Why labels are truly useful when organizing your photos

Labels are truly useful when organizing your photos, as you can assign them whatever meaning you wish. Generally, flags and numbered systems are set up for rating your images. This is not the case with coloured labels. This means you can use them for whatever method you choose. Perhaps you have green labels for landscapes or trees, blue for skies. It’s totally up to you.

Why use coloured labels at all?

Regardless of what program I am using, Lightroom, Capture One etc. I often rate my images after import, five stars for my favourite down to three or four (If something is lower than a three-star I usually don’t import it in the first place). I can then add different coloured labels as well as ratings. I often have green for finished edit and red for needs some Photoshop. Yellow for trying different edits.

Rating and colour labels in Lightroom Classic

How to use labels?

There are often five different colour labels (Capture One 22 has seven colours), to apply a label right-click on your image and add a set colour label (Lightroom) or tag colour (Capture One). You can use a variety of coloured labels and ratings within the same folder. You can then use these along with other rating methods in sorting and filtering in order to work with the photos you choose.

Why rate or even label your photos at all?

This is not a necessary part of the editing process, but I find it can be a valuable tool in the culling process. Especially if I have a large number of photos to review. Rating them and then in turn using a coloured labelling system, means I can only view the images I wish to work on at any given time.

Select the images you wish to work on with ratings and labels

Sorting labels

Just above the filmstrip (in Lightroom) you will find the filter section. You can select the number rating and /or the colour label here. You will then only see the image with that colour label and any rating you set. You can choose several different colour labels at once.

The Filter panel

So next time you bring your images into Lightroom, Capture One or various other programs, try doing a quick cull, by rating your images and then take it a step further by adding colored labels. Then I’m sure you’ll find why many of us find Why labels are truly useful when organizing your photos.