Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers - Martin Evening [77]
In the Lightroom Import Photos dialog you have similar options to those found in Photo Downloader, such as the ability to make backups, rename the files and apply basic metadata information. But in addition to this you have the option to apply develop settings and add custom keywords on import. You can also use the Import Photos dialog to report suspected duplicate files and prevent these from being re-imported. This can be useful if you happen to reuse a card and forgot to delete the photos that had been downloaded previously. Above all, Lightroom 3 (which at the time of writing is available as a public beta) now offers a brand new import dialog which makes the import process even more streamlined.
After the files have been imported into Lightroom, the imported images will appear listed in the Folders panel of the Library module. This displays all the images that have been imported so far using the same disk volume and hierarchy structure as the folders that are found in the system folder organization (see Step 4 on page 151). Moving files or folders in Lightroom is like moving files or folders at the system level (or via Bridge), except you must use Lightroom to do the moving. If you do this outside Lightroom, you can end up breaking the links to your master images, and this will be indicated by a ‘?’ mark in Lightroom. One of the main features of Lightroom is that Develop module edits in Lightroom are applied in the form of metadata instructions (just like Camera Raw) and the master image originals are always preserved. To open pictures from Lightroom into Photoshop, you need to create an Edit-copy of the master image (with or without Lightroom adjustments) for editing in Photoshop, just as you would when opening a file from Bridge. The Edit-copy files are then saved back to the folder they came from and added to the Lightroom catalog.
Importing photos via Lightroom 3
1.
The Lightroom 3 preferences are accessed via the Lightroom menu (Mac) or Edit menu (PC). If you check the ‘Show import dialog when a memory card is detected’ option (circled), Lightroom automatically launches the Import Photos dialog each time a card is inserted.
2.
This shows the Import Photos dialog. Here, you can quickly scroll through the thumbnails of the images you are about to import and choose which ones to include in the import.
3.
If importing from a camera card, the quickest option is to select the ‘Copy’ option shown here. Alternatively, you can select ‘Copy as DNG’. This makes a duplicate copy of all the images that are on the memory card and converts them to the DNG format.
In the File Handling panel we have the Render Preview options. Choosing ‘StandardSized Previews’ may slow down the import process since it forces Lightroom to render previews of the images before displaying them in Lightroom. ‘Minimal’ is a much faster option, while Embedded & Sidecar files makes immediate use of previews that may already be embedded in the files that are to be imported. As mentioned on page 148, checking ‘Don't Import Suspected Duplicates’ is a good idea as it can help prevent you accidentally importing files twice. You can also check the ‘Make a Second Copy To:’ option and choose a folder to store backups of the files as they are imported.
The File Renaming panel makes use of file renaming templates such as the one shown in Figure 3.9 . Here, you can enter custom text for use in the file renaming plus set a start number for the numbering sequence.
In the Apply During Import panel you can apply a pre-created Develop setting (such as a Lightroom/Camera Raw image adjustment) at the import stage. Copyright and contact information can be added by selecting a pre-created metadata template from the Metadata menu. Custom keywords can be used to add information that relates specifically to the image collection you are about to import. As you type in the first