Do you rename the images?

Absolutely. After making a first selection I quickly batch rename them YYYYMMDD_XXXX. Works for me.

I never rename except when dealing with 'finished' images to which I sometimes add a suffix or two to denote that it is a mall size or that it has been [Sh]arpened, etc.
Also! When I make up DVD's for clients I often rename all of the photos [Using http://www.fauland.com​/af5.htm] something like 'Wedding-001, Wedding-002', rather then send them the files originally named--after culling there are inevitably gaps in the numbering.

WOW...I read through this thread and I'm surprised at the number of people who don't rename. There is also a common misconception in this thread; the 9,999 folder limit for some Canon cameras does not apply to a specific date; its simply the number of files that could possibly be held in a folder under the camera's naming scheme. So eventually a camera will hit 9,999 even if you don't shoot that much in a day.

My workflow is as follows;
1. Use Downloader Pro to transfer images to temporary folder. Files are renamed during download as follows: AAA_YYYYMMDD_Camera Body_xxxx (where xxxx is a number generated by DLP; it resets to 0001 each day).
2. Use BreezeBrowser Pro to scan and cull images. After culling images are renumbered to eliminate any gaps in numbers.
3. Use the free DNG converter to convert files to DNG format.
4. Use Lightroom to import DNG files while moving them to a folder in the format MM-DD. CR2 files are backed up to an external drive and the DVD.

nah, takes too long

No. I have a directory for the year (2007, 2008, 2009, etc) then within each year a folder for the month (01-January, 02-February) I put the number in front of the month so they sort properly. Then pictures from each month are placed in the appropriate folder. No need to rename as I will never shoot over 9999 in a month.

Hey NJ. If you use Downloader Pro you can have it automatically create a directory (if it doesn't already exist) for the year, another for the month, and then one for the date in any format you want.

for me (as recommended in the Dam Book which stands for digital asset management), it creates a directory for year, subdirectory for month, directory for date and then renames every file wcameron_yy_mm_dd_File​Number.

by the way Obiuno, this take NO time at all, all automatic when the file is downloaded. Add some good keywords and you can find any file based on the keywords, date etc. Also any editor will have your name as part of the file name (first part of file name for me).

magic

OBIUNO wrote in post #7576448
nah, takes too long

That depends on your workflow. I use LightRoom to transfer images from card to PC and it does the renaming automagically. In the past I used Downloader Pro.

jacuff wrote in post #7386298
Yep, I use the Batch Rename in Adobe Bridge to rename my files. Usually it is because I shoot with 2-3 cameras that have different file names. First I rename based on date and time to get them in correct chronological order and then I rename based on event. The first rename stores the original filename in the metadata.

I do the exact same thing. Can't see any other way to organize efficiently when shooting with two cameras.

Pete wrote in post #7386281
I let Lightroom prepend my file names with the date. That's as far as it goes.

YYMMDD_HHMMSS_IMG# for me. Lightroom does it all for me. It makes it easy to sort photos from multiple bodies and keeps fast bursts in the correct sequence. Also, no duplicate file names to worry about.