Worklfow - CS5 to Lightroom 4

steperenkosteperenko Registered Users Posts: 89 Big grins
edited July 21, 2013 in Finishing School
Hello, I would appreciate some input and hopefully eliminate a step in my workflow. When I work in lightroom I often want to edit a photo in photoshop. Once edited in photoshop I would love to have the photo back in lightroom together with other photos from the folder/collection to make into a book. So far I save my photo to a folder to a desktop and then expert into lightroom. But it makes a separate folder/collection than the ones I edited in lightroom, which makes it complicated to make a book. How do I eliminate saving to desktop/having a separate folder in lightroom? Help! Thank you.

Comments

  • pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,708 moderator
    edited July 20, 2013
    No need to copy your RAW files to a folder BEFORE you import them to Lightroom, that is a redundant step.

    Simply import your RAW files from your CF card, directly onto an external hard drive ( or external RAID array ) via Lightroom. Your RAW files are safe, never altered by LR, and can be copied to another folder which can then be edited however you wish.

    My workflow is to import from my CF card via LR, directly to my external RAID array. I do my Raw processing in the LIGHTROOM Raw Engine, unless I think I might need Smart Objects of my RAW files, which I rarely do any more. If I need layers and selections after my LR edits, I create a tiff from within Lr, to output to CS5 for further editing in Photoshop. The edited tiff, saved from Photoshop, can be stored wherever you wish, or imported back into the Lightroom catalog and image storage array.

    A minor point, is that I would never import my files to my main hard disk or my desktop, I want those RAW files, and my Catalog file, on a dedicated separate hard drive. It makes it easy to back up this hard drive to a second or third hard drive, so that I always have multiple redundancies of my images. AND ALL of my files needed for LR are on a single hard drive that never changes. Since I have over 3 Tb of image files, they would not begin to fit on a single boot SSD for me.
    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
  • steperenkosteperenko Registered Users Posts: 89 Big grins
    edited July 21, 2013
    Pathfinder, thank you very much for sharing your workflow. I will definitely start downloading photos directly to a harddrive. I am still at loss though how to "imported back into the Lightroom catalog and image storage array." if I don't create a folder first.
  • basfltbasflt Registered Users Posts: 1,882 Major grins
    edited July 21, 2013
    steperenko wrote: »
    Pathfinder, thank you very much for sharing your workflow. I will definitely start downloading photos directly to a harddrive. I am still at loss though how to "imported back into the Lightroom catalog and image storage array." if I don't create a folder first.
    this is done automatically by default
    in LR you sent the image to CS5 by right-clicking the image or thumbnail
    when you save in CS5 ( not save as ) it is sent to LR in same location as filename edit .tiff
    Bas

    /ɯoɔ˙ƃnɯƃnɯs˙ʇlɟsɐq//:dʇʇɥ
  • steperenkosteperenko Registered Users Posts: 89 Big grins
    edited July 21, 2013
    Thank you Bas, I will try that right away.
  • steperenkosteperenko Registered Users Posts: 89 Big grins
    edited July 21, 2013
    basflt wrote: »
    this is done automatically by default
    in LR you sent the image to CS5 by right-clicking the image or thumbnail
    when you save in CS5 ( not save as ) it is sent to LR in same location as filename edit .tiff

    You just saved my life. :) Thank you.
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