naming folder conventions for pre-existing content?

[Greg Koch]

Hi, gang (and most especially Peter).

In going through Peter's book, v2, I am coming up with a few questions.  I'm trying to retrofit my images to his/your DAM workflow but am having a couple of issues.

1. Am I to assume that the file structure in the book corresponds to chronologically-place image folders?  In other words, were the images in RAWBLU_001 shot before those in RAWBLU_002, or can I just drag existing folders in each willy-nilly, provided I've named/tagged/valued them appropriately?

2. Since my existing folder structure (Win 7) is currently sorted by subject and labeled by date within those subjects, how would I best fit these into Peter's structure?  Do I just go back to my earliest folder, by shoot date, then drop that folder into my RAW and Working folders as necessary?  Did I miss something in the folder-structure sections that explain the best way to do this?

My concern is that the DAM workbook seems geared more toward folks who want to create a DAM going forward than for folks seeking to add a DAM workflow to pre-existing imagery.  I know the principles can be applied either way, but I'd sure love to hear from folks (or Peter) about how to handle 130k+ photos already in a library.  To say I'm overwhelmed by the process would be a Herculean understatement.

Thanks!

-Greg

[johnbeardy]

You're right about point 1, partly because it's rather assumed that you would naturally start at the beginning and add new images to 001, 002 etc - effectively your going-forward suspicion.

Whenever I encounter a legacy file structure such as yours, I urge the person to get things ship-shape from now on. So follow the DAM system with new work and you're soon gaining confidence with whatever software you're using, and with the bucket system (particularly finding images after they're in a less subject-based folder structure).

That makes the thought of tackling the legacy structure less daunting, but it also lets you put off any decision about whether to restructure or leave alone. If you do decide to "bucketise" it all, you'll be be experienced with the tools to make it easier, or you may judge that it's not worth the effort and you're better off getting the old structure into LR / EM and adding keywords and other metadata.

John

[Greg Koch]

Hi, John.  Thanks for the reply.  I'm already in the process of keywording/metatizing the legacy images using Bridge (I just can't find it in myself to accept Lightroom, though--something about that program really bugs) and Expression.  And I already have a good backup system in place, so I'm not worried about losing anything at the moment.  I'm just looking for complete organization (I'm a freak that way).

Still, I understand what you're saying about setting things up for the going-forward scenario so as to learn how to do it.

In the end, I'm going to put everything in buckets come hell or high water.  I love having folder hierarchies, but I can't abide clicking on sub-folder after sub-folder after sub-folder (e.g., if I'm looking for an image of a wolf, it's under Wildlife>Mammals>Carnivores>Canids>Wolves).

For crying out loud, when will Microsoft brings to market their new MindReader 1.0?   

Thanks again,
Greg

[Greg Koch]

[Edit to my last reply.]

John, let's say I wanted to defy convention and buck all trends by tackling the legacy files before going forward.  Any beginner's advice beyond "Don't!"?

Thanks!

-Greg

[johnbeardy]

Army helmet and body armour? Seriously, review your backup before beginning? If a crash happened while you're in the middle of this, how would you (and could you) get back to where you are now? There are some tools that may help. Lightroom's import can split by date. There's a program called Bucketiser from Nick Rains which builds the buckets. Maybe ImageIngester could automate it?

In each case, do a dry run first, and check that the metadata comes along for the ride. It would be all too easy to move all the files about and then find EM or LR has the metadata but record the old file location, so you're now into remarrying the metadata and the files. Where you can, embed / sync / save the metadata back into the files themselves.

But if all these permutations seem a bit daunting, maybe it's better to wait until you're ready - by which time you may decide it's not worth the effort.

John

[Greg Koch]

Body armor?  Okay, maybe this is going to be tougher than I'd thought. 

...So, I totally get what you're saying.  I guess I was really just looking for some hand-holding and/or an entry point into the process of attacking legacy.  I'm pretty comfortable with the principles you laid out, but still have (at least) one question:

1. Can I convert my originals to DNGs and then add meta/keywords, or should I finish doing all of that with the RAW files before converting?  In other words, do I need to convert and revert every time I want to make a change to a DNG, or are they as easy to work with as any other type of file?

Thanks again,
Greg

[peterkrogh]

Greg,
My buckets are not chronological *by date shot* but, rather, *by date archived*.

Basically, I put stuff away once I'm ready to, regardless of what has gone before.

For instance, I have images that are from February that are still in my working folder.  These are travel images, and low priority for processing and archiving.  On the other hand, I have jobs that were proofed, delivered, and Master files created.  These are definitely ready for archive, and get put away once I have a Blu-ray disc's worth.

The catalog software will take care of putting htem in date order.

The one time I pay attention to this is at the end of the year. I like to get everything from on year into a bucket before I start to archive stuff from the next year.  I do this because I split my catalogs by year, and I want that split to coincide with a bucket.
Peter

[Greg Koch]

Thanks, Peter.  That makes sense.  I'm going to ruminate a bit on all this.

-Greg

[Sossity Corby]

Greg,
My buckets are not chronological *by date shot* but, rather, *by date archived*.

Basically, I put stuff away once I'm ready to, regardless of what has gone before.

For instance, I have images that are from February that are still in my working folder.  These are travel images, and low priority for processing and archiving.  On the other hand, I have jobs that were proofed, delivered, and Master files created.  These are definitely ready for archive, and get put away once I have a Blu-ray disc's worth.

The catalog software will take care of putting htem in date order.

The one time I pay attention to this is at the end of the year. I like to get everything from on year into a bucket before I start to archive stuff from the next year.  I do this because I split my catalogs by year, and I want that split to coincide with a bucket.
Peter

I see the advantage to this, as I sometimes find images on a memeory card that I may have forgot to download, & I am faced with going back & reburning a bucket to refelct the new dated content.

But I have set up my originals bucket system chronologically, with over 50 raw buckets so far, & am faced with this now, finding some originals & inserting them in earlier buckets. Should I change my buckets from now on to go by date archived?

right now mine are; Originals 01

Raw_001
A folder with photos taken on 1-1-11 I have it labeled 2011_01_01_with a brief description of contents
then another folder with photos taken on 1-5-2011 and have it labeled 2011_01_05_with another brief description & so on in chronological order until I read a cutoff DVD size limit before making the next raw folder.

this is how I have them set up now, should I keep with this or change to a more flexible by archive date? it would feel weird changing horses in mid stream, as I have read that consistency is key. Or does it matter if I switch to the archive date?

Although I may adopt this for my derivatives files.

Sossity

[markpirozzi]

"right now mine are; Originals 01

Raw_001"


You are using both Originals XX and Raw_XXX folders?

Mark

[Sossity Corby]

"right now mine are; Originals 01

Raw_001"


You are using both Originals XX and Raw_XXX folders?

Mark

Yes, I am, I am doing it in the same manner as you & peter, with a folder for originals_001, & then subsequent buckets, starting with Raw_001 & on down to Raw_050

Sossity