Step-by-Step Create New Catalog with Existing LR & New Imports

Hey, rafaeld40474899​, whatever you decide to do, make backups of everything before you start.

rafaeld40474899  wrote I am trying to identify how to create a 2nd LR Catalog. I did a good amount of reading and understand the potential hazards of having more than one LR Catalog. The reason for this is because I want to separate my personal photography from professional. Currently I have personal and professional images on my Catalog. Moving forward, I will refer to them as the ProCatalog (current catalog) & PersCatalog (new catalog). The PersCatalog will consist of images from the ProCatalog and images on an external HD. So there are two steps: (A) I want to permanently move all personal images from the ProCatalog to the PersCatalog and (B) import images from an external HD. Step B is easy since the images are not in LR. Note that the Catalogs will be located on completely separate external HDs. Below, I've listed the steps to create a new and separate Catalog. (1) File (2) New Catalog, identify location where the Catalog will be saved (3) Name the new Catalog, save (4) From here LR closes and opens with the new Catalog (which should be empty) (5) Importing      (5a) Importing photos (not in LR) is standard      (5b) How do you import/move images in the ProCatalog to the PersCatalog Could someone please fill in the steps on how to move images from the ProCatalog to the PersCatalog? Once I move them to the PersCatalog, I do not want them in the ProCatalog.

You can't "move" images from catalog to catalog.

Since the current state is that all images are in a single catalog file ... you duplicate that catalog file, just make a copy of it in your operating system, put it in a new folder and rename the copy to whatever you'd like. Now you have two identical catalogs (with different file names, in different folders).

Open the catalog you'd like to have your Personal photos, delete the professional photos from the catalog (but not from the hard disk).

Open the catalog you'd like to have your Professional photos, delete the personal photos from the catalog (but not from the hard disk).

Done.

Simply put, the safest way is to keep your current single catalog and related storage folders as they are (at least for a while, until you are confident things are OK), and create two fresh catalogs and related separate storage folder sets out of that.

Decide whether you want to continue with your current files location, for one of your two ongoing libraries (say, they will now become your "Pro" library). If so, then you will export-as-catalog-with-negatives selected "Pers" images onto a different drive, as below. Then you can either remove/delete unwanted images from what remains behind; or, you can export-as-catalog-without-negatives the wanted photos only.

Otherwise, you might first export-as-catalog-with-negatives the "Pers" images to one drive, [***as below***], then export-as-catalog-with-negatives the "Pro" images to another drive in the same way... accepting that some images may feature in both operations. And then you'd take your current catalog out of use, and in due course empty that - cleaning out the related images from wherever they currently are - and then delete this prior catalog.

[***Highlight all the images that you want in a different catalog. "Export as Catalog" supplying a brand new name and folder location on external drive X. Check (at least) the option "selected photos only".

If you also check "include negatives", LR makes a new set of folders inside the target location, as required in order to reflect the same relative arrangement that you currently see, so far as just those photos are concerned. And it copies those photos into there, and it creates a Catalog which has got them all already imported, organised and edited just the same as you currently see them in your single catalog. But fully independent of that.

If you do not check "include negatives" no photos are copied: the new Catalog shares your current images wherever they are, with your prior catalog. This new Catalog shows only those selected photos that you asked to be included. This is equivalent to saving a copy of the Catalog, opening it and then Removing unwanted photos***]

If I understand you right you will merge two catalogs in one.

Please take a look here :https://www.lightroomqueen.com/lightroom/catalogs/merging/

There are several articles about merging catalogs.