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?
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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.
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