How to create a NEW catalog and organize photos in Lightroom

Calling all Photographers! Struggling with a sluggish Lightroom? Want a tidy, efficient setup? If you’ve been using the same catalog since day one or are feeling lost about creating new ones, this blog on how to create a NEW catalog in Lightroom is for you!

Creating new catalogs in Lightroom is your ticket to a speedier, streamlined experience. Picture this: a Lightroom that zips along, neatly organized, and free from the chaos. Say goodbye to sluggish editing and hello to a game-changing workflow!

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Why do we need to create a new catalog in Lightroom?

Why bother with new catalogs? Well, apart from increasing Lightroom’s speed, it’s all about keeping your images safe and organized. Imagine if something goes wrong with your catalog —having one year’s photos in jeopardy is way less stressful than risking your entire collection.

And hey, there’s more than one way to approach this! Some photographers swear by creating a new catalog for each year or for every wedding or session. It’s all about finding what works best for you, and I’ve got step-by-step instructions for both methods below.

First, storing your raw images and catalogs on an external drive, especially SSDs, is key. Trust me, you don’t want your precious files hogging up space on your computer’s hard drive—that will definitely slow things down.

Did you know Lightroom doesn’t actually store your raw photos?

Lightroom READS files from their stored location on your computer or hard drive. So, moving images outside Lightroom Classic? Not a good idea, it breaks their link to the raw files. But don’t worry, you can safely move images within Lightroom Classic while keeping everything connected! Read more on how to do that here.

Now, are you ready to learn how to create a NEW catalog and get organized? Follow the steps below:

How to create a NEW catalog in Lightroom for each YEAR – from SD card to Export:

1. Plug in your SSD Drive (or external drive). To learn more about why I prefer to use SSD’s read here. You can shop my favorite SSD’s and other photography gear here!
   
2. On your SSD: Create a New folder with the Year “2024”. This folder will hold the Lightroom Catalog for the year then have subfolders for each session/wedding and all of their respective images that are connected to that ONE Lightroom Catalog.
   
3. Create a subfolder for this session/wedding we want to work on in the ‘2024’ Folder:
   Create a subfolder under the Year ‘2024’ with the name of your session/wedding,
   Ex: “NAME_SESSION_2024”
   
4. Create the NEW catalog for 2024.
   Open your Lightroom Classic
   Go to ‘File’ > ‘New Catalog’
   Name the Catalog “2024” (if you would like to use this catalog for all of 2024.)
   Save it to your SSD under the new folder ‘2024’
   Click on ‘Create’
   Now you have your NEW catalog for 2024 on your SSD!

(If you have a mirrored backup – copy & save these items there as well –
or if you have cloud backup make sure it is backing this and future operations up)

5. Copy Your RAW Photos From Your SD to SSD:
Take your SD card from your camera.
Plug it into your computer
Go to the Folder w/ the Raw Files.
Select the Folder & Rename it, Ex: “RAWS_NAME_SESSION_2024”
Copy & Paste it to your SSD drive under the Folder ‘NAME_SESSION_2024’
Put your SD card into safekeeping until the gallery is delivered.
Do not format it UNTIL the gallery is delivered.

(IF YOU CULL OUTSIDE OF LR: Cull in your program of choice. 
Save the folder of newly culled images under the SSD Folder ‘NAME_SESSION_2024’
Save it as “CULLED_NAME_SESSION_2024”)

6. Open our NEW Lightroom Catalog to begin importing:
Go to your SSD
Select the Folder ‘2024’
Click on the new .lrcat Catalog File ‘2024’ we created in the beginning.
This will open Lightroom under the new catalog.

7. Import your Raw Images or Culled Images:
Now you’re in Lightroom under your NEW ‘2024’ catalog.
Click on ‘Import’ (bottom left)
Select your SSD and the raw or culled folder of images:
‘RAWS_NAME_SESSION_2024’ OR ‘CULLED_NAME_SESSION_2024’
Now, make sure it says “ADD” at the top of the menu so you don’t move or make a copy of these images.
We just want to add them to LR.
Select “Import” on the bottom right.
Now your images are imported and you can begin editing.

8. Next, when you are ready to Export the Edited Images:

File > Export> Export to “Specific Folder” > Choose > SSD > Folder ‘2024’ > ‘NAME_SESSION_2024’
Check ‘Put in Sub Folder’ Name it: “HighRes_NAME_SESSION_2024″
(You can create new folders with other sub names Ex. “LowRes_NAME_SESSION_2024”)

This will keep your Raw Files, Edited Images, Etc. ALL under ONE file under your SSD. Nice, Neat, Organized & easy to find!
The organization will look like this:

SSD:

Folder: “2024″
In Folder “2024”
Catalog File: 2024 (.lrcat) (you click on this to open the lightroom catalog in the future to add more photos and edit)
Folder: “NAME_SESSION_2024” 
In The “NAME_SESSION_2024” Folder:
“RAWS_NAME_SESSION_2024” &
“CULLED_NAME_SESSION_2024” (if you cull outside LR)
“HighRes_NAME_SESSION_2024”
“LowRes_NAME_SESSION_2024”

How to create a NEW catalog in Lightroom for each SESSION or WEDDING- from SD card to Export:

1. Plug in your SSD Drive (or external drive). To learn more about why I prefer to use SSD’s read here.
   
2. Create a New folder with the Year “2024.” This folder will have subfolders for each session/wedding that contain all the images from each session/wedding and their own individual catalog for each session/wedding.
   
3. Create a new subfolder for the session/wedding we want to work on:
   Create a subfolder under the Year ‘2024’ with the name of your session/wedding,
   Ex: “NAME_SESSION_2024”
   
4. Create a NEW Catalog for this Session/Wedding:
   Open your Lightroom Classic:
   Go to ‘File’ > ‘New Catalog’
   Name the Catalog “NAME_SESSION_2024”
   Save it to your SSD under the Folder ‘2024’ > Subfolder ‘NAME_SESSION_2024’
   Click on ‘Create’
   Now you have your NEW catalog for this Session/Wedding on your SSD.

(If you have a mirrored backup – copy & save these items there as well –
or if you have cloud backup make sure it is backing this and future operations up)

5. Copy Your RAW Photos From Your SD to SSD:
Take your SD card from your camera.
Plug it into your computer
Go to the Folder w/ the Raw Files.
Select the Folder & Rename it, Ex: “RAWS_NAME_SESSION_2024”
Copy & Paste it to your SSD drive under the Folder ‘2024’ > Subfolder ‘NAME_SESSION_2024’
Next, Put your SD card into safekeeping until the gallery is delivered.
Do not format it UNTIL the gallery is delivered.

(IF YOU CULL OUTSIDE OF LR: Cull in your program of choice. 
Save the folder of newly culled images under the SSD folder ‘2024’ > Subfolder ‘NAME_SESSION_2024’ 
Save it as “CULLED_NAME_SESSION_2024”)

6. Open our NEW Lightroom Catalog to begin importing:
Go to your SSD Drive
Select the Folder ‘2024’
Click on the Subfolder ‘NAME_SESSION_2024’
Select the new .lrcat Catalog File ‘NAME_SESSION_2024.LRCAT’ we created in the beginning.
This will open Lightroom under the new catalog.

7. Import your Raw Images or Culled Images:
Now you’re in Lightroom under your NEW catalog for that wedding or session called ‘NAME_SESSION_2024’ catalog.
Click on  ‘Import’ (bottom left)
Select your SSD and the raw or culled folder of images:
‘RAWS_NAME_SESSION_2024’ OR ‘CULLED_NAME_SESSION_2024’
Now, Make sure it says “ADD” at the top of the menu so you don’t move or make a copy of these images.
We just want to add them to LR.
Select “Import” on the bottom right.
Now your images are imported and you can begin editing.

8. Next, when you are ready to Export the Edited Images:

File > Export> Export to “Specific Folder” > Choose > SSD > “NAME_SESSION_2024”
Check ‘Put in Sub Folder’ Name it: “HighRes_NAME_SESSION_2024″
(You can create new folders with other sub names Ex. “LowRes_NAME_SESSION_2024”)

This will keep your Raw Files, Edited Images, Etc. ALL under ONE file under your SSD. Nice, Neat, Organized & easy to find!
The organization will look like this:

SSD:

Folder: ‘2024’
In Folder ‘2024‘
Folder: “NAME_SESSION_2024”
In The “NAME_SESSION_2024” Folder:
Catalog File: ‘NAME_SESSION_2024’ (.lrcat) (you click on this to open the lightroom catalog in the future)
“RAWS_NAME_SESSION_2024” &
“CULLED_NAME_SESSION_2024” (if you cull outside LR)
“HighRes_NAME_SESSION_2024”
“LowRes_NAME_SESSION_2024”

I hope this was helpful to you!

Happy Editing,

Marissa