How I Sort Photos Now In Lightroom Classic

For years I’ve used what I call the A, B, C method to sort photos in Lightroom Classic (you can learn how it works in the article linked below).

Learn more: How To Find Your Best Photos Fast In Lightroom Classic

But this year I’ve been trying something different. Something faster, simpler and that works better for me. Now I’m sharing it with you so that you can test it out.

The disadvantage of the A,B,C method

The A,B,C method is brilliant for finding your best photos when you have lots of photos. I can easily end up with 500-700 photos (my record is 1749) on a single shoot. The A,B,C method lets you find the best 50 or so photos, the ones you want to develop. It’s effective, and it works. 

But there’s something I don’t like about it – a disadvantage that I’ve been aware of for a while. It separates sorting photos (as in finding your best ones) and developing photos into two different activities. 

I don’t like sorting photos, but I enjoy developing them. Developing photos is where I get to apply my creative skills. It’s reward for effort – seeing developed photos makes the work worthwhile. The quicker I can get to the developing stage, the happier I am. If it’s the same for you, you’ll love this new sorting method.

The Color Label sorting method

I call this new system the Color Label sorting method. Here’s how it works. 

1. Set things up. Start by creating a Collection Set for your shoot. Inside, create a Collection called A. Add all the photos you made on that shoot to Collection A. 

The screenshot below shows how it works with a Collection of 262 photos. I need to find the photos worth developing and put them into a new Collection.

I added the Color Label Yellow to the Collection Set (right-click > Add Color Label to Collection > Yellow). I use this Color Label to indicate that the Collection Set contains photos that haven’t been developed yet. 

I’ll change the Color Label to Green when I’ve developed the photos. That makes it easy for me to see which Collection Sets are finished. In other words, I’ve selected which photos to develop and completed that developing work.

2. Start looking at photos. So far this is identical to the A,B,C method. But this next step is where things are different.

Go through the photos one by one. Ask yourself the question “Do I want to develop this photo?” The answer should be yes or no (sometimes it’s a maybe). If it’s yes, press the 7 key. This applies the Yellow Color Label to the photo. If you change your mind press the 7 key again to remove it.

This method doesn’t use Flags or Star Ratings. Star Ratings are a waste of your time and ask the wrong question. The question isn’t “How many stars does this photo deserve?” The question is “Do I want to develop this photo?” This shift in mindset helps you find your keepers faster.

The advantage of using Color Labels is that it’s visual. You can see at a glance which photos you’ve selected for developing.

3. Use Survey View. As you go through your photos, don’t forget to use Survey View and Compare View to find the best image from a group of similar photos. I only use Survey View for this as it keeps things simple. Here’s how it works.

1. Select a group of similar photos and press N to bring up Survey View.

This lets you see all the photos together, so you can look at them and see what the differences are.

Click the first photo to select it, and press the Space Bar to flip to Loupe View. Then use the right- and left-arrow keys to cycle through the selected photos. Again, ask yourself if you want to develop the photo. If the answer’s yes, press the 7 key to apply the Yellow Color Label.

It doesn’t matter how many photos you select, but it’s helpful to select as few as possible. The better you get at picking the best photos here, and ignoring the others, the more helpful it is down the line.

Learn more: How To Use The Lightroom Classic Survey View

4. Refine your selection. Your job isn’t done once you’ve looked at all the photos and assigned Yellow Color Labels. You need to review your selection. Are there any photos in your selection that shouldn’t be there? Are there any that are too similar? Here’s where you can discard any that don’t belong. 

You can do this using a Filter Bar search (make sure you’re in Grid View and press the \ key to show the Filter Bar if you can’t see it). Click on Attribute at the top and then the Yellow and Green squares on the right (these should be the only selected attributes).

Now you can see all the photos with a Yellow Color Label in Grid View. In this case I have 65 photos with the Yellow Color Label, a nice manageable number.

5. Develop your photos. Now you can work through your photos and develop them. When you’ve finished developing a photo, change the Color Label to Green. Again, it’s a nice visual way to see which photos you’ve developed and which have been merely sorted. 

Eventually you’ll end up with nothing but green, like this.

6. Create a new Collection for your developed photos. To finish, you need to create a new Collection for your developed photos. Using a Collection makes it easier to find your developed photos. It also means that it doesn’t matter if you accidentally change or remove a photo’s Color Label. Here’s how you do it.

1. Select all your developed photos (Edit > Select All).

2. Create a New Collection (Library > New Collection). Call it B [Developed photos], check the Include Selected Photos box and press Create to set it up.

You’ll end up with something like this.

Change the Collection Set’s Color Label from Yellow to Green, and add a Green Color Label to the Collection B [Developed photos]. This is to let you know that the photos from this shoot are done. You’ve both sorted the photos and developed the best ones. The idea is that you can look at your Catalog and see straight away which Collection Sets contain photos that still need work.

How to combine sorting and developing photos

I mentioned earlier that the reason I struggle with the A,B,C sorting method is that it separates sorting from developing. But if this suits your way of working you can use The Color Label method the same way. Sort first, and develop afterwards. That’s exactly what the step by step instructions above show you how to do.

But here’s where you can change things up. The reason I like the Color Label method is that I can develop photos as I go. Usually it works like this. Once I’ve selected four or five photos and applied the Yellow Color Label, I’ll switch over to the Develop module and develop them. When I’ve developed a photo, I change the Color Label to Green. This visual system lets me see which photos I’ve selected, and which ones I’ve developed. So, in real life, the process above is more likely to look something like this, part way through.

The Color Label method means you can see at a glance which photos you’ve selected, which ones you’ve developed, and which ones either didn’t make the cut or are yet to be viewed.

Another benefit is that you can use an Attribute search in the Filter Bar at any time to hide all photos without Yellow or Green Color Labels from view.

A final observation about my working method. Developed (and Green Color Label applied) at this stage doesn’t mean finished. I view this first developing attempt the same way a writer views a first draft. It’s my first stab at getting things right. I re-evaluate when I use the photos, whether that’s to illustrate an article or a book, or create a PDF monograph (the most common uses for my images). 

This process never stops – I’m constantly tweaking, evaluating and trying new things. So just bear that in mind – developed doesn’t necessarily mean finished, and it’s okay to view your photos as works in process.

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