This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Adding keywords
Adding keywords is an extremely powerful way to keep track of photos by subject matter in your Lightroom catalog. Think of them as search terms, like the ones you use to find something on the web. Keywords don’t take up much space—they’re text added to the photo’s metadata—so you can apply as many keywords to each photo as you want.
For the best results, make your keywords descriptive of the subject matter, such as “diving,” “snorkel,” “underwater,” “freedive,” and so on. Avoid adding keywords that you’ve included in the photo’s filename, because the Lightroom search capability extends to filenames, too.
You’ll develop your own list of keywords as you go, but to get you started, use the following steps to add keywords to the exercise files:
In the Library module, go to the Collections panel, and make sure that you have the 20180725-jenn-diving collection selected. We will add some keywords here.
In the Grid view, select a series of images from this collection (click the first photo you want to select, then Shift-click the last image to select all the images in between).
In the Keyword List panel on the right, click the plus sign (+) on the left side of the panel’s header. In the dialog box that appears, enter Botella in the Keyword Name field, and then type Snorkeling, Underwater, and Whale in the Synonyms field (use a comma to separate the synonyms). Select the Add To Selected Photos option, leave the three export options selected, and then click Create.
Your new “Botella” keyword appears in the Keyword List panel, and Lightroom adds it to the selected photos. A general keyword like this also can serve as a category in which to nest more specific keywords (say, “freedive” and “scuba”).
Now, select the last four images and repeat step 3, creating the keyword Snorkeling and applying it to your selected photos.
To see all the photos in your Lightroom catalog that have a specific keyword, move your pointer over the number to the right of that keyword in the Keyword List panel and click the arrow that appears to the number’s right.
)
)
Other ways to apply (and delete) keywords
As you may imagine, there are additional ways to apply keywords. For example, you can:
Drag and drop the keyword from the Keyword List panel onto one or multiple selected thumbnail previews.
Drag and drop one or more selected thumbnails onto a keyword in the Keyword List panel.
Select one or more thumbnails, and in the Keyword List panel, select the check box that appears to the left of a keyword. To remove a keyword from a photo, do the same thing but deselect the check box that appears to its left.
Use the Keywording panel (it’s above the Keyword List panel). If you go this route, you can create and apply keywords in the same step. To do this, select some thumbnails and then click within the box labeled “Click here to add keywords.” Enter a new keyword. If you want to create and apply more than one keyword to the selected photos, use a comma between each keyword. For example, you may enter Dune, Desert and then press Enter/Return on your keyboard to create and apply both keywords.
To delete a keyword from your list, use the Keyword List panel (not the Keywording panel). Click the keyword and then click the minus sign (–) on the left side of the panel’s header. In the warning dialog box that appears, click Delete.
Alternatively, right-click the keyword, and from the menu that appears, choose Delete. In the warning dialog box, click Delete. In fact, the aforementioned menu offers several useful options for managing your keywords. For example, you can edit them, remove a keyword from the selected photo, or delete the keyword altogether.
Either way, the keyword is removed from your keyword list and from any photos you applied it to.