Each of my three Nikon cameras uses the same naming system by default. Starting at DSC_0001.NEF – “NEF” being Nikon’s RAW file extension – the file names progress to DSC_9999.NEF. After this, the naming cycles back to DSC_0001.NEF and the file naming process begins again.
This means that over time, you’ll end up with many images on your computer all sharing the same filename. That can create headaches over time, especially if you’re trying to locate specific images on your computer outside of Lightroom®.
To prevent accidentally overwriting any files, I have adopted a file naming protocol for each of my cameras. Please read this post to review my method.
Despite the fact that renaming isn’t a huge concern for most photographers, you may be looking for a new process. Lightroom® can handle the file renaming task with no negative impact on your workflow. So, if you’re looking to improve your file naming process, read on.
Benefits of Renaming
In order to locate the images later, it may help to include your name, the client’s name, the date, the name of the shoot, and other information in the file name. It’s not surprising that people contact you years or decades after a shoot to inquire about photos and the photographer needs to find those images.
You could use filenames as a way to quickly determine who took a particular picture if more than one photographer or studio is using the same camera. The filename should include the photographer’s name at import to prevent confusion.
When you use a system that generates unique names for each photo, you can avoid a situation where a client requests a copy of a specific image and you can’t identify it because you have several that share a similar name.
Sending client photos with names such as waynebecker-20220501-eventtitle-0501.jpg makes it seem more professional than sending 0501.jpg. This may also prevent confusion for clients. If they have ten photos with the same name on their computer, each from a different photographer or photo shoot, confusion would be almost impossible to avoid.
File renaming can be done at either the export or import stage. If you wish to rename files for your client, you may opt for the latter method. Part two of this article will examine this topic in greater detail.
File Renaming Methods
Reviewing other photographers’ approaches to renaming files may be helpful. Consider these examples:
Method 1
Please note that you could use two digits or four digits for the year. This method would generate a filename something like:
- 2205_jimbirthday_0008.dng – using 2 digit year or
- 202205_jimbirthday_0008.dng – using 4 digit year
Here is a 2012 post by Scott Kelby on this file naming process.
Method 2
This method would produce something like: waynebecker_20220501_jimsbirthday_0008.dng where:
- waynebecker – my name
- 20220501 – the date of the event or shoot in the order of year – month – day (yyyymmdd)
- jimsbirthday – brief description of the event
- 0008 – the eighth photo in this sequence
Method 3
— or —
yearmonthday_client_hoursminutesseconds
This method would produce file names like:
- 20220501_skagway_143022.dng or
- 20220501_smith_143022.dng
This simple solution, recommended by Gavin Gough in “The Photographer’s Workflow” (out of print), will ensure the photos are stored in the order in which they were taken. If the clocks have been set forward or back, or if you have changed time zones, make sure that the time is set appropriately on the camera. This will avoid confusion.
Method 4
This method would produce something like: smith_20220501_0008.dng
This is the method recommended by Martin Evening at AdobePress in 2012.
Method 5
My preferred method, since I do not have photoshoots for clients, produces a file name such as 20220501_1WB_0008_01.dng
How To Rename Photos in Lightroom
Renaming photos in Lightroom® can be done in three different places.
When they are imported into Lightroom®.
After they are imported into Lightroom®.
When they are exported.
Using any of these methods might make sense for you for a variety of reasons. Let’s look at them in more detail.
Rename Photos During Import
To begin, let’s learn how to rename RAW files in Lightroom® when you import them.
In this example, it is assumed that you will copy the files from one location (such as your camera’s memory card) and save them to another location (i.e. you have selected Copy as DNG, Copy, or Move in the Import window).
Use the next method if you’re just renaming files you’re adding to Lightroom®.
- In the Import window, click on the File Renaming panel (on the right-hand side) and select Rename Files box.
- Click on the Template drop-down menu and choose one of the presets available for renaming files.
- Let’s look at a simple example, Date-Filename. With this option, the date is appended to the filename. This method allows you to name every RAW file uniquely.
To illustrate what your renamed files will look like, Lightroom® displays a sample file name at the bottom of the File Renaming panel.
- Selecting the Custom Name-Sequence preset prompts Lightroom® to prompt you to insert the shoot name in the Custom Text field.
This preset does not automatically prevent file names from being duplicated. You cannot achieve distinct file names using Custom Name-Sequence unless you give each shoot a unique name.
If you wish, you can change the Start Number by clicking on it and entering a new value.
- Lightroom® takes you to the Filename Template Editor when you choose the Edit option from the Template menu. Lightroom® allows you to customize the way that it renames your files with this window. This is the place to use any of the techniques mentioned at the beginning of the article.
- When using the Filename Template Editor, the last preset that was selected is automatically loaded (in this case, Custom Name-Sequence).
It is possible to either adapt or delete that preset by clicking on the tabs in the white rectangle one by one and using the Backspace key to delete them. Additionally, you should remove any punctuation between tabs; e.g., ‘-‘ or ‘_‘.
- Consider this file name structure as an example:
yearmonthday_description_counter
This can be done by selecting the appropriate tabs from the drop-down menus.
Please note that you have to enter punctuation marks such as the underscore ‘_‘ yourself and that spaces should never be used in file names.
- After you have configured your preset to your satisfaction, choose Save Current Settings as New Preset in the Preset menu at the top.
- Assign a name to the preset. After saving, Lightroom® will add it to the Template menu. Now, whenever you import a new image, you can use the same preset so that everything is consistent.
Reasons for renaming files during import
One of the most important reasons is to make sure that your hard drive does not have duplicate file names. Having the date and the shoot name in the file name will allow you to quickly see when a photo was taken, and what the subject is.
In contrast, if you provide files to clients, you may prefer to rename them at the export stage so the exported files run in sequence; i.e. filename-001.jpg, filename-002.jpg, etc. rather than filename-020.jpg, filename-036.jpg.
Rename Photos Already Imported
When you copy your RAW files to your hard drive first and then use the Add option in the Import window to bring them into your Lightroom® catalog, you can rename those files only after they have been imported. Similarly, this applies to photos you’ve previously imported and decided to rename.
The procedure for renaming files already imported into Lightroom® is as follows.
- Renaming files that you’ve imported into Lightroom® is as easy as clicking on Previous Import in the Catalog panel which is in the left-hand panel.
If you are not in Grid View already, press G, then click Edit > Select All. Or, if you’re already in Grid View, select the appropriate folder or collection.
- Go to Library > Rename Photos. Choose a file renaming preset from the drop-down menu in the next window.
- Among the options are any custom presets you may have created. It is worth noting that some of the options are different. The Shoot Name tab, for example, has been removed. You may have to change your preset by using the Custom Text tab instead. The metadata tab also has more ways of renaming files.
- When you are ready to proceed, click the OK button.
Reasons to rename files already in Lightroom
One of the reasons is that it is the only way to rename files already imported into Lightroom®. Another possibility is that, if you are providing photographs to a client, you can rename the photographs here after choosing which photos from the shoot to use. In this manner, they will all be named consecutively and in a logical order.
This method can also be used to rename files if your client insists on a specific naming method. It is common for picture libraries and magazines to insist on a specific naming method.
Rename Photos During Export
Renaming files when exporting is the final option.
- Go to File > Export after selecting the files that you want to export. Then, in the File Naming tab, check the Rename to: box and select a preset from the menu. The preset can either be edited or a custom preset can be selected. With the Filename Template Editor, you have the same options as when renaming files already imported into Lightroom®.
- Whenever you’re ready to begin exporting, click on the Export button.
Reasons for renaming files during export
It is worth bearing in mind that if you change the names of your files when you export them, you will end up with a new set of files with new names.
Imagine that you took 100 photos during a shoot, then renamed them during or after importing the images. These would be 100 RAW files with names like this.
1310_Parade_001.dng to 1310_Parade_100.dng
Since Lightroom® is designed primarily to convert RAW files into photo files, upon export, the extensions would change, but not the filenames.
1310_Parade_001.jpg to 1310_Parade_100.jpg
So it is easy to compare the filenames of your exported JPEGs to those of your RAWs if needed.
The problem arises when the filenames are changed during export because it makes matching them to RAW files much more difficult.
What is the point of renaming files during export?
One reason is that different clients may require different naming conventions. Think about sending a set of photos to a picture library, followed by a set of photos to a magazine, and both clients require different file naming protocols. Leaving file naming until export allows you to rename files based on your requirements at the time.
There’s also the possibility that you’re exporting files you’ve never renamed, and you’d like to rename them with a more meaningful name than the number your camera has assigned.
Conclusion
You might find some ideas for changing your file names in the future by looking at how other photographers name their files. Regardless of whether you opt for one method or another, I don’t think it’s worthwhile to go back and rename older photos that you have already imported into Lightroom®. But once you choose the direction, you can put it into practice for future shoots.