Sessions vs Catalogs
Capture One lets you organise your work as a Session or a Catalog. A Session is a self-contained folder holding your photos and settings, perfect per shoot or job. A Catalog is a central database to manage your whole archive, much like Lightroom's catalog.
If you work job by job or shoot tethered in the studio, a Session usually feels best: everything sits neatly in folders you can move or archive in one go. A Catalog shines when you want to search your entire library and find images by keyword. You can import Sessions into a Catalog later, so you don't have to decide on day one. Tip: as a beginner start with Sessions, it gives you the clearest view of where your files actually live.
Related terms
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The presets on this site set these adjustments up for you as a starting point, which you then fine-tune to taste.