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tvandiver
tvandiver
Participant
January 29, 2019
Answered

I need to duplicate a photo. any ideas?

  • January 29, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 421 views

I shoot a lot of product photos and my LR library is divided up by product SKUs:

R0001X00-Blue

R0001X00-Green

R0002X00-Blue

R0002X00-Green

This way I can export my images based on the folder name and it keeps everything organized properly.

My problem is when I do a photoshoot, sometimes I capture an image that works for both "R0001X00-Blue" and "R0002X00-Blue".  So I need a way to take the image and put it in both folders so that they can be exported with the correct name based on the folder that they are in.

Any suggestions?  Am I organizing my library wrong?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer dj_paige

tvandiver  wrote

I shoot a lot of product photos and my LR library is divided up by product SKUs:

R0001X00-Blue

R0001X00-Green

R0002X00-Blue

R0002X00-Green

This way I can export my images based on the folder name and it keeps everything organized properly.

My problem is when I do a photoshoot, sometimes I capture an image that works for both "R0001X00-Blue" and "R0002X00-Blue".  So I need a way to take the image and put it in both folders so that they can be exported with the correct name based on the folder that they are in.

Any suggestions?  Am I organizing my library wrong?

One of the major benefits of Lightroom is that it overcomes the limitations of folders. Using keywords (preferably) or collections, you can have the same photo have two (or more) keywords, or belong to two (or more) collections. In addition, when you edit the photo, the appearance is updated for both keywords or both collections. Furthermore, then exporting by keyword, or exporting by collections, allows you to export to two different folders (if that's what you need).

If your organizing HAS TO use folders, not keywords and not collections (why?), and the same photos must be in two (or more) folders, then Lightroom is not the tool for you.

2 replies

dj_paige
dj_paigeCorrect answer
Legend
January 29, 2019

tvandiver  wrote

I shoot a lot of product photos and my LR library is divided up by product SKUs:

R0001X00-Blue

R0001X00-Green

R0002X00-Blue

R0002X00-Green

This way I can export my images based on the folder name and it keeps everything organized properly.

My problem is when I do a photoshoot, sometimes I capture an image that works for both "R0001X00-Blue" and "R0002X00-Blue".  So I need a way to take the image and put it in both folders so that they can be exported with the correct name based on the folder that they are in.

Any suggestions?  Am I organizing my library wrong?

One of the major benefits of Lightroom is that it overcomes the limitations of folders. Using keywords (preferably) or collections, you can have the same photo have two (or more) keywords, or belong to two (or more) collections. In addition, when you edit the photo, the appearance is updated for both keywords or both collections. Furthermore, then exporting by keyword, or exporting by collections, allows you to export to two different folders (if that's what you need).

If your organizing HAS TO use folders, not keywords and not collections (why?), and the same photos must be in two (or more) folders, then Lightroom is not the tool for you.

tvandiver
tvandiverAuthor
Participant
January 29, 2019

hmmm... that's good food for thought.  I had a suspicion that I might have been approaching my library organization the wrong way... but I just wasn't sure what a better method was.  Maybe I'll dig into Collections and keywords a little more.  Thanks for the advice.

dj_paige
dj_paige
Legend
January 29, 2019

Yes, and please ask questions if you have any.

I repeat that I prefer keywords to collections for basic organizing, there are more features available if you use keywords rather than collections.

cmgap
Community Expert
cmgapCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 29, 2019

Not sure if I understand your filing system entirely and that said I don't believe there is a way to automate what you' like to do easily. However it seems that you should be able to use color labels, pick flags or rating with stars to apply to an image(s) that work in more than one folder.

Are you working with collections an virtual copies? It may be an entirely different workflow than you are used to but using virtual copies to create duplicates of your images requires no additional storage space.

tvandiver
tvandiverAuthor
Participant
January 29, 2019

RE: Filing System - after my photoshoot I import the photos into the LR Library I separate them into different folders based on the type of product the photo.  For example, photo01.jpg, photo02.jpg, photo03.jpg and photo04.jpg might be for product "R0001X00-Blue" so I create a folder called "R0001X00-Blue" in my LR library.  Then when I export the photos, the export preset uses the folder name to rename the image so that it works with our ecommerce system - e.g. "R0001X00-Blue-01.jpg", "R0001X00-Blue-02.jpg", "R0001X00-Blue-03.jpg", "R0001X00-Blue-04.jpg".

but there are instances where an image ("photo01.jpg")works  for 2 different products (R0001X00-Blue & R0002X00-Blue) and I would like to be able to put the photo in both folders so that it exports out correctly.  The problem with virtual copies is that it won't allow me to put it in a different folder than the original master photo.

I use this LR library organization method because it helps me locate images of products more quickly than having them all in one massive folder.  I take thousands and thousands of images a year so organizing them in subfolders helps me keep my sanity.

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