Confused about import and workflow...

Ok folks, I purchased Lightroom last week and I am still staring at an empty Library module. I have thousands of images but I seem to have been overcome by a case of anxiety/paralysis. Why, you ask? I can't determine an import strategy; here's why.



I maintain three versions of every photo: 1) Original RAW, 2)Processed Tif, and 3) a Screen/web-ready Jpg



Photos are sequencially numbered and maintained in folders as in the example below:

- Main folder, 00001-00048

-- 3 Sub-folders: RAW, Tif, Jpg,

--- Each sub-folder has a sub-folder containing 24 photos (e.g 00001-00024 and 00025-00048)



Method to my madness...

- Each Main folder/content fits nicely on a DVD

- 24 files to each sub-folder makes a nice printed 4 column, 6 row contact sheet and a 1024 x 768 contact sheet for the computer screen.



Obviously I do not want all 3 versions of every photo visible in the library but I do want access to all of them through LR. Can I import all three versions and stack them?



Also, I typically d/l my RAW files from a card reader to a d/l folder, preview and delete, process keepers via PS and save as Tif, batch rename picking up where I left off from the last batch, and finally resize/convert to Jpg and save copies. All files are then moved to numbered folders on a backup hard drive and burned to two DVDs.



Given the new/required import methodology, is this process of saving, renaming, moving to different folders, etc., still possible using LR, or do I have to reinvent the wheel?



Apologies for the lengthy post - appreciate any and all input. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Jeff
Confused about import and workflow...
%26gt; Can I import all three versions and stack them?



Well, you can only stack within a folder, not across the hierarchy. So they'll all need different names and to be in the same folder. But leaving them in their own folders should work, and there are ways to hide them, like making the RAWs red, the TIFFs green, and the JPEGs purple, or something like that. Then just filter for what you want.



Your downloading etc. system should still work in LR.