Introduction to Collections in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
Collections are one of the greatest features in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for serious digital photographers. The Collections feature really shines when you need to pull together a group of images for a specific project. In this video tutorial, I demonstrate how to use Collections, and the Set as Target Collection option, to quickly gather up images for my portfolio.
I can easily compile my best photographs into a portfolio even though these photographs have absolutely nothing in common thanks to this subtle Lightroom feature. Better still, I can make this process even more efficient thanks to the secret “Set as Target Collection” shortcut.
I wish that the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom user interface engineers had given this awesome feature a more descriptive name. Something like “My Projects” would have been a good choice. “My Projects” is a much more accurate way to explain what Collections really do for a professional photographer. In my workflow, I create a new Collection whenever I start working on a new project.
A Collection acts like a cubby-hole. It’s creates a button, a reference point, so that I can group together all of the appropriate images for the new project without having to move the files around my hard drive or duplicate anything. Most Adobe Photoshop Lightroom users figure this part out on their own, but many photographers don’t immediately grasp that Collections exists only within their Lightroom Catalog. ( iTunes, by the way, has a very similar feature but Apple calls this feature “Playlists.”)
The critical piece of the puzzle is understanding that a Collection is not a file folder! A Collection is not a place on your hard drive nor is it a variety of metadata. Adding files into a Collection does not move anything around your hard drive. Removing files from a Collection does not remove them from your Lightroom Catalog and it does not delete the image from your hard drive.
This is what makes Collections such a wonderful tool. Because Collections are just reference lists, the same image can be used in more then one Collection at the same time. The same image can be used simultaneously for multiple projects, without needing to be duplicated, because the Collection just creates a “hyperlink” to that image’s thumbnail within your Lightroom index. This is the secret beauty of this feature!
Most photographer’s figure out that they can add images into a Collection by using drag-and-drop. Drag-and-drop makes adding photos into a Collection using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom’s Library Module is easy. Many users even figure out that you can drag-and-drop multiple images into a Collection at once but most Lightroom users usually miss of the little secrets to using Collections professional.
It turns out that clicking and dragging is not the most efficient way to add images into your current project. Using the “Set as Target Collection” option is a much better way to use this tool. As you will see in our video tutorial, I am going to designate my “Portfolio Collection” as the Target Collection. I am going to do this by right-clicking on the Collection’s name so that I can use “Add to Target Collection” keyboard shortcut. Once I have set my target, I can use the keyboard shortcut to add images into my portfolio without ever taking my hands off the keyboard!
This is much faster, and easier, than the drag-and-drop method. This Set as Target Collection trick is one of the greatest time-saving secrets in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom! Check it out and start using this fantastic organizational tool whenever you need to pick out images for a specific project.
Introduction to Collections in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom from David Marx on Vimeo.
Related Tutorials
- Tracking Sales and Submissions Using Collection Sets in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
- Slideshow Collections in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
Filed Under: (04) Organizing Your Photography • Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Tutorials
About the Author: David Marx is a digital photography instructor whose engaging teaching style inspires photographers of all skill levels. David is an Adobe Certified Photoshop and Photoshop Lightroom Expert. David has led Adobe Photoshop / Photoshop Lightroom seminars and digital photography field workshops for The Rocky Mountain School of Photography, FirstLight Workshops, The American Society of Media Photographers, and the world-renowned Blackberry Farm Resort. To learn more about David's software seminars and field photography workshops, please visit 
Hello:
I have a collection of images I’ve been working on for my website. I’m editing on my main external hard drive. I now want to update the changes I’ve made to the images in my collection on my backup drive. Is there a way to update just the collection on my backup drive? I’d rather not spend the hours it will take to backup the entire drive as I’ve really only worked on a couple hundred images.
Thanks!
Becky
Dear becsmay20,
I can’t really answer this question without knowing how you make your backups. If you are using an elegant utility like Carbon Copy Cloner then you could manually copy each of the files that you have improved from the primary disk to the same folder(s) on the backup. If, on the other hand, you are using software that encases the entire backup set into a single shell then this option is not going to work for you.
I think the best answer would be to let the backup software copy everything every night while you are sleeping. It doesn’t require any work from you and it guarantees that no files got skipped. See Professional-Grade Backup Plans for more advice.
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David Marx
Hi there! I just installed the Lightroom3 and I am trying to put all of the wedding images I shot into chronological order onto a CD for the bride and groom. Can you advise of how to go about this?? Is there an easier way through lightroom3?
Thank you
Craig Goedecke
Photographer
Augusta Maine
Dear Craig Goedecke,
Apologies for the delay. Ironically, I have been away from the computer for two weeks while working on a photography workshop in Maine. The colors up in Acadia are gorgeous right now!
Putting your wedding images into chronological order is easy:
1. Gather all of the images together into a Collection. (I can see that you figured this part out since you posted your question on this tutorial.)
2. Use the sort order on the Library Module’s Tool Bar to sort your Collection by “capture time” using the “A > Z” order.
3. Select all of the images and then use the Export dialog to create a copy of each image for your disk. If you are using a Mac, or a 32-bit version of the Windows Operating System, then Lightroom can even burn the disk for you. If you are using a 64-bit version of the Windows Operating System then have it export a copy of each image into a folder on your desktop. Once the export completes use your favorite CD burning software to finish the task. Done!
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David Marx
Apologies Dave since your reply and my response – Before I made any changes to my Lightroom Icon, I watched and followed the instructions on your Videos:
“How to create an alias that leads directly to your Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Catalog” and “How to Rename Your Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Catalog.”
I was sure I followed your suggestions – obviously something went wrong.
Dear Al,
I need more clues to figure out what went wrong! When renaming did you preserve the file extensions–.lrcat and .lrdata? Are your Catalog and Preview files identically named except for the “Previews.lrdata” ending? Did you do the renaming before you made the alias? Just guesses….
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David Marx
Dave I had a problem previously where Lightroom would not open when I clicked on its icon. You suggested that I create a specific alias that leads right to my catalog. This solved the problem, I was able to open Lightroom and access all my pictures. Then I noticed that all my collections were gone i.e. there are no collections. Is there a way to retrieve them or do I have to make them all again?
Second, perhaps related question. The backup files might they provide the solution? Of course with frequent backups (as Lightroom makes) the latest backup (made numerous times since I made the alias pointing directly to my Catalogue) will not contain them.
Dear Al,
I suspect that you made an alias to the wrong .lrcat file. This is the trouble with using–intentionally or accidentally–multiple Lightroom Catalogs. If you can find the right .lrcat file then you will recover your Collections. Backups of your .lrcat files might help but the only way to find out is to track down all the .lrcat files and open them up one-by-one. This one of the reasons why I also suggest renaming your Lightroom Catalog so that it uses a really descriptive name. See http://thelightroomlab.com/2011/02/how-to-rename-your-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-catalog/
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David Marx
Forgive me for being stupid but I can’t get my head around ONE thing! PLease HELP!!if I import images from my camera (in lightroom), they go to the pictures folder and a lightroom catelogue. If I use the develop module and do any other adjustments, then export the finished files. I then want to delete the images off my lap top to free space from the pictures folder. How does this work
Dear Kate Beatty,
You really need to put some time into understanding what the Lightroom Catalog is and how it works. Please watch these tutorials on the Lightroom Catalog. You don’t need to worry about building, or moving, your Catalog to an external drive but you must understand that the connection between Lightroom’s proxies (thumbnails) and your real image files. If you delete the original images off your laptop to free up space then their placeholder in your Lightroom index is basically useless! Please don’t delete your precious images. If needed, get a high-quality high-speed external hard drive to store your photos but please don’t delete images that you may someday want just because they are in your Lightroom index. See http://thelightroomlab.com/2009/05/recommended-external-hard-drives/ for external hard drive recommendations.
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David Marx
Collections is a great tool, great teacher! Now I have most of my photos “collected” but not all. Can I just view the photos that are not assigned to a collection, the miscellaneous stuff? This will help me to finish the job. Also, it’s nice that I can assign a photo to more than one collection.
Dear Ken,
I am glad that you liked our video on collections. You could build a Smart Collection to show you all of the files that have not been assigned to any Collection but I am not sure that it’s worth the effort. My goal is not to include each and every photo into a collection but rather to use this tool to keep track of the important images and projects. Rather that putting each and every file into a Collection may I suggest spending your time assigning meaningful metadata to every file? Collections are nice but metadata is way more useful.
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David Marx
Very good tutorial! As noted above, he anticipates problems. Aha! experience here!
This person is a good teacher. He remembers the little things and questions even before they are asked. Quite thorough. Good tutorial! I’d like to see more of his work.
Good beginning tutorial on collections. Great information for someone who just installed Lightroom and needs to learn the primary functions of the software. Thanks much, it saved me some time!
As a beginner in Lightroom, I was blown away with this feature that could have saved me hours and hours. This tutorial is just the right level for someone who has just started learning Lightroom. I am eager to go on to the next “collections” lesson.