The Photo Workflow That Brought Me Back

Spent a weekend fixing my broken photo workflow. Here’s what I learned!

Every so often, I get the itch to start sharing again. I’ll shoot and capture something I’m hyped about, open Lightroom, plug in my external HD and immediately remember why I stop. Total chaos. Folders like TO CLEAN UP, SD March 2025 DUMP and iPhone MAY 2025 DUMP staring back at me. Then I waste 30 minutes searching “Lightroom workflow” like I haven’t already read the same articles or watched these YouTube videos a dozen times before. This is where I get overwhelmed or busy with other things, create another DUMP folder and “save it for next time”.

But this time was different – I was done with DUMPS. Instead of googling, I worked with Claude (I call her Claudene) to build something that actually sticks. Now I just import. No overthinking, no analysis paralysis.

The Problem

My external drives were becoming digital graveyards. Every DUMP folder was another failed system I couldn’t remember – was it Travel > 2024 or 2024 > Travel? Do I set up collections before or after import? Copy files to the drive manually then add to Lightroom, or do it all through Lightroom? I kept piecing together these elaborate workflows from blog posts and YouTube videos, feeling like a genius until I came back a week later and couldn’t remember my own system. If I could import and edit in one sitting, I was good to go. But interrupt me? Tomorrow I’d be starting from zero, staring at the mess and creating another DUMP folder.

What I actually needed:

  • All my photos and videos in one place that made sense
  • Automatic organizing on import
  • Any photo or video found in seconds, not minutes
  • A process so simple I couldn’t forget

The Solution

The breakthrough was simple: I wasn’t shooting weddings or running a studio. I didn’t need some elaborate system. I just needed my photos and videos saved and easily findable.

The answer? Let folders hold files, dates organize them, and metadata finds them. That’s it. The system runs itself.

Here’s what killed the DUMP folders for good:

One Time Setup (5 minutes)

Step 1: Create ONE folder

External Drive/
└── My Photos/

That’s it. No subfolders. No categories. Lightroom handles the rest.

Step 2: Configure Lightroom’s Import Settings

  • Open Lightroom Classic → Preferences
  • Under Import Options, check:
    • ✓ Show import dialog when memory card detected
    • ✓ Treat JPEG files next to raw files as separate

Step 3: Set Your Default Import Behavior Connect your camera/phone to trigger import dialog:

  • At top: Select “Copy” (never “Add” from SD cards!)
  • Destination: Your “My Photos” folder
  • Organize: “By date” (2025/2025-01-27 format)
  • ✓ Build Smart Previews
  • ✓ Include Video Files

Step 4: Fix the Duplicate File Nightmare

  1. In Import → File Renaming → Template → Edit
  2. Build: {Date (YYYYMMDD)}-{Model}-{Sequence # (001)}
  3. Creates: 20250127-iPhone-001.jpg
  4. No more duplicate IMG_1234 files. Ever.

Tip: Keep your catalog file on your computer’s internal drive, not the external. The catalog is what Lightroom accesses constantly – every time you browse, search, or edit. If it’s on a slow external drive, everything crawls. Plus, with Smart Previews, you can edit photos even when the external drive isn’t connected. Photos can live on the external, but the catalog needs to stay fast and accessible.

The Routine

Step 1: Import (2 minutes)

  1. Plug in SD card
  2. Add basic keywords in import dialog: “January, weekend, kids”
  3. Hit Import
  4. Let it run while you make coffee

Tip: Once import’s done and you’ve verified photos loaded, format the SD card in your camera (not computer). Clean slate for next shoot, keeps the card healthy.

Step 2: Create Collections (2 minutes)

  • From your recent imports, drag all new imports to relevant collections (Travel, Family, etc)
  • Maybe create a new collection for special events
  • Now everything’s findable from the start

Tip: Think of collections like Spotify playlists – same photo can live in multiple without duplicating files. My dead-simple setup:

Collections/
├── ⭐ Favorites (best shots)
├── 📱 Phone Uploads  
├── 📸 Camera Shots
├── 🎯 Current Projects
└── 📅 Recent Imports (Smart Collection - last 7 days)

No complex folder hierarchies to decode – just collections for how I actually think about my photos.

Step 3: Quick Sort & Edit

  • Work within the collection you just made
  • Press P for keepers, X for rejects
  • Don’t overthink – first instinct
  • Delete rejects when done
  • Edit from your collections, not folders – everything’s already organized

First import felt like magic – photos sorting themselves by date, no decisions needed. Haven’t googled “Lightroom workflow” since.

But What About…

  • “…all those DUMP folders on my drives?”

    Don’t try to fix everything at once. Start fresh with new imports, then tackle the backlog when you’re ready. I blocked out a weekend and went month by month through my old folders – January 2023, import, February 2023, import, and kept going. Even with thousands of photos, breaking it into months made it very manageable. Before I knew it, I had finished cleaning out all my DUMP folders.
  • “…using my phone AND camera?”

    They go in the same date folders since whole day stays together. Also, our naming system guarantees no more duplicate IMG_1234 files regardless of the number of devices:
    • 20250127-iPhone Pro-001.jpg
    • 20250127-A7III-002.jpg
    • 20250127-iPhone Pro-003.jpg
  • “…videos mixed with photos?”

    I import them all together. Yeah, Lightroom can’t edit video but who cares? They stay organized by date with photos from the same day. That birthday party? Photos and videos all in one spot, chronological order preserved.

    When I need to edit a video, I just drag it from Lightroom to DaVinci. Edit, export back to the same folder. Now the edited version sits next to the original. Everything stays findable.
  • “…needing my external drive plugged in all the time?”

    That’s the beauty of Smart Previews. Once imported, I can browse, edit, even export (at reduced size) without the drive connected.

    Only need it plugged in for: importing new photos, exporting full resolution, or relocating files. Everything else works without it.
  • “…photos importing out of order?”

    Camera date is wrong. Sync it to your phone. For old photos: Select → Metadata → Edit Capture Time. Annoying but one-time fix.
  • “…forgot keywords during import?”

    Select photos → Keywording panel → add them.
  • “…import taking forever?”

    This is normal. Building Smart Previews takes time upfront but saves hours later.

This isn’t about becoming a photo organization guru. For me, it’s about killing the workflow chaos that kept me from creating.

Fix the workflow, kill the DUMP folders, and suddenly I’m actually using my photos instead of avoiding them. Sometimes, your creative block might be simpler to fix than you think.

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