Categories are a way to subdivide the images in a Gallery, like chapters in a book — very helpful when there are lots of images. By default images all upload into the Category "Unsorted". You can create new Categories at any time, and drag images from Unsorted into them . There's a second default Category, called Rejects, for images you've decide not to display (poor quality, duplicates etc). Workspace doesn't display images in the Rejects Category anywhere else.
If you've already sorted the images in another program you can upload them directly into the Categories that you've set up.
Collections are groups of images that have been selected for a particular purpose, like a shopping cart or album. It's Collections that you share with your clients, not Categories.
- There is a default Collection to which all images belong called (yes!) All Images.
- You can place images in as many Collections as you like but only in one Category.
You don't need to use either Collections or Categories if you don't want to. They're simply tools to use as and when you wish.
How it works in practice
When you open a Client Gallery you'll find its associated Categories and Collections listed in a panel to the left of the image window.
Let's suppose you've shot 2000 images at a wedding and dragged the culled images into Rejects, leaving, say, 1200 "winners". You've divided the 1200 into Categories like Bride's Home, Church, Ceremony, Family, Formals, Reception etc, but this is still more than you need.
You then create three Collections for different purposes:
- 600 in a private Gallery for the Bride and Groom
- 200 in a public Gallery to share and sell to family and friends
- 100 for a draft album design
Any particular photo could appear in all three Collections.
Images will be displayed in their different Categories. Just as you could jump from Category to Category while you worked behind the scenes, your clients and their friends will be able to view them the same way.
After your clients have indicated their favourites, and perhaps the ones they don't like, you can drag images into or out of the various Collections as required — even out of Rejects.
You can move images:
- from one category to another.
- from a category into a collection.
- from one collection to another.
