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Jayphentakesphotos
Jayphentakesphotos
Participant
August 6, 2018
Answered

Workflow & double copies of synced RAW images

  • August 6, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 432 views

I am currently in the process of switching over to CC now that it is getting closer to feature parity with Classic.

My usual workflow is to import all of my photos from my camera using Photo Mechanic, and then I have an automated task that moves the JPEGs to one directory, and the RAWs to another (let's call it RAW Imports). I do this so I can separately back up JPEGs (to Google Photos).

I then import the RAW files in to Lightroom CC.

I have noticed that CC *copies* these RAW images to a directory in ~/Pictures/Lightroom/Lightroom CC/<string>/originals.

This means that I have the RAWs both in my 'RAW Imports' directory AND in the above originals directory.

I guess I can see why this is done (so that images added from the CC app on iOS for example can be co-located with originals added from my desktop) …

Is there any way to turn this behaviour off? I don't really want duplicates of my RAWs sitting around and wasting space.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer JohanElzenga

    The directory ~/Pictures/Lightroom/Lightroom CC/<string>/originals is needed to speed up the import process. If Lightroom would import at the speed it can upload the images to the cloud, then the import process would be far too slow and sometimes (when you do not have an internet connection) you would not be able to import images at all. There are two ways to deal with this duplication:

    1: You could delete the raw files from your own 'RAW Imports' folder after they have been imported into Lightroom CC. Just like you would do when you'd import directly from a memory card into Lightroom CC (you would reformat and reuse the card afterwards).

    2: In the Lightroom CC preferences - Local Storage, you can set the amount of disk space that Lightroom CC can use for the image cache. If you set it to zero percent, then the cache will be emptied after the images have been uploaded successfully.

    1 reply

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    JohanElzengaCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    August 6, 2018

    The directory ~/Pictures/Lightroom/Lightroom CC/<string>/originals is needed to speed up the import process. If Lightroom would import at the speed it can upload the images to the cloud, then the import process would be far too slow and sometimes (when you do not have an internet connection) you would not be able to import images at all. There are two ways to deal with this duplication:

    1: You could delete the raw files from your own 'RAW Imports' folder after they have been imported into Lightroom CC. Just like you would do when you'd import directly from a memory card into Lightroom CC (you would reformat and reuse the card afterwards).

    2: In the Lightroom CC preferences - Local Storage, you can set the amount of disk space that Lightroom CC can use for the image cache. If you set it to zero percent, then the cache will be emptied after the images have been uploaded successfully.

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
    Jayphentakesphotos
    JayphentakesphotosAuthor
    Participant
    August 6, 2018

    Thanks for the quick response.

    If I set the cache limit to 0, am I still able to retrieve a copy of an

    original file if it was uploaded on a different device?

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 6, 2018

      wrote

    Thanks for the quick response.

    If I set the cache limit to 0, am I still able to retrieve a copy of an

    original file if it was uploaded on a different device?

    Yes. The original is stored online, not locally.

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
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