bjc Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 i just went to a class with matt kowalski from napp and he said that he backs up his computer each night so that is how he backs up lightroom...you want to make sure that you backup the files that have all your changes so if anything happens....does anyone know how i find the lightroom files that need to be backed up...i know you can do the lightroom backup but i have no idea when that asks you if you want to back up where that goes...i use mozy and love an off site backup but i have to make sure i have told mozy to get those files and i have no idea where they are...LOL..or how to find them..or what i am looking for ...LOL thanks for any techie help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandiC. Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I have the same questions Bobbie. I am making dvd backup as well as an EHD, but still, I'm not sure how LR works yet. I do love what I can do to my photos though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjc Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 sandi, i hope some of the techie saavy gals come along ...cause i know there is a file with all the changes data and i just want to make sure i am having mozy back it up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candyK Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I'm not an expert but here is what i know so far: there is no traditional save function so: 1-YOU are responsible for backing up your actual photos. For LR2 to work best they should all be in one large folder ie MyPhotos, not in several places on your computer when you import them. You can have any number of subfolders in that one large folder. Don't move your photos around outside of LR or you will break the link to them and have to recreate. 2- in the Edit menu? you can set the backup schedule for LR. What you are doing here is backing up the 'catalog', so it will have a .cat extension at the end. You can set this to backup each time you start up LR, which is Matt's recommendation. This is recording all the developing, flagging, and other functions you have done in LR itself. LR is a database. Even is you delete a photo from your catalog, it will still be in MyPhotos folder. **Important**Set your import preferences to make a backup, each time you import. Then you will always have 2 copies of your photos, plus within LR the data for the developing,flagging,etc. HTH candyK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjc Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 I'm not an expert but here is what i know so far: there is no traditional save function so: 1-YOU are responsible for backing up your actual photos. For LR2 to work best they should all be in one large folder ie MyPhotos, not in several places on your computer when you import them. You can have any number of subfolders in that one large folder. Don't move your photos around outside of LR or you will break the link to them and have to recreate. 2- in the Edit menu? you can set the backup schedule for LR. What you are doing here is backing up the 'catalog', so it will have a .cat extension at the end. You can set this to backup each time you start up LR, which is Matt's recommendation. This is recording all the developing, flagging, and other functions you have done in LR itself. LR is a database. Even is you delete a photo from your catalog, it will still be in MyPhotos folder. **Important**Set your import preferences to make a backup, each time you import. Then you will always have 2 copies of your photos, plus within LR the data for the developing,flagging,etc. HTH candyK thanks candy for your advice.. here is what i dont understand...all my photos are in my pictures and i back them up with mozy.... for many photos, not all i have either brought them into LR or have taken them right from my cf card to my pictures thru LR.... so my pics are always backed up by mozy so that isnt an issue...what i am trying to figure out is if i make changes in LR but havent exported them how do i back up the changes that i have made in LR so that i wont lose them...i am assuming once i export a pic from LR with the changes it is now a jpeg and is in my pics folder... and that will be backed up by LR but what about either the pics i havent exported or the ones that i may want to still change the changes...then i should have a back up of the LR things i have done...i think what you call the catalog??? but not sure ...so where is that folder or those changes so that i can mark it to be backed up by mozy? thanks for any help and hope this questions makes sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristyVW Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 When you import your pictures to Lightroom, it creates a database or catalog of information about your pictures and your Lightroom edits are stored in the catalog as well. To find out where your catalog is, go to Lightroom>Catalog Settings and click General. You will see the location of your catalog files. If you are creating a backup of the catalog, via Lightroom prompting you to backup, then there will be a second copy of these files somewhere too. If your back up service (mozy, etc.) is backing up the folder where your catalog is, then it is also being backed up that way. Another thing I am reading about, but have not started doing yet, is converting my RAW files to DNG. A DNG is Adobes RAW file and it keeps the original photo intact, as well as stores in the metadata any changes you make in lightroom. Then, if you open the DNG in another program, you will see the changes you applied in lightroom, because they are stored with the file. Also, should you ever lose or have a corrupted catalog, each individual DNG file has your edits saved with it. I am reading two books right now that are helpful with understanding these subjects: "Teach yourself visually Lightroom 2" by Lynette Kent and "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 " by Nathaniel Coalson. (Checked them out from our Library ) HTH!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidsrgr8 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I have Scott Kelby's book "Lightroom 2 book for digital photographers" What I love about this book is that it is done in work flow format, not just how to develop the photos. Kelby is SO good at that. Chapter 1 is on Importing and Chapter 2 is on orgainizing. In chapter 2, he talks about backing up your catalog. Like Christy said, he talks about DNG format and its advantages. Right now, I only know enough to be dangerous I am trying to figure it out myself. But, I LOVE the software! Here is a quote from the book: "Lightroom can do a brilliant job of keeping you organized, as long as you start out being organized, and that means sticking to this one simple, but critical rule,: keep all your photos inside one main folder. It doesn't matter how many other folders you have inside it, just make sure all your photos reside within that main folder. This is the key ingredient to making everything work smoothly. If, instead, you import photos from folders in different locations all over your computer, you're headed for trouble." I probably got a bit off topic, but this is nice to know. HTHs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjc Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 When you import your pictures to Lightroom, it creates a database or catalog of information about your pictures and your Lightroom edits are stored in the catalog as well. To find out where your catalog is, go to Lightroom>Catalog Settings and click General. You will see the location of your catalog files. If you are creating a backup of the catalog, via Lightroom prompting you to backup, then there will be a second copy of these files somewhere too. If your back up service (mozy, etc.) is backing up the folder where your catalog is, then it is also being backed up that way. Another thing I am reading about, but have not started doing yet, is converting my RAW files to DNG. A DNG is Adobes RAW file and it keeps the original photo intact, as well as stores in the metadata any changes you make in lightroom. Then, if you open the DNG in another program, you will see the changes you applied in lightroom, because they are stored with the file. Also, should you ever lose or have a corrupted catalog, each individual DNG file has your edits saved with it. I am reading two books right now that are helpful with understanding these subjects: "Teach yourself visually Lightroom 2" by Lynette Kent and "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 " by Nathaniel Coalson. (Checked them out from our Library ) HTH!! thanks for the book suggestions..i have the scott kelby book...and btw at the workshop i went to matt kolawski said he reads all the stuff about dng but he doesnt really see it as any advantage and since it takes longer he is fine with the raw format that comes with your camera... how would i find out where the backup ..the second copy would be.... cause then i would back it up to my ehd as an additional backup ....and now i will make sure mozy is backing them both up..if i knew where the 2nd one was...LOL.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristyVW Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I am sure the opinions to dng or not to dng are all over the map, just like anything else. There isn't a right or wrong, just personal preference. Your backup is probably in the same folder as the original (not at my desktop to verify this), but if you search your computer for the *.lrcat files, you can find it that way too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo Corne Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 thank you ladies for all this information, I have just load LR onto my machine, bought Scott Kelby's book, just waiting for it to arrive in the mail and then I want to get stuck in and learn all I can so having a bit of information ahead of time is great. thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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