How Do I Access My Original Collection in LR?

sara505 · September 20, 2009

HI. Here's my workflow:

1. Import images into LR
2. In Library, view each image, flag the keepers.
3. Select only the keepers, create collection.
4. Process images for color gallery.
5. Export.
6. Go through the images again, selecting a new batch of keepers for BW
7. Create a new virtual copy collection, name it so-and-so BW.
8. Process for BW.
9. Export to BW folder.

My question is, how do I get back to the original collection? (Not the entire Import) I want to now select the images that will be posted in my client's gallery.

When I click on the original gallery name, I only pull up the most recently flagged images (the ones I selected to make virtual copies and convert to

, not the entire collection.

When I go to Previous Import, it shows every image, color and BW, flagged and unflagged.
What I want is to go through each folder (there are four, from four 4gb cards), one at a time, only looking at my original keepers in each folder, and make a new collection for a Web folder.

Is there a way to do this, or must I view the entire four imports in order to select the web images?

Thank you in advance.:lust

colourbox · September 20, 2009

If I'm reading your question correctly, you can always find a photo in either the computer's file system or in Lightroom's internal organization of collections. Look under the Photo menu (see link below) and use one of the "Show In" commands. "Show In Finder" to locate it on your computer, "Show in Folder in Library" to locate it in its folder in Lightroom, or "Show In Collection" to show it in any of the collections you put it in. Even easier is to right-click the photo and the Show In commands are near the top of that menu too.

http://lightroomers.com/lightrooms-show-in-collection/238/

sara505 · September 20, 2009

colourbox wrote:

If I'm reading your question correctly, you can always find a photo in either the computer's file system or in Lightroom's internal organization of collections. Look under the Photo menu (see link below) and use one of the "Show In" commands. "Show In Finder" to locate it on your computer, "Show in Folder in Library" to locate it in its folder in Lightroom, or "Show In Collection" to show it in any of the collections you put it in. Even easier is to right-click the photo and the Show In commands are near the top of that menu too.

http://lightroomers.com/lightrooms-show-in-collection/238/

Actually - I really do need to access the original collection, and I think I've lost it (the collection, not my mind, but that is soon to follow).

Basically, I had a collection of 218 images, which I processed and exported.
From that collection, I selected 98 to convert to BW.

I now have the new collection of 98 BW images, but the original collection of 218 only shows the most recently flagged images - only those 98. So, now I have two collections of 98 images, one color, one BW.

I thought if I created virtual copies in the new collection, I would leave intact the original collection and be able to access it again.

When I go into Show in Folder, it still only shows those 98 images.

The collection - Sandman 2 - says there are 218 images, but I sure can't find that original batch. I click back, forward - nada.

sara505 · September 20, 2009

Ok - maybe I figured it out. I open the collection, go above to Attributes, select Flagged and Unflagged images - voila, they are all there.

colourbox · September 20, 2009

sara505 wrote:

Ok - maybe I figured it out. I open the collection, go above to Attributes, select Flagged and Unflagged images - voila, they are all there.

That's a pretty good tip to keep in mind, because I forget that all the time too...if you can't find your images, see if you've left Library Filters on!

sara505 · September 20, 2009

sara505 wrote:

Ok - maybe I figured it out. I open the collection, go above to Attributes, select Flagged and Unflagged images - voila, they are all there.

Well, that only happened once.

There is actually no Flagged and Unflagged filter - I just got lucky and clicked something.

I just now selected a few to correct the WB, out of the 218, now I can't get the whole collection back. sigh.

Oh- is that what I'm looking for - Library Filters?

Let's see...

Oh, yeah - that's it! Next to Library Filters, select None.

Thank you!

arodney · September 21, 2009

Keep in mind that when you import images, there’s a temporary “collection” if you will, called “Previous Import”. If you had 200 images and imported 20 more, that “collection” would now only have that updated 20 images. Until you actually make and name a collection and place the images into that area, you don’t have a collection to go back to (unless you don’t import any newer images, then you have the Previous Import temp collection). Of course, the images should be in the folder you designated during import, but that’s not a collection.

How Do I Access My Original Collection in LR?

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