File naming conventions?

[Round Tuit]

I’ve had good luck using a simple date-project-sequence format, like 20240512-Landscape-001. It keeps things sortable and easy to scan. I also tag versions with v1, v2, etc. if I do multiple edits. How do others handle versioning or separating selects from rejects?

Welcome to this forum. .
It seems that you have reached the stage where you could use a digital asset management software. However if your volume of photo is small enough, you could always add one or more decimal fraction to your version tags i.e v1.0.3

[Manfred M]

I’ve had good luck using a simple date-project-sequence format, like 20240512-Landscape-001. It keeps things sortable and easy to scan. I also tag versions with v1, v2, etc. if I do multiple edits. How do others handle versioning or separating selects from rejects?

This is a very old thread and the originator has not visited the site in about 3 years.

[DanK]

This is a very old thread and the originator has not visited the site in about 3 years.

Yes, it would be better to start a new thread with an appropriate title. That would get more responses. However, the question is still a good one:

How do others handle versioning or separating selects from rejects?

Unfortunately, I don't think there is an easy answer. What works depends both on how you shoot and how you like to organize, as well as what software you use. I use Lightroom classic as my home base. I have one master directory labeled "photos" that is backed up twice (one local mirror, one cloud backup). Under that, level 2, I have categories, e.g., "dessicated flowers" and "architecture". Under these, level 3, are subfolders, usually one per shoot, labeled by date and topic, e.g., "2020_07_25_salmon falls rocks". If a level 2 folder gets too big, I start a new one, with a start date added to the directory name.

That's easy. The hard part is what to do with the photos within the final directory. Clear discards I, well, discard. If there are a lot of images that are similar, I use the star system to flag the ones I think are better. I usually end up with some that have been edited on a trial basis, some that have been finished, a number that are flagged as having some potential, and a lot that have no stars and that I would have deleted if storage weren't almost free.

One issue is that raw files are small, and the parametric edits from Lightroom or ACR are in tiny sidecar files. The only storage issue arises if you move images into a pixel editor. Extensive photoshop edits can create huge files.

[Xianoms]

I stick to a simple pattern like date, short subject, and a sequence number. It keeps everything in order and makes it easy for me to find old shots fast.

[Geoff F]

The Lightroom debate is something which crops up from time to time with some members suggesting that Lightroom is the greatest thing since sliced bread (English expression) and others, like me, who find it needlessly complicated and would rather give up photography then to be forced to use it. So as an alternative I use ACR and Bridge.

Raw files (only those considered to be worth keeping) are stored in an external drive with a copy in my shed in case the house burns down. Main folders are based on subjects (eg Landscapes, Wildlife or General Photography) and sub folders for individual dates. So main folder might be 2026 Wildlife - March to May with individual dates as sub folders. I use Keywords where applicable, particularly for wildlife images eg INSECTS - May 2026 - Andrews Wood - Loddiswell. My main reason is that at the end of each year I give a selection of my images, shot at their wildlife reserves, to the appropriate organisations, so I need an easy way to locate images by location. Adding location to the file name creates additional complexity. Which could end up with something like 2026 Hoverfly - Drone Fly - Eristalis tenax - Andrews Wood. Or, placing the location first might be easier.

My edited images are stored as Adobe psd format which has an added advantage in that when an unwelcomed request occurs I can simply say 'The images will be in psd format - can your software cope with that' and in most cases I never get bothered again.

Then there is sometimes a reason for wanting to see the subject first, which is how I normally do my individual image naming.Which would be Drone Fly - Eristalis tenax 20-05-26 with the location only appearing as a Keyword search.

It seems, to me, that you are faced with two choices for file naming, either adjust yourself to do everything the Lightroom way or experiment to find an individual system which works just for you.

There are other options besides Adobe.