Delete catalog along with all the files

[kate2kate]

Long story short all my photo's disappeared. Abobe customer service got them back but the whole thing is a mess. Over 3,000 photos all mixed up and some not edited anymore.

I want to start over. The pictures a really need had been exported and I have copies.

So I can I delete the entire thing without leaving files behind.

Thanks,

Kate

[JP Hess]

I assume you are referring to Lightroom Classic. Your images are not in the catalog, but rather in folders on your computer. The adjustments that you have made using Lightroom are not made to the image files, but rather are stored in the catalog you are using. If you are using a Mac go to the Lightroom menu and choose the option to create a new catalog, if using Windows it will be under the File menu. Choose a name that will be appropriate, and then Lightroom will create a new catalog that won't have any images imported. Then you can import from the folders that are already on your computer and begin editing those images again.

[kate2kate]

So to get rid of the old catalog and photo's I just got to the external hard drive an delete the photo's. I don't want to keep any of the pictures from the current catalog. And I don't want them to take up disk space.

I am on a Mac and I use Lightroom Classic.

[JP Hess]

If you really don't want to keep any of the images then you don't even need to create a new catalog. Just go to the Library module and choose all photographs in the left-hand panel and do a Cmd/A to select all of them and choose to delete them. When the choice is presented, choose to delete from disk, and you can start over.

Something to consider, however. Having copies isn't the same as having the originals. This is especially true if the original images are raw images and the copies are not. I seldom remove images from my catalog even if I don't think I'm going to need them in the future. There isn't any performance hit for keeping them. And one never knows when an old image might be needed in the future. It's your catalog and your images. You know what they are and their value. Your choice..

[kate2kate]

Most of my photos are pictures of bracelets for my business. I delete a lot of them beucase I play around with the light and background. Most of them are really old and I am replacing them on my website anyways. So if I really need a picture I make the bracelet and take one. 

If these were pictures of friends and family I would not delete them. Thank you so much for your help.

[Just Shoot Me]

You need to STOP and think about what you are doing before you accidentially Delete all your actual images.

As stated above there are no actuall images in the LR Catalog. It is just a Database file that holds a Record, a reference, to where your images are stored on the hard drives connected to your system and also what edits you might have done to them. 

Are these images Mixed Up on your hard drive? Open the File Manager that is included with the OS you are using, Explorer for Windows and Finder for Mac OS X, and look at where, the drive or drives, you store your images and see if the folder structure is still there.

[kate2kate]

I replied this to the gentleman above as well. Most of my photos are pictures of bracelets for my business. I delete a lot of them beucase I play around with the light and background. Most of them are really old and I am replacing them on my website anyways. So if I really need a picture I make the bracelet and take one. 

If these were pictures of friends and family I would not delete them I would be going through all the photos. Thank you so much for your help.

There are over 3,000 bracelet pictures and it is not really worth my time to pick through them if they are going to be replaced anyway. I really appreciate the reply.

[Just Shoot Me]

Then Have At It, DELETE Away.

If it is as you say, these images aren't all that important to you I'd delete them all and start fresh.

Best of luck to you.

[JP Hess]

I kind of understand the concern here. I had a friend bring me a bunch of product shots once. There really isn't a lot that can be done with them. It's just a matter of deciding which ones to use, sometimes a consideration of focus or lighting or whatever. This might seem like blasphemy, but I wonder if this type of work is really optimally suited for Lightroom. It might be better suited to look at hundreds/thousands of images in Bridge, for instance, and then just delete the ones you don't need without having to worry about the catalog. There is no right or wrong way. Just a thought.