Hope your 2012 is off to a great start! Always hard to believe a new year has rolled around once again. I just wanted to share my 2012 workshop calendar as it stands so far:

• Hartford, CT Mar 31-Apr1
• Charlotte, NC May 5-6
• Philadelphia, PA May 19-20
• Baltimore, MD June 2-3
• Newark, NJ June 9-10

Those are just my dates, but there may be another workshop happening in a city near you. Check out the full schedule and use the code ROBVIP when you sign up to save $50.

I also have a 4 week online Lightroom class that starts the first Friday of every month and is accessible anywhere you have an Internet connection.

There comes giddy a time in every Lightroom user’s life when you will purchase a new computer. I’ve broken out the components you need to consider to get from old to new with a minimum amount of angst and a maximum amount of control.

Within the context of migrating Lightroom to a new computer, there are essentially three components that you want to transfer:

1. Your photos.

2. All custom presets, templates, and third-party plugins.

3. The Lightroom catalog (and possibly the preview cache).

There are a few ways to successfully migrate this stuff to a new computer, but I wil highlight one method that will get your data safely copied to a new computer, keep you in the driver’s seat every step of the way, and ensure that you know where all your files are when the job is done. I know there are other ways to do it, and depending on your setup they may even be simpler. That said, I’m trying to cover all the bases for people at all different levels of Lightroom experience.

Note: I am writing this with a focus on Lightroom 3, but the basic steps apply to earlier versions of Lightroom as well.

Before You Start

While you can transfer files over a network connection, having a large capacity external drive (or multiple external drives if needed depending on the amount of photos you have) is going to make this process much simpler and faster, and that is the method I recommend. The standard caveat of always having a solid backup of all files before you begin such an endeavor applies.

Tip: If you are migrating between Mac and Windows you will want to use an external drive that is formatted as FAT32 because both Windows and Mac can read and write to/from a FAT32 formatted drive. An alternative is to use third-party software that let’s a Windows computer read/write Mac OS Extended, or that allows a Mac to read/write to an NTFS formatted drive (this is what I do).

Preparing the New Computer

The main thing to do on the new computer is to install the latest version of Lightroom. You can skip the original installation disc and simply download the installer for latest version you own by going to:

Mac

Win

Lightroom’s End User License Agreement allows you to install a second copy of the software for your own exclusive use on another computer (provided that Lightroom is not used on both computers at the same time). It is OK to install Lightroom on your new computer before uninstalling it from the old. Lightroom is truly cross-platform, so even if you are changing operating systems (Win to Mac or Mac to Win) you can use your same serial number with both installations, and there is no activation software involved. Don’t bother launching Lightroom yet on the new computer, just install the software and go back to the old computer so we can gather up all the pieces to bring over.

Migrating Your Photos

Stored within your Lightroom catalog is the complete path to each imported photo, from the volume name (PC: drive letter) to the file name, and every folder in between. If something in that path changes outside of Lightroom, then the path stored within the catalog becomes out of sync with your photos’ actual location. In the process of migrating from one computer to another it is very likely that something in that path will change. This is not a big deal, and the process to update the catalog at the folder level is very straightforward (we’ll go over that when we get to the new computer). The moral of the story is that if all your photos are stored within a single parent folder (no matter how many subfolders are within it) then once you get to the new computer you only need to update a single folder to get every subfolder and photo up to date. I realize that there is no single right way to store photos and your photographic situation may be slightly more complicated for good reason, in which case you may need to update more than one folder.

Tip: If you are at all unclear about the relationship between the Lightroom catalog and your photos then go no further until you have watched this video by George Jardine (it’s an oldie but a goodie, check out my Learn Lightroom page for links to his newer stuff):

For example, on every drive I use to store photos, I maintain a structure that starts with a single parent folder that contains multiple levels of subfolders for all the actual photos. This keeps things very simple for portability and backup. This parent folder is at the top of the tree in the Folders panel.

Tip: What if you keep all your photos in a single folder but the top-level folder is not showing in the Folders panel? I’ll direct you to the Lightroom Queen, who will show you how to change that.

If your photos are already on an external drive that you are moving to the new computer then there is no need to copy your photos to yet another drive. Just be prepared to connect that drive to the new computer, and skip ahead to the next section on presets and plugins.

With Lightroom closed, copy the folder containing your photos (and its contents as-is) to the external drive you are using to transfer the data. Remember, don’t change the existing structure, just copy it to the external drive.

Presets and Plugins

Time to gather up all your custom presets, plugins and templates! If you’ve never created custom presets or templates, and you’ve never installed a third-party plugin or web gallery, then you can skip this part of the process and we’ll see you in the section on the catalog. When you install Lightroom on your new computer you will get all the default presets and templates, so we are just concerned with all the custom bits you added.

In my experience, most people leave their presets and templates in the default central location. The simplest way to access this location is to go to Lightroom > Preferences > Presets (PC: Edit > Preferences > Presets), and click the Show Lightroom Presets Folder button. This will open the folder, named Lightroom, containing all of your presets into Finder (PC: Windows Explorer), which is located here:

Mac: Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom

Vista/Win 7: Users/[username]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Lightroom

Win XP: Documents and Settings/[username]/Application Data/Adobe/Lightroom

Note: Windows can hide the AppData and Application Data folders. In Windows Explorer, go to Tools > Folder Options > View, and check Show hidden files, folders, and drives.

On the Preferences > Presets tab, if you already had Store presets with catalog checked then I will assume you know where all your presets are, and you can skip ahead to the catalog section. If you don’t have Store presets with catalog checked then don’t check it now, as it will simply create a new folder (named Lightroom Settings) alongside your catalog with only the default presets, which won’t help us with your custom presets.

Within this Lightroom folder are all your presets, templates, third-party web galleries (if installed), and the most common location for third-party plugins (the Modules folder), within their respective subfolders. Your task is to place a copy of all your custom files on the external drive destined for the new computer, and the easiest way to do that is to copy the entire Lightroom folder to the external drive. That said, on Windows, the Lightroom preference file is also stored within the Lightroom folder in a folder named Preferences. I don’t recommend bringing a copy of this file to the new computer, as I think it’s wiser to start with a fresh preference file on the new computer. In addition, if you are migrating from Windows to Mac the preferences are stored in a different location on Mac anyway. So, leave the Preferences folder behind.

In regards to third-party plugins (everything from LRMogrify to jf Flickr), I’ve always found it simplest to place a copy of the .lrplugin file within the Modules folder so that the Plugin Manager will automatically add and enable the plugin.

However, you may have chosen to store your plugins in a different location, and manually add them via the Plug-in Manager. There’s no wrong answer, but I’ll leave it to you to know where your plugins are stored if not in the Modules folder. Lightroom plugins with an .lrplugin file extension are typically cross-platform, but some may have special requirements for each operating system, so be sure to check the web site of the plugin author for all compatibility concerns. If you have installed plugins that are more like external editors, such as the ones from Nik Software that you access via the Photo > Edit In menu, then you will want to go to the developer’s web site and download the installers for those plugins to the new computer and install them like new software at the end of the transfer process.

Tip: While you have Lightroom open take note of your preference settings so that you can re-configure them on the new computer. Now that you have all your photos, presets, and plugins copied to your external drive let’s turn our attention to the Lightroom catalog.

Copying the Catalog

When it comes to migrating the actual Lightroom catalog I advocate creating a copy of your working catalog to transfer to the new computer because in Lightroom 3 there is no other way to transfer the Publish Service connections you previously set up, as they are not included in a catalog export. In addition, a catalog export only includes keywords that are applied to exported photos, which may leave out parts of your entire keyword hierarchy that have not yet been applied to photos (though it is possible to export a keyword list and import it into a new catalog).

To find your catalog, go to Lightroom > Catalog Settings > General (PC: Edit > Catalog Settings > General), and click the Show button to reveal its location. The default location of the catalog is in the Pictures (PC: My Pictures) folder, but the Lightroom catalog can exist anywhere on your drive. For example, I keep my main catalog in a folder off the root of my C drive so that I never get it confused with any of the temporary catalogs I create for various reasons.

Within the folder containing the catalog are two important files, the catalog itself with the. lrcat file extension and the associated preview cache with the .lrdata file extension. If you see a .lock or .journal file then close Lightroom and they will go away, as they are temporary files that assist the catalog. If you’ve never changed the default location of the catalog backups then you might see a Backups folder as well, but we can leave that folder behind (here’s my tutorial on backing up your catalog). With Lightroom closed, copy (not move) the .lrcat and .lrdata files to a folder on the external drive. If you can fit them on the same drive holding your photos then go for it. If you need to use a separate drive that’s fine too.

Note: It is not critical for the preview cache (.lrdata) to be transferred to the new computer since Lightroom will automatically regenerate a new preview cache when the catalog opens if no .lrdata file is found. The benefit of bringing it along is that it will speed up the process of seeing your photos on the new machine. However, the preview cache can be quite large, so if space on the external drive is an issue you can leave it behind. Just be prepared to see gray boxes in place of thumbnails until Lightroom is able to regenerate them all.

You should now have a copy of your photos, your presets, and your catalog on the external drive.

Safely disconnect the external drive from the old computer and connect it to the new computer.

Transferring to the new computer

Launch your file browser on the new computer and view the contents of the external drive. First, copy the folder containing the Lightroom catalog (and preview cache if you included it) to a location of your choosing on the new computer. Then, copy your photo’s folder structure to a new location of your choosing (or leave them on the external drive if that is your plan). Once those copy operations are complete, navigate to the catalog in its new home and double-click the .lrcat file to open it into Lightroom.

Don’t panic if you see question marks on your folders and photos, you just need to update the catalog to point to the their new location. This is when having a single parent folder showing in the Folders panel comes in handy.

STEP ONE: Ctrl-click (PC: right-click) the top-level parent folder and choose Find Missing Folder.

STEP TWO: Navigate to and select that exact folder in its new location and click Choose (PC: OK).

Lightroom will then go through the process of updating the catalog to reference that folder (and everything inside of it) at this new location. Repeat the process for any folders not contained within that parent folder (if you have any).

Next, go to Lightroom > Preferences (PC: Edit > Preferences) and re-configure your settings. I suggest that you configure the Default Catalog on the General tab to reference this catalog specifically instead of loading the most recent catalog. Once configured, go to the Presets tab and click the Show Lightroom Presets Folder button to open it in your file browser. Copy all your custom presets, templates, plugins and web galleries from the external drive to their respective folders on the new computer. Restart Lightroom when the copy operation is complete to see your custom bits inside of Lightroom.

Go to File > Plug-in Manager and make sure all your plugins are installed and running. If you haven’t already, this is a good time to make sure you are running the latest version of each one. You will need to re-register any third-party plugins you had running on the old computer.

A Word about Publish Services Connections

Connections that were setup on the old computer to online sources such as SmugMug or Flickr should still work, but give them a test drive to make sure. However, existing hard drive connections will display any photos they contain, but may no longer function due to the change in drives. The export location of an existing connection cannot be changed after the connection is created, and it will have to be rebuilt by making a new hard drive connection on the new computer. Once you create the new hard drive connection you can re-populate its contents to match the old connection and you’ll be back in business.

Give your catalog a thorough walk through to make sure there are no lingering question marks on any files, that all your presets are accounted for, and everything is functioning as it should. If you are satisfied that all is well you can close Lightroom and install any additional third-party plugins (such as the kind from Nik Software or OnOne) if you have them. Congratulations on the successful migration!

I don’t often get questions about how to apply keywords to photos, but I do hear from people who are struggling to regain a bit of order over an unruly keyword list, so it is to them that I devote this column. Unfortunately, there is no magic wand to wave and automatically fix a disorganized keyword list, you’ll need to roll up your sleeves, put the kettle on, and just get down to business. Keywording is a manual process, and while I do suggest that you check out the resources I mention at the end of the column, you still need to be prepared to do the heavy lifting.

Creating a Hierarchy

If you have already assigned keywords to photos and you want to retain those assignments and create a more structured list you should first consider creating that structure right in the Keyword List panel. You can drag and drop one keyword onto another to nest them together. Let’s say I have a flat keyword list that contains Animals, Dogs, Mammals, and Golden Retriever. I can drag Golden Retriever onto Dogs, then drag Dogs onto Mammals, then drag Mammals onto Animals and create a logical hierarchy while maintaining all the assignments I’ve already made with those keywords.

You can also move a child keyword out of a parent-child relationship by clicking and dragging it above its top-level parent keyword until you see the space above the parent keyword become highlighted, indicating you are leaving that structure, and release the keyword.

Some people find it helpful to create their keyword list outside of Lightroom in a plain text file (here is a great tutorial on that http://bit.ly/KeywordListOutside). You can also simply purchase very large keyword lists (see Resource at the end) that you can import right into Lightroom. While these are both excellent methods to consider I do want to point out that the importing of a new keyword list will not replace your existing keyword list. In other words, if you have a long flat list of keywords that you’ve assigned to various photos and you import a beautifully structured keyword hierarchy it is not going to magically transform your existing flat keyword list into a structure, but rather you will now have your old list with the new list appended on to it, all sorted alphabetically, and it is still up to you to assign the new keywords to your photos, or organize your flat list into a structure.

Re-Assign Keywords

Using my previous keyword example, if I had created that same keyword structure in a plain text file and imported it into Lightroom (instead of creating the structure inside of Lightroom) I would still have the same four top-level keywords, and in addition I would have my new logical structure under Animals. The problem is that I’d now have to re-assign the photos attached to keywords from my original list to the keywords in the new structure.

Here’s how to transfer photos from one keyword to another:

STEP ONE: Working in Grid view with the Keyword List panel expanded, move the cursor over the assigned keyword until you see the arrow appear to the right of the keyword total, and click that arrow to filter your catalog to only images tagged with that keyword.

STEP TWO: Press Cmd+A (PC: Ctrl+A) to select all photos showing in the Grid.

STEP THREE: Move the cursor over the new keyword until an empty checkbox appears to the left of the keyword, and click the box to assign that keyword to all selected photos.

STEP FOUR: Remove the check from the box next to the original keyword to un-assign it from those photos, or see the next section on removing keywords completely. Photos are now only assigned to the new keyword.

Remove Unwanted Keywords

If you simply want to remove a keyword from all photos and remove the keyword itself from your keyword list you can select the keyword in the Keyword List panel and click the minus sign that appears in the panel header. Removing a parent keyword will also remove its children. Proceed with caution.

Tip: You can select multiple keywords in the Keyword List for removal as well. To select continuous keywords, click the first keyword then hold the Shift key and click the last keyword you want to select. You can select non-contiguous keywords by holding the Cmd key (PC: Ctrl) while clicking individual keywords.

Keywording Resources

• Keyword-centric plugins on Lightroom Exchange (http://adobe.ly/KeywordPlugins)
•  Controlled Vocabulary (www.controlledvocabulary.com)
• Keyword Catalog (www.keyword-catalog.com)

From the course description:

“Here is how it will work. There will be a classroom, that looks just like the PPSOP classrooms you are already familiar with, with just you and the instructor in it. When the class starts you can tell the instructor, in the Q&A, what you are having trouble with or what things you want to work on that week in addition to your overall view of what you want to accomplish over the 4 weeks. Together, you and the instructor guide where you take the course and what you will be out shooting for. Each week you can submit 5 images for critique and have the usual attention you get in the Q&A. This is a really great way to take your photography to the next level and tailor our on-line experience to get just what you need out of it!”

I spend a lot of time helping people learn how to use Lightroom to its greatest potential and look forward to the chance to provide individualized instruction to people wanting that extra level of support.

In addition, The Perfect Picture School of Photography is offering a 15% off discount on all their classes. The sale ends on 8/26, so if you are looking to take your skills to the next level there’s no better time to get started.

Have you ever opened Lightroom and thought something was lost? A tool, a panel, a preset, or something you knew was there before is no longer there? Don’t fret; it is most likely just hiding.

A week doesn’t go by that I don’t hear from someone who is struggling to find something that has seemingly vanished from Lightroom. In the interest of helping you avoid this sensation of panic and frustration I have compiled my list of the top ten things that seem to go missing (or appear out of nowhere) of their own accord, and, more importantly, how to put things back to normal.

10. Individual panels. It is possible to hide many of the individual panels completely from view. I don’t mean collapsing the panels, but outright removal from the panel group. If you should find some day that a certain panel has vanished from the interface all you need to do is go to Window > Panels and select the wayward panel from the menu to bring it back. In addition, you can hide (or show) a panel by ctrl-clicking (PC: right-click) a panel header and selecting the panel from the contextual menu that appears. [insert figure1]

9. The Library Filter bar. Normally positioned above the thumbnails in Grid view of the Library module, the Library Filter can be hidden or shown by pressing the \ key. Hiding the bar does not turn off the filter being applied.

8. The Toolbar in any module. This is an easy one to misplace and return. Just hit the T key to toggle it into and out of view. If your Toolbar is visible, but certain tools are not showing, click the drop-down menu at the far-right end of the Toolbar and select the tools from the menu.

7. The Crop Guide Overlay. When you are in the Crop Tool you should see a guide overlay appear on top of your photo to help create a stronger composition. The overlay can be hidden/revealed by pressing the H key. You can also cycle through the different guide overlays by pressing the O key. If your Toolbar is showing, you can also control the tool overlay from there.

6. Adjustment Brush pins. While we are at it, the same goes for the Graduated Filter pins, the Spot Removal Tool circles, and the Red-Eye circles. If any of these tools are active, but something is missing, hit the H key to toggle visibility.

5. Highlight/Shadow Clipping Indicators. This is one that can accidentally appear and take you by surprise, so if you are seeing a red overlay on the brightest areas of the photo or a blue overlay on the darkest (or both) and you want it to go away, just press the J key, which will show/hide the clipping indicator.

4. Adjustment Brush mask overlay. Speaking of colorful overlays that won’t go away, if you are applying an adjustment via the Adjustment Brush and a colored overlay seems to have become a permanent part of the image, just press the O key to hide it again. While you are at it, you can cycle through the colors of the mask overlay by holding the Shift key while pressing O.

3. Custom Presets/Templates. If it seems as though all your custom presets/templates have vanished, the most likely cause is a box in the Lightroom preferences. Go to Preferences > Presets and uncheck Store presets with catalog and see if that doesn’t bring them right back.

2. Entire batches of photos you know you imported In my experience, if you launch Lightroom and find that it doesn’t have the same photos in it as when you left it during your last session, the most likely suspect is that the wrong catalog was opened. By default Lightroom is set to open the last catalog used, but if for some reason the Lightroom preference file got corrupted it will automatically revert to its default settings and only look for the default catalog in the default location. If you know where your real catalog is located then use the File > Open menu to open it directly, otherwise, search your hard drive for all .lrcat files and open the one with the most recent date.

1. The Close, Minimize and Maximize buttons on the top of the Lightroom interface. This is the all time number one thing that I’ve been asked about since Lightroom was first released. Lightroom has three different screen modes, and you can continuously cycle through these three modes simply by pressing the F key.

I think many people discover these hiding shortcuts by accident first, so don’t worry if it has happened to you, as you are in very good company. Once you know them they are excellent tools to use in your workflow.

I’m excited to announce that I’m giving away 4 free seats to celebrate my joining the team at Lightroom Workshops!

This summer I will be starting my first series of 2-day Lightroom Workshops around the East Coast, and as a way to celebrate and get the word out I’d like to offer one free admission to each workshop I am teaching to four of the wonderful people who were kind enough to “Like” my Facebook page. The dates and locations for my next 4 classes are as follows:

• (being rescheduled for the fall), Providence, RI
• Sept 17 – 18, Manchester, NH (my own backyard!)
• Sept 24 – 25, Boston, MA
• Oct 22 – 23, Jacksonville, FL
• (new) Nov 11 – 12, Salt Lake City, UT

To make this the more flexible and appealing I will let each winner choose which of those 4 workshops they want to attend to provide a better match for their schedule and geography. I will do 4 separate random drawings from the names of people who have liked my Facebook page (at any time in the past). That’s all there is to it. No purchase necessary. Transportation, food and lodging not included. I will do one drawing per week starting Thursday, June 23, and then every Thursday until July 14 (I realize that cuts it close for the first workshop). The winner will be notified via my Facebook page feed (as I don’t have any other way of contacting many of you) so pay attention over the next four weeks. I’ll do everything I can to get the word to you!

Go here to read more and hit that Like button to enter: http://on.fb.me/kI0oJ9

Unfortunately this offer is only good for the next four classes I teach, but there are a number of other Lightroom Workshop taught by excellent instructors all over the USA as well as a few locations in Australia, Canada and the UK. Go here for the complete list: http://lightroomworkshops.com/workshops

I’ve been involved with writing about Lightroom, helping people solve Lightroom problems, creating videos about Lightroom, and teaching Lightroom classes since Lightroom 1 was first released, but I get the most enjoyment from having the opportunity to teach people in person. I am delighted to report that I have been invited to join the team of Lightroom experts at Lightroom Workshops.

Lightroom Workshops, founded by Jerry Courvoisier and staffed by a top-notch team, conducts 2-day intensive Lightroom instruction at a growing list of cities worldwide. I’ll be in a number of East Coast cities over the next few months (with more dates to follow):

• (being rescheduled for the fall), Providence, RI
• Sept 17 – 18, Manchester, NH (my own backyard!)
• Sept 24 – 25, Boston, MA
• Oct 22 – 23, Jacksonville, FL

But check out the complete list for a city near you and to see when new dates are added. I’ll be riding shotgun with Jerry at his May 21 – 22 workshop in Hartford, CT, so if you’re itching to accelerate your Lightroom learning there’s no need to wait.

These 2-day workshops are intensive hands-on learning with Lightroom 3. It is required that you have your laptop loaded with Lightroom while we cover every aspect of a Lightroom workflow. You will get a lot of personal attention, so bring all your Lightroom questions! Any Lightroom user, from serious amateur to working pro can benefit from these workshops. You’ll find a number of instructive PDFs on various Lightroom topics are already available on the site, so there’s no reason you can’t start learning now.

Hope to see you at a future workshop!

UPDATE: Enter to win a free workshop with me.

Before you go hiking up the trails or splashing in the water, it’s time to review our snow editing techniques! Lightroom is a great tool for taking relatively flat light shots (like those after a snowstorm) and improving contrast, color, removing vignettes and creating and well-styled Black & White photo. Also creating that snowy day preset will save a lot of time, as chances are good all your other shots from that day (or most of them) require very similar treatment.

I’ve had a review copy of this book for a few months, but my schedule has been so hectic I didn’t want to write this review until I had a chance to actually read the whole book, which I finally had the pleasure of doing. I was really impressed with the choices Dan made for what to include in the book. If I had been asked to choose 100 tips that covered Lightroom, Camera Raw and Photoshop I’m not sure I would even have known where to start! Half of the tips are devoted to Lightroom (and camera raw) and the rest are aimed at Photoshop, and it is a really good crop of tips to have under your belt.

I even learned something new about Lightroom that I had never stumbled on before, Tip #8 on Folder Import, which was very cool!

Dan has a very easy to read style, gives clear instructions, and makes a nice use of screen captures (though I’m sure he would have added more if he’d been allowed). There’s a wealth of smaller tips in the margins too. I was also really pleased to see the book is in full color, because I thought these HOW-Tos books were previously all grayscale. What’s really great about this type of book is that you can pick it up and start anywhere and just focus on a few tips at a time.

I gave away my copy during my Lightroom presentation at Photoshop World and I’m sure it is already being put to good use. This is definitely a book worth checking out. There is sample content and related articles over at Peachpit too.

So, since she’s got the US covered, and in the spirit of the holiday season (there’s even a Christmas tree on the cover!), I will give away a copy to one lucky winner anywhere outside of the US! Yes, outside US only! Winner will be randomly picked on December 21, 2010 sometime after 13:00:00 GMT (look I am even using GMT whatever that means, kidding!).

So, if you are geographically located here in the US of A head over to Nicolesy’s blog and leave a comment. If you are anywhere else on the planet leave a comment here.

Thanks to everyone who has purchased the book and happy holidays to you all!

If you are curious about the book you can read a sample chapter: Getting into a stock frame of mind

Edit: We have a winner!