DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Lightroom Tip: Backing Up Huge Lightroom Files

Dec 23, 2008 by Udi Tirosh Leave a Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

lightroom-logo.jpgWhen searching for a backup solution I was most fascinated with the option of online storage. My major concern was the huge catalog files that Lightroom creates. I even listed the huge catalog files a deadly sin :)

I got a great tip on the comments explaining how to use XMP files to override the huge files issue. Thanks Jigar. (Unfortunately, the comment got deleted as part of my fight with a spam attack. Please post the comment again so I can provide appropriate credit).

My Lightroom workflow is very similar to the workflow Kerry showed on his Lightroom workflow video. That mean my catalog is always changing/evolving/growing. It also means that my backup software will notice that the file has changed and try to back it up after every session. Kinda heavy with a 60 Megs file. This is where XMP comes in to play.

One of Lightroom features is to allow you to save small portions of your catalog as XMP files. Those XMP files will reside next to your raw files and save the development changes you made with Lightroom. If you shied away from Lightroom, this may bring you back.

Once you enable XMP (Edit -> catalog settings -> Metadata -> Automatically write changes to XMP) Lightroom will save a small XMP file near every RAW file with the latest develop settings of this file.

The Good

  • Once you enable XMP, you can backup your small-almost-unchanging XMP files instead of your huge-ever-changing catalog file
  • XMP is a great format for on the go, instead of exporting from catalog and importing back to catalog to preserve Lightroom develop settings.
  • XMP is a great back in case your catalog ever crashes (and they sometimes do).

The Bad

  • XMP does not support develop history – it will only show you the latest state of the image. That means that you can not go back if you don’t have the catalog as well.
  • No support for Lightroom attributes – XMP files will not show you how your file was flagged, of which collections it belongs to.
  • When setting Lightroom to support XMP, it will only do it from the moment of selection, you will have to manually export the files that are already in the system to XMP.

 

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

4 Ways You Should Be Storing And Backing Up Your Photos If You Want To Do It Right 5 alternatives to Google Photos cloud storage for backing up your work Default ThumbnailThe 7$ Huge (Huge!) DIY Beauty Dish Default ThumbnailUsing A Game Controller To Cull & Sort Files In Lightroom

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: backup, lightroom, Software

About Udi Tirosh

Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

« Something Newer – A Photo Project
Exploring Small Strobes: Speedlight Accessories »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • DIYP Quiz: AI or photo?
  • Slowing down everyday activities to make one second last for one hour
  • This unique camera gives a clay pigeon’s view of the world – until it’s blasted out of the sky
  • This photo of glacier on Mars shows hint of water on the Red Planet
  • If your camera was a person, here’s what it would be like

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy