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Anyone gone full Lr CC with images in cloud?

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I'm looking to move to Lightroom CC and put all my 600Gb photos in the cloud. That way I should have seamless access to my photos whether on my PC, iPad Pro, or other devices. I understand the monetary costs (the Adobe tax does not bother me) and many of the current limitations of CC vs Classic (mostly not too important to me at this point). I'm interested in hearing from anyone/everyone who has gone this route. I'm an avid amateur enthusiast with several cameras and a dozen quality lenses.
  • Is there a one-stop resource for what I'm contemplating?
  • What is is the process to get all of my images into the Adobe cloud? Will Lr do it (slowly) for me, or will I have a 600GB upload to schedule?
  • Any issues selecting an image to edit? Download time?
  • I like to auto-sync settings after a large import from the camera. Will I have to brew a cup of coffee each time I try that?
  • Is the iOS (iPad) Lr adequate for most easy to moderate editing? My needs are rarely if ever extreme.
  • 99% of the time, I use the Lr Classic Library and Develop modules. I presume that's good news if I move to Lr CC?
  • Is DAM largely the same if I move to Lr CC? I don't want to lose my tags and such.
  • Automatic backup with Lr CC is a huge plus for me. It's not the decision-maker feature, but it's important.
  • I am intrigued by the possibility of doing some basic editing in a browser, regardless of the computer/device I'm on. Any comments here?
  • Most Importantly: Am I showing a complete ignorance of important issues here? This may be the most important question I'm asking.
I have a lot of other questions, but hearing from you good folks about these will give me a good start on making my decision.

James
 
I use Lightroom in the cloud fully and I love it. Almost everything you need to do can be done on the iPad app (and iPhone app). It’s easy to use, and you don’t have to faff with thinking about where your photo is stored or the horrible file management interface of classic.



Uploading is done by the software. It gets imported into the client first and then to the cloud. Editing is fast - if the original isn’t loaded locally it will work on the smart preview and then download the original if necessary. That speed is dependent on your connection.



My only concern is the cost once I reach the initial 1 TB limit.
 
Lotus Cat said:
I'm looking to move to Lightroom CC and put all my 600Gb photos in the cloud. That way I should have seamless access to my photos whether on my PC, iPad Pro, or other devices. I understand the monetary costs (the Adobe tax does not bother me) and many of the current limitations of CC vs Classic (mostly not too important to me at this point). I'm interested in hearing from anyone/everyone who has gone this route. I'm an avid amateur enthusiast with several cameras and a dozen quality lenses.
  • Is there a one-stop resource for what I'm contemplating?
  • What is is the process to get all of my images into the Adobe cloud? Will Lr do it (slowly) for me, or will I have a 600GB upload to schedule?
  • Any issues selecting an image to edit? Download time?
  • I like to auto-sync settings after a large import from the camera. Will I have to brew a cup of coffee each time I try that?
  • Is the iOS (iPad) Lr adequate for most easy to moderate editing? My needs are rarely if ever extreme.
  • 99% of the time, I use the Lr Classic Library and Develop modules. I presume that's good news if I move to Lr CC?
  • Is DAM largely the same if I move to Lr CC? I don't want to lose my tags and such.
  • Automatic backup with Lr CC is a huge plus for me. It's not the decision-maker feature, but it's important.
  • I am intrigued by the possibility of doing some basic editing in a browser, regardless of the computer/device I'm on. Any comments here?
  • Most Importantly: Am I showing a complete ignorance of important issues here? This may be the most important question I'm asking.
I have a lot of other questions, but hearing from you good folks about these will give me a good start on making my decision.

James
Click to expand...
After testing DxO PhotoLab, Luminar AI and Lightroom CC (Lr), I currently use PhotoLab + Lr option.

1) https://www.lightroomqueen.com/

2) You add the images to Lr, and it will sync to the cloud in the background.

3) I have not encountered any issues. However I do not have 600GB of images.

4) The sync'ing is done in the background. You can edit the images while it syncs.

5) Basic editing like exposure, contrast, etc, are available. It even includes the excellent Auto mode.

6) There is no "Modules" as far as I can tell.

7) It is not exactly "Backup". It is sync, that means changes you made locally are automatically sync'ed to the cloud, whether you want it or not. Deletions also happens but you have 60 days to recover.

8) Just login to Adobe and you can do basic editing in the browser

https://lightroom.adobe.com/

9) There are many features available in LrC that are not available in Lr. For example, there is no "plugin" support in Lr.

I am still new to Lr, and I welcome corrections.
 
Lotus Cat said:
I'm looking to move to Lightroom CC and put all my 600Gb photos in the cloud. That way I should have seamless access to my photos whether on my PC, iPad Pro, or other devices. I understand the monetary costs (the Adobe tax does not bother me) and many of the current limitations of CC vs Classic (mostly not too important to me at this point). I'm interested in hearing from anyone/everyone who has gone this route. I'm an avid amateur enthusiast with several cameras and a dozen quality lenses.
  • Is there a one-stop resource for what I'm contemplating?
  • What is is the process to get all of my images into the Adobe cloud? Will Lr do it (slowly) for me, or will I have a 600GB upload to schedule?
  • Any issues selecting an image to edit? Download time?
  • I like to auto-sync settings after a large import from the camera. Will I have to brew a cup of coffee each time I try that?
  • Is the iOS (iPad) Lr adequate for most easy to moderate editing? My needs are rarely if ever extreme.
  • 99% of the time, I use the Lr Classic Library and Develop modules. I presume that's good news if I move to Lr CC?
  • Is DAM largely the same if I move to Lr CC? I don't want to lose my tags and such.
  • Automatic backup with Lr CC is a huge plus for me. It's not the decision-maker feature, but it's important.
  • I am intrigued by the possibility of doing some basic editing in a browser, regardless of the computer/device I'm on. Any comments here?
  • Most Importantly: Am I showing a complete ignorance of important issues here? This may be the most important question I'm asking.
Click to expand...
If you use hierarchical keywords then you're screwed, LR CC doesn't support those...

I wouldn't put my eggs into that basket anyways because I do love to have prints of my favourite photos on the wall... LR CC has a too limited feature set regarding print and soft proofing (there even LR Classic is too limited because it can't deal with CMYK profiles some print providers give you, so PS is needed for that)...
 
sxjc said:
I use Lightroom in the cloud fully and I love it. Almost everything you need to do can be done on the iPad app (and iPhone app). It’s easy to use, and you don’t have to faff with thinking about where your photo is stored or the horrible file management interface of classic.

Uploading is done by the software. It gets imported into the client first and then to the cloud. Editing is fast - if the original isn’t loaded locally it will work on the smart preview and then download the original if necessary. That speed is dependent on your connection.

My only concern is the cost once I reach the initial 1 TB limit.
Click to expand...
You can kind of rotate content in the Cloud as well. If you feel you want to clear some space and download or transfer to another location you can use their own export tool (and then manually remove the photos in the app).

Loading…

lightroom.adobe.com
 
charlyw64 said:
charlyw64 wrote:

If you use hierarchical keywords then you're screwed, LR CC doesn't support those...
Click to expand...
Yikes! Thank you for that information. I make extensive use of hierarchical keywords. What happens to my current keywords when I make the transition?

For example, I love to group my photos by country, region/state, attraction, etc... If I choose "San Diego" in Lr Classic, I get everything I've shot in San Diego, including Sea World, San Diego Zoo, etc. But, If I choose "Sea World" I get only the limited set of Sea World images. I do similar groupings with families.

Do I have to multi-tag images if I want such a search ability?
 
This is just about exactly what I've been hoping to learn, although I'm also wondering if there's any other options like this where I can edit a photo on my PC, tablet or phone and the changes are synced. I'm increasingly doing more of my editing while mobile, and so not ending up with two sets of many photos - the PC file and the mobile file - sounds great!

Any other options I should check out?

I'm overdue to update my editing software - in Lightroom 5, doesn't have native support for my newer camera. I don't do heavy editing, so I'm really only looking for Lightroom CC or alternative to that. If I can get a decent alternative without the monthly subscription I'd be ok with that. 😉
 
Feigerou said:
This is just about exactly what I've been hoping to learn, although I'm also wondering if there's any other options like this where I can edit a photo on my PC, tablet or phone and the changes are synced. I'm increasingly doing more of my editing while mobile, and so not ending up with two sets of many photos - the PC file and the mobile file - sounds great!
Click to expand...
Lightroom Classic allows this. It synchronizes files and edits done on the mobile device with Lightroom Classic on your computer.
 
Feigerou said:
This is just about exactly what I've been hoping to learn, although I'm also wondering if there's any other options like this where I can edit a photo on my PC, tablet or phone and the changes are synced.
Click to expand...
That‘s effectively what synchronized collections in Lightroom Classic are for. It works a treat, the synchronized images are smart previews with 2048 pixels on the larger side which are easy to keep on the mobile device as they aren‘t too large. Their storage in the cloud doesn‘t count towards the purchased cloud size, so 20 Gb as provided by the photographers subscription are plenty (abd handy if you need an original image every once in a while).

Don’t forget that to keep a copy of your images ready for access by both mobile and stationary devices requires online storage no matter how you organize that, that will always incur a subscription charge anyways - and none of the competing offers is anywhere as mature and fletched out as the Adobe one (if they even have progressed beyond the stage of announcement at all)…
 
charlyw64 said:
That‘s effectively what synchronized collections in Lightroom Classic are for. It works a treat, the synchronized images are smart previews with 2048 pixels on the larger side which are easy to keep on the mobile device as they aren‘t too large. Their storage in the cloud doesn‘t count towards the purchased cloud size, so 20 Gb as provided by the photographers subscription are plenty (abd handy if you need an original image every once in a while).

Don’t forget that to keep a copy of your images ready for access by both mobile and stationary devices requires online storage no matter how you organize that, that will always incur a subscription charge anyways - and none of the competing offers is anywhere as mature and fletched out as the Adobe one (if they even have progressed beyond the stage of announcement at all)…
Click to expand...
That makes sense, as Lightroom classic would just see the online storage as another location, similar to my external hard drive. That would be great.

If I'm hearing you right, I would need Adobe cloud storage for this to work? I couldn't just use any online storage like Google Drive or something like that? So it would be some kind of Adobe service still...
 
Feigerou said:
charlyw64 said:
That‘s effectively what synchronized collections in Lightroom Classic are for. It works a treat, the synchronized images are smart previews with 2048 pixels on the larger side which are easy to keep on the mobile device as they aren‘t too large. Their storage in the cloud doesn‘t count towards the purchased cloud size, so 20 Gb as provided by the photographers subscription are plenty (abd handy if you need an original image every once in a while).

Don’t forget that to keep a copy of your images ready for access by both mobile and stationary devices requires online storage no matter how you organize that, that will always incur a subscription charge anyways - and none of the competing offers is anywhere as mature and fletched out as the Adobe one (if they even have progressed beyond the stage of announcement at all)…
Click to expand...
That makes sense, as Lightroom classic would just see the online storage as another location, similar to my external hard drive. That would be great.
Click to expand...
That’s not what Lightroom treats the cloud as. It is specialized storage which brings additional benefits (including browser access if you so desire) - all being optional and optimized for use with mobile devices.
Feigerou said:
If I'm hearing you right, I would need Adobe cloud storage for this to work? I couldn't just use any online storage like Google Drive or something like that? So it would be some kind of Adobe service still...
Click to expand...
Yes, the Adobe cloud is crucial in this regard, although you don’t need any beyond the most basic 20Gb if you go with the Lghtroom Classic approach, so the photographers plan does provide everything you need - and includes Photoshop.
 
Lotus Cat said:
I'm looking to move to Lightroom CC and put all my 600Gb photos in the cloud. That way I should have seamless access to my photos whether on my PC, iPad Pro, or other devices. I understand the monetary costs (the Adobe tax does not bother me) and many of the current limitations of CC vs Classic (mostly not too important to me at this point). I'm interested in hearing from anyone/everyone who has gone this route. I'm an avid amateur enthusiast with several cameras and a dozen quality lenses.
  • Is there a one-stop resource for what I'm contemplating?
  • What is is the process to get all of my images into the Adobe cloud? Will Lr do it (slowly) for me, or will I have a 600GB upload to schedule?
  • Any issues selecting an image to edit? Download time?
  • I like to auto-sync settings after a large import from the camera. Will I have to brew a cup of coffee each time I try that?
  • Is the iOS (iPad) Lr adequate for most easy to moderate editing? My needs are rarely if ever extreme.
  • 99% of the time, I use the Lr Classic Library and Develop modules. I presume that's good news if I move to Lr CC?
  • Is DAM largely the same if I move to Lr CC? I don't want to lose my tags and such.
  • Automatic backup with Lr CC is a huge plus for me. It's not the decision-maker feature, but it's important.
  • I am intrigued by the possibility of doing some basic editing in a browser, regardless of the computer/device I'm on. Any comments here?
  • Most Importantly: Am I showing a complete ignorance of important issues here? This may be the most important question I'm asking.
I have a lot of other questions, but hearing from you good folks about these will give me a good start on making my decision.

James
Click to expand...
I use LR CC Classic (the "desktop version", not the "cloud version"). For every image, smart previews are synced. No need to buy storage. Everything is on my iPad and iPhone and I can do edits. Smart Previews are good enough on the iPad.
 
Feigerou said:
That makes sense, as Lightroom classic would just see the online storage as another location, similar to my external hard drive. That would be great.
Click to expand...
But that's not how it works with Lightroom Classic. Only smart previews would be stored in the cloud. It is not storage for your original RAW images.
Feigerou said:
If I'm hearing you right, I would need Adobe cloud storage for this to work? I couldn't just use any online storage like Google Drive or something like that? So it would be some kind of Adobe service still...
Click to expand...
Yes, this has to be done via the Adobe cloud.

--
Paige Miller
 
Last edited:
dj_paige said:
Feigerou said:
That makes sense, as Lightroom classic would just see the online storage as another location, similar to my external hard drive. That would be great.
Click to expand...
But that's not how it works with Lightroom Classic. Only smart previews would be stored in the cloud. It is not storage for your original RAW images.
Click to expand...
Good enough for me. The smart previews are all I need on mobile devices. OP was asking for "access to my photos whether on my PC, iPad Pro, or other devices". Is the original RAW needed? I use my iPad for basic edits, have my collection with me, show some photos, cull/rate....never felt the smart previews were not enough.
 
PerTulip said:
dj_paige said:
Feigerou said:
That makes sense, as Lightroom classic would just see the online storage as another location, similar to my external hard drive. That would be great.
Click to expand...
But that's not how it works with Lightroom Classic. Only smart previews would be stored in the cloud. It is not storage for your original RAW images.
Click to expand...
Good enough for me. The smart previews are all I need on mobile devices. OP was asking for "access to my photos whether on my PC, iPad Pro, or other devices". Is the original RAW needed? I use my iPad for basic edits, have my collection with me, show some photos, cull/rate....never felt the smart previews were not enough.
Click to expand...
Hi. James here. I'm the OP. Yes, I am thinking that all my raw images reside in the cloud also. I imagine that the only local storage is whatever is needed to allow a sync to the cloud.

Again, I'm a bit mystified by the possibilities, thus my questions. :-)

James
 
Lotus Cat said:
PerTulip said:
dj_paige said:
Feigerou said:
That makes sense, as Lightroom classic would just see the online storage as another location, similar to my external hard drive. That would be great.
Click to expand...
But that's not how it works with Lightroom Classic. Only smart previews would be stored in the cloud. It is not storage for your original RAW images.
Click to expand...
Good enough for me. The smart previews are all I need on mobile devices. OP was asking for "access to my photos whether on my PC, iPad Pro, or other devices". Is the original RAW needed? I use my iPad for basic edits, have my collection with me, show some photos, cull/rate....never felt the smart previews were not enough.
Click to expand...
Hi. James here. I'm the OP. Yes, I am thinking that all my raw images reside in the cloud also. I imagine that the only local storage is whatever is needed to allow a sync to the cloud.

Again, I'm a bit mystified by the possibilities, thus my questions. :-)
Click to expand...
But RAW images do not reside in the cloud with Lightroom Classic. Local storage is needed for all of your RAW images with Lightroom Classic.
 
dj_paige said:
Lotus Cat said:
PerTulip said:
dj_paige said:
Feigerou said:
That makes sense, as Lightroom classic would just see the online storage as another location, similar to my external hard drive. That would be great.
Click to expand...
But that's not how it works with Lightroom Classic. Only smart previews would be stored in the cloud. It is not storage for your original RAW images.
Click to expand...
Good enough for me. The smart previews are all I need on mobile devices. OP was asking for "access to my photos whether on my PC, iPad Pro, or other devices". Is the original RAW needed? I use my iPad for basic edits, have my collection with me, show some photos, cull/rate....never felt the smart previews were not enough.
Click to expand...
Hi. James here. I'm the OP. Yes, I am thinking that all my raw images reside in the cloud also. I imagine that the only local storage is whatever is needed to allow a sync to the cloud.

Again, I'm a bit mystified by the possibilities, thus my questions. :-)
Click to expand...
But RAW images do not reside in the cloud with Lightroom Classic. Local storage is needed for all of your RAW images with Lightroom Classic.
Click to expand...
Correct. Don't see any advantage in having everything stored with Adobe. Advantages for local storage: proper backup strategy, faster, LR Classic has more options and plugins, can also work with other applications on the photos.
 
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