Is there a workaround?

You can work around this limitation with a feature that is built in called synchronize folders.

First steps for success

You need to go through the steps I recommend for setting up the program.

Lightroom Preferences Settings

Lightroom Catalog Settings

The main thing is that you have the write changes into xmp checked.  Using the DNG format also improves your success.  Adobe has some information on their site if you need more information.

Making it Work

Although the database cannot be shared in Lightroom, you can have pictures placed anywhere on the network.  So imagine that there is a folder that has all the images from 2010.  Also imagine that there are Lightroom catalogs on two different computers called Catalog 1 and Catalog 2.

Scenario:

1. Computer 1 imports the images in the 2010 folder calling its Lightroom catalog “Catalog 1.”
2. Computer 2 imports the images in the 2010 folder calling its Lightroom catalog “Catalog 2.”
3. Computer 1 makes some changes to the RAW files that are (preferably) stored as DNG.
4. Computer 2 will see the updates when the preview is refreshed or rebuilt.

As long as no files are added to the folder, both catalogs will see the update.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When importing files, do not move them to a new location or rename them.  If you do, the other catalog will lose touch with them.

But I WANT to add files to the folders. Who doesn’t?  So now what.

The magic synchronize folder trick.

I suggest right clicking on a parent folder for this step.  When you click on this, you get an option box.

I highly suggest you check the “show import dialog before importing” box.  Otherwise, it will automatically import the photos. You also have the option of apply presets and applying keywords as well.

Feel free to offer comments and criticisms in the comments section. Thanks for reading.

One word on tethering.  You do not get to see a preview on the back of the camera because it is not writing to the card.  If you thought you didn’t look at the back of the camera all that much – wait until you use this and you will miss it.

Speed improvements and the addition of a stable video option is going to really affect how I use the program day to day.  Though I don’t do a ton of video, it will really add that convenience of keeping track of client video files when I do take them.

Slideshow preview rendering is a another nice little bonus.  I have to be honest. I don’t sell with Lightroom nor do I think that it is really strong in this area.  But there are times where showing a slideshow in necessary.  In LR1 and LR2 you had to remember to render the previews of the images before you hit play or it would hang up or stall.  Now LR3 will not even start the show until it has the necessary previews rendered.

The goal here at JustAskLester is to get beyond the press release and the incredible detail to get to what matters to me as a portrait photographer.

For those who just need to have detail information on this release, you can visit on of the following links:

• Lightroom Queen: http://www.lightroomqueen.com/blog/2010/03/23/whats-new-in-lightroom-30-beta2/
• Adobe Blogs: http://lightroom-blog.com/2010/03/lightroom-3-beta-2.html

This will help Lightroom run well and play nice with other RAW readers (Bridge, PS, etc.)

Please leave comments with questions you may have about my choices.

NOTE: This applies to Lightroom 2.6 and it is designed by a portrait photographer for portrait photographers.

Please leave comments below if you have any questions about my choices.

Here are the Catalog Settings

The first method is to first select the images which you are going to apply the keyword.  Click on the image of one of the selected images and drag it to a keyword.  This is a rather redundant way to apply keywords to an image since you could just check the box.  In Lightroom 1.0, there was no little box next to the keyword to check and this was an efficient method.  However, with the addition of the checkbox, Adobe has left this feature in for the two people out there who will still use it over the better designed checkbox.

The second method is one that I use to check and modify keywords on an image.   Right under the Keywording heading in the Library module, you can see a box that contains all the keywords that are applied to an image or a series of images.  Here I often delete keywords from a series of images rather than add them, but you can do both.

Warning:  If you are in grid mode (hit the g key while in the library module), you will apply it to all selected images.  If you are in loupe view (where you only see a single image), you will only affect the image that is showing regardless of whether or not you have multiple images selected.

When to Use:  Skip using the drag and drop method for anything other than impressing friends with all the ways you know how to add keywords in Lightroom.  Use the Keyword box method to check on and modify keywords. As to the second method, because it is easy to make errors and typos, I prefer to use this as a check and the occasional deletion.

Sample Use:  I often accidentally apply an incorrect keyword to a group of images.  So I will keyword them all properly and then with all the images selected, I will delete the keywords that I do not want.

Article Index for Keywording

Part I – Why Keyword in the First Place and Adding on Import

Part II – The Checkbox Method (my favorite)

Part III – Using the Customized Sets (a wedding photographers dream)

Part IV – The Paint Can

Part V – Click and Drag and Manual Entry

The other option is to use the keyboard shortcut (ctrl – alt – K).  Once you pick up the paint can, you enter the keywords that you want to paint on the images.  You can enter multiple words by separating them with a comma.  Existing keywords will be suggested.

Once they are set, just click the mouse on the images that you want to “paint” the keywords on.  You can paint multiple images by holding down the left mouse button and spraying over several images.  Spraying them a second time removes the keyword (you will notice the can turns into an eraser.)

Warning:  Spray painting in real life is not a way to paint things precisely.  Spray painting in Lightroom can be equally as messy.  Be careful.

Why stop there?  You can paint several things onto images.  In Lightroom 2.2, you can paint keywords, labels, flags, ratings, metadata, settings, rotation, and target collections.  This opens up a whole bunch of possibilities.  Nearly all of them I haven’t thought of yet!

When to Use:  This is best used when you have to apply keywords to images that are spread throughout a collection.

Sample Use:  In our weddings we keyword every image that has the groom in the image and every image that has the bride in the image.  So we load up the paint can with bride and then after spraying those images, we spray the images with groom loaded up.

This is post three that I have been discussing this. I will be honest. I sat down to type a simple post about how to apply keywords using the keywords suggestion panel and then I realized how many different ways that I apply keywords to images.

So here we are – post three.

Today’s method is for all the wedding photographers out there. Weddings in Lightroom are made for those who love to organize things. In other words, my wife. She is very good at keywording weddings. Think about how many things that could be labeled in Lightroom. You could label before the ceremony, ceremony, reception, rings, flowers, each venue, each church. . . You get the idea.

Lightroom 2 has both a suggested list of keywords and a customizable set of keywords. This topic is tricky enough that we need to take a look at a video.

When to Use: This is perfect for using to apply a huge variety of keywords to a set of images, large or small.

Sample Use: As I mentioned above, keywording weddings is my primary use of these panels. However, I do have a family database of images and I use these panels to keyword my family images.

Since we looked at one of my least favorite ways to keyword, let’s look at perhaps my favorite way of applying keywords.  Whether it is my favorite or not, it is definitely my most used method.

Remember, I am a senior portrait photographer.  When we do weddings, keywords are applied differently.

• Make sure that you are in the library module and in the grid view (hit the letter ‘G’ to switch to that mode.)
• Select the images you want to apply a keyword or a set of keywords.
• On the right hand side you see the list of keywords available.  Click the box to the left of the keyword that you want to apply to all the images.

Tip:  If there is a dash (-) in the box already, it means that the keyword is already applied to a few of the images.  If there is a checkmark in the box, it has been applied to the images already.

TWO WARNINGS:

1. If you use this method to apply a keyword, it applies it to every selected image.
2. If you uncheck a box, it will remove a keyword from all the images, though you can use this to your advantage as well.

When to use:  Use this keywording method when you want to apply a keyword to a group of images that are consecutive.

Examples of use:  I find this useful after a busy day of sessions where I have not had time to download each session individually.  I can select all the images from a session and apply the clients name and identifying tags (tags such as Senior09 or the school they are from).

Many reasons exist to choose Lightroom to develop RAW files and to manage an entire workflow.  The situation a commercial photographer would face is vastly different than the situation a wedding photographer would face.  One thing is for sure that most users would benefit from better keywording.

So why don’t photographers use keywords more?  Two reasons exist.  One is not understanding the value of keywords and the second is seeing keywording as a laborious, time consuming task.

Let’s save the value of keywords for another post and look at speeding up our keyword experience.  Lightroom, like most Adobe products, there is more than one way to skin a keyword. I am going to spend the next many posts talking keywords.  I plan to make several posts about how to add keywords to your images.

First up….Add on import.

When you open the import dialogue box up there are a host of options available to you.  One of which is the keyword box.

You have two ways to place keyword tags on the images:

• Begin typing an already existing keyword.  When you do, Lightroom will give you suggestions on which keyword to use.  Be careful.  Keywords are case sensitive.  So if you enter a keyword ‘Wedding’ it is different than the keyword ‘wedding.’
• Enter a keyword that does not exist.  When a keyword is entered this way it is added to the main list of keywords.

For the record, this is my least favorite way to enter keywords.  They are added to every picture that you import.

When to use:  Use this keywording method when you want to apply one keyword to all images.

Examples of use:  When I imported images from an old hard drive and I didn’t have time to sort the files, I placed them under a keyword “images to sort.”  I do the same when I import images from my cell phones.

More in the next post.

Yet. There was this thought that it could be a streamlined process that could produce predictable results, but how could this be done?  No doubt the best way would be to do this with presets and that is what I was able to do.

Soon…..VERY soon….you will be able to purchase and download the presets right here on the website.

I am excited to show others how to save time and this series of presets I hope will save everyone a TON of time.