Rearranging folder structure

The best way -and probably also the fastest way- is to forget about organising images in folders, and create a collection set / (smart) collections hierarchy like this. That means you will get the exact hierarchy you want, without having to move a single photo to another folder. Your images can remain in their current folders, because your folder hierarchy would be irrelevant.

I do not know if this is the "best way" but it is the method I would use.

If the [YEAR] folders do not already exist-

In Lr folder panel, Right-Click on your top parent folder in Lr (eg. Photos go here, Images, etc)

Choose [Create folder inside "parent folder" ]

Name it by "YEAR"  "2017"etc . Repeat for 2018, 2019...etc.

Now in the Lightroom Folder panel-

Select ALL the FOLDERS that begin with the year 2017 (eg. 2017-MM-DD Shoot Name)  (Ctrl+click each,  or Click first- Shift+click last)

Drag the selected FOLDERS to the YEAR folder. Repeat for each "Year".

This will move the folders from their current location into a parent YEAR folder.

Some suggest that moving large numbers of files in folders with Lightroom can be risky, so either use the method above for a few folders at a time, or another method often suggested is-

In the OS File Browser-

Create the YEAR folders,

In the File Browser- Copy the {YYYY-MM-DD Shoot Name} folders into the YEAR folder,

In Lightroom Relink the 'old' FOLDER location to the 'new' FOLDER location in the folder panel by-

Right-click on {YYYY-MM-DD Shoot Name} and choose [Update Folder Location] , selecting the copied folder under [YEAR].

Later you can delete the original folders.

This method means you will need to re-link every folder (not individual photos).

Some good info about organizing files and folders in the video at- https://laurashoe.com/2012/08/16/video-tutorial-organize-manage-photos-and-folders-in-lightroom/?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_…

And another from S.Kelby-

Move folders around in Lightroom |