Lightroom CC storage help

[benhl-y2vspf]

Hi,

I'm new to Lightroom and the Adobe ecosystem.

I need some advice on how to set up cloud backup for my photo collection as I transition from OneDrive to Lightroom/Adobe Cloud. I've broken it down as follows.

My current solution:

• All photos stored on my C drive (around 200GB)
• All photos backed up to the cloud with OneDrive
• View photos on my phone with OneDrive app (this is very unfriendly)
• Automatically upload phone photos with OneDrive app

My ideal solution:

• All photos stored on my C drive for quick access by Lightroom
• All photos backed up to the cloud with Lightroom sync
• Organise my current Windows folders into Lightroom albums
• View / edit photos with Lightroom app (very friendly)
• Sync phone photos to cloud

My very basic questions:

• Is my ideal solution possible?
• Should I rely on Lightroom as my cloud backup for photos?
• By default does the Android app download your cloud photos? My 200gb would fill up my phone!
• I'm confused about local storage. When I import new photos into Lightroom CC (Desktop) are they stored locally? Do I delete the files from their original location after import?
• What is Lightroom storing on the cloud? Original + modified versions? If I don't specifiy a local storage folder does Lightroom still sync the original to the cloud?

Sorry for all the questions. I am very confused right now but excited to get into Lightroom.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Ben

[selondon]

Hi Ben,

Loads of good questions that someone will answer I am sure.

An interesting and good place to start maybe understanding the differences between Lightroom Classic and Lightroom CC are the last four videos in this link:

Lightroom CC 2017 - YouTube

[Jim Wilde · Accepted solution]

benhl  wrote

My very basic questions:

• Is my ideal solution possible?
• Should I rely on Lightroom as my cloud backup for photos?
• By default does the Android app download your cloud photos? My 200gb would fill up my phone!
• I'm confused about local storage. When I import new photos into Lightroom CC (Desktop) are they stored locally? Do I delete the files from their original location after import?
• What is Lightroom storing on the cloud? Original + modified versions? If I don't specifiy a local storage folder does Lightroom still sync the original to the cloud?

I'll try to answer:

1. Mostly. I have a caveat about cloud backup which stops me from answering "Fully" to the first question. See next.

2. Personally, I don't. Yes I have all my originals (just over 200Gb) stored in the Adobe cloud, but they are there because I want the ability to view/organise/edit my photos wherever I may be and using whatever of my synced devices that I have with me (though simple access to a browser would suffice). However, I disregard the "backup" element of the LRCC "ecosystem", largely because I view it as wholly inadequate as a system-wide backup solution. Backing up photos and catalogs is just one part of my backup strategy, I want a solution which encompasses ALL my critical data, not just my images, so using LRCC for that purpose just doesn't work. Instead I use dedicated backup software to backup all my data to various sources, including the cloud....just not Adobe's cloud. Yes, you could use the Adobe cloud if all you want is your photos backed up, but even then it's risky as there's currently no version control, nor even yet a Trash Can (delete a file currently and it's gone, period). But then I wouldn't consider One-Drive or Dropbox as viable backup solutions either.

3. No. Thumbnails of all images will be downloaded when you open an album (which don't take up much space), but you have control over what else gets downloaded. As a minimum you'll need a smart preview downloaded if you want to edit a photo, and you can also download individual originals if you want, but you can easily contain the amount of space the app uses on your phone/tablet.

4. Yes, when you import into LRCC desktop, the files are copied to your hard drive (either into the default location or the alternative location that you can specify in the Local Storage tab of the LRCC Preferences). That copy is made to protect the files whilst they are being uploaded to the cloud. Once the upload is complete, that local copy is eligible for removal which will happen as needed (though they obviously won't be removed if you've elected to "Store a copy of all originals at the specified location"). There's no need to delete the files manually, the app should take care of that (though you can do it manually if you prefer).

5. If you import photos into any of the LRCC apps (desktop, phone, tablet, web browser), the original file is always automatically uploaded, regardless of the Local Storage options. If you import photos into a synced LR Classic catalog, and you manually set them to sync, only Smart Previews of those files will be uploaded. However, LR Classic will also download a full version of any originals it sees in the cloud. Not sure what you mean by "modified versions"....like all Lightroom programs, all adjustments are stored in a catalog separately from the originals (non-destructive editing) but are applied to the previews that you see on screen, and of course are applied when you export a file. But the original is always unchanged.

Once you have your head around how it all works, and get it setup the way you want it, I'm sure you'll find the experience enjoyable. But come back if you have more questions.

[benhl-y2vspf]

Thank you so much for this response and the one below. They have both been very helpful in giving me confidence! I need to digest and then I might come back with questions!

[benhl-y2vspf]

Just to double check my understanding of your response. Say I copy photos from my camera to the computer to say C:/Desktop/New Photos and then I import these to Lightroom with local storage set to C:/MyLightroomPhotos. Then all the photos are copied to C:/MyLightroomPhotos and automatically uploaded to the cloud. Post import I can go ahead and clear C:/Desktop/New Photos as everything has been copied / cloud backed up. Is this correct?

Once imported and I delete a photo in All photos does that delete the local copies or just the cloud versions?

Sorry for these basic questions!

[Jim Wilde]

benhl  wrote

Just to double check my understanding of your response. Say I copy photos from my camera to the computer to say C:/Desktop/New Photos and then I import these to Lightroom with local storage set to C:/MyLightroomPhotos. Then all the photos are copied to C:/MyLightroomPhotos and automatically uploaded to the cloud. Post import I can go ahead and clear C:/Desktop/New Photos as everything has been copied / cloud backed up. Is this correct?

Once imported and I delete a photo in All photos does that delete the local copies or just the cloud versions?

Sorry for these basic questions!

Yes to the question at the end of the first paragraph.....but you could simplify the process by importing directly from the camera (though card in card reader would be better) into LRCC, cutting out the unnecessary step of first copying to "New Photos". If you have "Store a copy of all originals at the specified location" enabled in the preferences, the copy in "MyLightroomPhotos" will be retained, but if it is unchecked then gradually the images in that folder will be removed.

If you delete a photo from All Photos it is deleted from the cloud, all synced devices, AND the local copy.

[99jon]

As Jim says. Basically C/:MyLightroomPhotos would be a mirror of the cloud originals if you choose the local storage option.

If you do ever wish to delete items from the cloud you could first find the original (in dated subfolder based on date taken) within MyLightroomPhotos and make copies to a thumb drive or another partition. So when your cloud and local copies disappear you retain another hard copy. Or export a jpeg or tiff before deleting from the cloud and those would contain your editing adjustments.

[99jon]

Hi Ben, it seems that you have set yourself a very interesting project. I will try and deal with each point in order and hope the information makes things a bit clearer.

All photos stored on my C drive for quick access by Lightroom

LrCC does not recognize folders and sub-folders on your computer. If the majority of your files are being added from your C drive you may wish to import one folder at a time. You then get the opportunity to create a named album during import. LRCC will let you create in-app folders for better organization. For example I have folders :

2016 Photos

2017 Photos

2018 Photos

It is quite simple to drag albums into these in-app folders.

All photos backed up to the cloud with Lightroom sync

All originals added to LRCC, LRCC Android, LRCC iOS or LrCC Web App are automatically backed up to the cloud. The sync icon (top-right) will show you when the process is complete.

Organise my current Windows folders into Lightroom albums

See above – importing each folder as a separate batch.

View / edit photos with Lightroom app (very friendly)

Yes the LRCC interface is very intuitive. You don’t need to jump modules to edit your photos, the tools are just available on the right.

Is my ideal solution possible?

You have given things careful thought and with a step by step approach you should be able to achieve a workable solution.

Should I rely on Lightroom as my cloud backup for photos?

This is the key selling point of LRCC. Backup is completely automatic. It’s a personal choice whether or not you need any other backup. I do tend to make a copy of all my originals to an external hard drive when importing from camera and before deleting everything from the storage card or formatting the card in-camera to wipe it. Also see local storage below

By default does the Android app download your cloud photos? My 200gb would fill up my phone!

The cache is dynamic and LRCC intelligently manages space so that proxies are optimized for each device or computer in order to take up the minimum footprint. 200gb of originals would only require a fraction of that space on your phone. After a short period following import, originals automatically drop out of the cache unless you are actively working on or editing your photos.

I'm confused about local storage. When I import new photos into Lightroom CC (Desktop) are they stored locally? Do I delete the files from their original location after import?

If you set up local storage in LRCC Preferences every original imported will be saved to your nominated drive. This is in addition to the original backed up in the cloud. It’s nice and easy and you always have an original available for off-line editing should you ever be without an internet connection or wish to take a full resolution image quickly into Photoshop. It’s worth setting it up from the outset before you start adding photos. After each folder import you can confirm everything is sync’d to the cloud and then delete the original folder from you C drive or move it to an external hard drive as an archive. Otherwise you would ultimately be doubling you present 200gb of local storage on the C drive.

N.B. a word of caution – if you ever delete files from the cloud from “All Photos” your local storage copy is also deleted because it is linked to the cloud to enable any work or off-line editing to be synchronized. But you will see a warning pop-up before you confirm. I think Adobe will add a re-cycle bin or grace period for items deleted from the cloud but it’s not there yet and will have to wait for a future release.

What is Lightroom storing on the cloud? Original + modified versions? If I don't specify a local storage folder does Lightroom still sync the original to the cloud?

Unmodified photos are stored in the cloud together with edit settings and metadata. Every image imported is automatically backed up to the cloud regardless of whether you choose the local storage option.