Why Did Lightroom Erase All of my Edits?

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by Fishsarahg17

I guess I should say that I just have "All Photographs". Should I be making seperate catalogs? Or just folders?

you don't need separate catalogues unless you have a reason to make separate ones. (ooh that was insightful huh?) - -i guess what I am saying is having all the pictures on your hard drive in one catalogue is not an issue at all.

[Bluenoser]

Originally Posted by zona5101

you don't need separate catalogues unless you have a reason to make separate ones. (ooh that was insightful huh?) - -i guess what I am saying is having all the pictures on your hard drive in one catalogue is not an issue at all.

Exactly. There are times for more than one catalog, but it's an individual preference.

An example would be a Professional Wedding Photographer. He/She might have a seperate Catalog just for Wedding Photographs, and another for everything else.

[fletch]

Originally Posted by Fishsarahg17

I always import RAW files (RAW files go into LR and into my "My Pictures" folder in Windows. Then I edit them and then export the finished product as JPEG, then burn to disc for clients.

I know that this is probably not proper work flow, but it's all that I know how to do. I don't know anything about XMP files or why I should use them.

There is nothing wrong with that workflow.

XMP files will only be generated if you choose the "Write edits to file" option in lightroom. In this scenario they are a complete red hering.

Originally Posted by Fishsarahg17

I had deleted the rejected pictures long ago, not while the LR was running and not during this session.

That is why Lightroom thought the pictures still exist. If you are doing anything to files that have been imported into Lightroom it is advisable to do it in Lightroom, otherwise Lightroom won't see what you do. This is because Lightroom is a database, it had a record of where the files are saved and edits you have made to them. It is not a file browser like Windows explorer or Adobe Bridge.

Originally Posted by Fishsarahg17

I also don't use the catelog portion of LR. I only make folders. I know I should be using catelogs but I don't really understand that part either.

I think you are confusing catalogues and collections. The catalogue is the database that stores all of the information about you files, the location, any tags, flags, star ratings etc as well as all of the edits you have done.

There is no problem using folders, infact some very experinced LR users do things that way. Collections are like a Lightroom only version of folders, the don't change the location of the file on the disk though.

Originally Posted by Fishsarahg17

As you can tell, I'm new to LR and am learning as I go.

I was hoping someone knew how I could have restored my edits?

Without knowing what happened when LR crashed I'm not sure why the edits disappeared, its not expected behaviour. Do you back up your catalogue (the .lrcat file)? LR should do it automagically and you will see prompts every now and again when you open it. If so find these and try launching LR by double clicking on the file. It may contain your edits.

As for being new, it is worth understanding how LR works as it is not like any other image editing software. Once you understand the basics it is fairly simple though and can save you a whole heap of time.

Try these links as a place to start.

Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider Blog - 10 Things I Would Tell New Lightroom Users
10 Things I Wish I Could Tell Every New Lightroom User « Photofocus
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips
Flickr: Adobe Lightroom