I can find discussions on the opposite directionto this: delete local copies but keep in the Cloud...I'd like to:Shoot photos with my DSLR while on the roadupload RAW files to LR on my iPad and do edits; synced into the cloudonce I'm home, open LRC and find my synced, edited photostransfer the copies into local LRC copiesdelete the synced images from the cloud without losing my imported local copies and edits It sounds simple. I find it not to be. Point 4 and 5 eludes me. I have the images, I can drop them into collections (yeah, I know that doesn't physically move or copy the files). Deleting them from the Cloud also deletes them in my LRC ('cause they're just the cloud set of files, surely). But how do I create local, kept copies from the Cloud ones so I can let the cloud files go (and reclaim the space)?

Participant

Question

Remove photos from Cloud but keep local copies in Lightroom Classic

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
April 5, 2023
2 replies
2523 views

I can find discussions on the opposite directionto this: delete local copies but keep in the Cloud...

I'd like to:
Shoot photos with my DSLR while on the road
upload RAW files to LR on my iPad and do edits; synced into the cloud
once I'm home, open LRC and find my synced, edited photos
transfer the copies into local LRC copies
delete the synced images from the cloud without losing my imported local copies and edits

It sounds simple. I find it not to be. Point 4 and 5 eludes me. I have the images, I can drop them into collections (yeah, I know that doesn't physically move or copy the files). Deleting them from the Cloud also deletes them in my LRC ('cause they're just the cloud set of files, surely).

But how do I create local, kept copies from the Cloud ones so I can let the cloud files go (and reclaim the space)?

L

Luis Claudio5C34

Participating Frequently

I have the same question. So far this is the best workflow I could figure out, supposing your LRC catalog is already synced and the photos uploaded to LR (while you´re on the road). The key is duplicating the collections in LRC and disabling the syncing of one of them before removing the photos from the cloud.

1. Make sure that you know which albums your photos were uploaded to in LR.

2. Once synced thes albums will be present as collections in LRC. The raw photos themselves will be downloaded somewhere in your local storage (it depends where you set up your sync download folder)

3. In LRC duplicate these collections and disable the syncing of the dupplicated ones. Now you should have two collections in LRC for each album in LR: one synced and the other not.

4. In LR delete all the photos (do that before removing the album, otherwise it will be hard do find the photos; they will be among many others in the All Photos); this will remove the photos from the cloud and from the synced collections in LRC, but not from the duplicated collections that are not synced; the photos are still saved in your local storage an in the catalog.

5. Remove the empty collections from LRC

6. Inside LRC drag the photos from the album to the definitive folder storage if you will (don´t do that outside LRC or you will end up with broken links in LRC!). Now your raw photos are imported to your LRC catalog, in the desired local storage location and not present in the cloud anymore (until you choose to upload them again...). And in case you have edited some photos on the road these editions are still valid in LRC.

JohanElzenga

Community Expert

It is very simple. Enable sync in your Lightroom Classic catalog. Lightroom Classic will download all photos that are in the cloud, you don't have to do anything. Once the photos have been synced down to Lightroom Classic, remove them from 'All Synced Photographs' in Lightroom Classic. That will remove them from the cloud while keeping them in Lightroom Classic.

-- Johan W. Elzenga

olem40983905Author

Participant

Thanks. I swear I did this once as it really was the only option I could find - and had the photos disappear (at the very least) from the Collection I moved them to.

Just tested with a couple of quick snaps and they indeed do as expected and as you provided.

Odd. But thanks.

JohanElzenga

Community Expert

Thanks. I swear I did this once as it really was the only option I could find - and had the photos disappear (at the very least) from the Collection I moved them to.

By @olem40983905

That's normal. If you remove photos from 'All Synced Photographs', then that obviously means they will also be removed from any synced collection. Collections are just lists however, like playlists in a music player. It does not mean the images are removed from the Lightroom Classic catalog or from your hard disk.

-- Johan W. Elzenga

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