Lightroom : Workflow using both desktop and mobile versions

[Krusty]

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vor 2 Stunden schrieb LocalHero1953:

I also get irritated by the way in which LR CC and LR Classic work together, but I have found a way that is good enough for me.

I use LR CC on my Macbook Pro (which has a SD card slot, making importing easy). When I'm travelling, I import all photos to LR CC on the Macbook, and add them to a new album. I will also do as much editing as I think they need, and perhaps post them here or to other social media. The album or albums are visible online in LR Web (as long as I have signed in).

When I get home, I start LR Classic on my Windows desktop. The albums become visible as Collections in LR Classic, but within a Collection Set called 'From Lightroom', which is automatically created by Lightroom. One important step, which I discovered by accident, is that I must close LR CC on the Macbook, otherwise LR Classic will not sync the new collection (even though it is visible in LR Web).

I drag all the new images (which are edited DNGs) from the synced collection into my main catalogue on the desktop HDD. I then delete the collection. This removes it from LR Web, and deletes the original album on my Macbook, as well as the original DNGs on my Macbook (though they are visible in the Deleted folder, so could be retrieved if necessary).

With this approach I can use my Macbook for travel editing and for transfer to my main Lightroom catalogue on my windows desktop, while keeping the Macbook uncluttered with large files in the long term.

That is a good approach and i will also try it next time. Perfect would be a toggle „What should happen to the original File in the Cloud after it was downloaded to Lightroom Classic“ where you decide „keep in the Cloud“ or „replace by smart Preview“. Then it would be possible to let your home-computer always running and downloading the DNGs while replacing them by smart previews. Your cloud would never be full… 

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[LocalHero1953]

Another annoying thing about LR CC and LR Classic. In LR CC you can create albums and folders - a handy means of structuring your albums. These folders are reproduced in LR Web - you can see them in your browser online. You can do the same in LR Classic: create a collection set for holding collections. But a collection set is NOT reproduced in LR Web, nor does it match up with a folder in LR CC. Albums and collections sync with each other, but the enclosing folders and collection sets do not. This is just bizarre!

A related issue: I do quite a bit of photography for theatre and performance groups, and distribute the images by sending a link to a collection online, from which they can download their images. I may create several collections for them: headshots, early rehearsals, dress rehearsal etc. But I cannot send a single link to a collection set (or folder) which would allow the team to access all collections as they are added without any further action by me. I have to send them a series of separate links.

[hirohhhh]

8 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Another annoying thing about LR CC and LR Classic. In LR CC you can create albums and folders - a handy means of structuring your albums. These folders are reproduced in LR Web - you can see them in your browser online. You can do the same in LR Classic: create a collection set for holding collections. But a collection set is NOT reproduced in LR Web, nor does it match up with a folder in LR CC. Albums and collections sync with each other, but the enclosing folders and collection sets do not. This is just bizarre!

A related issue: I do quite a bit of photography for theatre and performance groups, and distribute the images by sending a link to a collection online, from which they can download their images. I may create several collections for them: headshots, early rehearsals, dress rehearsal etc. But I cannot send a single link to a collection set (or folder) which would allow the team to access all collections as they are added without any further action by me. I have to send them a series of separate links.

Yeah, you have to create manually the collection set/folder in Lr CC.

I gave up from Lr CC a long time ago. If you're using primarily Classic and if you're kinda advanced user, and have everything neatly organized, CC won't help you much. It could be good for some quick editing on the iPad or phone, but other than that, I didn't find the purpose.

[Ricard0]

Interesting thread and some very helpful workflow examples.

I am about to head out on a 6 week international trip and plan to take LOTS of photos with my new M11.  As others have mentioned, I'll probably only do limited editing for sharing a few pix with family while traveling so while it would be nice to be able to sync my Lightroom CC  edits (on iPad Pro, 1TB) my concern is how to safely back up the photos while I'm traveling, in case the camera and/or iPad are damaged or stolen.

I've currently got the 20GB CC plan but also have a 200GB Google drive and 200GB (?) Apple Photos storage.   Would a good backup strategy be to simply upload all the photos from the iPad to one or the other of those services (or use one as overflow should the other fill up), or would it be better to upgrade to the 1TB Creative Cloud subscription and just let Lightroom CC push everything to the cloud?

End goal would be to have all the photos safely backed up to the cloud, with any edits done while traveling also saved for when I get home and sync everything to Classic (icing on the cake, so to speak).

[LocalHero1953]

The problem with cloud storage (of any flavour) while travelling is that unless you have an unlimited data package on your phone, plus access to a very good 4G+ signal, or access to fast wifi/broadband, then uploading photos to the cloud will be glacial, or just won't happen. Furthermore, your nearest and dearest, who is sitting down to browse the internet on his/her laptop in the hotel bedroom/airbnb/campsite will not be happy that you are hogging the system upload capacity. I'm travelling through France at the moment in a succession of small chambres d'hôtes /airbnbs in small towns, and I've given up uploading anything to LR CC.

You could use high capacity SD cards in your M11 and not delete photos. That way you have SD cards and iPad backing each other up. I'm not familiar with iPads and their connectivity, but I'd have thought the next step would be to use a small external SSD.

Edited April 8, 2023 by LocalHero1953

[elmars]

Hotel Wifi is very different. In Napoli I gave up the upload, in Tokio it was very fast (about 400 DNG in half an hour I guess). If You have an iPad and Wifi upload is working acceptable, the upload can be done the next day when You are on the run and leave the iPad in the hotel. 

[Ricard0]

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2 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

You could use high capacity SD cards in your M11 and not delete photos. That way you have SD cards and iPad backing each other up. I'm not familiar with iPads and their connectivity, but I'd have thought the next step would be to use a small external SSD.

Good points on the network speeds.  We'll be in the Cotswolds staying at a 300 year old cottage for part of the trip so probably not very fast internet, then a high-end hotel in London for Charles' coronation so speed shouldn't be too bad. 

 I will have a 4TB SSD with me and plan to bring about half a dozen 64GB / 128GB SD cards, so there will be several backups on hand, just concerned that somehow we lose all the luggage AND camera gear (not likely, I know...).

I'm a belt & suspenders kind of guy and thought the cloud would be the safest place for the photos so this discussion about how LR Classic and LR CC handle synchronization seemed to be an option to consider. 

[Krusty]

Hello again,

A new version of Lr CC for iOS was released. Now it is possible to edit files, which are on a external Device (e.g. SD Card, big USB-C Stick or even maybe an external USB-C SSD???). I am always thinking how this can have an impact on all the topics, which are discussed in this thread so far. Now you don’t need storage in the cloud and / or on your device to edit pictures on the go.

Hopefully the next iPhone will also have an USB-C connector as well so that it is maybe possible, to connect an 1 or 2 TB USB-Stick or a USB-C card reader. So you can also spare expensive iPad / iPhone memory if you use the external memory. 

One possible Workflow when your travel would be: At the end of the day, copy the SD-Card from your camera to a 1TB USB-Stick / 1TB SSD / 1TB SD-Card, connect this to your iPhone / iPad and edit these files on the external device without importing it on the expensive internal storage or the Creative Cloud (i am not sure, if these „external-device-edited-pictures“ will be synced to the cloud or not and if yes as a smart preview or full DNG - Smart Preview would be great as they don’t use cloud storage). When you are back home, you can import then all files and download all pictures to Lightroom Classic….

 

I do not have tested this all, maybe somebody knows how the behavior is… (maybe i can test the next few days)

 

Regards, Krusty.

 

EDIT: It is also possible to edit Pictures on the iPad / iPhone which are in the Camera Roll / iOS Photos Library… it is now possible, to edit old DNGs which are in my iPhone Photos Library / iCloud Library and shot 14 Years ago without copying to the Lightroom Storage. But as soon as i edit the file, which has it origin in the Photos / iCloud Library it will be uploaded in full resolution to the creative cloud… 

Edited June 13, 2023 by Krusty