Lost Files. Big Problem!

A client ordered some prints. I tried to develop them in LR, but LR couldn't find them. I checked the original folder in explorer and, indeed, they were not there. I didn't delete these photos. I checked the recycle bin just in case- nothing. Does anyone know what I can do?

Do you have a backup hard drive? If not, use a system restore point to go back to a time before the files were removed.

Lost files. Rather urgent matter

I apologize, I posted this in the storage section because I'm not really sure where this should go and I need some help.

A client ordered some prints. I tried to develop them in LR, but LR couldn't find them. I checked the original folder in explorer and, indeed, they were not there. I didn't delete these photos. I checked the recycle bin just in case- nothing. Does anyone know what I can do? Thank you in advance.

What is your workflow? It would he hard to guess what might have happened to them without knowing how you do your imports and file management.

I download RAWs into explorer folder, import them into LR, and save converted JPEGs in a subfolder of original explorer folder.

Are they still on your hard drive?

I searched my C drive, where they should be, and came up with nothing.

They're on your backup right...?

Can you get them off of your memory card again?

If you mean an external hard drive, no. When I initially work with photos, I don't transfer them to the external drive until I'm done in LR, simply because it's faster. I upload them externally when I'm done with them. If you mean my LR backups, to be honest, I don't understand the backup option if, when the original file goes missing, it can't be retrieved anyway, like this one did. I am grateful for advice, because it could certainly be ignorance on my part. I've been working with LR for a little over a year and have never had a problem.

I delete my cards after downloading and ensuring they're all on my hard drive.

If you haven't used your memory cards since deleting them then you should be able to recover them off the card.

e-k

glasllyn wrote in post #16993771
I searched my C drive, where they should be, and came up with nothing.

Are you sure you downloaded them onto your computer in the first place?

Codda wrote in post #16993789
They're on your backup right...?

Or your second backup since these were for a client.

I'd suggest you look at your Lightroom Import options. It's very possible or likely that Lightroom was set to move the files into a specific location: a specific directory and possibly a subdirectory.

To check this out, you can do a fresh import: copy some pics into the location where you had copied the ones in question using your system file browser, as if you were doing a fresh shoot. Then, open the Lightroom Import dialog, then stop and carefully look over all your Import options, including the Import "action" selected in the list at the top of the Import dialog, and the "Destination"/"main" folder (it shows up in the top right corner as well as the "selected" folder in the Folder list down at the bottom of the right panels) and look at all of the options in the various panels on the right side, which should show specifics of how LR is set to handle the files as they are imported.

At least one of these options is likely not what you had suspected, but it should give you a "clue" as to where your files landed. You can verify this, but then I'd suggest you settle a workflow procedure so you don't have to mess with those options every time you want to do an import.

My workflow follows the KISS ("Keep It Simple, Stupid!") approach: I plug in the card from a shoot, and Lightroom typically opens the Import dialog (it's set to do that in my Preferences) and, by default, the LR action is to "Copy" the files from the card. In my file naming options I have a "template" set up (via the Edit option in the drop-down list) to name the files with a "custom text" with the date and shoot description, followed by a "xxx" three-digit sequence#.

After I type in the "base" text (date and description) then I Ctl-a (select the text/name) and Ctl-c copy it. I then go down to the panel designating the folder/destination and I make sure the "Subfolder" option is selected. I click on the Subfolder Name text box and Ctl-v Paste the base name into that text box.

That's it, two Simple steps, and I'll typically leave all the files/previews "checked" to import them all, so I just click Import, and it's a done deal, and the subfolder and images all show up in the Library module/Folders panel. Note that the files have been re-named from the names the camera gave to them.

As to the card, once the Import is done and the images show no problems, I'll delete the originals from the card using the camera Format function.

If you've gone over this and still can't nail the problem, well, let us know!

I can't believe that you would not immediately make a backup for a client shoot. I'm not even a pro and I still make sure I'm backed up before I reformat the card.

I also don't use Windows for the initial transfer. I plug the card into my reader and import directly into LR, copying the files from the card to my hard drive. Then I check my WD external to be sure that the real time back up has backed them up. Only after that will I put the card back into the camera and format.

I don't begin to work on the photos until I've done all of that.