Best workflow for saving edits on a NAS?

[Feel Buoyed]

I have just bought the photography package and have never used Lightroom or Photoshop before. I am a mac user. I have saved some raw (tiff) files onto my desktop and want to be able to save the finished photo onto my NAS and for Lightroom to manage the library. It seems simple enough to import the file into lightroom make my adjustments and export the finished tiff file to the NAS. Am I right in thinking that if I now wish to edit further in Photoshop I can open the tiff from the NAS make any changes I want and then when finished just overwrite the file on the NAS or is it good practice/necessary to keep both the original lightroom file and the Photoshop file. If I keep both will Lightroom library track this. Obviously having no experience I want to start off the "right" way and ensure my libary is set up so I can go back to an early photo in either Lightroom or Photoshop and re-edit as I become more proficient. Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

[Lauca · Accepted solution]

This is not the correct workflow for what you want to accomplish.

In LR, you don't "save" the finished photo like in PS. Instead LR don't modify the original and save your edits in its database (the catalog). When you need the final image (to print, to end in a email, etc..) you "Export", asking LR to use the original and the settings to create a resulting image with the caracteristics (file format, dimension, etc...) coresponding to the usage of this image. Note that once used, you don't need to keep this resulting image because you can recreate it at any time by doing an Export again.

So my suggested workflow would be as follow:

1. Import the RAW in LR, asking LR to store the file on the NAS.
2. Do the edit you want in LR.
3. In LR, right click on the image and select "Edit in" then choose "Photoshop". This will ask LR to call PS and give it the image with all the LR edits. If your original is a RAW, LR will ask for the format to use and create a copy that will be passed to PS.
4. Do your edits in PS.
5. Once finished, click "Save" in PS. This will update the copy passed by LR to PS and these changes will automatically reflected in LR.

[Feel Buoyed]

Many thanks for the clear explanation, I see now.

[Franxperience]

Hi, LR works with a database with linked images. If you want an image added to this database the image should be in a folder known by LR. Then right click the folder and choose synchronize folder. From then on LR knows the images and changes on the file are recognized. When a new version is saved or moved from outside LR synchronization is needed again. When you edit a picture in PS when selected from LR (right click => edit in PS) then LR creates a tiff and the result of ps is brought back into LR. It needs some studying.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn iPad

[Feel Buoyed]

Thanks for your help, I think i've got it now.

[Just Shoot Me]

Actually using the Synchronize Folder option should NOT be used on a regular basis.

You should not be constantly adding image files to the same folder, although you can, and if you chose to do that do it using the IMPORT feature to both copy the files from your cameras memory card and place them into that same folder and add them to the LR Catalog file (the LR Database file) at the same time.

Or using the OS File manager to copy them froom a memory card into that same folder and then use the Import option to ADD New files to the LR Database file (IE the Catalog File).

Many times we get posts about how the Synchronize feature has screwed up. So it is best to not use it at all.

I suggest to the Original Poster that he/she view some of the extemely good video tutorials on the Adobe Help system to learn how LR works and how to Properly work with LR.

That will save you many headachs.

[Feel Buoyed]

Thanks I have indeed been viewing a bunch of youtube so I can have Lightroom open at the same time and "click" along with the process. I am thoroughly enjoying it but want to make sure that I building a solid foundation hence me original question. 

[dj_paige]

Never overwrite your original images!

[gary_sc]

Let me also add to Lauca that you will probably be doing 95% or greater of your edits in LR. You only need to go into PS if you want to remove an object bigger than a plane in the sky or change the perspective in a cropping*, etc. As far as making the image look better, you have pretty much all you need right in LR.

There are many other examples for things that are best done in PS but these will come to you with experience.

* (in Photoshop there is cropping an image and there's Perspective cropping. Let's say you are at a museum and you've taken a photo of a painting. But you took that photo at an angle and want to get that looking square, you can't do that in LR and need to go into PS to sqare the painting using Perspective cropping.

[Feel Buoyed]

Thanks, I agree Lightroom will be the main focus for me. I just wanted to ensure that I was passing the file between that and Photoshop correctly.

[hans_christian_LRCC_user]

Ref. your example of a painting, I assume filling most of the photo, but not being square: I use the "Transform" in LRC and first try "AUTO" and in most cases I find this 2 click solution works fine. Else there are manual sliders. However, when I have stitched a panorama of an interior and small pieces are missing and the perspective is grossly overdone (after PTgui Pro stitching): I let PS add the remaining bits and also remove irrelevant persons using "Generative fill" with a feather of the selection slightly larger than the object. Then I use the "Adaptive Wide Angle" tool to carefully adjust perspective, which is quite time consuming but makes a world of a difference. So: simple transforms done in LRC. Complex stuff in PS on 16 Bit Tiff Pro Photo RGB files as recommended by Adobe. All image files and sidecar files on a 22TB raid 0 on my stationary PC. Databases on solid state. Both backed up to my NAS using the tool from the NAS manufacturer. Power on UPS, since we have tiny cuts about every month and I don't want the backup process to get screwed up due to a powercut. Why? Because a tiny 0.5 sec powercut will reset the network. Have fun! I find PS really hard to learn however. Piximperfect on YouTube has great tutorials.

[T68203159]

so i too am a new user for a short while now and it seems a bit like you too started out wanting to use PS being torn between trying to figure out PS and LR....  I bought PS and LR books and proceeded to get throughly confused trying to learn 2 methods.  I ultimately choose to focus on LR classic and the little i know seems like you are talking about a lot of dangerous unnecessary steps for a newcomer - if it were me that is - on all the importing / exporting / syncing /and using PS at the same time.

Adobe has a lot of great videos for both if you choose, youtubes, etc.  I also got TheLightRoomQueen book which is very good i think for LR Classic which i now focus on.  You can still go back and forth, but thats not for me on a regular way - LR is very powerful in itself i find and i so far do not need PS for me. 

[Feel Buoyed]

Yes it is a little daunting and I am keen to ensure I dont make a mistake in setup that will cause me a big problem down the line. I looked up the Lightroomqueen and found their forum. Thanks

[hans_christian_LRCC_user]

1. Edit the raw file in LR - if happy export to jpg and upload to my destination on FB or google photos

2. If more needs to be done in photoshop: right click on image in LR and choose: "Edit a copy with LR adjustments in PS". Set the default file format to be used as 16 bit Tiff ProPhoto RGB

3. When done in PS press "save" and close the image in PS. You will now see both your raw file and the tiff in LR.

Important question: so where are the files on my disk? Well I have chosen "import by date" so they are put in separate folders for each day. Editing files in photoshop does not change the original date that LR uses, so no worries there.

4. A simple backup to an external HD can be made by copying the entire tree with the name of the LR project at the top.

Remember to delete backups first until the latest couple of backups.

This file tree solution allows me to use the file manager to copy e.g. a photo from a phone into whatever folder I like, and then use the "add" import in LR to refer it to the Adobe LR database. I choose to enable "sidecar" files, that contain all the edits and LR info. In this way a backup of just a photo and its sidecar is the minimum required to know all about the photo.

Some YouTubers think storage by date is silly. They store by event name. The many possibilities are what is confusing and potentially dangerous, i.e. the danger of loosing a file. So I would recommend making a database "Test" and importing a few dozen files and experiment away before settling into a fixed workflow.

By the way LR can interface with any other editor, that can read a tiff file using the export function and pointing LR to the other app. However I find that after editing in some apps, I need to import/add the photo in LR (stitching using PTgui Pro), whereas other apps like Topaz Denoise & Topaz sharpen - the "add" step is not necessary.