Sessions Vs Catalogs in Capture One

If you have been using Lightroom, you are probably quite familiar with using Catalogs. Apparently, it’s a fairly recent addition to Capture One. So what’s the difference and why use one over the over.

What is a Catalog in Capture One?

A Catalog is like a filing system, it allows you to find, sort and edit (even export) various different files from the same access point, without having to go search for them. Similar to a library card system, or a central warehouse that stores all your images. Collections, Folders and Sessions can be contained within that library. If you are shooting mostly personal stuff and a wide variety of genres, then a Catalog system might just be the way to go.

Photo by Gabriel Sollmann on Unsplash

What is a Session in Capture One?

Sessions on the other hand are individual projects, they are separated from each other. They are almost like mini-filing systems. Each session will store all the images and data for that session together. The benefit of this is that you can grab THAT single session and put it on a hard drive and move it. Including all the editing and adjustments with it, without having to upload the whole Catalog. If you are doing studio work, using a different session for each shoot or project makes a lot of sense.

Sessions Vs Catalogs

Can you use both Sessions and Catalogs?

Yes, you can move your sessions into a Catalog. You can create your project in Sessions and then later import it into your Catalog. To do this go to Choose File > Import Session in the main menu and then select the Session name, select Import to begin the import, along with variants and metadata and any adjustments made.

What is the main benefit of using Sessions?

Sessions in Capture One are more ‘ala carte’ and completely separate from your Catalog. They are stored where you choose to store them (or leave them to the default session in Windows it’s your Picture folder). You can name and store as you wish, and select and move images within different folders inside your session (Capture, Selects, Trash etc). The main benefit being it’s easy to share across different devices. It makes shooting, selecting and culling images in a studio session quick and easy as well. Any changes you make to images in your Session will be moved with the moved Session.

Setting up a Session in Capture One

Which do I prefer?

After using Capture One in the studio for a while now, I must confess to preferring using Sessions over Catalogs. I create a new Session for each client or project that I am working on. I shoot mostly tethered, so clients and joint creatives can see everything as it’s happening. We make rate, sort and cull, make adjustments on the fly and then that entire session moved from the studio laptop to my main PC for final editing. For me, it makes sense and it works.