# Do you rename photos during import?



## jndm (Mar 19, 2012)

Do you rename photos while importing (or before import)? Which system do you use?

Thanks for your ideas!


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## Mark Sirota (Mar 19, 2012)

I use YYYYMMDD-OrigFileNumber.


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## RikkFlohr (Mar 19, 2012)

I use YYYYMMDD-client-OrigFileNumber


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## gregDT (Mar 19, 2012)

The file naming out of my Nikons is pretty meaningless, so I rename on import. I work on the principle that I'm going to have to rename my files at some point, so I do it on import. I won't be in danger of forgetting to do it later and it saves time to combine the rename with the initial import.


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## Jim Wilde (Mar 19, 2012)

I use YYYYMMDD_Original File Name.


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## clee01l (Mar 19, 2012)

My original image files names do not have any significance.  They are never used by me in LR and since I do not access these outside of LR, the file name is unimportant. I do not rename image files.  By using one of the LR default 'Date named' folder structures, I always have a sight based date reference without  incorporating some date string as a part of the file name. 

Renaming files on import without using an import preset to do it automatically wastes time that could be better used elsewhere in the workflow. 
So I take the image file name generated in the camera.  The camera generated file name is always a unique value when the destination path is included.  Since I have control over the first 4 characters of the 8 character file name, I can always insure that numeric part is always unique in the camera.


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## jndm (Mar 19, 2012)

Thanks for your responses. I am doing it similar, I use YYYYMMDD_OriginalFileNumber, so I have filenames unique.


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## b_gossweiler (Mar 19, 2012)

TNG said:


> I use YYYYMMDD_Original File Name.



Same here.


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## Hal P Anderson (Mar 19, 2012)

I'm with Cletus. Renaming my files would do me no good.

Hal


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## b_gossweiler (Mar 19, 2012)

A couple of reasons I do rename the files to make their names unique:

I don't have to worry about filenames upon export, no matter where I export them do (i.e. WebGallery, PublishedCollection etc.), they're always unique
LR/Transporter, which I find a very handy plug-in for many needs, relies on unique filenames when function "Mark Images using LR/Transporter" is used to mark images based on a text file containing names (a path cannot be used there to identify the images)

Beat


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## Jim Wilde (Mar 19, 2012)

Hal P Anderson said:


> I'm with Cletus. Renaming my files would do me no good.
> 
> Hal



I wouldn't bother if I didn't have a couple of bodies that use the same file naming scheme, so I'm just avoiding possible file name duplication in the catalog. Renaming on import costs me nothing.


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## keithz829 (Mar 20, 2012)

The file naming convention on my Olympus Pen makes it very simple to determine when the file was created, so I do not rename any files until they are processed and then only if I have need for a competition or I'm stitching a panoramic together.


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## jndm (Mar 20, 2012)

Hal P Anderson said:


> I'm with Cletus. Renaming my files would do me no good.
> 
> Hal



Last year I came to the max number, so numbering started again, that is why I started to rename, I simply do not want to have two photos with same filename.


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## sizzlingbadger (Mar 20, 2012)

I use YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS-sequence this means they sort in the file system by time too.


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## Mangloria (Mar 20, 2012)

Hi,
I do rename files on input into Lightroom but I do not use the date facility, just a new sequence number starting from 1.
I do, however, rename with meaningful and unique text and file the images in a new sub folder of the same name.
Not being a professional photographer, the folders are grouped under meaningful main folder headings e.g. 'Holidays', 'General Family' etc.
This is quite manageable when I shoot a few hundred images a month, rather than each day!

Regards,
Steve.


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## Happy Haggis (Mar 20, 2012)

I name my images on ingestion. As my wife and I both take photos I use a prefix for each of us and use the date format DD-MMM-YYYY. I find that works for me.


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## clee01l (Mar 20, 2012)

Mangloria said:


> Hi,
> I do rename files on input into Lightroom but I do not use the date facility, just a new sequence number starting from 1.
> I do, however, rename with meaningful and unique text and file the images in a new sub folder of the same name.
> Not being a professional photographer, the folders are grouped under meaningful main folder headings e.g. 'Holidays', 'General Family' etc.
> ...


Lightroom is designed is such a way that organization by folder is unnecessary and actually inefficient.  All of the time spent creating clever folder names and moving images around could be better spent developing a robust Collections scheme.  
So which folder gets the photo of "Aunt Tilley" at Christmas or "Uncle Joe" and "Aunt Tilley" at "Mardi Gras"?  You can only place the photo in either Holidays or "General Family" not both. 

If you have robust Collections using Smart Collections and Keywords like "Christmas",  "Mardi Gras", "Uncle Joe" and "Aunt Tilley", the smart collections will populate themselves and you need to do nothing after the initial setup except apply the appropriate keywords.  The photos of "Aunt Tilly" will automatically show up in the "Holidays" collection _*and*_ the "General Family" collection.


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## rhynetc (Mar 20, 2012)

+1 on this choice:  YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS

I don't think it costs me any time--I use a template to do it automatically upon import...


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## Victoria Bampton (Mar 20, 2012)

I'm on YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS too, and renaming at import.  The reason for that particular naming system?  It could easily be reproduced from metadata.  I've seen too many people get in a tangle, and although I'm careful, I'd rather cover my back.


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## Rose Weir (Mar 21, 2012)

Import rename 

Export rename 

Images are  used in web sites so id name and theme name fits with writing html code. Also allows for ease of sorting images within a photo album in a web html structure.
The group is given a shoot name for the folder name. Each image gets a title (done when keywording is done) I search on title often or filter on title.
The export template still works if the title has not been typed in. There is enough info in the file name....ID#+Shoot+ day and month. The year could be added but I never bothered.
I did not want the Canon convention of IMG_#### in the name so my import template just uses the 4 digits followed by the shoot name. I can visually scan a directory better dealing with the 4 digits at the beginning.
I am not a number person in terms of 'retention' but I can recall a text so shoot names and titles work for me if I am going to do a search.
After three years on a camera the ID number can repeat but the shoot name contradicts that duplicate. 
I have a usable image name for use in web construction without having to rewrite the name or make typing errors with the name.
Rose


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## clee01l (Mar 21, 2012)

Rose Weir said:


> ...
> Images are  used in web sites so id name and theme name fits with writing html code. ...so my import template just uses the 4 digits followed by the shoot name...
> I have a usable image name for use in web construction without having to rewrite the name or make typing errors with the name.
> Rose


I don't think you send original files to the web site.  Naming of image files on export will do everything that you describe. And this is where I apply a "useful" name.  Image files that get sent to the web, slideshows or burned to disk aren't cataloged so a name that distinguishes them from the original yet ties back to the original  is useful when you get away from the LR catalog.   
While you dislike the hardwired Canon file names, this may be understandable (A perhaps a reason that many attempt to conjure up clever import naming schemes),  the 8.3 is short and simple.  Just as you dislike the IMG_nnnn, I dislike long file names and for me anything longer than 8.3 is too long.


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## MrsNikon (Apr 3, 2012)

Ditto on renaming upon import using YYMMDD-HHMMSS_original file name.  I am pretty confident of never having a duplicate file name in my Library with this methodology.  I also believe Lightroom stores the "original file name" somewhere in the metadata however I have never had a need for it.


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## erro (Apr 3, 2012)

If you rename at import then LR stores the new name as "original", that is: you can never get back to the true original filename.

This is why I import without renaming. That way LR stores the real original filename as "original filename". Then, after import, I rename all files to "YYYY-MM-DD hhmmss org-seq#". That way I *can *get back to the real original filename if I want to.


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## Jim Wilde (Apr 3, 2012)

MrsNikon said:


> I also believe Lightroom stores the "original file name" somewhere in the metadata however I have never had a need for it.



Not sure that's the case when renaming *during *import, though it certainly is when you rename *after *import.


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## Kiwigeoff (Apr 3, 2012)

erro said:


> If you rename at import then LR stores the new name as "original", that is: you can never get back to the true original filename.
> 
> This is why I import without renaming. That way LR stores the real original filename as "original filename". Then, after import, I rename all files to "YYYY-MM-DD hhmmss org-seq#". That way I *can *get back to the real original filename if I want to.


I use this method as well (renaming after import) so as to retain the in camera generated file name in the metadata.
For the naming I use GWYYMMDDSeq with GW (being my initials) and the sequence starting at 00001 each year. This sorts in time order well on the computer as well as in Lr, lets me easily visually check for any missing files and is camera independent (works well with multiple cameras.


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## jndm (Mar 19, 2012)

Do you rename photos while importing (or before import)? Which system do you use?

Thanks for your ideas!


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## b_gossweiler (Apr 3, 2012)

TNG said:


> Not sure that's the case when renaming *during *import, though it certainly is when you rename *after *import.



If you rename during import, LR only keeps the "original filename" in the AgLibraryFile.importHash column to determine potential duplicates, but the colum AgLibraryFile.originalFilename is set to the renamed filename, as Robert has stated.

Beat


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## mhilbush (Apr 4, 2012)

I use the YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS approach.  I use a preset, so it costs me no additional time (other than the few minutes to set up the preset initially). 

 I like renaming not only to have a unique file names across camera bodies, but because I have some degree of traceability for images "downstream".   If I rename during output, I cannot easily trace the output image back to the original (other than using the metadata, which I find more difficult than using the filename).

Second, having recently migrated all my images to Lr from another package, I am happy that my images and folders were organized and named consistently and in a meaningful way.  I have no guarantee that I'll be using Lr a few years from now.

Mark


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