One LR System To Rule Them All

[CircuitFactory]

Hi Guys,

I've been using LR for a few years, but never took the time to set it up properly. Now I'm paying for that mistake. Catalogs and libraries all over the place. I decided I have to sort this now. Watched a lot of tutorials, but still have a few nagging questions that I couldn't find the answer to:

I run LR on Mac Pro and a Macbook pro, so a desktop and a laptop. I want to be able to use LR between the two. So I presume the best way to do that is to put LR on Dropbox and wait for it to sync before I use it.

The thing I don't understand is where I should store my photos. I occasionally have big photoshoots, which of course, I put on my MacPro desktop and then bring them into LR. No issues there.

I also have loads of little pieces of work involving me snapping photos on the fly, and I want to get a quick edit done on them and then move on. This always results in me using my Macbook pro. When I do this, I would therefore have to bring them into the Macbook Pro? And they wouldn't be part of my main stock of photos on my desktop?

• What method should I use here to keep organised?
• I really want to have just one LR catalogue and put every single photo I ever own on that. That would be really simple. Does this mean I would have to always remember to put my photos on my desktop, then bring them into LR? This is something I just cannot do.
• Does anyone else have a desktop and laptop set up and got a system they could share with me?
• Does anyone have any good video tutorials on the above?

Thanks in advance.

Phil

[john beardsworth]

This isn't an unusual requirement. In fact, it's pretty common, and I certainly share it. Also, many of us would agree with your "I really want to have just one LR catalogue and put every single photo I ever own on that".

Look into the corresponding menus commends File > IExport as Catalog and File > Import from Another Catalog which are designed for moving work back and forth, and can include copies of your originals. You then keep your main catalogue on the desktop and a temporary catalogue on your laptop, importing it into the main one and transferring the photos at the same time (you can then delete the stuff on the laptop) This works best if your laptop use is intermittent.

Another route is to keep the catalogue on Dropbox or on an external hard drive and attach it to whichever computer you are using. The photos' permanent location can be on the drive or on the desktop. If you generate smart previews, you can see and adjust your images even when working on the laptop (ie away from the originals). New photos imported on the laptop can be on Dropbox/EHD at first, and then move them to their permanent location when you're working on the desktop. This method works best if you're constantly switching.

Also remember that if you have CC, you can move pictures from laptop to desktop using a web browser - you log into your account at lightroom.adobe.com and drag the images into the collection you want. They then sync automatically. This is best for small numbers.

John

[ds art]

John workflows are okay, but when working with a catalog on dropbox you must be alert that LR is closed on the desktop when working on Laptop or visa versa. Working with a extern drive is in these case safer.

[john beardsworth]

ds art wrote:

John workflows are okay, but when working with a catalog on dropbox you must be alert that LR is closed on the desktop when working on Laptop or visa versa. Working with a extern drive is in these case safer.

Absolutely correct. In fact, after closing Lr on one machine it's best to wait until you know it has synced up to Dropbox. And on the other machine, check the catalogue has synced down from Dropbox before you start Lr.