Lightroom > Typical Workflow
Here's a typical workflow using Lightroom.
If you're a Lightroom beginner, skim through it.
Return after you're more familiar with Lightroom.
Let's say you just got back from Yosemite with lots of photographs.
First, go to Set Up Lightroom.
Then, proceed down the workflow below.
You can download a Word document of the text below.
Edit the document to fit your needs and preferences.
Go to My Lightroom Workflow (Word file).
| Typical Workflow | Notes |
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1) Connect your camera (or card reader) to your computer. Turn your camera on. By default, Lightroom will open the Import window. |
If Lightroom doesn't open to the Import module, do the following. 1) Open Lightroom. 2) Press g to make sure you're in the Library module. 3) Click Import in the lower-left corner. |
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2) Click Import. Lightroom will create a folder in My Pictures or Pictures with your photograph files. A shortcut to the folder will appear in the Folders panel on the left side of the Library module. More: Importing Photographs |
Remember, your photograph files are not in Lightroom—even though you imported them into Lightroom. They're in My Pictures or Pictures. Lightroom only imports the: • Shortcuts to the photograph files. • Metadata from the files. • Previews, which are the previews created by your camera. |
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3) Remove the duds now? You can: • Remove the duds from Lightroom at this juncture. • Wait to remove the duds until you make a collection set. • Keep the duds. If you choose to remove the duds now, you can create a subfolder called Duds. Or, you can remove the duds from Lightroom. To sort the duds from the keepers, you'll flag them. More: Flag in the Folder
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You can remove—or—you can delete. Know the difference! Do the following to learn the difference between Remove and Delete. 1) Right click on a preview. 2) Select Delete Photo. In the Confirm window, you'll see: • Delete from Disk • Remove If you click Remove, the photograph is removed from Lightroom—not from My Pictures or pictures. If you click Delete from Disk—the photograph is deleted from Lightroom and from My Pictures or Pictures. 3) Click Cancel. |
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4) Close the Folders panel and open the Collections panel. |
You can make Lightroom close the current panel when you open a new panel. Press and hold Alt, and click on the gray triangle that opens-and-closes the panel. Or, right click the panel and select Solo Mode. |
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5) Make a collection set with two collections. You're going to create a collection set. Below, there's the collection set, Yosemite. This collection set contains two collections, Best and Duds. This assumes you didn't cull out the duds in the Folders panel. 
You could also create different collections, such as the subject matter you photographed at Yosemite: • Climbing • Flowers • Trees • Water 
You could combine the above two hierarchies. Below, Best and Duds are collections sets. The Best collection set has the subject collections. 
Let's create the first example, a collection set with two collections, Best and Duds. 5) Press the + icon in the Collections panel. a) Select Create a Collection Set. b) Name the collection set Yosemite, and make sure the Set menu is at None. c) Press the + icon in the Collections panel. d) Select Create a Collection. e) Name the collection Best. f) Click the Yosemite collection set in the Collections panel to select it. g) Press the + icon in the Collections panel. h) Select Create a Collection. i) Name the collection Duds. You can now flag the previews, and drag them into the Best folder and the Duds folder. You can use the folder-flagging methods with collections. More: Flag in the Folder You could also use Color Labels to designate which stage a photograph is in your workflow. For, example, red could be Edit This. More: Color Labels |
Folders used to be: • For storage. • For organizing. With Lightroom: • Use folders for storage. • Use collections for organizing. More: Collections Panel |
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6) Press e to go to Loupe view. In Loupe view, the selected preview is enlarged. More: 1 - The Work Area |
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7) Press g to go back to Grid view. If you want to choose the best photograph from several, read on. If not, jump ahead. |
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8) Press and hold Ctrl, and click on five of the previews of the same subject. |
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9) Press n to go to Survey view. More: Compare View |
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10) Choose the best one, by clicking the x in the lower-right corner of the rejects. When you have one photograph left . . . |
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11) . . . press d to go to the Develop module. |
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12) Press Ctrl + ' to make a virtual copy. You can edit the virtual copy, instead of the original. More: Virtual Copies |
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13) Edit! Use the Editing Principles, and use the panels and their tools in this order. |
Remember: • There's no need to save your work because Lightroom automatically and continually saves everything. • Your original file in My Pictures or Pictures is never changed. |
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Go to Print Module. |
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After printing, continue on the workflow. |
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a) Press g to go to Grid view in the Library module. b) Select one or more previews. c) Click Export in the lower-left corner of your screen. d) At the top of the Export window, select Export to: Hard Drive. You can choose other locations on your computer later. e) On the left side of the Export window, you can use a preset to configure the values on the right side, such as For E-Mail. f) Next, select the export destination in the Export Location section. You've got several of choices. g) In the File Settings section, you can select the file format. h) There are four more sections with many settings. i) If you want to save your settings, click Add in the lower-left corner of the Export window, enter a name, and click Create. Your preset will appear in the User Presets section on the left side of the Export window. j) Click Export. More: Export |
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You may want to periodically delete old backups, as they take up a lot of hard drive space. Don't delete the most recent backups. More: Backup the Catalog |
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