panel contents. Basically, adding metadata at the time of import can greatly assist you later when searching for specific images, and the metadata information you add will also be applied to any derivative files that are created from the master photos.