Help Requested: Need to Select Photos from Multiple Folders for Project

[sm4him]

Okay, so:
I don't really know how to use my LR very well. I've managed to import the photo folders on my hard drive and put in a few keywords on a FEW photos. That's about it so far.
I also have PS which is what I usually use for processing, and Bridge, which is what I usually use for sorting through pictures.

But now I have this project I need to work on. It will require creating a composite of photos, using photos taken over a five-year span. That means the photos are in a whole bunch of different folders. I really, REALLY don't want to go through every folder, pick the ones I want, then have to copy those into a new folder for the project.

Yesterday, I had what I *thought* was a good idea. I went through, in LR, and gave all the photos I want to use for the project a "blue" color rating.

But now: How do I get LR to find JUST those "blue" rated photos again and show them all? When I open it and go to Library, then "filter by color label," all the color choices are grayed out.
Am I going about this back-arse-wards? This is why I haven't really started using LR yet; I'm so completely befuddled by the organizational system.

Does any of this even make any sense?

 

[astroNikon]

Create a new Collection

Then go to the Library, and then your Custom Filter for your search stuff.
then add those individual photos (or a Virtual Copy) to that new Collection.

 

[sm4him]

Create a new Collection
then add those individual photos from all the years to that new Collection.

I'm telling you, I am not even skilled enough at LR to be a novice. So, I just created a new collection, but is there any way to find all those pictures that I designated with the blue color label yesterday and put them in this new collection, or do I have to sort through ALL those d**n pictures again? Because it's thousands of them, and if I have to go back through them all again, I'm probably gonna cry. Or go home and start drinking. Maybe both.

 

[astroNikon]

In Library mode from the top menu Library / Develop / Map / Book etc
select LIbrary

in the left, make sure you have a year selected -- you might have to do one year at a time - or how ever you have the pictures stored on your computer.

then in lower right
select Filter to "Flagged" then the left is a small square to select the filter color (you can see the small cursor in the below pic)

then the results should be in the main section ...
at least that's what I see

 

[sm4him]

Thanks, Astro. That made sense, and I thought that would do the trick, but it doesn't find anything. All I can figure is that maybe it didn't actually save the color label to any of the pictures I selected yesterday, but it definitely indicated that it had.

I think I'm just gonna have to drop back and punt and go back to my old-fashioned method. Ditch LR and go through folder by folder, copying the ones I want to a new folder for the project. What a PITA, though.

 

[astroNikon]

select a photo, then change it's color label
then do a test search.

that's what I did .. i didn't know you could do a Color Label until I tried it, then made it work with a search.

 

[sm4him]

Well, something definitely wasn't working right. I did a test on 5 photos. Then did the filter...nothing.
Then I googled and found a video on doing it. Did it exactly like it said in the video (select the folder in Library, then click "attribute" in the middle of the gray bar at the top of the photos and then select the blue color filter. Got nothing.
Then I tested a few in yellow, and got a result. Weird.
Then I went BACK to blue, clicked on three photos...and now it's suddenly found ALL the photos I'd labeled blue yesterday!! What in the jam is that about??

I just went to label another photo. I clicked on the blue, and it labeled it yellow. I think my LR is wonked.

 

[JacaRanda]

Make sure you have the top folder (parent) selected in the left column to be sure the filter is being done on all the photos you have given the blue attribute to. If they are in different folders, you will have to do the filter on the parent of each folder; from there make a collection.

Sorry, I think I just repeated what Astro mentioned already.

 

[astroNikon]

Well, something definitely wasn't working right. I did a test on 5 photos. Then did the filter...nothing.
Then I googled and found a video on doing it. Did it exactly like it said in the video (select the folder in Library, then click "attribute" in the middle of the gray bar at the top of the photos and then select the blue color filter. Got nothing.
Then I tested a few in yellow, and got a result. Weird.
Then I went BACK to blue, clicked on three photos...and now it's suddenly found ALL the photos I'd labeled blue yesterday!! What in the jam is that about??

I just went to label another photo. I clicked on the blue, and it labeled it yellow. I think my LR is wonked.

LR seemed wonked to me until I got used to it. Now it's normal.
For me LR was intuitive when I first tried using it. After a while it started making sense.

 

[sm4him]

Well, something definitely wasn't working right. I did a test on 5 photos. Then did the filter...nothing.
Then I googled and found a video on doing it. Did it exactly like it said in the video (select the folder in Library, then click "attribute" in the middle of the gray bar at the top of the photos and then select the blue color filter. Got nothing.
Then I tested a few in yellow, and got a result. Weird.
Then I went BACK to blue, clicked on three photos...and now it's suddenly found ALL the photos I'd labeled blue yesterday!! What in the jam is that about??

I just went to label another photo. I clicked on the blue, and it labeled it yellow. I think my LR is wonked.

LR seemed wonked to me until I got used to it. Now it's normal.
For me LR was intuitive when I first tried using it. After a while it started making sense.

Thanks for all the help, Astro--I've at least got it working well enough to do what I need to do right now.

So far, LR is just not intuitive to me, AT all. For some reason, I simply cannot wrap my head around how to get things imported and organized correctly. I know it's got to beat my current system all to pieces (you don't really want to KNOW what my current system is, but it involves pencil and paper, and a lot of file copying), but LR just totally befuddles me. And I generally pick up most new software very quickly.

Maybe I really AM too old to learn new tricks now.

 

[JacaRanda]

I know you probably have already checked out several videos. Try these if you haven't already. Lightroom Tutorials by Julieanne Kost

 

[astroNikon]

It took me a while too until it finally "clicked"

essentially .. the menu is broken into 4 areas - Top, Left, Right & Bottom - your image is right smack in the middle of those 4 areas.

the top is your "work flow" which is from one stage to the next
Library - for importing and organizing data
which uses the "menu" for folders and collections to the left

Develop - where you fix the photos, etc.
which uses the menu to the right for exposure and all the other controls

to select images to Export you select them on the bottom bar .. you select one or many photos based upon your Search criteria .... then you can Export them - I use right click then get to the export feature.

after I figured that stuff out then it made more sense.
I was totally lost trying to even export images until then.

You'll have to learn about how to use Collections. That is extremely helpful.

 

[sm4him]

I know you probably have already checked out several videos. Try these if you haven't already. Lightroom Tutorials by Julieanne Kost

Thanks, Jaca. Yeah, I actually have a very good instructional video on using LR, I think it's from Scott Kelby, I don't remember. I got all gungho back at the first of the year about learning it (I've had the program for very nearly two years now...), started the videos...and then got distracted by other things to do.

That's really the problem; I need to sit down and experiment and LEARN it when I'm not NEEDING it to get something done. But that just never seems to happen, so then when I need it and know it could be really useful--I also know it's not really setup yet and I don't have time then to learn how to do it. Going to have to be one of those things I just finally decide to make the time to learn. But I'm not used to finding software that I can't just learn intuitively.

 

[sm4him]

It took me a while too until it finally "clicked"

essentially .. the menu is broken into 4 areas - Top, Left, Right & Bottom - your image is right smack in the middle of those 4 areas.

the top is your "work flow" which is from one stage to the next
Library - for importing and organizing data
which uses the "menu" for folders and collections to the left

Develop - where you fix the photos, etc.
which uses the menu to the right for exposure and all the other controls

to select images to Export you select them on the bottom bar .. you select one or many photos based upon your Search criteria .... then you can Export them - I use right click then get to the export feature.

after I figured that stuff out then it made more sense.
I was totally lost trying to even export images until then.

You'll have to learn about how to use Collections. That is extremely helpful.

Yeah, see I haven't really "exported" anything. Why import all these pictures, just to export them again? And when do I use Develop and when do I "export"? And how in the blue blazes do I find the stupid photos that I keyworded already? And....and...and...All I know is that I don't know much about it, and I wish it had been around 20 years ago when my software-learning capabilities were still at their best.

I'll either grit my teeth, do some of these tutorial videos and determine to LEARN it eventually, or I'll give up and go back to my pencil and paper. It's a toss-up right now as to which way it'll go.

 

[JacaRanda]

I know you probably have already checked out several videos. Try these if you haven't already. Lightroom Tutorials by Julieanne Kost

Thanks, Jaca. Yeah, I actually have a very good instructional video on using LR, I think it's from Scott Kelby, I don't remember. I got all gungho back at the first of the year about learning it (I've had the program for very nearly two years now...), started the videos...and then got distracted by other things to do.

That's really the problem; I need to sit down and experiment and LEARN it when I'm not NEEDING it to get something done. But that just never seems to happen, so then when I need it and know it could be really useful--I also know it's not really setup yet and I don't have time then to learn how to do it. Going to have to be one of those things I just finally decide to make the time to learn. But I'm not used to finding software that I can't just learn intuitively.

I know the feeling. Every time I watch and learn something in PS, I don't use it enough (mostly because I don't have to having LR) so I lose it.

If you dive in now, you will wonder why you did not dive in earlier. In my very best opinion, LR is fantastic; probably more for file management than it is for processing. Many if not most will use it for 90% or more of what they need regularly before needing to open PS.