Clean up your Lightroom Catalog the Easy Way

Is your Lightroom Catalog overflowing with images? In this tutorial, Jason Odell demonstrates a simple technique for pruning unwanted images from your Lightroom Classic catalog using the Refine Photos command.

[@MrShotguned]

Man, you are a savior!
Now I know why the machine is SO slow. All that cache and not even using them anymore.
Great tutorial, THIS should be flagged as awesome

[@helenecyr2464]

You have no idea how much time and headaches you have saved me. Brilliant and thank you tenfolds!

[@AlanMohring]

I never understood why managing the size of your LR catalog was important until I had a catalog so large that LR kept freezing up on me. Thanks to your video, I will be able to manage my LR catalogs better and still keep some of my better photos on my external hard drive.

[@imaclite]

Very helpful and this is the first time I see someone talking about this 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@brookepoteet4168]

Thank you for the video! You did a great job at simplifying the process.

[@westwaywendyt5753]

This was incredibly helpful - thank you!

[@marinewife12201]

Thank you for the video! Very easy to follow! 👍🏼

[@genemaysonet3558]

Dang I was wondering how to do that , thank you that's fast and easy . Subscribed :)

[@adairdrive2268]

Great tip feella. Good to see the RAH in your snaps.

[@Hotspace5170]

Awesome video and a different way to manage my catalog which I’m currently working on now. Will this for the newest version of Lightroom desktop pc in 2022 ? By the way my image count is more than 19 thousand plus… it slow going but it’s getting done.

[@EnvyDesignGroup]

Super helpful thanks so much for posting.

[@mollywhelan1092]

Thank you so much this tip is brill!

[@phoebesinclair8440]

Very helpful. Thank you!

[@amanshaikh3685]

Very helpful video bro thanks so much

[@greghughes3965]

Great tip - thank you!

[@mdmominurrahman314]

Thanks a lot for this magic tip.

[@abhireddy3382]

It is really helpful
Thank you 💜

[@josephdelvin7771]

Super helpful!!

[@manishkafernando5442]

Very useful video! 💯

[@zelmira76]

Hi, does this work for the folder you are working on or it will refine your entire catalog?

[@londonken]

Excellent, save me so much time.

[@jackiemcdonaldphotography]

OH GOODNESS THANK YOU!!!

[@chirantha]

Thanks for this!

[@MikeyColon]

Huh? Who knew! Thanks for the tip!

[@Watermelon-daddy]

Thankkkk you soooo muchhh❤️💯🙏

[@Kidzatrocity]

Thanks for this video..

[@sir1creations746]

thanks for the info :)

[@mr_mr]

Very helpful

[@beyzayildiz1883]

Thanks for your helpful video. Question: Is it a personal choice that you remove them from Lightroom and not from your disk (so also Lightroom)? After a shoot I flag or star my best pictures and the rest I immediately delete from my disk too (thinking I won't use them anymroe anyway, thats's why you clean and organize your pictures right?)

[@JasonOdellPhoto]

Definitely a personal preference. Sometimes I want to make sure I don't get rid of stuff that I can use down the road for teaching examples.

[@halvardskjerdingstad6761]

THANKS OMG FIBNALLY I can get to bed lol

[@jairoromero1592]

Thank u so much!

[@joecarter9037]

thank you!!!

[@a.ladkawithcamera]

THANK YOU

[@whiterose7530]

Thank u so much 😊

[@acraftman2823]

Is there a difference between this and simply hitting X which automatically flags it and gives the same option without the refine step?

[@JasonOdellPhoto]

This command takes ALL the unflagged photos in a folder and marks them as "rejected" and then unflags all of the flagged images.

[@gammap6114]

Thank you for this tips. A simple delete of multiple photos need a trip to many search to do it. Just got my MacBook. The disadvantage in Mac is it take away the
flag that you spend so much time in choosing them. Windows is way smarter designed.

[@CKamera23]

you da man!

[@robertdouglas7420]

How do you do this in the latest 2021 version of Lightroom? Could you make another video explaining please 🤟🏽

[@JasonOdellPhoto]

It still works exactly the same. This is for Lightroom Classic, NOT Lightroom CC.

[@deepakphotowalachandigarh5716]

thanks

[@jasonkim9310]

Is there a way to delete photos from Lightroom only (as opposed to also removing from Apple devices) on Lightroom? I don't have Lightroom Classic, and I don't get the option to only remove from the app.

[@TheImageDoctors]

If you delete photos from your Lightroom (non-classic) library, they are deleted across all devices. Lightroom (formerly Lightroom CC/Lightroom Mobile) is a cloud-based catalog. I believe there is a way to purge original images from your mobile device, but if you delete them from the catalog, they're gone for good.

[@salvatoresilvanoemmi86]

Very useful Jason, Thanks! How to go back then?

[@mitchellbennett3638]

i guess it is quite randomly asking but does anybody know a good place to watch newly released tv shows online?

[@ahmirmekhi4415]

@Mitchell Bennett Flixportal :P

[@mitchellbennett3638]

@Ahmir Mekhi thank you, I went there and it seems like a nice service =) Appreciate it !!

[@ahmirmekhi4415]

@Mitchell Bennett Glad I could help :D

[@wolf_pup5620]

I flagged them and then I lost over 3,000 photos 😢

[@DannyDirector]

How do you keep all files in place and not move them ?? I was able to this in the gecko but no it moves them to a new dated folder

[@JasonOdellPhoto]

Deleting images from your catalog does not move them. The only time files are moved is if a) you move them in the Library or b) you move files during import.

[@tinacampbell8867]

I need help! Seems I got a virus and have gotten a spam of photos of random 2 bit images. Thousands…. 😢 any suggestions to weed them out?!

[@JasonOdellPhoto]

I don't know any good ideas other than to look directly into the image directories on your computer and see about getting rid of the small files (maybe sort by file size)?

[@beejay4536]

I don't have the library option at the top :/ ?

[@JasonOdellPhoto]

Are you using Lightroom Classic?

[@beejay4536]

@@JasonOdellPhoto omg thank you for responding 🤩 and yeah I think so it version 3.4

[@TonyPeck]

ok I feel really stupid. my Lightroom does not look like this.... I got a new iMac for Christmas and my new version of Lightroom is completely different from my old one. it appears to be completely all web based and I am struggling to figure out where the tabs are at the top and how to sort and filter/delete etc. any advise would be great, I hate that it is webbed verses not on my machine

[@JasonOdellPhoto]

Tony- you need to use Lightroom CLASSIC, not Lightroom CC

[@TonyPeck]

@@JasonOdellPhoto how do I get that? I pay the monthly subscription?
is there a link maybe you can send me? my Macbook pro was 12 years old and would not update anymore and I loved it. now I feel like I am starting all over lol. I appreciate your help, but I have been lost and researching for a couple days now

[@JasonOdellPhoto]

@@TonyPeck The Adobe Photography subscription plan includes Lightroom Classic and Adobe Photoshop. They no longer offer a stand-alone version of the software.

[@TeamFITBODY]

Not optimization, but merely culling your images. Was hoping for a more in depth streamlining of files saved by lightroom etc.

[@JasonOdellPhoto]

You can run the optimization routine manually, or when you back up your catalog.

[@grahamhayes2217]

So you have been through 81000 photo inserting the P flags seems very time consuming

[@JasonOdellPhoto]

In fairness, this is much easier to do as you go, rather than all at once in hindsight

[@HollywoodConnection-JAST]

doesnt work for windows PC computers, this is for apple

[@JasonOdellPhoto]

This is for Lightroom Classic, regardless of platform.

[@bhanupriyack9139]

Om sai ram

[@maxlasater]

Just deleted 11k

[@courtneyfoster4697]

ohhh this is a very dangerous.. I suggest people not do this

[@SamA-kl6pi]

We have no idea who you are or why o e shouldn’t do this. Care to explain? Or better yet, make a video.

[@RuznaDoKoske]

Thanks!!!

[@steveshkunda]

thanks