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Hey "ProSumers"…how do you organize your library?

Permanently deleted user
I'm coming from Aperture (like many), and I'm learning that C1 can't really handle the "dump everything into a managed library, and use folders and albums to organize all my crap" method. At least for now.

So I'm going referenced. And I'm JUST using C1 w/ my Nikon D610 images. Both work, and personal.

So far I have many different folders, from different assignments/vacations/etc, I've dumped onto my drive from my SD card.

And I'm wondering how you guys/gals organize/separate your catalogs?

Maybe a vague question, so apologies. But I want to organize correctly from the beginning…so…I figured I'd ask here.

tia!

😎
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10 comments

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  • Permanently deleted user
    Hi,

    I have only one catalog for about 17000 files.
    I use "folders" and organize my pictures there in the same way as the HDD on which my pictures are stored (all referenced, then). And I have some user collections, most of them coming from my previous Lightroom catalog that I imported a year ago.
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  • fotojenic777
    Hi SnappyMcGee

    I import from sd card to a temp folder as I have multiple bodies and need to avoid clashing in camera filenames. Once all sd cards imported I mass rename within OS X to yyyy-mm-shootdescription-nnnn

    I then move all images to a new folder in the following structure

    Pictures
    -Aperture (stores old Aperture processed images)
    -Lr (stores Lr processed images)
    -COP
    --Referenced Masters
    --- Major Event
    ----Shoot Description
    ---Minor Event
    ----Shoot Description
    -Versions

    "Major Events" for me a holidays, "Minor Events" are say day trips.

    I then import from that new folder into COP.

    I then mirror that by creating a user collection album structure but can now add further albums, usually smart albums to rate, sift, purge images without physically duplicating them

    Once edited I output process the selected images to a similar folder structure under Versions. That way all versions no matter which software package I used to edit them are stored in the same top level folder.

    Finally I sync that top level folder to tablets etc.

    Have all 27k images in one catalog. COP doesn't deal with this very quickly but from a case I submitted and a bug found I'm hopeful of speed improvements in a coming release.
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  • EnderWiggins
    [quote="SnappyMcGee" wrote:
    I'm coming from Aperture (like many), and I'm learning that C1 can't really handle the "dump everything into a managed library, and use folders and albums to organize all my crap" method. At least for now.
    So I'm going referenced. And I'm JUST using C1 w/ my Nikon D610 images. Both work, and personal.

    I'm a bit suprised about your statement.

    I am also a "Prosumer" coming from Aperture and I use C1 exactly the same way as I used Aperture: I dump everything into the catalog and handle it all using folders, albums, smart albums and the library filter section.

    The only difference is that I switched from Apertures' "managed" mode to a "referenced" mode in C1, for two reasons only:
    1) I don't trust C1 enough compared to the rock solid Aperture, which never lost a single image of mine after 10 years of consecutive (managed) use
    2) I still want to access my pictures from Apertures' database

    C1 is not as sophisticated as Aperture when it comes to DAM functionality and philosophy, but so far it gets the job done.

    My C1 catalog basically mirrors more or less what I had in Aperture (minus a few missing pieces).
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  • Permanently deleted user
    [quote="EnderWiggins" wrote:
    The only difference is that I switched from Apertures' "managed" mode to a "referenced" mode in C1


    So I think we're saying the same thing, because I'm going referenced for the same reasons you are.

    What's your folder structure? You seem to still have ONE master (referenced) catalog, the only difference being it's referenced.

    I'd like to have one Catalog, too. But was thinking int would probably faster to split them up a bit.

    What's your "strategy" for organizing the raw folders on your HD?
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  • EnderWiggins
    [quote="SnappyMcGee" wrote:
    What's your folder structure? You seem to still have ONE master (referenced) catalog, the only difference being it's referenced.

    I'd like to have one Catalog, too. But was thinking int would probably faster to split them up a bit.

    Yes, it's all in one referenced catalog. I don't believe in splitting up catalogs/libraries, because this defeats the whole purpose of having a catalog! This would not be an issue, if tools would evolve that allow to open up several catalogs and still have a global search available, where you can find your assets among several databases, but I don't know a single application out there which makes this possible.

    I'm not a Pro, so my folder structure within C1 is basically separating my photography into my main areas of shooting: family (kids, vacations etc.) and Sports (Motorsports, American Football) are all groups at the top level.
    Every single event, let's say one vacation or one Motorsports race that I attended, is a project within this group. Within this project I have put all the pictures (and videos) inside an album and sometimes more than one (in Motorsports I like to separate between Pitwalks, Qualification, Race etc.).

    That's close to what I did in Aperture, which was in many ways more intelligent in all of this. You could for example click on a top level folder and see all the assets nested inside it and then drill down further. For reasons that are completely unknown to the people here in this forum, this so far has not hit the C1 developers in the head as a neat idea to realise.... 🙄

    [quote="SnappyMcGee" wrote:
    What's your "strategy" for organizing the raw folders on your HD?


    I'm pretty straightforward here: all RAW's are during import put into a folder structure which looks like this:
    Capture One Masters/Year/Month

    This happens automatically by use of the "Import to..." tokens in the import window of C1, so I don't need to worry about it at all.

    That's all.

    I think it's idiotic to use anything else but a date structure for your masters, because that's why you use a DAM in the first place, right? Put them into folders, where there is no confusion ever (the date and time of a picture is a constant and will never, ever change) and make extensive use of metadata tags and a SQL database to slice and dice your data cube inside the catalog.
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  • Permanently deleted user
    [quote="EnderWiggins" wrote:

    I think it's idiotic to use anything else but a date structure for your masters, because that's why you use a DAM in the first place, right? Put them into folders, where there is no confusion ever (the date and time of a picture is a constant and will never, ever change) and make extensive use of metadata tags and a SQL database to slice and dice your data cube inside the catalog.


    Yep. I use only a date structure in my pictures HDD and in my referenced catalog (same date structure).
    I tag and keyword as appropriate to ease filter research.
    The only problem I have is that I cannot allocate a correct capture date to my scanned old negatives. Lightroom could do that, but C1 doesn't, what I understand as the philosophy of EXIF is not to be changed.
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  • jlarocco
    I use one big catalog, split up with folders. All the RAW files are stored on an external drive and the catalog file is stored on my internal SSD.

    When I get home from shooting, I plug in my memory card and manually copy the new files onto the external drive. My organization is really bad on the HD, I split everything up by the numeric sequence in the file name.

    Next I import the new images into C1 and immediately create a new User Collection for them. I name them using a 2 or 3 word description and the date, like "Woods Quarry Hike, May 21, 2016". I also have a few folders like "Macro Testing" and "ISO Comparison" for screwing around, playing with lenses, etc.

    Unfortunately, that's about where my organizing stops. Occasionally I'll add keywords to a few images or create some smart collections. It's been on my todo list for a while to go through and add keywords, make some higher level smart collections, etc., but I inevitably put it off because it's so much work, or get side tracked tweaking some images and then forget about it.
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  • Permanently deleted user
    Maybe a dumb question…

    But can you still use C1 to organize your referenced files automatically?

    For instance, I don't shoot a lot at once. I tend to shoot a few shots a day, here and there, and then maybe go on vacation, etc, and get a whole bunch. But they're all on one SD card.

    So if I was to dump them onto a HD they would be a mess = 1 folder, with hundreds of RAW files, from different dates and different places.

    In Aperture (managed) I could dump them in, and everything was fine. It would automatically sort everything. And now that I'm EXPORTING all my stuff from Aperture, it exports everything neatly, based on my folder/file structure (which I kept very organized in Aperture).

    So…in other words…if i go REFERENCED is it 100% up to me to keep things organized in Finder? Or is there a way C1 can create a date-based Finder/folder structure, while still remaining "referenced?"
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  • EnderWiggins
    [quote="SnappyMcGee" wrote:

    But can you still use C1 to organize your referenced files automatically?

    So…in other words…if i go REFERENCED is it 100% up to me to keep things organized in Finder? Or is there a way C1 can create a date-based Finder/folder structure, while still remaining "referenced?"


    The answer is in the second part of my text above. Maybe you just read it again.

    In short: Yes, C1 can handle your referenced folder structure fully automated for you. The key is in the tokens you can choose within the import window. You only have to decide once how it should look like and C1 will dump your files in your folders without you having to worry about it one minute. That's the closest to using managed in Aperture.
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  • Permanently deleted user
    [quote="EnderWiggins" wrote:
    The answer is in the second part of my text above. Maybe you just read it again.


    Thanks. I was dropped on my head as a child, lol 😁
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