Today’s Question: I currently use Photoshop and Adobe Bridge. I have used keywords in Bridge. Will those keywords be included if I switch to Lightroom Classic?
Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, the metadata you add to photos with Adobe Bridge will be included in the catalog when you import photos into Lightroom Classic.
More Detail: When you add metadata to photos in Adobe Bridge, by default the standard metadata updates (such as keywords and star ratings) will be added to the metadata for the photos. For raw captures that means an XMP sidecar file will be created or updated, with the metadata updates included in that XMP file.
When you then import those images into Lightroom Classic, the metadata from the photos will be included as part of that import. Therefore, all keywords and other standard metadata will appear within your catalog, just as you saw it in Adobe Bridge.
Note that this metadata support only extends to standard metadata fields. One exception to this would be the Reject flag, which is a feature supported by both Adobe Bridge and Lightroom Classic, but that is not included as part of a metadata standard. Therefore, if you apply a reject flag in one of these two applications that reject flag will not appear in the other application.
So, in the context of importing photos into Lightroom Classic that had previously been managed in Adobe Bridge, any reject flags will not be visible in Lightroom Classic.
In addition, Adobe Bridge and Lightroom Classic use different definitions for color labels, even though both are applications from Adobe. For example, in Adobe Bridge a red color label gets the value of “Select” in metadata, while in Lightroom Classic a red color label gets the value of “Red”.
If you have worked with color labels in Adobe Bridge, you can maintain your existing workflow by setting the color label definitions in Lightroom Classic to the Adobe Bridge preset. To do so, go to the menu and choose Metadata > Color Label Set > Bridge Default. You could also change the existing color labels in Lightroom Classic to match the default definitions in Lightroom Classic, such as by assigning a “Red” color label to all images that have a “Select” color label from Adobe Bridge.
Overall, however, the transition from Adobe Bridge to Lightroom Classic is very seamless, with standard metadata fields being retained, and your existing folder structure being reflected for images you import into your Lightroom Classic catalog.