How do I import photos already on my Mac to Lightroom catalog without copying them?

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
December 11, 2022
2 replies
583 views

I am a new Lightroom CC user. All my photos are already organized on my Mac in folders (year/month/day) within the "pictures" folder. How do I get Lightroom to add them to the catalog without importing them (i.e., without duplicating the photo on my computer)?

Jay

macOS

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer JohanElzenga

Lightroom stores the images in the cloud, not on the computer, so eventually there won't be duplicates. It does make temporary copies however before the images are uploaded, and those copies are not immediately deleted again when the upload has been successful. This is something you cannot avoid.

Theresa J

Community Expert

Sounds like you may want to use Lightroom Classic instead of Lightroom. Lightroom uploads your images to a cloud server. Lightroom Classic leaves them in the local folders where you have already organized them.

JohanElzenga

Correct answer

Community Expert

Lightroom stores the images in the cloud, not on the computer, so eventually there won't be duplicates. It does make temporary copies however before the images are uploaded, and those copies are not immediately deleted again when the upload has been successful. This is something you cannot avoid.

-- Johan W. Elzenga

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