I've only been using Lightroom now for a few months, so I'm still way back on the learning curve. There are two things that I can't figure out how to do the way I want, and it's driving me crazy.

First:
I organize my photos using monthly folders on disk. I put photo-taking sessions into subdirectories within the monthly directory. I also put some miscellaneous shots directly into the monthly folder. So each month I'll have a folder with a bunch of random photos in it and a bunch of subfolders, each of which contain photos from specific shooting sessions.

I can Import the monthly folder in LR, telling it to also import subdirectories. This works OK, and all the photos are imported correctly and the directory structure is correctly reported in the LR Library. The issue with Lightroom is this: After importing, when I want to work on the random shots stored directly in the monthly folder (not a subfolder), LR pulls in ALL the photos from that folder and all subfolders for grid view. I might have twenty random shots I want to work with, but LR insists on showing me the thousands of photos contained within that monthly folder and all its subfolders. I have to painstakingly sort through them to pull out the miscellaneous shots and put them into a collection. If I point LR to one of the subfolders, it correctly pulls in just the photos in that subfolder.

Now obviously, I should change my sloppy ways, and create a "Miscellaneous" subfolder and keep all data files out of the monthly folder. However, being stubborn and unwilling to change -- and curious as to why LR does this with the subfolders -- I would like to figure out how to make LR work with folders the way I want to. So how do I tell LR that, when I select a folder in the left column of the Library Module, that it should only bring up the photos that are in that folder, and exclude anything in subfolders?

Second:

In Photoshop, nearly all of the adjustment tools have a checkbox labeled "preview", that will turn your adjustments on or off. I find this very useful to see the before and after effects of the adjustments I've just made. I can't figure out how to do this in Lightroom for all Develop adjustments. Some of the modules have a little on/off switch in the upper left, but many of the important ones don't -- like color balance. Since LR runs so slowly on my PC, I have trouble evaluating color adjustments because by the time LR has made the change, I've forgotten what the picture color looked like before the change. If I could just toggle back and forth between the original and the adjusted picture, like I could using the "preview" box in Photoshop, it would be a lot easier.

So, any suggestions for this Lightroom novice?

Thanks,

--Mike

I'll take a crack at it until someone with better info comes along. First problem-I think if you go to "library" menu, then down to "include photos from subfolders" and uncheck that, then only the loose photos will show up. I don't remember if it's a sticky item or if you'll have to change it each time you open a different folder, but I think your answer is in there somewhere.
Second problem-there are severel ways to get what you want although not with the ease of the preview checkbox. You can just click on the previous (or any) history state and then toggle back and forth to see the change you make. Also you can make any one of your history states the "before" in your before and after view (YY) on the toolbar. I think there are other ways too, but this is all I can think of at the moment.

Well, for the second question, in the develop module on the lower left is a before/after feature. Although you lose some space, you can have a before and after side by side to see adjustments. I find this great for converting to BW and making targeted adjustments to the colors to tweak the BWs, but it would be useful for any adjustment.

Scott

1. Why not put all your photos in dated folders? Even if you have one photo for a particular date it will help your organization to put it in a folder. Bu to solve your particular problem you need to uncheck the Library > Include Photos from Subfolders option.


2. Press the Backslash (\) key to toggle between before/after. You can also press the Y key to see a split screen with Before/After views.

Thanks, guys!

I thought that the "Include subfolders" option only applied to importing. (which is very handy, BTW.) Didn't figure that it applied for viewing and sorting, too. I'll chalk that up to "dumb user".

Sounds like "\" is the magic key. Thanks for the tip, James.

I've read both Evening's and Kelby's books, and didn't come across either of these tidbits. I greatly appreciate the benefit of your experience, folks. I will try these out when I get home tonight.

--Mike