Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
or network storage. With the rate of advancements in disk drive systems and the
corresponding increase in image i le sizes it's important to create a cohesive plan for
your image library.
2
Plan to upgrade your storage system every 16-18 months or sooner as you collect
more images and as i le sizes increase.
Use dedicated disk drives for your image library
It's better to
not
store your image i les on your system disk. I recommend you store
your photos (and usually, your Lightroom catalogs) on disk drives used only for
that purpose. If you currently are storing your photos on a single internal disk, I
recommend you set up new drives to use only for your imaging work.
Whenever possible it's easiest to use just one large disk for your entire image
library. Fewer, larger disks are easier to manage than many small ones. A single
disk also provides for easier backups. As your library grows and your disks i ll to
capacity, I highly recommend transferring everything to larger drives.
External usb 2.0 or FireWire (ieee 1394) dr ives provide fast read/write times and
can be easily moved to another computer as needed.
Workgroup environment
h ere are situations that benei t from, or require, the use of image i les distributed
over multiple drives and network servers. Lightroom handles this with ease, but
with conditions. In a single Lightroom catalog, you can access image i les stored on
multiple disks and from network drives (though catalogs themselves must be on
local drives). h is is briel y discussed in Chapter 9; you can also search online for
more about sharing Lightroom catalogs in network environments.
NAMING YOUR IMAGE FILES AND ARRANGING THEM IN FOLDERS
Your image i les will be contained in folders, of whose structure you need to be
acutely aware. Before importing photos into Lightroom it's best to establish a
system for organizing your folders and i les on the hard drive. Otherwise, you're
likely to waste a lot of time looking for images, moving i les around, and wondering
which i le is what.
How we arrange and name our i les is one of the more subjective aspects of the
digital photography workl ow. While it stands to reason that you should use
a system that i ts your personal preferences and style of working, with all the
variables involved, following a few standard guidelines will make your system
easier to manage.
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