Today’s Question: I inadvertently used the Delete Rejected Photos command [in Lightroom Classic] while browsing a collection rather than a folder. The confirmation suggested the images might only be removed from the collection, not deleted. Does that mean I need to be sure to be in a folder if I want to truly delete rejected photos.
Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, to delete the source files for photos that have been marked as rejected you need to be browsing a folder. If you’re browsing a collection, the only option is to remove the images from the collection, not to delete the source files.
More Detail: The “Delete Rejected Photos” command is simply a variation on the “Remove Photo” command. In other words, they both behave the same, with the “Delete Rejected Photos” command effectively being a “Remove Photo” command that only applies to images that have the Reject flag applied that are in the current folder or collection. If you use either of these commands in a collection, you will only be removing images from the collection and not removing the source files from their storage location.
If you are browsing a folder, you have the option to either delete the applicable photos or only remove them from the Lightroom Classic catalog. If you apply either option the image will be removed from all collections they were added to, since the source image would no longer be in the Lightroom Classic catalog. And if you use the delete option then the source file will be removed from the storage location as well.
