Comments on: Anyone a Lightroom Keywording Expert?

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:15:00 +0000

Howdy … just run your smart collection, then take all the images in there and add them to a regular collection, then do all your key-wording and they won’t disappear before you can write them to file.

Easy now!

By: Marina G

Marina G — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:04:00 +0000

Lightroom can automatically write keywords into a .jpg file but there is a setting to make it do that. In the catalog settings if you if you check "Automatically write changes into XMP" keywords will automatically be written to the embedded metadata for Jpeg's, Tiff's and the like while it will create a sidecar file containing the keywords for RAW files.

I've been doing this since version 1 and even though I don't have version 2 I doubt they removed this functionality.

Brad, .jpg files do support keywords as the file format is IPTC compatible.

What I do notice is that if I keyword a bunch of files at the same time, I cannot do this using the loupe view and selecting files along the bottom of the screen (it only keywords the first file selected) - I have to select the multiple files using the library grid view. This is probably a bug (at least it seems dumb by design) and this may be what others are noticing too and not realizing that only the first file in the multiple file selection has the keywords.

By: Sam

Sam — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:39:00 +0000

Personally I DO NOT WANT my raw editor to burn the keywords back to the raw files. It’s fine and desirable for it to embed those keywords on jpg output, that’s smart. But a raw editor should neverevereverever touch my raw file, that is my negative and the jpg is my print. Raw files are complex beasts and I do not ever want some 3rd party monkeying with a proprietary file format even if the file structure is fully understood. It can save those as an XMP sidecar but it should never change a single bit of my original.

I should add that I have hoped that Canon and Nikon would adopt non proprietary Raw formats like DNG, but even with a speculative (for me) native DNG in the future I dont think I’d want my raw editor writing back to that.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:24:00 +0000

Hey Thomas,

This article gives a good overview of dealing with metadata in Lightroom 2.0:

http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1211707

By: Brad

Brad — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:39:00 +0000

>>> Interesting. I'm having a hell of a time just trying to figure out why LR2 won't even export the keywords with my JPGs.

The jpeg format doesn't support data fields for keywords.

By: Tim Solley

Tim Solley — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:32:00 +0000

Interesting. I’m having a hell of a time just trying to figure out why LR2 won’t even export the keywords with my JPGs. I don’t choose the minimize meta data option, and I even tried checking the export keywords checkbox, but no luck. The JPGs always come out with no keywords.

By: Kirk

Kirk — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 08:43:00 +0000

I also add my Keywords upon importing. Once I import I convert the .NEF to .dng keeping all the Meta data intact. When I export all Meta data seems to be retained. I am still using LR 1.41. I am not sure if the settings or the process have changed in LR 2.0.

http://www.lightroomkillertips.com/2008/presets-keyword-sets/

By: Brad

Brad — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 07:50:00 +0000

You need to use DNG format in order for keywords to be burned into the image file.

However, keywords will always be associated with images within LR, if DNG format is not used.

By: Jigar

Jigar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 07:24:00 +0000

Thomas,

If you use DNG files, all metadata (including keywords) and LR edits would be saved within the file itself so they can live separately from the LR database or any XMPs. You can use the Adobe DNG convertor to convert. One other side-benefit is that DNG files use less space than the RAW files.

Given that LR2 uses a brand new version of the DNG spec, not sure how readable that would be by other apps, but my understanding is that it downgrades cleanly so all info would be available except for the new “functions” like LR2′s localized adjustments.

Here’s a video to confirm:
http://www.workshopsondemand.com/ps_lightroom/s06/

By: Farrell Kramer

Farrell Kramer — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 07:18:00 +0000

Lightroom does add your keywords automatically once you export the files out of the program. Reading your post, however, it seems that it does not add them to the raw files. Interesting. Never noticed that.

I typically add my keywords upon import -- when I set my import profile -- and then they are carried through the export process and appear with the final jpegs.

Does this help?