This video walks through the process of setting up a Lightroom Classic catalog on an external hard drive (03:05), and organizing the file structure chronologically on that hard drive so you don't lose your Lightroom edits (0:00).
This is particularly helpful if you're working off of lab computers that are set to clear periodically, or if you're working between multiple desktops and need mobility of your data.
The file structure is important in Lightroom Classic, and I show my method of file organization by date and name of the photoshoot to help organize the process.
Key Points in this Video:
0:00 Where Lightroom Classic Auto-Saves your work on your computer (Pictures Folder)
01:24 How I Organize My External Hard Drive
03:05 How to Save a New Catalog on Your External Hard Drive
04:08 How to Import Photos and Videos into your Lr Catalog as a Folder
06:45 Why Remove a Folders of Photos from your main active or default Catalog (helpful for cleaning it up, taking up less processing on your CPU)
07:22 How to Export a Photoshoot as a standalone Lr Catalog to your External Hard Drive
07:45 Options for Exporting a standalone Catalog
09:15 How to Find and Open an exported Catalog
9:39 How to Set Up Lightroom Catalog preferences so it doesn't prompt you to import photos from your SD card every time. You always want to import your photos from your external hard drive, not your SD card.
