Workflow (again)

[futureal33]

Just wondering what other user's file structure is for edited photos... this is something where I definitely fall short at the moment.

Current workflow is (in sequential order)

Import photo to lightroom
Edit as req'd
Export to photoshop
Final edits / watermark image
Upload to interweb (flickr etc)
Store edited Jpeg in "My Pictures" folder under appropriately named folder**

Its the last step Im not happy about. As soon as the file leaves Lightroom and gets edited further, i lose my cataloging of it - Lightroom will only keep the "pre photoshopped" version of the file.

So, what do you do once you've finished editing in Photoshop or whatever program you use, and your image is finished.... what do you do with it then?

 

[DemiLion]

Ingress from card to folder stucture under ..\Date_Shootname
Filter/Select with FastStone. Tagged photos moved to ..\Date_Shootname\Date_Shootname_Picks
Import selected photos to LR3
Basic levels, Caption, Keywording
Tag/Second Selection/Grading
Edit; crop & level (on rare occasions export to PS & reimport)
Export to ..\Date_Shootname\Export

 

[NorthernNikon]

Its the last step Im not happy about. As soon as the file leaves Lightroom and gets edited further, i lose my cataloging of it - Lightroom will only keep the "pre photoshopped" version of the file.

It doesn't have to be like that. By keying cmd E in Develop module in Lightroom, you open the current file in Photoshop. You then edit the image as you wish in Photoshop, including 'save as' jpeg, or 'save for web'. Then, when you're done, if you click save you will create a TIFF file which exports a copy back into Lightroom. This works the same if you go 'Photo > Edit in > Open in Shopshop as a Smart Object' too.

 

[futureal33]

Thanks for the replies

If I do as you suggest, and Ctrl+E from LR into CS5, and then click "save" (not save-as) this will create an enormous TIFF file in the same directory as the RAW file - meaning I have a 30MB RAW and then an even bigger TIFF, and when looking through my photos in my LR grid view, there will be 2 copies of the same file (one with LR only edits) and the 2nd one will be the final edited version (LR+PS in TIFF format)?

Is there no way of reimporting the image from Photoshop into LR and have it replace the LR virtual copy?

Is that right?

 

[irelanst]

You can set the edit preferences to save the new file as a PSD, which will probably be smaller than the TIFF, I think it will always create a new file in the stack though.