naming advice needed

[elliotjnewman]

here is my current idea for structure:

country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/

inside here I have the raw files, and these folders:

JPEG/
pano/
print/
psd/
TIFF/
web/

The numbers at the end of the above directory describe the folder that the original camera created, I shoot with a Canon and use in-camera folders all the time to help me split shots up throughout the day. I shoot panoramic landscapes so this is especially helpful in determining one group of panoramic images from the next. An example of this structure would go something like this:

uk_london/01022009_01/
uk_london/01022009_02/
uk_london/01022009_03/

etc...

the file name structure is as follows:

country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/
ctry_loc_ddmmyyyy_##_hhmmss.dng

country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/psd/
ctry_loc_ddmmyyyy_##_hhmmss-hhmmss.psd   
ctry_loc_ddmmyyyy_##_hhmmss.psd     

country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/TIFF
ctry_loc_ddmmyyyy_##_hhmmss.tif

country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/pano
ctry_loc_ddmmyyyy_##_hmmss-hhmmss.pts

country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/print
ctry_loc_ddmmyyyy_##_hhmmss-hhmmss_30x8_digilab.tif   
ctry_loc_ddmmyyyy_##_hhmmss_10x8_ilford.tif     

country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/copyright
ctry_loc_ddmmyyyy_##_hhmmss-hhmmss_cp.jpg
ctry_loc_ddmmyyyy_##_hhmmss_cp.jpg

country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/web
ctry_loc_ddmmyyyy_##_hhmmss-hhmmss_web.jpg
ctry_loc_ddmmyyyy_##_hhmmss_web.jpg

country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/JPEG
any file name goes here!

I'm still trialling this convention, the two things that I have an issue with is the date format is hard to read, and the way I shoot to camera created folders - I cannot for the life of me get ImageIngester or LR or Aperture to import and maintain the folders the camera shot, whilst renaming them to the above convention, so for now I stick with a manual bridge + PTgui + photoshop workflow.

I have a fairly big archive, so any comments would be great before I go in and rename all my files! Plus does anybody know how to create all of these conventions automatically? or with a macro in the above image cataloguing apps? Maybe shooting to camera created folders is not the best idea...

Also... whats the maximum number of raw images per folder before it becomes too many? what is everyones experience here?

Cheers.

[peterkrogh]

Elliot,
For me, the country/location in the filename would be problematic, since I frequently have cards that are shot in several locations. If you are very disciplined about changing cards, then this would work okay.

As to the directory structure, I'm generally uncomfortable with the idea of mixing original and derivative, since that leads to backup systems where all files are synced from primary to backup (this has a relatively high probability of eventually propagating an error from primary to backup.)  As long as you understand and accept the risk, then I'm okay with your decision.

Peter

[elliotjnewman]

Hi Peter

So are you suggesting something like this:

raw/country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/
JPEG/country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/
pano/country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/
print/country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/
psd/country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/
TIFF/country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/
web/country_location/ddmmyyyy_##/

?

Yes, I have also come into the issue of shooting multiple locations on the same card, but that is why I create folders in the camera. Like I was saying, I would love to automate the ingestion of these folders into my naming hierarchy, but I can't get any of the apps out there to inherit them and rename them, so I do it manually but that's a side issue.

I thought it would be a good idea to inherit the directory structure in the file name, so if at any one time my files get moved around, I can track back to the original location by just looking at the file name, and in the same way if I am looking at/working on a file I know where it came from by simply looking at the file name. Not sure what people think about that.