New work flow, iPhone, iPad, Lightroom, and PC

Think I might have a great new work flow.

Background.

Adobe in about a year ago introduced a new product. The Lightroom program that has, in my humble opinion, has become the defectors standard for post production photo work. Apple exited the market with the discontinuation of their Aperture product.

Lightroom, like many programs was sold, as an application for Windows OR Apple, and when the next version comes out, you buy it again. They introduced a ‘subscription’, that you receive a new version, or updates, free, with the paid subscription.

Next Adobe thought they should fully embrace the cloud, and all the revenue from it, by introducing a ‘cloud’ or Mobile version. This got a bit confusing. Lightroom was referred to as CC for Creative Cloud, aligning to the ‘subscription’ that they went to. The confusion continued.

Now we have Lightroom (LR) CC, that is the subscription version of Lightroom. Then Adobe wanted to go to full cloud.

Lightroom CC became the new ‘mobile’ / cloud, and the previous Lightroom CC became Lightroom CLASSIC CC.

Lightroom Classic CC allows you to have a local (on your Mac/PC) files, where the new Lightroom CC is based on cloud only storage, and you pay for that storage monthly.

I am getting use to the cost of subscriptions. That being said, with Dropbox, iCloud, OneDrive, and more, I was not interested in buying more storage from Adobe. I stayed / staying with Lightroom ‘classic’ CC.

The twist

Adobe offered Lightroom CC (the not Classic, cloud version) in a web browser. They also re-branded the iPad / iPhone version to be Lightroom CC. Makes sense.

I Ignor

I did use the iPad version of Lightroom, but, ignored the ‘cloud’ part, as I, previously mentioned, disliked buy yet more cloud storage.

Then the iPad Pro 2018

Now I buy an iPad 2018, as it has a USB-C and can connect to my iPad to my DLSR Camera, as well as a full monitor. I start to re-examine what can I do.

The new workflow

As it turns out the Adobe CC Photography plan includes 20gb of cloud. I have Terabytes of phots. This feeds back to the ‘ why use Adobe Cloud’ ….. and I found why.

1) the Lightroom Classic CC on the Mac / PC will ‘sync’ the the Adobe Lightroom CC, which includes the Lightroom on the iPad.

2) Lightroom CC on the iPad can automatically import photos from Apple Photo application.

3) Apple Photo app, will import from the DLSR via USB-C in RAW format.

4) Nikon’s SnapBridge can, over bluetooth, send photos off of the camera in realtime, and import to the iPhone’s Photo App.

5) iCloud will sync the iPhone and iPad’s Photos.

This results is that I can take a photo on my DLSR, and have JPEG’s sent to the iPhone, or Import to the iPad via USB-C. Edit them, and they automatically sync to my Lightroom Classic CC.

As an added bonus, all the photos that I take with my iPhone are sent to the PC / MAC.

On the PC / Mac there is a new ‘collection’ that is Lightroom CC (it was Lightroom Mobile, but the rebranding ).

I can also SEND photos to the iPad by creating a collection, and selecting it to sync to the iPad ( I have not tested this yet).

Why

This is import as if I want to make adjustments to the photo, in the field, on the iPad, to post to social media, it is good that I can then get the photo with the adjustments back to Lightroom on the PC.

My new iPad Pro 2018 has 1TB of storage, I can transfer RAW photos to the iPad via USB-C, and know they are syncing to the PC. I do not need to save them until I get back from a trip to edit, I can do it on the road, and the PC Library will have all of the edits.

You might wonder why not use iCloud on the PC, and sync that way. That works with two issues. One, I want to do the post production adjustments in the field and have them available on the PC, you need Lightroom for this. Second, Apple Photo app is like a vault that is almost impossible to maintain. Things go in and out, but never deleted… I find it easier just to remove all every so often.

How

This is going to take a few clouds, and subscriptions.

1) Apple iCloud to permit Photos (Apple photo app). This is needed to permit iPhone to iPad sharing of photos. You could run LR CC on the iPhone and avoid this, but I am not covering this.

2) Adobe CC. I use the Photographer Subscription, that gives you LR Classic, LR CC, Photoshop CC and a few other items

The I-devices sync using Apple.

The iPad then sends to Adobe, where the PC can synchronize.

The Apple side is straight forward, and needed. Photos is Apple’s App for managing photos, and is the only way (at the time of writing) to import photos from the DLSR over the USB-C. It is also used to synchronized the iPhone to iPad.

Setting LR CC on the iPad to auto import from the ‘camera’ roll.

On the PC / Mac you need to set Lightroom Classic to talk to Lightroom CC

In your Preferences (this PC, Mac will be similar)

You can check the status from your ‘name plaque’ (IMHO the dumbest place for Adobe to put this).

When you create a collection you can select if you wish it to be pushed to the cloud / iPad

You can turn off or on syncing to the cloud with the little icon beside the collection

All the photos on the iPad / in CC will be in this Catalog. They are ALSO in the All Photographs. If you Sync to the PC, then DELETE off of the iPad they WILL remain in the All Photographs.

On the iPad, you need to turn on the import setting to have the PHOTO images automatically import to LR.

I have adjusted a RAW photo on the iPad, then went to the PC, and in development roll I see the adjustments. I change them on the PC, and the iPad image changes to reflect them.

I deleted a photo off of the iPad, and you receive the warning that this is permanent, and it is for the CLOUD. All of the copies of all devices connected to Lightroom CC will loose the photo (like the WEB), and the are removed from the CATALOG of All Synced Photographs , but the are NOT deleted from the All Photographs (So you do have a copy).

Hope this is helpful to others.