Searching for
Your Images
Adobe Lightroom offers many ways to search for particular images
or groups of images but some of them require a little bit of setting
up to get the most out of them. Once you get things organised
though, you’ll never lose an image again!
1
The best way to make your library searchable is by applying
keywords to your photos. Keywording is more art than
science; you should add words that describe the image but also
ones that describe the circumstances. For example, this shot
has the keywords: Africa, animal, big cat, camouflage, cheetah,
endangered, fast, predator and speed.3
You can apply keywords manually to images that have
already been imported. In the Library view, in the right-
hand sidebar you’ll find the Keywording tab. To add a keyword,
you can type it into the ‘Click here to add keywords’ bar, or select
from the Keyword Suggestions panel. Keywords are separated by
commas and can contain spaces.2 The quickest and easiest way to apply keywords is during
the import process. When you click on the Import button,
along with your images you’ll see the Apply During Import
option, including a panel for keywords that will be added to all
the images imported in that batch. You can always apply more
keywords later but these first few will help.4 Lightroom includes preset Keyword Sets, including
Outdoor Photography, Portrait Photography and Wedding
Photography; but you can build and save your own personalised
keyword sets, which is very useful if you regularly photograph
similar subjects or in similar situations. You can also edit or delete
preset and personal keyword sets and restore defaults.50
GETTING ORGANISED: THE LIBRARY MODULE
BDM’s Made Easy Series | Volume 22