Step 5: Create And Name A Subfolder To Store The Images In

The Photo Downloader will automatically create a subfolder inside the save location you specified a moment ago and place your imported images inside the subfolder. This is a great way to help keep your images organized, but by default, it will give the subfolder a name based only on the date the photos were taken, which I don't find particularly useful since I have a hard enough time remembering what today's date is. If you want to name the subfolder something more descriptive, select Custom Name from the drop-down list directly below where it says "Create Subfolder(s)", then type in the name you want. Since my images were taken in Alaska, I'll name the subfolder "Alaska":

Step 6: Rename The Files If Needed

Another option the Photo Downloader gives us is to rename the images as they're being downloaded. By default, it won't rename them, but just as with the date the photos were taken, I don't find the names my camera gives them (like "_MG_2301") all that helpful. If you click on the Rename Files drop-down list (directly below the Create Subfolder(s) option), you'll bring up a list with lots of renaming choices. I'm going to again choose Custom Name, and I'll again type "Alaska" into the name field below the drop-down box. Bridge will now rename the files as they're being imported based on my custom name plus a 4-digital extension ("Alaska_0001", for example). You can enter a new starting number for the 4-digit extension into the input box directly across from the name field, or leave it at its default value of 1. Select the Preserve Current Filename in XMP option if you want to embed the original name in with the image file. You'll probably never need it, but at least it will be there if you do:

Step 7: Convert RAW Files To DNG

Below the Save Options are the Advanced Options. The first one, Open Adobe Bridge, is selected by default and will open Bridge automatically once the images are completely downloaded if it isn't open already. The option below it, Convert To DNG, is much more important. DNG stands for "digital negative", and if your images were saved by your camera in the raw format, it's a very good idea to select this option and convert your raw files into DNG files. This will help "future proof" your images, since there's no guarantee that your camera's specific type of raw format will always be compatible with future versions of Photoshop or with any other programs you may want to use them with. We won't get into technical details here, but DNG is a public, open standard format for raw files and if you want to keep the chances high that you'll be able to access your raw files down the road, select this option (if your images were saved as JPEG or TIFF files, you can ignore it):

Step 8: Backing Up Your Images

Unless you want to risk losing your images forever, never select the Delete Original Files option. Always make sure the images have downloaded successfully into the folder you specified in the Save Options before even thinking about deleting them from your camera or memory card. If you've deleted them, then discover that some of the photos are missing or some files are corrupted, you're out of luck.

Not only should you never select the Delete Original Files option, you should always back up the images by saving a copy of them to a second, separate folder, and you'll want this folder to be on a separate hard drive in case the primary drive crashes. Don't just choose a separate partition on the same drive because you'll lose all of your partitions when the drive fails. Select the Save Copies To option, then click the Choose button and choose where you want to save copies of the images to, either on a separate internal hard drive or on an external USB or FireWire drive:

Step 9: Add Author And Copyright Information

Finally, below the Advanced Options is the Apply Metadata section. Metadata, in this case anyway, means "information about your images". Enter your name into the Creator field and your copyright info into the Copyright field. If you've created your own custom metadata template (which we'll see how to do in another tutorial), you can select it from the Template to Use drop-down list, but we'll just stick with the basic information for now. To add the copyright symbol, on a PC, hold down your Alt key and type 0169 on the numeric keypad. On a Mac, hold down your Option key and press the letter G:

Step 10: Download The Photos

Once you've chosen your images in the preview area, selected your options and entered your information, click the Get Photos button in the bottom right corner of the Photo Downloader:

A small dialog box will appear showing the download progress. Click the Stop button if you need to cancel it before it finishes, or just sit back, relax and wait. If you're importing many high resolution raw files and converting them to DNG in the process, now might be a good time to get some fresh air and take the dog for a walk:

When all the images have been downloaded, they'll appear in Bridge so you can begin sorting through them:

And there we have it!

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