My Lightroom Classic Photography Workflow
I was viewing an YouTube video about DxO. I didn't watch much and started to look at the comments. On the top was a rant about the Adobe subscription. I thought many miss what is available and how useful the ecosystem is. I had only scratched the surface for the last 10 years I have been using it.
So I used chatGPT to discuss my limited use of how I was using the ecosystem. And after several conversations of my use. I asked chatGPT to write my way. Most of the following is our workflow. My thoughts his words. I'm still implementing the the process.
My workflow is built around intent. There is no single correct Lightroom workflow because the purpose of a photograph determines what I need to do with it.
I don't believe a Lightroom workflow should be a rigid set of rules. The workflow should support the photographer's purpose rather than dictate it. What I do with an image depends on why I made it, what I see in it, and what I ultimately want to do with it.
1. Import
I import the photographs I want to bring into Lightroom Classic and place them in an appropriate broad category folder.
An import does not necessarily represent a complete shoot. I may import an entire shoot, part of a shoot, or selected photographs. The important point is that the photographs being imported are the photographs I have decided to bring into my Lightroom Classic catalog.
Immediately after import, I begin the organizational and culling process.
2. Location Information
When the camera provides GPS information, I use that information rather than creating location keywords.
Lightroom Classic's Map module provides a useful way to work with location information. When appropriate, I use reverse geotagging to add location information based on the GPS coordinates.
If GPS information was not recorded but I know where the photographs were made, I can select the appropriate photographs and assign their location using the Map module.
This keeps location information in location metadata, rather than unnecessarily duplicating it in my keyword structure.
3. Initial Culling
My culling process is designed to separate photographs that deserve further attention from those that don't.
I use Assisted Culling as an aid, not as the final decision maker. Its purpose is to identify photographs that may have technical problems or may otherwise warrant rejection.
I review the images Assisted Culling identifies as rejects. If an image has potential despite being identified as a reject, I can promote it to the Selects for further consideration.
The important point is that the computer does not make my final artistic decisions.
4. Two-Pass Culling
After the initial culling and review, I use my two-pass culling process.
The first pass is intentionally fast. I am looking for photographs that create an emotional or visual response and avoiding the temptation to pixel-peep or analyze every technical detail.
The second pass is where I slow down and critically evaluate the photographs that survived the first pass.
I look at such things as focus, composition, exposure, distractions, timing, expressions, and similar or duplicate frames. I also consider whether another photograph better accomplishes what I intended.
The complete two-pass process is described in my article:
A Two-Pass Culling Workflow in Lightroom Classic
The purpose of the two passes is not to make perfect decisions in two seconds. The purpose is to avoid spending significant time evaluating photographs that don't deserve it while protecting the initial reaction that caused me to notice an image in the first place.
5. Ratings and Editing
Once I have identified photographs worth developing, I use star ratings to express my judgment about them.
My typical working convention is:
4 stars — photographs I intend to edit or develop.
5 stars — photographs I consider particularly strong.
5 stars + Green — my favorites or photographs I consider among the best.
These aren't universal rules. They are part of my system and can change when my purpose changes.
I then process the photographs in Lightroom Classic. When Lightroom doesn't provide the tools I need, I use Photoshop for more advanced editing, such as complex masking or localized adjustments.
6. Organization
I organize my physical folders using broad photographic categories such as:
Animals
Education
Landscape
and other major categories appropriate to my library.
Within Lightroom Classic, I use Collection Sets and Collections to provide another level of organization.
For example:
Animals
Birds
Mammals
Other Wildlife
This is not intended to create a perfect representation of my photographs. There is no perfect photo organization.
A photograph can belong to multiple collections without creating duplicate files. That allows Collections to provide organizational views that would be impossible to reproduce with a rigid folder hierarchy.
7. Keywords
Keywords provide another layer of organization, but their purpose is different from folders and Collections.
I use keywords primarily to describe what is in the photograph.
For example:
Birds
Great Blue Heron
Mammals
White-tailed Deer
Wildlife
Flowers
Architecture
Keywords allow me to find photographs across my physical folders and Collections without requiring my folder structure or Collection hierarchy to anticipate every possible future search.
I don't need to make location keywords a major part of this system because Lightroom's location metadata and Map capabilities provide a better way to handle geographic information.
8. Collections Are Flexible
Folders answer one question:
Where is the photograph physically stored?
Collections answer a different question:
How do I want to group or use these photographs?
A photograph can be in a physical folder, belong to several Collections, have multiple keywords, have a star rating, and have a color label—all without creating multiple copies of the photograph.
This is why I don't try to build a perfect folder structure.
Collections and Collection Sets solve the problem of having more than one way to organize the same photograph. Keywords provide yet another way to find it.
9. Favorites and Finding Photographs
My use of ratings and color labels gives me several ways to find photographs.
For example, I can find:
All Green photographs
All 5-star photographs
5-star Green photographs
Photographs matching particular keywords
Combinations of these criteria
This makes the Lightroom Classic catalog much more powerful than simply browsing folders.
I can use these searches to create Collections for particular purposes without moving or duplicating the original photographs.
10. Syncing
I do not automatically need every photograph in the Adobe cloud ecosystem.
I selectively synchronize Collections when I have a reason to make those photographs available through Lightroom Web or Lightroom Mobile.
Sometimes I may synchronize a group of photographs from a shoot because I want to work with them on another device. At other times I may synchronize only my best photographs for viewing or sharing.
The important distinction is that Sync is a purposeful action, not a backup strategy.
Lightroom Classic's synchronization makes Smart Previews available through the Adobe ecosystem rather than requiring my original RAW files to be uploaded.
This provides considerable practical value without changing Lightroom Classic's role as the hub of my local photo library.
11. Sharing and Presentation
One of the advantages of the Adobe ecosystem is that the same Lightroom Classic library can support several different purposes.
Depending on my intent, I can use:
Lightroom Web for web-based galleries and sharing.
Lightroom Mobile for viewing and sharing photographs from a mobile device.
Shareable links when I want someone else to see a group of photographs.
Adobe Portfolio when I want to present photographs as part of a website or portfolio.
The photograph doesn't have to be reorganized or duplicated simply because I want to use it for a different purpose.
12. Export
Sometimes the destination is outside Adobe.
For example, if a photography group asks me to provide photographs in a shared Google Drive folder, I can use Lightroom Classic's filtering and selection capabilities to identify the photographs I want and then export copies in the required format.
Export is therefore another purpose-driven step.
I don't export a photograph simply because Lightroom gives me an Export command. I export it because I have a reason to deliver that photograph somewhere else.
13. Backup Is Separate
Organization in Adobe and backup are separate processes.
My Lightroom Classic catalog, photographs, Collections, keywords, ratings, edits, and the Adobe ecosystem provide a system for organizing, processing, finding, presenting, and sharing my photographs.
That does not make the Adobe ecosystem my backup system.
My original photographs and catalog require a separate backup strategy designed specifically to protect them against loss.
Keeping these two functions separate makes the purpose of each system much clearer.
Why I Use This Workflow
The common thread through all of these steps is intent.
I don't ask:
What is the correct Lightroom workflow?
I ask:
Why am I doing this, and what do I want to accomplish?
That question determines whether I need to cull an image, edit it, rate it, add a keyword, put it in a Collection, synchronize it, share it, export it, or simply keep it in my library.
My system therefore isn't intended to be a universal Lightroom workflow. It is my practical workflow, developed around how I photograph, how I evaluate photographs, and how I want to use my library.
The Adobe Ecosystem Adds Value
Lightroom Classic remains the hub of my photographic library, but the value of the Adobe ecosystem goes beyond Lightroom Classic itself.
Folders provide physical organization. Collections provide flexible photographic organization. Keywords describe what is in the photograph. Ratings and labels express my judgment. Culling determines which photographs deserve further attention. Editing develops the photographs. Sync makes selected photographs available across the Adobe ecosystem. Lightroom Web and Mobile provide access and sharing. Portfolio provides presentation. Export connects my library to services outside Adobe. Backup protects the library independently of all of this.
The value isn't simply having several Adobe applications. It is the way those applications work together around the photographs I have chosen to make and the purposes for which I want to use them.
