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Narzugon
Participant
March 28, 2023
Answered

Smart Collections, Criteria and Keyword List question.

  • March 28, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 359 views

Hello all,

 

I searched the forum for a solution but I didn't see anything specifically addressing this.

 

My Keyword List has a hierarchy. As an example:

 

  1. Cities
  • Asheville
  • Atlanta
  • Charlotte

 

2: Parks

  • Pisgah Nat
  • Lake Jocasse

 

Lets say I create a Smart Collection named "Cities".

For the criteria I have the following which should require both Keywords in order to match and show in this Smart Collection.

 

Match: All

Keywords -  Contains Words  -  Cities

Keywords -  Contains Words  -  Asheville

 

For my photo of a store front in Asheville I use two keywords, "Store Front" and "Asheville".

And I do not want this photo in my "Cities" smart collection.

 

However, it flags this photo for inclusion into this Smart Collection.

 

What I have noticed is in the Keyword list, the top lvl word "Cities" is not checked but is obviously expanded to show "Asheville" checked. LR is counting the top lvl Keyword "Cities" as being a Keyword for the photo even though it is not listed in the photo's Keyword box.

 

To test this I renamed the top lvl keyword "Cities" to "Cityscapes". Now LR does not include my photo unless I add the Keyword "Cities".

 

Is this normal functionality or a bug? In the end the work around is simple enough but I am curious about it.

 

Thanks

 

LRC 1221

Win 10 19045

 

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer dj_paige

Sounds like normal behavior. A photo that has a child keyword is also assumed to have the parent keyword. You can see all keywords assigned to this photo by changing the dropdown menu in the Keywording Panel to say "Keywords and Containing Keywords"

2 replies

dj_paige
dj_paige
Legend
March 28, 2023

Adding, why do you even need a smart collection for Cities? Why not just select the Cities keyword in the Keywording panel by clicking on the arrow to the right of the word cities? This does the same thing as a smart collection for cities.

    N
    NarzugonAuthor
    Participant
    March 28, 2023

    You bring up a really good point.The short answer is I didn't know you could do that until you mentioned it.

     

    I've only been using Lightroom for 7 months or so and in recent weeks decided I was going to get a handle on organising my photos. I was already fairly consistent with culling and keeping them in descriptive folders on my drives but decided to bite the bullet and use the tools LR offered.

     

    I started with adding Keywords to my photos and loved the power that it gave me. At first the Collections panel didn't appeal to me because I found myself just mimicking my drive's folder structures. So then I decided to use Smart Collections to automate the process of grouping my photos. After culling a batch, dump them into a more generalized folder on my drive and then use Smart Collection criteria to automate further organising.

     

    An over simplified example:

    Drive: Photos/Parks

    Smart Collections: Parks: Pisgah, Glassy, Chimney Rock, etc

     

    After you mentioned why not select Keyworded photos right from the Keyword list I'm rethinking my strategy. I'm thinking using the Keyword List as my general photo selection/viewing method and reserve Smart Collections for special selections such as ratings?

     

     Regardless of the above, I still need a good work flow for  Keywording a ton of photos. I was trying to create a Keyword list or hierarchy that I could step through sections of keywords quickly. 

     

    The workflow I came up with was this:

     

    1: Type of photo: Architectual, Industrial, Nature, Portraits, Stock, Street, Transportation, etc

    2: Place: State Parks, Cities, etc

    3: Seasons

    4: Weather Conditions

    5: Time of day or night

     

    Some of the above has sub-keywords for example Seasons would have Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. I mainly shoot woodland and landscapes. So being able to group or view say Sunsets at Pisgah in the Spring is helpful.

     

    With the above idea, I can go to one section after the other and choose important keywords for a photo and move to the next. I would also like to keep my keywords consistant so it's easier to search and or group photos.

     

    With all that said, am I overthinking things? lol Is there an easier way to do what I'm trying to do?

     

     

    dj_paige
    dj_paigeCorrect answer
    Legend
    March 28, 2023

    Sounds like normal behavior. A photo that has a child keyword is also assumed to have the parent keyword. You can see all keywords assigned to this photo by changing the dropdown menu in the Keywording Panel to say "Keywords and Containing Keywords"

      N
      NarzugonAuthor
      Participant
      March 28, 2023

      Ah, I see. I have never looked at that drop down option.

       

      Thanks for the promt reply!

       

      Cheers!

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