What is the best way to take my LR assets with me when I travel?

[J Isner]

My Lightroom catalog and assets are currently on an internal hard drive array (RAID) of a Windows desktop computer.  I am about to travel with my laptop to workshop where I will be processing existing assets as well as creating new ones.  There is no way to know in advance which assets I'll need, so I need to take everything with me  What is the best way to do this?

The most straightforward way I can think of is to migrate everything  (catalog, photos) to an external hard drive and then take the drive together with my laptop when I travel.  When I get home, plug the hard drive into the PC and either (a) continue working seamlessly with the catalog and assets on the external drive or (b) migrate the catalog and assets from the hard drive back to the internal drive.   Both options have plus and minuses.  Is there a better, more foolproof way to do it?

[dj_paige]

Is there a better, more foolproof way to do it?

Unless you are willing to switch to the cloud-based Lightroom CC, the answer is NO. Those are the ways to do it.

[D.A.R]

If you have enough internal space on the laptop I would consider smart previews of your current assets. Id take an external drive for your new assets and again use smart previews so it doesn't need to be connected beyond import.

[J Isner]

D.A.R.

I think I understand your solution, at least to the halfway point.  On the PC, select the Pictures folder and "Export as catalog" (without negatives, with smart previews) to the laptop.   Attach a hard drive to the laptop and add it to the folders panel of the same catalog.  Import new photos into the hard drive folder, disconnecting after import (although I'm not sure this is necessary).  I can now make LR adjustments (create new xmp metadata), edit in Photoshop creating PSD's, etc. for both new and old files.

What I'm not clear about is what I do when I return home.  On my desktop PC, File -> Import from another catalog (with hard drive plugged in)?  Will that add the new files and merge changes to old files that I edited in LR?  By "merge changes," I mean new xmp metadata is merged with existing xmp metadata.

[john beardsworth]

If you use the smart previews idea, it can be simpler. Before you go away, generate as many smart previews as you need (ie the photos you may want to work on). Then copy the catalogue and the smart previews folder over to the laptop. When you return, copy the catalogue and the new photos back to your main computer. So no Export/Import from Catalog.

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[J Isner]

It would be great if I knew which photos I may want to work on.  But unfortunately I don't.  That's why I said "I need to take everything with me" in the OP.

[john beardsworth]

Then generate smart previews for them all? Or just guess.

I have a smart collection that finds photos without smart previews and that meet certain criteria - eg taken in the last year, or taken in the region I'm visiting, or have rating > 1. So I tweak the criteria as I need. If any photos are in this smart collection, I generate smart previews for them. It's better than a guess and more efficient that taking everything.