LR DAM capabilities

[JRSmit]

Phil,

In addition to Bob's comments, this is how i work in LR. My folderstructure is assignment based on the following principals:
- Short total pathlength,
- Total volume of all my images easily distributable over multiple disks/volumes
- assignment-oriented per photographer (i do store work of other photogs),
- assuring unique-naming within my realm but with meaningless naming,
- so simple that after a hard day photoshoot and totally exhausted, i import into LR on "autopilot" without making a mistake.
(i use 1:1 preview to make sure the image got across without corruption and once uploaded, the automated backup takes care of safety backups)

Note: once i have an assignment, i immedeately create the folders. So when i have to import is do that with command "import into this folder". Whether it is work from one camera or more, with one memorycard or more, all gets imported into one folder.

My folder structure concept:
D:\PhotosVolume1\JanRSmit\JaSm0099 (Partition -> a mainfolder -> photographer -> assignment id)
Witihn JaSm0099 i have 4 folders:
JaSm0099ADMIN,
JaSm0099EDIT,
JaSm0099DERIVED,
JaSm0099REJECT

I import my raw's, my originals,  in to EDIT, naming: JaSm00990001 etc.
Anything related to the assignment: contract, releases, moodboard, etc  is stored in ADMIN (i am testing if it is of benefit to make all the docs in JPG so i can import into catalog as well)
Anything i derive, through export of some kind, from my originals is stored in DERIVED, mostly with approriate subfolders such as ForiPad, ForProof, etc
When done with the culling i move rejected originals to the REJECTED folder. Over time i then delete those images form catalog and disk.

If for whatever reason i do an external edit in Photoshop or similar, by default the tiff gets back into the EDIS folder, which is fine by me.

When i start to work on the images of an assignment is use my workflow implementation using collections and smartcollections (check www.centrumbeeldbeleving.nl, the workflow is documented with an ebook, free of charge, but in Dutch) to do the culling, releasing it for editing, add the metadata, etc.
When working on those images i hardly use the folder view, i just stick in the collection view.

[RFPhotography]

I like that idea of making documents as JPEGs, Jan. 

To expand on my earlier comments about folders, my approach is somewhat similar to Jan's.

I separate my commercial and personal photography.  I have a master folder titled Commercial.  Under that are folders for each client by client name.  If I have multiple assignments for each client, each assignment gets a subfolder named appropriately for the assignment.  Within each of those, I'll have folders for RAW (out of camera, unedited files), TIFF (large, full rez, edited, final images) and JPEG (smaller, low rez, final edits for the web).  I'm considering nixing the JPEG folders as those can be easily recreated from the TIFF at any time.  As the drive that has the Commercial work on it gets full, I move to another drive and create a 2nd Commercial master folder.

So for commercial work the structure looks like this:

N:\
    Commercial
         Client Name
               Project Name
                     JPEG
                     RAW
                     TIFF

For personal work, the structure isn't as fixed but I typically name based on location or project.  So, for example, I live in Ontario, Canada and I've got a master folder titled Ontario with subfolders for each location in Ontario where I've shot then the image subfolders under that.  Same thing for New York State where I've shot in several locations.  I've got a long term project I'm working on related to lighthouses so there's a master folder titled Lighthouses then subfolders for each lighthouse and further subfolders for the image types. 

Keywords and collections are then used to organise images across folders and drives as may be needed.  LR sees all of the folders on all the drives where images have been imported so moving from folder to folder is simple.  Searching is simple because everything is in a single catalogue.  Can't search multiple catalogues at once.

[JRSmit]

Indeed similarities.
Private work i do the same way, as if i am giving myself an assignment.

[Phil Indeblanc]

Well with the encouragement I have started to put the client catalogs into one Master catalog. I was at first going to have just one for ALL client work rather than split them by Speciatly(Still Life, Personalities, Stock), plus a Personal catalog.  Now that I started loading up and Importing from another Catalog a number of times. I already feel LR starting to bog a bit.  So I will go ahead and make 4 total catalogs.  As Bobfisher, my folders are setup much like yours.... ClientName/ProjectRAW/Edits/Jpegs. As for personal I have folders by date. Each year and then each day(I'm considering doing it monthly).

Yes, I need PSB every so often, that if I have to remember that I had the file and its not lost, I might as well start pulling hair out....BUT I can make a folder named PSB and in it have a JPEG or something to ID the PSB.

JRSmit, I can't read Dutch, and it looks like collections and smartcollections are the key drivers to organize.  My hats off to you.(fyi, I don't wear hats, but you know what I mean).   :-) so....more Keywording!

I'll post updates shortly.

[JRSmit]

I do wear a hat 
What i can do, given my agenda, is make a short version of it in english, within the next two weeks.

[Phil Indeblanc]

that would be super....visuals are a universal language, don't be shy to link them up :-)

[Phil Indeblanc]

FWI, I am already experiencing some performance lag and I am not even done compiling the client catalogs into 1.... Hmmmm?

yes, I have 16GB ram 3.8quad with I think a 2Gb mem vid card running dual 30" screens, SSD-boot drive, SSD RAID0 on swap, etc... Maybe 32GB is needed? Maybe a dedicated DAM to offload the grunt work?

[RFPhotography]

Phil, I'm running LR on a machine with an 8 core processor,16 gig of RAM, 1 gig of on card video RAM powering 2 monitors, SSD boot drive, but not an SSD for the catalogue and don't have any issues with speed or lag.  I'm not in my office right now so can't say how many images in total, but at least in the 10s of thousands.