Lightroom collections – The Lens Lounge

Why use Collections in Lightroom? If you’re anything like me, when confronted by a huge menu in a restaurant I glaze over. A small menu makes choosing a meal so much easier. It’s the same with photos. When you can see a small collection of images at a glance it’s easier to cherry pick the ones you want. This is where Collections rule over Folders - you can gather together and view a selection of photos in a collection instead of sifting through all the photos in a folder. But there's more to Collections than that. For starters, there are four types of collections and they all serve a purpose in the Lightroom workflow. What’s the difference between Folders and Collections in Lightroom? Lightroom folders A folder is your photos’ home and can be accessed from the Library module only. Folders reflect the structure of your filing system. That’s where photos are stored on your computer. If you move or delete a folder it will be moved or deleted on the computer. Photos can appear in only one folder at a time. Lightroom Collections If you make a virtual copy of a photo in a Collection, it will also show in the Folder. A collection is a temporary gathering place for your photos, even if you never intend deleting it, and can be accessed from both the Library module and the Develop module. If you delete a photo from a Collection, it’ll still exist in the folder. To delete it from Lightroom, you need to delete it from the Folder. This is the only downside of collections and that’s only if you create virtual copies in a collection, which I do often when wanting to compare two different edits of the same photo. The trick is to remember to go and delete the one you don’t want in the folder, not just in the collection, otherwise you end up with a gajillion versions of the same photo. I’ve done that so many times! Even deleting a Collection will have no impact on the Folder or the photos in it. You can include photos from lots of different folders into as many collections as you like. So one photo can appear in several collections. But in only one folder. Really important note on Lightroom Collections When you create any type of Collection in Lightroom, make sure that you uncheck the box that says Include selected photos if you don't want to include the selected photo. If you want that photo or photos in the Collection, leave it checked. I often forget this and end up with a random photo included in my new Collection. It's not a big deal as it's really easy to remove, but fixing mistakes slows down the workflow. Types of Lightroom collections There are four types of Lightroom collections: Collections Quick Collections Target Collections Smart Collections 1. Collections These are collections that you create and populate manually. How Collections work These are the Lightroom collections you’ll use most often, because they’re so handy for gathering together and viewing a selection of photos from a shoot. Unlike Folders, Collections can be accessed in the Develop module, which makes them very convenient. Here are just 3 ways I use Collections: They’re great for culling photos from a shoot, because it feels easier to remove something from a collection than to delete from a photo. Once I’ve finalised my favourites I then delete the ones that didn’t make the cut. Collections are ideal for doing in person sales with my portrait clients to select their favourites. They're also ideal for working on a client's selection. After they’ve selected photos I create a collection of their favourites that I use for album design etc - it’s an easy way to see their selection all at once. To create a Collection: Click on the plus next to Collections Select Create Collection from the dropdown menu Name your collection and check or uncheck the Include selected photos box If you want it included in a Collection Set (more on this below) check that and specify which Collection Set 2. Quick Collections This is the default Lightroom collection that photos will appear in if you click B or right click and select “Add to Quick Collection”. Quick Collections are really handy for just that - creating temporary collections quickly. It's easy to see in the filmstrip and Library grid which photos have been added to a Quick Collection, as they'll have a grey circle in the top right. How Quick Collections work When I write an article for The Lens Lounge, I create a quick of possible photos to use for the article from different shoots before making my final selection. It’s quick and easy to go through my folders in the Library grid view Click on photos I’m considering Click B to add photos to the Quick Collection (I use shortcuts as much as possible) or right click and select Save Quick Collection Then save the Quick Collection as a Collection I then view the Collection and make my final selection for the article by removing photos To save a Quick Collection as a Collection: Right click on Quick Collection Select Save Quick Collection from the dropdown menu Name your Collection Make sure to check the Clear Quick Collection After Saving box Save and it will appear in your Collections panel Target Collections However, any regular collection can be made into a Target Collection instead of using Quick Collections by right clicking on the collection name and selecting “Set as Target Collection” from the drop down menu. Once you’ve created a Target Collection, when you highlight a photo and then click B (or right click and select Add to Target Collection), instead of the image going to the Quick Collection, it will go to the collection you’ve set as a target. To remove the photo from the Target Collection, just hit B again or right click and select Remove from Target Collection in the dropdown menu. The plus next to the Collection name indicates that it's set as a Target Collection. You can remove the target function very easily once you’ve finished and, although the collection will remain, more photos won’t be added to it when you click B. Instead they’ll go to the quick collection as usual. To remove it right click on the collection name and then deselect “Set as Target Collection” from the menu. Further reading: 28 essential Lightroom shortcuts that will speed up your workflow 3. Smart collections These are Lightroom collections that populate automatically according to their settings. Lightroom comes loaded with 6 default smart collections: Colored Red Five Stars Past Month Recently Modified Video Files Without Keywords How to use smart collections Aside from the default Smart Collections, you can create your own using the metadata of your photos to filter the smart collection. For example you can create a collection for all photos taken: With a particular lens On a particular day Or of a particular person It’s a long list - whatever the metadata records, or you input (in the case of keywords and tagging people) can be used to gather photos together in a smart collection. Create a Smart Collection by: Clicking the plus next to Collections Select Create Smart Collection from the dropdown menu Name the Smart Collection, set the parameters and click Create If you take advantage of the keywording functionality in Lightroom Classic, Smart Collections are a great way to access all photos in a catalog with particular characteristics. I don’t use Smart Collections nearly as much as the other types of Lightroom collections, because I don’t keyword my photos much. When I do use Smart Collections, it’s to search for photos taken at a particular focal length or with a particular lens etc, so I use them the same way I use the filter tool in the Library module. What’s the difference between a Collection and a Smart Collection in Lightroom? Collections Photos are placed into collections manually. You can rearrange photos to your heart’s content in a regular collection. Smart collections Smart Collections are set up to automatically gather photos. For example, you can create a Smart Collection for all your five start photos. Whenever you five star a photo, it will appear there. When you change the start rating from five star to anything else, it will be removed from the Smart Collection. In a Smart Collection, photos can’t be manually rearranged. They can, however, still be arranged by the automatic settings of capture time, star rating, label color etc. Where are Lightroom collections stored? In both the Library module and the Develop module you can access collections in the Collections panel on the left of the screen. Lightroom collections don’t actually store photos. Think of them as a pathway to a selection of photos from one or more folders. How do I organize my Lightroom collections? Collections can be individual Collections or can be organized into Collection Sets. For example, I have a Collection Set for The Lens Lounge and a Collection Set for my portrait photography business, which is further divided into Collection Sets for different genres (boudoir, personal branding, model portfolios etc). To create a Collection Set: Click on the plus next to Collections Select Create Collection Set from the dropdown menu Name the Collection Set If it's going inside a Collection Set check the box and select with Collection Set it will go into, if not uncheck it Click Create If you want to get better organized with naming and storing photos and how to arrange your Lightroom catalog, you'll find this article helpful: The best way to organize photos, starting with file naming Leave a comment If you have any questions about Lightroom collections vs folders, let us know in the comments. Also, we love good news, so if our Lightroom editing tips have helped you to speed up your workflow with collections, share that too.