Thunderbolt external hard drive + Lightroom + MacBook Air

[thighslapper]

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Lightroom. I don't like LR because of the catalogue. It forces my files into a proprietary system. I dropped LR, now use Photo Mechanic (instead of Bridge) to bring files into my computer from the cards.

 

??? Why not just 'add' the photos then they just stay put and the LR catalogue is just a directory of where they are and a list of changes when processed ...... ???

 

I import from card direct to my own filing heirarchy which hasn't changed in 15 years .... so nothing changes whatever I use ..... Aperture, LR etc etc..... and I know exactly where everything is and it's easier to archive as well....

 

I don't like any of these automated importers or the way the Processors try to store images ...... too much inadvertent duplication and stuff where you cannot find it .....

 

Give me a nice sensible filing system accessible by Finder/Windows Explorer and I am happy and reassured ..... and can find anything where I know it should be ...... because I put it there ...

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[thighslapper]

Regarding Lightroom, I'm not an expert because I hate "import" and "catalogs" and "libraries". I only use PS CC with Bridge. But I think LR 5 now stores changes where the raw file is located. For a .dng raw file, the changes are stored inside the original raw file, but can still be reversed. For other raw formats, such as .nef for Nikon, the changes are stored in a .xmp side-car file along with the original file. After PS work, I always save in .psd format which I can place wherever I want when I save it.

 

I hope other forum members correct me if I am wrong. I'm out on a limb here because I don't pay attention to how PS LR or CC saves changes.

 

As far as I am aware the original DNG is never altered or data appended to it ...... the catalogue just has a list of the modifications. There is no difference between the original being in the LR catalogue or referenced from a directory on the internal or external HD.

 

Anyway, before I alter an image in any way in LR I always create a virtual copy and work on that .... leaving the original beside it for comparison .... and create more virtual copies to tinker with rather than reversing and re-doing changes. I delete the duds later.

[Rick]

Thanks.

 

I was a LR user, but found that Photoshop served my needs better. I found the implementation of masking and adjustments lawyers to be very useful, particularly when combined with ACR, so it has been about 3 years since I used LR. This is a case of each to his or her own. For me, Photoshop proved to be the easier workflow. I know others don't find that to be the case.

 

BTW, I have been using Lynda.com for training. Excellent. I spent a year with the Kelby training website, which was also very good, but a little more limited.

 

I am not sure what an adjustment lawyer is, but it sounds very lucrative.

 

Being serious, I use layers too. From LR catalog it is one control key and the file opens up PS. Once done in PS, just close the file and it is automatically returned to LR as a new file and your original is still in LR. Much faster and easier than using a file system based on the OS. If, it has been 3-years since you used LR, you might want to look back into it.

[zeitz]

Wow. I'm a quite surprised. It appears Photoshop Lightroom and Photoshop/Bridge CC handle files differently.

 

I just "Imported" and "Developed" two images in LR (latest version, per CC). One from an M9 and one from a Nikon D2x. The file dates remained the same. And I saw no new files for either image.

 

I then used Bridge with ACR (again latest version) with two different images, the next ones in sequence. (I did not go to Photoshop CC; I just closed Bridge using "Done".) The one from the M9 remained as .dng but has today's date in Finder and not the date the image was taken. The D2x image has an .xmp sidecar with today's date; the .nef image retains the date the image was taken.

 

I would sure like to see comments from Photoshop experts on the internal workings. Fortunately the internals are invisible to users.

[zeitz]

From Adobe help sites. (xmp + extensible metadata platform) Bottomline - Bridge / Photoshop CC works only one way; Lightroom can work either way depending on settings.

 

Photoshop Help | Metadata and notes - Bridge and Photoshop CC

Metadata information is stored using the Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) standard, on which Adobe Bridge, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Photoshop are built. Adjustments made to images with Photoshop® Camera Raw are stored as XMP metadata. XMP is built on XML, and in most cases the metadata is stored in the file. If it isn’t possible to store the information in the file, metadata is stored in a separate file called a sidecar file. XMP facilitates the exchange of metadata between Adobe applications and across publishing workflows. For example, you can save metadata from one file as a template, and then import the metadata into other files.

 

Lightroom Help | Metadata basics and actions - Lightroom

Lightroom automatically writes adjustments and settings metadata to the catalog. You can also instruct Lightroom to write the changes to XMP. In order for changes made in Lightroom to be recognized by other applications, metadata must be written to XMP.

Choose Edit > Catalog Settings (Windows) or Lightroom > Catalog Settings (Mac OS).

Click the Metadata tab, and then do either of the following:

To write adjustments and settings metadata to XMP, select Automatically Write Changes Into XMP.

To write adjustments and settings metadata only to the catalog, deselect Automatically Write Changes Into XMP.

 

So apparently Photoshop CC always puts the new metadata of file changes into a .dng file or into a sidecar if not a .dng file; and LR can put new metadata into the catalog or it can be set up to behave like Photoshop CC.