How do you look after your library of images?

Hi,

I'm wondering what software or techniques photographers here use to organize their photographic library of images. I used to use Aperture, but it's gone now. I switched over to Capture One and I love the quality of raw conversions, but I'm running into trouble with it lately. I suspect the culprit is the size of my library and the limitations of my computer, but the latest update to Capture one is quite glitchy on my system. I also have to be careful not to "orphan" files(I delete it from the catalogue, but it still lives on the hard drive and I accidentally see it with finder long after I think I erased it). 
So long story short, are you using Lightroom to look after your catalogue, or using a file structure on the storage device and then using a program to view(aka Bridge)?
I'm using Mac for now and I like to work the raw file and not export it until I need it.
thanks 
Scott

To one of your points, when you delete a photo in Capture One, it is not deleted off of your hard drive.  It moves to a trash basket within Capture One (not the operating system's trash basket).  Every once in a while, inside C1P, go to your C1 trash basket (near the top of the browser panel inside C1P), hit Cmd-A to select them all and then hit Cmd-Delete to permanently delete them from the computer.  If you have been deleting photographs using the finder and you are using C1P in catalogue mode, it is not surprising that you are having issues as the program is suddenly missing files that it was keeping track of which will kill any type of database software's performance which is exactly what catalogue mode is. 

I have nearly a half million files in C1P with no associated performance issues but I use Sessions mode, not catalogue mode.

Even though many folks may use lightroom for image editing its strength is in its cataloging abilities. It is very diverse and multi functional when it comes to managing a large or many large databases of image files. I don't believe there is even a limit to the size of any given database, but you can create as many catalogs as you wish to keep each catalog (database) functioning at peak performance. I have read of single catalogs of over 6 million image files, but the total size of the catalog is dependent on the size of individual image files.

The other functions such as non-destructive image editing, layout options for proofing and printing, book layout, and it's ability to build unlimited "collections" and "smart collections" (which in itself is a creative goldmine) I have always considered to be add on bonuses to its cataloging abilities. The cataloging alone is well worth $10 per month cost, which then gives you Photoshop as well.

E.J. Peiker wrote:To one of your points, when you delete a photo in Capture One, it is not deleted off of your hard drive.  It moves to a trash basket within Capture One (not the operating system's trash basket).  Every once in a while, inside C1P, go to your C1 trash basket (near the top of the browser panel inside C1P), hit Cmd-A to select them all and then hit Cmd-Delete to permanently delete them from the computer.  If you have been deleting photographs using the finder and you are using C1P in catalogue mode, it is not surprising that you are having issues as the program is suddenly missing files that it was keeping track of which will kill any type of database software's performance which is exactly what catalogue mode is. 

I have nearly a half million files in C1P with no associated performance issues but I use Sessions mode, not catalogue mode.

I usually delete the catalogue trash frequently, but there's something else I'm missing, or maybe it's using the catalogue mode that's tripping me up. But something's definitely wrong and I don't want to switch from it and lose all my edits.
One other thought, maybe it's because the drive I use for the catalogue is about 90% full and the files themselves are on a usb-c external?

Scott Fairbairn wrote:

E.J. Peiker wrote:To one of your points, when you delete a photo in Capture One, it is not deleted off of your hard drive.  It moves to a trash basket within Capture One (not the operating system's trash basket).  Every once in a while, inside C1P, go to your C1 trash basket (near the top of the browser panel inside C1P), hit Cmd-A to select them all and then hit Cmd-Delete to permanently delete them from the computer.  If you have been deleting photographs using the finder and you are using C1P in catalogue mode, it is not surprising that you are having issues as the program is suddenly missing files that it was keeping track of which will kill any type of database software's performance which is exactly what catalogue mode is. 

I have nearly a half million files in C1P with no associated performance issues but I use Sessions mode, not catalogue mode.

I usually delete the catalogue trash frequently, but there's something else I'm missing, or maybe it's using the catalogue mode that's tripping me up. But something's definitely wrong and I don't want to switch from it and lose all my edits.
One other thought, maybe it's because the drive I use for the catalogue is about 90% full and the files themselves are on a usb-c external?

When you empty the catalog trash you are given 2 options (which are side by side on a windows 10 machine):
It always defaults to Option 1 "Remove from catalog"
Option 2 "Delete from disk"
If you choose Remove from catalog the image is removed from the catalog BUT the image still remains on the disk.
The only way to permanently delete the image is to select option 2, Delete from disk.
I use catalog mode exclusively and have had no issues with deleted images still remaining on the disk. 
Remember that the first option is always highlighted as it is the default when you Empty Catalog Trash. (C1 tries to save you from mistakenly deleting an image inadvertently by ALWAYS defaulting to the first option "Remove from catalog".  If you occasionally forget to select "Delete from disk" it might explain why you occasionally find images you thought you deleted still on the disk.

Scott Fairbairn wrote:

E.J. Peiker wrote:To one of your points, when you delete a photo in Capture One, it is not deleted off of your hard drive.  It moves to a trash basket within Capture One (not the operating system's trash basket).  Every once in a while, inside C1P, go to your C1 trash basket (near the top of the browser panel inside C1P), hit Cmd-A to select them all and then hit Cmd-Delete to permanently delete them from the computer.  If you have been deleting photographs using the finder and you are using C1P in catalogue mode, it is not surprising that you are having issues as the program is suddenly missing files that it was keeping track of which will kill any type of database software's performance which is exactly what catalogue mode is. 

I have nearly a half million files in C1P with no associated performance issues but I use Sessions mode, not catalogue mode.

I usually delete the catalogue trash frequently, but there's something else I'm missing, or maybe it's using the catalogue mode that's tripping me up. But something's definitely wrong and I don't want to switch from it and lose all my edits.
One other thought, maybe it's because the drive I use for the catalogue is about 90% full and the files themselves are on a usb-c external?

A 90% full drive, especially if it isn't regularly defragmented will definitely exact a performance penalty.

signgrap wrote:

Scott Fairbairn wrote:

E.J. Peiker wrote:To one of your points, when you delete a photo in Capture One, it is not deleted off of your hard drive.  It moves to a trash basket within Capture One (not the operating system's trash basket).  Every once in a while, inside C1P, go to your C1 trash basket (near the top of the browser panel inside C1P), hit Cmd-A to select them all and then hit Cmd-Delete to permanently delete them from the computer.  If you have been deleting photographs using the finder and you are using C1P in catalogue mode, it is not surprising that you are having issues as the program is suddenly missing files that it was keeping track of which will kill any type of database software's performance which is exactly what catalogue mode is. 

I have nearly a half million files in C1P with no associated performance issues but I use Sessions mode, not catalogue mode.

I usually delete the catalogue trash frequently, but there's something else I'm missing, or maybe it's using the catalogue mode that's tripping me up. But something's definitely wrong and I don't want to switch from it and lose all my edits.
One other thought, maybe it's because the drive I use for the catalogue is about 90% full and the files themselves are on a usb-c external?

When you empty the catalog trash you are given 2 options (which are side by side on a windows 10 machine):
It always defaults to Option 1 "Remove from catalog"
Option 2 "Delete from disk"
If you choose Remove from catalog the image is removed from the catalog BUT the image still remains on the disk.
The only way to permanently delete the image is to select option 2, Delete from disk.
I use catalog mode exclusively and have had no issues with deleted images still remaining on the disk. 
Remember that the first option is always highlighted as it is the default when you Empty Catalog Trash. (C1 tries to save you from mistakenly deleting an image inadvertently by ALWAYS defaulting to the first option "Remove from catalog".  If you occasionally forget to select "Delete from disk" it might explain why you occasionally find images you thought you deleted still on the disk.

I think that's what happened when I switched to C1. I missed deleting from the disk instead of the catalogue at the beginning, and I think periodically afterwards. 

E.J. Peiker wrote:

Scott Fairbairn wrote:

E.J. Peiker wrote:To one of your points, when you delete a photo in Capture One, it is not deleted off of your hard drive.  It moves to a trash basket within Capture One (not the operating system's trash basket).  Every once in a while, inside C1P, go to your C1 trash basket (near the top of the browser panel inside C1P), hit Cmd-A to select them all and then hit Cmd-Delete to permanently delete them from the computer.  If you have been deleting photographs using the finder and you are using C1P in catalogue mode, it is not surprising that you are having issues as the program is suddenly missing files that it was keeping track of which will kill any type of database software's performance which is exactly what catalogue mode is. 

I have nearly a half million files in C1P with no associated performance issues but I use Sessions mode, not catalogue mode.

I usually delete the catalogue trash frequently, but there's something else I'm missing, or maybe it's using the catalogue mode that's tripping me up. But something's definitely wrong and I don't want to switch from it and lose all my edits.
One other thought, maybe it's because the drive I use for the catalogue is about 90% full and the files themselves are on a usb-c external?

A 90% full drive, especially if it isn't regularly defragmented will definitely exact a performance penalty.

Yes, I'm sure that's the problem. I did a bit of a dive into it the other day to try and clean it up, but part of the issue is my C1 catalogue is huge now even though I keep the image files themselves on an external disk. I must have previews set for too high a resolution or something , but it's easily the biggest space eater on my drive.

If you haven't already done so, make sure you defrag the volume. If you aren't doing that, your catalogue files could be in thousands of pieces all over the HD which will massively slow down any database type operation. Phase One recommends that your preview resolution should be set to whatever your monitor resolution is.