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Merlin3
Inspiring
August 18, 2017
Question

Applying Keywords from existing list and categories

  • August 18, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 1102 views

Hi,

I am considering Lightroom to take over from Extensis Portfolio 8 (dropped by Extensis) for keywording photos.

Extensis allowed creation of custom fields, so peoples names, townVillage, animal, Bird etc could then be populated with keywords to act as a safety feature to ensure the same spelling was used each time by simply selecting the images then the keywords from the custom fields before clicking assign.

Searching for the name that was used for someone, when you cant remember their name, or a location when memory fails one, is dead easy in a list e.g. 28 long, but crazy in a list 2000 long of just keywords.

How is this done in Lightroom ?

Also how does one select e.g  5 keywords from existing lists and apply them to several images ?

How does one select certain keywords from the lists and find matching pics on two or more keywords ?

All essential and possible in what was a great prog Portfolio, but now lost to time.

Can Lightroom import the keywords from images if I were to embed them into such in Portfolio ? I presume they would all come in as one great uncategorised mass, needing separating out to the 'custom fields' again.

Can Lightroom embed keywords and a description into IPTC for images for transfer to Getty etc ?

Merlin

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    1 reply

    dj_paige
    dj_paige
    Legend
    August 18, 2017

    Lightroom has a keyword search field, where if you're not sure of the exact spelling, or you don't want to scroll through hundreds (thousands) of keywords, you can tyype in the first 3 or 4 letters and Lightroom will show you only those keywords that match what you typed.

    Select 5 keywords and apply to multiple photos: I can think of two ways to do this, and there are probably more. Select all desired photos, then apply the keywords; or use the painter to "paint" keywords onto individual photos.

    Find photos that have two (or more) keywords: use the Lightroom Filter Bar.  Or create a smart collection.

    Lightroom can write metadata (including keywords) to exported files for use in other software or for use by recipients of your photos.

    M
    Merlin3Author
    Inspiring
    August 18, 2017

    Hi,

    Thanks, sounds promising.

    Am I right in thinking though that it has no ability to split the keywords up into 'custom fields' ?

    If I am wishing to give 'emotion' keywords for example, seeing the different 'emotion' keywords listed together reminds me of what I have used and can use, ensuring also I spell them a certain way and stick to the existing used keywords. Such acts as an 'aide memoire', else I am very likely to forget some I have used which would be most appropriate.

    Whilst the typing of the first few characters will show the keyword used, and that's good, to have all keywords of a certain category visible together in a 'custom field' makes for a more efficient and comfortable feel to things. Msoft Access users will be familiar with such practices, Lightroom for this DAM purpose and Access share an approach here for finding files/records by entering existing values.

    Merlin

    dj_paige
    dj_paige
    Legend
    August 19, 2017

    Hi,

    That’s very promising , though the custom fields are not hierarchical, so peoples names are not family based,

    However a hierarchy of WW2/RAF/Spitfire might be of use for Alamy though we also would have World War 2 and Royal Air Force as alternate spellings also needing to be applied which would see two parents at WW2 level and two at RAF level, getting tricky !

    So, as it applies not just the keyword Sir George Cobham OBE but also the hierarchy that gets to that name, I would need to set it up with some thought.

    As it needs a main heading from which the ‘custom fields’ are children and I wouldn’t need this to be allocated to the image's IPTC tags when uploaded to Alamy or Getty, I need to give it something meaningful, unless I think of anything better....

    1. Type into field Keyword the word  Photo

    Right click that and choose Create New Keyword inside “Photo”

    Type the word  Names,

    Then create my names within this,.


    Harry
    Fred
    Sir George Cobham OBE
    Ltn Fritz Eros
    Malcolm Tanner

    Then right click “photo” choose Create New Keyword inside “photo”

    Type the word   Emotion

    Then create my emotion terms within this


    happy
    Tranquil
    Majestic
    Romantic
    Nostalgic

    This leaves me with a ‘tag’ called Photo that is a waste of a tag for e.g. Alamy, where there is a finite limit to tags, so I will have to delete “photo” from every  uploaded image.

      If only Lightroom had thought about the need to compartmentalise keywords such as place names, or emotions, or peoples names, however this is a small price to pay for the ability to have the equivalent of Extensis custom fields, aide memoire etc .

    Merlin


    That’s very promising , though the custom fields are not hierarchical, so peoples names are not family based,

    However a hierarchy of WW2/RAF/Spitfire might be of use for Alamy though we also would have World War 2 and Royal Air Force as alternate spellings also needing to be applied which would see two parents at WW2 level and two at RAF level, getting tricky !

    Perhaps keyword aliases are what you are looking for in Lightroom. Keyword WW2 can have an alias of World War 2, and many other aliases; and these are treated to be the same keyword.

    So, as it applies not just the keyword Sir George Cobham OBE but also the hierarchy that gets to that name, I would need to set it up with some thought.

    As it needs a main heading from which the ‘custom fields’ are children and I wouldn’t need this to be allocated to the image's IPTC tags when uploaded to Alamy or Getty, I need to give it something meaningful, unless I think of anything better....

    I'm not following this at all. Please give specific examples of what you want to do.

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