Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Hi,
I am considering Lightroom to take over from Extensis Portfolio 8 (dropped by Extensis) for keywording photos.
Extensis allowed creation of custom fields, so peoples names, townVillage, animal, Bird etc could then be populated with keywords to act as a safety feature to ensure the same spelling was used each time by simply selecting the images then the keywords from the custom fields before clicking assign.
Searching for the name that was used for someone, when you cant remember their name, or a location when memory fails one, is dead easy in a list e.g. 28 long, but crazy in a list 2000 long of just keywords.
How is this done in Lightroom ?
Also how does one select e.g 5 keywords from existing lists and apply them to several images ?
How does one select certain keywords from the lists and find matching pics on two or more keywords ?
All essential and possible in what was a great prog Portfolio, but now lost to time.
Can Lightroom import the keywords from images if I were to embed them into such in Portfolio ? I presume they would all come in as one great uncategorised mass, needing separating out to the 'custom fields' again.
Can Lightroom embed keywords and a description into IPTC for images for transfer to Getty etc ?
Merlin
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Lightroom has a keyword search field, where if you're not sure of the exact spelling, or you don't want to scroll through hundreds (thousands) of keywords, you can tyype in the first 3 or 4 letters and Lightroom will show you only those keywords that match what you typed.
Select 5 keywords and apply to multiple photos: I can think of two ways to do this, and there are probably more. Select all desired photos, then apply the keywords; or use the painter to "paint" keywords onto individual photos.
Find photos that have two (or more) keywords: use the Lightroom Filter Bar. Or create a smart collection.
Lightroom can write metadata (including keywords) to exported files for use in other software or for use by recipients of your photos.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Hi,
Thanks, sounds promising.
Am I right in thinking though that it has no ability to split the keywords up into 'custom fields' ?
If I am wishing to give 'emotion' keywords for example, seeing the different 'emotion' keywords listed together reminds me of what I have used and can use, ensuring also I spell them a certain way and stick to the existing used keywords. Such acts as an 'aide memoire', else I am very likely to forget some I have used which would be most appropriate.
Whilst the typing of the first few characters will show the keyword used, and that's good, to have all keywords of a certain category visible together in a 'custom field' makes for a more efficient and comfortable feel to things. Msoft Access users will be familiar with such practices, Lightroom for this DAM purpose and Access share an approach here for finding files/records by entering existing values.
Merlin
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Give a specific example, please.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
The keyword list can be a hierarchy. You could have the "emotion" keywords all be children of the "emotion" parent, for instance.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Hi,
here is an example, to see this visually would be good if one can post a screenshot as a picture speaks a thousand words.
Keywords (our general main list)
Airshow
2016
2017
Wheel
Road
Window
Custom Field_emotion
happy
Tranquil
Majestic
Romantic
Nostalgic
Custom Field_names
Harry
Fred
Sir George Cobham OBE
Ltn Fritz Eros
Malcolm Tanner
Custom Field_CityTownVillage
Canterbury
Shoreham_Sussex
Shoreham_Kent
Elham
Guildford
Obviously there would be thousands in the general main list and far more in the custom fields or whatever Lightroom calls them.
Please show how this would be created.
Cheers
Merlin
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Hi,
That’s very promising , though the custom fields are not hierarchical, so peoples names are not family based,
However a hierarchy of WW2/RAF/Spitfire might be of use for Alamy though we also would have World War 2 and Royal Air Force as alternate spellings also needing to be applied which would see two parents at WW2 level and two at RAF level, getting tricky !
So, as it applies not just the keyword Sir George Cobham OBE but also the hierarchy that gets to that name, I would need to set it up with some thought.
As it needs a main heading from which the ‘custom fields’ are children and I wouldn’t need this to be allocated to the image's IPTC tags when uploaded to Alamy or Getty, I need to give it something meaningful, unless I think of anything better....
Right click that and choose Create New Keyword inside “Photo”
Type the word Names,
Then create my names within this,.
Harry
Fred
Sir George Cobham OBE
Ltn Fritz Eros
Malcolm Tanner
Then right click “photo” choose Create New Keyword inside “photo”
Type the word Emotion
Then create my emotion terms within this
happy
Tranquil
Majestic
Romantic
Nostalgic
This leaves me with a ‘tag’ called Photo that is a waste of a tag for e.g. Alamy, where there is a finite limit to tags, so I will have to delete “photo” from every uploaded image.
If only Lightroom had thought about the need to compartmentalise keywords such as place names, or emotions, or peoples names, however this is a small price to pay for the ability to have the equivalent of Extensis custom fields, aide memoire etc .
Merlin
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
That’s very promising , though the custom fields are not hierarchical, so peoples names are not family based,
However a hierarchy of WW2/RAF/Spitfire might be of use for Alamy though we also would have World War 2 and Royal Air Force as alternate spellings also needing to be applied which would see two parents at WW2 level and two at RAF level, getting tricky !
Perhaps keyword aliases are what you are looking for in Lightroom. Keyword WW2 can have an alias of World War 2, and many other aliases; and these are treated to be the same keyword.
So, as it applies not just the keyword Sir George Cobham OBE but also the hierarchy that gets to that name, I would need to set it up with some thought.
As it needs a main heading from which the ‘custom fields’ are children and I wouldn’t need this to be allocated to the image's IPTC tags when uploaded to Alamy or Getty, I need to give it something meaningful, unless I think of anything better....
I'm not following this at all. Please give specific examples of what you want to do.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
I want to create 'custom fields' (to use the Extensis Portfolio term rather than whatever Lightroom might call it) from which to select keywords,
these custom fields are named :-
Emotions,
Names,
Aircraft Type,
car type,
TownsVillages,'
Birds,
mammals,
they have no hierarchy but are more typical of what keyword sets real world people would want to make, rather than set out to create hierarchical keyword sets as Lightroom would have us do.
When I have a photo of a majestic looking Hurricane aircraft with someone I keep forgetting the name of sitting in a vintage car next to it, I open the 'custom field' called aircraft , from the keyword list inside, I select the aircraft type, Hurricane, and assign it to the photo, I then need to find the name of the person, so rather than scroll through 1000's of keywords in just a standard keywords list trying to see a name that reminds me of who it is, taking 10 minutes or more, I open my 'custom field' called names and see their name in a list of 100, taking seconds., I select it and assign it to the photo. I then open my 'custom field' called emotions and select the word majestic and assign that ! I then open my custom field called car type and easily spot the car type I had otherwise forgotten the name of, saving me 10 mins or more and much scrolling through 1000's of keywords to try and spot it, and assign that.
My way 10 secs to keyword a photo, without custom fields, 20 mins spent.
To create these 'custom fields' I am told Lightroom can add these but as hierarchy sets, so I first need to have a keyword ( I have chosen to use 'Photos') which I then right click on and choose Create new keyword inside , I type Emotions, then I can add emotion keywords into that 'emotions' custom field , and so I need a keyword from which to generate these 'custom fields', I elected to use the word 'photo' and then right click on it, choose Create New Keyword Inside and type aircraft type, do this again and type names., and again type emotions.
I now have:-
Photos...and within this keyword I have...
names
emotions
aircraft types
and each of these 'custom fields' has a load of keywords inside. ( see previous post for these expanded)
Not sure how else I can describe this. I am doing what the link to hierarchy method has us do.
Merlin
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
But you can have a hierarchy called Names and another hierarchy called Emotions and another hierarchy called aircraft types, I don't see why you think you'd have to scroll through 1000s of keywords just to get to Aircraft Types. There's no way this would take 20 minutes in Lightroom.
so I first need to have a keyword ( I have chosen to use 'Photos')
No, you don't need a "Photos" keyword. If I am understanding you properly, a "Photos" keyword is totally pointless. I don't have one.
There's no doubt that setting this up could take some time. Once it is set up, then you can keyword your photos in maybe 10 seconds, as in your example.