Dj_paige is absolutely right.

But if you want another layer of security, harveyabc, you could specify one keyword per collection and apply this to all collection members. This keyword will be saved to xmp of the file, so outside LR catalog as well.

In order to not clutter your keyword list I would specify one parent keyword for collection-membership, none to export, as their sole purpose is to organise belts & braces for you.

Actually I do this for folder membership: because I had to restore images with rescue software from a failed drive, leaving me with bogus filenames. Having the keywords inside them helped to restore folder structure, which is essential for continued working with a catalog.

Cornelia

harveyabc,

You wrote: "trying to just save the individual photos that I have stored in any given collection."

Please understand, that the photos in a collection don't exist as image files per se, except for the initial image files that existed before you created the collection. When Lr creates a collection it's not that copies of existing image files are put in the collection. A Lr collection is nothing else than a "tag" in the Lr catalog that these images belong to one (or several) collection(s). So in a nutshell, a collection exists only as a set of data in the catalog. That's why the previous posters have said that besides the catalog there's nothing to save, except backup the catalog. Or, double-up the collection with keywords as Cornelia has rightly suggested - but the keywords are also in the catalog.

But, naturally you could create new image files from the images in a collection by exporting these images. But the exported new image files would not be saved as or in a collection, they would just be a bunch of images somewhere on your hard drive. So, there's nothing to do, except backup your catalog.

so you folks are saying that as long as i backup my catalog files each time i exit LR (assuming i have made edits) to an ext drive, i am ok.

You need to back up your catalog file(s) but not the previews; you also need to back up your photos.

harveybac,

In Lr-speak "catalog" means the Lr data base where Lr stores everything you do in Lr. This is a file that is separate from your photos.

In Lr go >Edit >Catalog Settings >General tab; it tells you the location and the file name of the "catalog". It is a good idea to remember - maybe even write it down - hey there's a novel idea - the name and location of the "catalog". Just further down in the same tab you'll see the window for the backup of the "catalog". In this window select <Every time Lr exits> and click OK. Next time you close Lr the backup dialog will appear that lets you select a location for the backup. Do NOT select the same location as where your "working" catalog is but an external hard drive is a good choice. Memorize where the backup location is, you'll need it one day.

You ask "how do i distinguish backup up catalog files and not previews".

In Mac Finder / Win Explorer navigate to the location where your (working) catalog is located. The "catalog" is the file with the ending < .lrcat>. Next to it sits the preview file folder; it has the ending <  .lrdata>.

Lr creates previews from your photos that are displayed in Loupe View (Library Module) or in the Develop Module. It creates these previws so that a large image can be displayed fast. The previews are stored in the previews folder <  .lrdata>. You don't have to backup the previews because Lr will generate new previews when a preview is missing.

Go >Edit >Catalog Settings >File Handling tab. There you can select the size of your previews, determine their quality, and determine how long Lr should keep the 1:1 previews.