Reader Question: Catalogs vs. Libraries vs. Folders in Lightroom
Reader Jeff asks on Twitter, “Would love to better understand the relationship between the terms catalogue, library, and folders as applied to Lightroom.“
That’s a great question, and one that many users can get hung up on. After you read this article, be sure and check out Jeff’s beautiful photography on his blog.
Catalog (or “Catalogue” as my lovely Canadian wife would spell it)
The catalog is the database file that Lightroom uses to store the information about all of the images you’ve imported. Lightroom is, primarily, a database program. That fact is what truly sets it apart from other programs such as Photoshop and Bridge.
I like to think of the Lightroom database, or “catalog,” as being like my address book on my computer. For each entry in my address book, I have information about that person such as their name, phone number, email, and, sometimes, a small photo. There’s also, usually, a link to their web site.
Similarly, in Lightroom, each of your photos has its own database entry. Along with a visual preview, or thumbnail, of the photo, there is information such as when the picture was taken, what shutter speed, what changes have you made to the photo (history), and LOTS more. There is also a link, or address, that tells Lightroom where to find the original photo, known as the “negative file,” that goes with each entry.
This database file, typically named Lightroom Catalog.lrcat or Lightroom 2 Catalog.lrcat is, by default, stored in a folder named Lightroom in your Pictures or My Pictures folder on your computer. You can, however, store this folder and included files wherever you wish. When creating a new catalog, you can also name it whatever you wish.
Default Lightroom Catalog Location
You can also have as many Lightroom Catalogs as you wish. You can only have one catalog open at a time in Lightroom, so I typically recommend to most beginning and intermediate users that they use only one main Lightroom Catalog to avoid the inevitable confusion that ensues.
David’s article and accompanying video titled Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Introduction has some more information about the Lightroom Catalog.
Library
Many users (myself included) mistakenly interchange the terms library and catalog. Back in earlier versions of Lightroom, the catalog (as described above) was known as the library. To prevent confusion with the Library Module, Adobe changed to the current usage of Lightroom Catalog for the database and reserved library for the Library Module.
Whew! That was a mouthful. So…what is the Library?
The term library in Lightroom really just refers to the Library Module. This is the first of the five modules in Lightroom (Library, Develop, Slideshow, Print, and Web). The Library Module is where most of your sorting, keywording, flagging, tagging, labelling, and metadata-ing is done.
Library Module
That being said, even Adobe’s official Using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 manual repeatedly refers to moving photos “into the library.” I guess that gives us permission to go on referring to our collection of images in Lightroom as the library and the file that stores information about those images as the catalog.
Folder
As I’ve mentioned previously, our actual images (the photos that came out of our camera) are not stored inside any Lightroom catalog or database. Those files reside in a location (typically a hard drive) where Lightroom can find and read information from them. The Folders panel in the Library Module of Lightroom allows us to see the folders on our hard drives where these originals (“negative files”) are located.
The Folders Panel and corresponding location in the Finder.
In the example above (click on it to get a closer look) you’ll see, on the left in the Folders panel, the active folder in Lightroom. That folder is called 2008-10-15 and it is inside a folder called 2008 which is inside a folder called Pictures. You can tell this from the hierarchical display of parent and child folders in Lightroom.
In the foreground, you see a Finder window (like the Windows Explorer window on a PC) showing the exact same two images in the exact same location on my hard drive (../Pictures/2008/2008-10-15/).
So, the take home message here is that folders in Lightroom always correspond to real, live folders on some storage device.
- If you move an image out of a folder in Lightroom into another folder, it will move that actual file (“negative file”) on your hard drive. (The first time you try, it’ll warn you.)
- If you delete an image from a folder in Lightroom, you’ll be asked if you want to remove the image from Lightroom (the entry for that file in the catalog) or actually delete it from the disk (throw it in your computer’s Recycle Bin or Trash.
For more on how Lightroom works please watch this wonderful tutorial from Adobe Evangelist George Jardine.
Collection
I know, I know…this wasn’t part of the question. I just love to talk so much that I couldn’t stop sharing. You may hear the term collection used quite often in the same context of catalog, library, and folder. A collection is a grouping of images that you’ve created inside a Lightroom catalog. They are a wonderful organizational tool. Please click here for our tutorial on collections in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.
Do you have a question you’d like answered? Send us your question on the Contact Us page or tweet it to me @TheLightroomLab.
Filed Under: (12) FAQ • Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Tutorials
About the Author: Scott Rouse is an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE), photographer, teacher, and graphic- and web-designer in Missoula, MT. His photography focuses on wildlife and adventure sports and can be viewed at 
I’m getting busy, which is a good thing. I need to be able to batch process raws, or rather make global edits, to increase efficiency. I’ve heard that Aperature and Lightroom are both good t this but also force you into proprietary folder structures and can make a mess of your hard drive in terms of locating files outside of the programs. Is this true? Can I use these programs and keep my folder structure the way it is? Also, I bounce between Bridge and Photomechanic now as PM’s IPTC encoder is easier and more robust than Bridge’s, but I like Bridges viewing and export/batching capabilities. Does anyone have experience with both programs? Where should I put my money?
strumpfhosen,
Neither of those program (Apple Aperture or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom) “force” you into any specific folder structure. You may certainly keep your folder structure exactly the way it is if you’d like.
You’ll be happiest if you can use either Aperture of Lightroom as your primary workflow tool. In other words, don’t try to import and organize with Photomechanic, then send to Lightroom, then back to something else. You can use Lightroom (or Aperture) to import, organize, develop, and share your work. Within that workflow, however, you can send an image to Photoshop (or other editing program of choice) for further tweaking.
Best,
Scott
Dear strumpfhosen,
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom does not force you to change your existing folder structure. You could keep your files in their existing folders and still create reference points for them in your Lightroom image database. Our tutorial on Using the Add Command to Import Files Without Moving or Copying demonstrates this technique.
There is one big difference between the Adobe Bridge / Photomechanic and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom or Apple Aperture. Lightroom and Aperture create a database that is separate from your images. This database, or index, is the Lightroom Catalog. Bridge is simply a browser. It never creates a separate index for your photography. This article on the Adobe Bridge vs. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom discusses these differences in more detail.
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David Marx
David, thanks for the info. I should be able to store the catalog on my HD and retrieve the files from the server. What’s the best way to back up the catalog on my c drive if I can’t get external hard drives? Thanks!
Dear Mike McKellop,
To truly backup you Lightroom catalog you will need to maintain a copy of it on another drive. This could be a network drive, a second internal hard drive, or an external. Lightroom’s automated catalog backup utility might help with this process. (See Catalog Settings > General < Backups.) Personally, I would use the integrated utility and clone your entire Lightroom catalog folder plus all the sub-folders to a second disk on a regular increment.
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David Marx
Hey Scott, ‘im new at LR and at work i am setting up LR3 for business purpose to organize close to 100k images. Our IT dept. discourages the use of external hd’s. Currently all photos are stored on the company server where they are backed up every night. My question: in a server environment, what is the best set-up scenario? Thanks!
Dear Mike McKellop,
Apologies if I jump in for Scott here. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom might not be the best solution for your needs because your Lightroom catalog must live on a local disk. Your images can live on the server but your Lightroom catalog cannot. This maybe a major limitation for someone like you if you were looking to access the catalog from multiple computers or if you intending to have multiple users accessing the same database simultaneously. See http://forums.adobe.com/thread/354044 for more on Lightroom’s network limitations.
If, on the other hand, you are ok with your catalog being stored on your computer’s internal hard drive then this might not be an issue. If your computer is powerful enough then you might even be able to store your catalog and all of your images on your internal drive. If I had a MacPro tower with four internal hard drives then I wouldn’t waste my time or money on external hard drives either :> With the right IT help you could store everything locally and still backup all of this up across your network.
You have options but if I were you I would do some critical thinking about Lightroom, your storage needs, and your network.
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David Marx
hi scott,
great tutorials! thanks a lot for sharing all this.
i am brand new to LR and still can decide what organizational system to follow. i work on both, my laptop and my desktop to retouch my pictures, what is the best way to keep my sanity and my files in order and have the same in both computers?
Dear Aris,
Apologies but I am going to jump in here for Scott. The best way to stay sane while using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom on two computers is to store your Lightroom Catalog and all of your images on a high-speed high-quality external hard drive. Our article on <a href="http://thelightroomlab.com/2009/05/my-photo-storage-system-two-external-hard-drives/" target="_blank""My Photo Storage System" and our tutorial on creating a Lightroom catalog on an external drive might help.
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David Marx
Spot on, I use collections almost not at all, though I see I should start trying them out.
As for moving them on to my local drive, I ‘d rather not split up a set. But let me see how that can work… thanks!
shakester,
Your “quick answer” is the correct answer. There’s no reason that I can think of to have multiple copies of the exact same file in Lightroom. You’re fighting the program at that point.
Having an original raw file and an edited Photoshop file next to each other in Lightroom is acceptable, but two copies of the same exact file don’t help you in any way.
Why not just move the files you want on your local hard drive to your local hard drive and leave the others on the external drive. It sounds to me like you’re used to using the Folders panel in Lightroom to see all those photos together. My advise is to close the Folders panel and begin using Collections. When working with a Collection, you can include files from separate physical folder locations (even separate drives) and see them all at once. When your external drive is disconnected, you’ll still see the thumbnails for those files in said Collection, but you’ll only be able to work with those images which you’ve moved to your local drive.
Best,
Scott
Lucid post, Scott, thanks.
One question: I know I cannot copy folders within LR, but is it possible for me to create a new folder and then *copy* pictures into that folder (copy not move) ?
I know the quick answer is LR is setup for me to not need to do that at all but I sorta do. (short explanation is that I want some photos from my external drive that are from years ago on my local drive, but only some. Its like a ‘best of’ but with the ability to edit or access them on the go).
thanks!
[...] it lives inside of your computer. You need to know the name of your Catalog file and you need to know what information it stores. This the most intellectually challenging part of the whole new digital workflow. You also need to [...]
[...] Click here to learn more on about the role of the Lightroom Catalog [...]
Wonderful post on workflow smart collections from John Beardsworth.
http://www.beardsworth.co.uk/news/comment_1.php?id=1219_0_1_0_C
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Dave
Hi Scott, Thank goodness I found you!
My question leads on from Percy’s I think. I will try to keep this as uncomplicated as I can……
I have two catalogs on two different external hard drives. I do this so I can alternate between laptop and desktop. They are backed up each import to my desktop computer’s hard drive. I have bought a new, bigger hard drive and want to copy my best photos, from the two established catalogs/ hard drives, and make a new catalog and file storage on the latest hard drive!! Should I just export as Catalog and check to “Export negative file” too??
Did that make any sense at all???
Do you have other suggestions?
Thanks so much for your great advice amongst the pages of this site.
Ness
Percy,
Great question. It’s a relatively simple process to move images out of a large catalog into smaller catalogs. Let me say first, however, that I don’t recommend it for most users. In your situation, it may make sense, though.
To move (or, more accurately, “copy”) images to a separate catalog, simply select the images or folders you’d like to move and choose “Export as Catalog…” from the File menu. In the dialog that appears, name your new catalog and choose a location for it on your computer or external drive. If the “Export negative files” box is checked, a duplicate copy of your original files will be included in the newly created folder. You may choose not to export those original files if they are already located where you want them to be. Once you’ve created your new catalog and you can see your images in there, you can remove them from the original catalog. (Make sure, when removing those images from the original catalog, that you just “remove them from the catalog” rather than “deleting the images from disk” if you didn’t choose to “Export negative files” earlier.
The article, Moving Images from one Computer to Another, helps to demonstrate the process.
Best of luck,
Scott
Hiya Scott, great tutorial and it’s been a great help. I do however a question.
1.I am a fashion photographer and what ends up happening is that I make a folder for each shoot, 1000 pics each, and it’s cluttering. I saw however that you can make different catalogs for each shoot (as with any wedding/event). But if i already have the pictures, how do i move them to another catalog?
Thanks in advance!
Courtney,
It’s certainly not a stupid question. It’s one that comes up all the time.
There are many different opinions on what images one should “keep” in Lightroom or how many Catalogs one should have. For most photographers, I recommend maintaining one main Lightroom Catalog in which you would keep all of your photos. Once you’ve decided a photo is not worth keeping, then throw it away (remove it from the catalog and delete the original file). This solution is not for everyone, however.
For wedding photographers, I recommend a multiple catalog solution. WARNING: Having multiple catalogs can be a bit confusing and is not recommended for the beginning user.
As a wedding (or event) photographer, you rarely have the need to access images from more than one wedding at the same time. Let’s say a client calls from the Smith/Johnson wedding for reprints. You would then access their specific catalog and just see images from that one wedding.
My advice for wedding photographers is to create a new catalog for each wedding (or client). If you shoot engagement or post-event images you might keep those in the same catalog as the wedding images for that couple. As I’m sure you’ve realized, it’s imperative that you maintain an archive of all of your clients’ images. I’d advise you to keep the Lightroom Catalog file, previews, and original images (known as “Negative Files” in Lightroom) all together. Keep all of the images taken from an event in the Catalog (except for blank frames and obvious rejects). You can gather your picks/selects into Collections or Smart Collections within that Catalog for easy manipulation.
Once you finish editing that wedding (or client’s photos), make a new Lightroom Catalog for the next client.
It’s important to note that it’s a bit difficult to move back and forth between images kept in separate catalogs. Just keep that in mind when deciding on a multiple catalog solution.
To answer your questions about a single catalog, if you “get rid” of the files in your Lightroom Catalog to keep it from getting too full, it may or may not affect the original folder stored on the hard drive. When you remove photos from a Lightroom Catalog, you are presented with a dialog box that asks if you’d like to delete the file from disk or just remove the file from the catalog. If you choose to delete from disk, the image is removed from the catalog, and the original file is moved from your hard drive to the Trash Can/Recycle Bin. If you, instead, choose Remove from Catalog, you’ll no longer see the image in Lightroom, but the original file will remain in its place on your hard drive.
Hope that helps.
-Scott
This article has been very helpful to me, however I am still a little confused on the LR catalog. I am a wedding photographer. I shoot roughly 3,000 RAW images per wedding. I have always put all those original RAW files onto an external HD. I have been importing those files into LR to be able to view and make my selections. Once that is done, I have no use for the other ~2,000 original images to be in LR. I am only working with the edit after that. Can I get rid of those files in my LR catalog to keep it from getting too full? Will it effect my original folder stored separately on my HD? It may be a stupid question, but I am a newbie..
James,
I typically import files into folders by date, which Lightroom can do automatically for me. Just set it once in the Import dialog, and the setting will stick. That way I can rely on metadata (date, keywords, location information) for finding all my photographs.
-Scott
I guess my problem is I want to get away from having to Manage folders. I want to be able to say “import files” and not think about the file location again. Why is there no way to just tell LR to import the files, ignore the folders and let me rely on the IPTC/meta data for organization? It seems like we are going backwards in file management here.
Hi Julie,
a) You assume correctly. There’s not a way to search through multiple catalogs at once, as Lightroom can only have one catalog open at a time.
b) The more images in a catalog, the slower Lightroom will run. The degree to which the speed of Lightroom is affected will vary greatly depending on the size of your images and the speed of your computer. 30,000 images is not necessarily too many images for one catalog.
c) Personally, I do use multiple catalogs. However, this can get frustrating/confusing very quickly, so I strongly encourage Lightroom beginners to work with one catalog. The exception this, though, would be event or wedding photographers like yourself. It makes sense to me to have a separate catalog for each wedding. There are very few times when you’d need to images from more than one wedding at one time.
As you pointed out, you may want to have a collection of your best images for promotional use, etc. I would suggest that you create a separate “Favorites Catalog” in which you collect copies of your portfolio-grade images. (Not that I’m insinuating that all of your images aren’t portfolio-grade!)
Good luck and feel free to let me know if you have any additional questions.
-Scott
Hi Scott, Great info. Maybe you could clarify for my specific situation concerning wedding photography. I have just started LR and am trying to decide on an organization strategy:
a) If I made a new catalog for each wedding, would there be a way to search keywords from all weddings from 2008 (ex: spring, outdoor, ceremony)? I’m assuming not.
b) I like the idea of having a catalog/year. If that catalog were to contain 30,000 images, would LR run very slowly? I want to be able to use the Collections feature to collect my best shots from each wedding to use for promo/etc.
c) I think I understand the process of importing/exporting/or opening catalogs between separate computers. Would this mean you must be creating a separate catalog per assignment?
Thank you!
Thanks, Adam. Glad it helped. Let me know if we can be of further assistance.
Great post, Scott! I found this very helpful. For years now I’ve used iPhoto to import and organize all of my photos, and now that I have upgraded to Lightroom 2, I have decided to switch and use only LR now. Will be a bit of a process getting all of my folders organized and synced with LR, but this post has definitely made me less intimidated to do so. Thanks!
Carlos:
LR is a photo database. It isn’t very typical to disagree with a fact that the article states, then ask the author to instead provide you with other tips you are more interested in. It sounds like you understand what a DB is, but you should also be able to figure out that LR does use one for its backend.
[...] Source and Read More: thelightroomlab.com [...]
Carlos,
Thanks for your comment. There certainly are optimization issues from time to time in the Lightroom database. (It is, after all, a database program in every sense of the word.)
Here are a few of tips for those who may be experiencing sluggishness or crashes:
1. Keep frequent backups of the Lightroom Catalog file. This doesn’t back up your images, but is a big help if you experience a corrupt catalog file. (Set these up from the Catalog Settings dialog box.)
2. Also in the Catalog Settings, try clicking the “Relaunch and Optimize button occasionally. I recommend that you make sure you’ve completed step 1 first.
3. Try not to have too many top-level (root) folders in your Folders panel in Lightroom. This was a previous bug that has since been fixed in the Lightroom 2.2 update, but it’s still good practice. If you have lots of top-level folders listed, right-click on one and choose “Add Parent Folder.”
If you have lots and lots of images, you can work with more than one catalog. I recommend that most users stick with one, main catalog to avoid confusion, however for some users multiple, smaller catalogs may be the norm.
For example, wedding or event photographers may want to create a catalog for each wedding or event they are documenting. It would be rare that a photographer would need to look at photos from more than one event simultaneously (short of searching for marketing or portfolio shots), so having each event in its own catalog serves as a handy organizational and optimization method and safety net in case of catalog corruption or loss. (You wouldn’t lose all your events…just one…hopefully.)
There’s lots more that can be said about optimization and working with multiple catalogs. I’ll have more content on that in the future.
Thanks,
Scott
I would disagree that LR is “primarily” a database program. A real database would be more robust and could handle more entries than LR seems to be able to. That makes it difficult to maintain a large catalog (think of wedding, sports or event shooters that might have thousands of images in a given day). I’ve had to export numbers of folders to keep Lightroom running and not locking up every hour.
What would be really nice is if you could tell me how to have LR keep track of all my photos, even those in other catalogs. That would make it more like a relational database and then I might whole heartedly agree….