File Naming - Re-Naming with Lightroom

When shooting with multiple cameras at a wedding, is there a quick (and easy) way to re-name the files so that they are in proper sequence?

The cameras are time synchronized but I don't see an easy way to sort them by the time captured. Lightroom will sort by "capture time" but that's not the answer I'm looking for.

Furthermore, Lightroom doesn't have the option to name a sequence in multiple digits. By this, I mean being able to name a sequence starting at 001, 0001, etc. It will default to 1, which makes sorting almost impossible.

I'd like to hear from those who shoot with multiple cameras/photographers at weddings as to how they sort all the images and keep them in sequence throughout the workflow.

Thanks,
Bill

1. I use an application named SymmTime to connect to an official time server and update my computer's clock. Since I'm relatively close to Chicago I connect to Argonne National Labs Atomic clock.

2. I use Downloader Pro from Breeze Systems to synchonize my 3 cameras with my computer.

3. After a shoot, I use Downloader Pro to interface with my card reader and download my files to a common folder. DLPro can be configured to identify each camera by make, model, or even serial number. So my files are downloaded and renamed by DLP as follows: FTC_1Ds_20090113_XXXX (Initials_camera mode_date in ISO format_lunique 4 digit number) etc. By using the camera model as an identifier I can save all the files from one shoot in a single folder regardless of the cameras used.

4. Open BreezeBrowser Pro to cull images, sort them by Time Taken, then rename them in the format FTC_20090113_xxxx. The reason I use BreezeBrowser Pro is because in my experience Lightroom has difficult reading subsecond timing and photos taken in Burst Mode sometimes are sorted incorrectly. BB Pro doesn't have that problem.

5. Generate DNG files and backup CR2 files in two locations. Import DNG files into Lightroom.

You can set up a naming convention which will rename images to the nearest second. eg yyyymmdd_hour_minute_s​econd.

To make them unique within seconds, you can also include an (import) sequence number which will start at whatever number you desire.

Unfortunately, I don't think its smart enough yet to "Sequence within Parent" ie in this case, sequence within second. Thus the sequence number will apply to the whole import.

PipesInTune wrote in post #7068279
Furthermore, Lightroom doesn't have the option to name a sequence in multiple digits. By this, I mean being able to name a sequence starting at 001, 0001, etc. It will default to 1, which makes sorting almost impossible.

Yes it does. When you go into the File Naming dialog, go to Edit and bring up the File Naming editing dialog. You'll find options like Sequence#0000 which will start at 0001.