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nicolasf73587131
nicolasf73587131
Participant
September 2, 2018
Question

Does lightroom CC save your original Raw files to the cloud???

  • September 2, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 6379 views

So i am new to lightroom CC. And I've been using lightroom classic so here are my steps when I take photos I imported them to my computer first and I put them in the creative cloud folder on my hardrive, and that uploads them to the cloud so I know I have them on my hardrive and in the creative cloud in case something happens to my computer. So than when I make some adjustments I notice that in the creative cloud app on my computer it starts syncing the xmp files to the creative cloud next to the original files I've been working like this for a while. But I feel like this is not a good workflow because the smallest adjustems I do its always syncing.

So my question is how do you upload original RAW files to the cloud from lightroom classic???

I have the 1TB plan so I know I have enough storage.

Or does lightroom CC upload your original files to the cloud when you import them, and if it does why dont I see them in my creative cloud folder when I do upload them to lightroom CC?

Its so confusing becase when I import photos to lightroom classic and it says syncing it doesnt even use any memory of the 1TB I have. wich makes me think they are not being uploaded to the cloud and also because I don't see them in the creative cloud folder

So that's my main question do I need to use lightroom cc to have my original RAW photos uploded to the cloud and if yes why dont I see them in my creative cloud folder???

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    3 replies

    J
    Community Expert
    Jao vdLCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 2, 2018

    nicolasf73587131  wrote

    So my question is how do you upload original RAW files to the cloud from lightroom classic???

    As noted already Classic doesn't sync full raw to the cloud, just smart previews. You can do what you suggested with a synced folder where you use the "dropbox-like" side of creative cloud storage to sync a folder on your hard disk but that doesn't work very well.

    Or does lightroom CC upload your original files to the cloud when you import them, and if it does why dont I see them in my creative cloud folder when I do upload them to lightroom CC?

    Yes Lightroom CC uploads all your files to the cloud. They live outside of the folder storage section of creative cloud so you won't see them there. This is NOT a backup solution. It is great in that you can see and edit your files on any computer phone or tablet but it does NOT constitute backing up your files. In fact it is extremely easy to lose files in CC permanently as there is no undo for image deletion. Also, by default it will start deleting the images of your local hard disk after a while to limit the amount of local storage needed.

    Its so confusing becase when I import photos to lightroom classic and it says syncing it doesnt even use any memory of the 1TB I have. wich makes me think they are not being uploaded to the cloud and also because I don't see them in the creative cloud folder

    Yes, they make this very unclear. Classic only uploads smart dng previews which do not count towards your cloud storage. Only CC will upload your full raw files. Again what you see in the creative cloud folder is completely separate from what you see in Lightroom Classic or Lightroom CC

    So that's my main question do I need to use lightroom cc to have my original RAW photos uploded to the cloud and if yes why dont I see them in my creative cloud folder???

    If you want to have your raw in the cloud, you have to use CC. If you still want to use Classic (as it is simply better at many things and has many features that CC doesn't), the trick is to set your Classic catalog to sync but use Lightroom CC to import new files. What will happen is that CC will upload all your files and Classic will download them so you will have your raw files both in the cloud and local in that case. A hybrid method is to import all your new files in Classic and then later import them all in CC. What will happen now is that you can immediately start working on them in Classic and over time Lightroom CC will upload them to the cloud. Lightroom Classic will now see the new files in the cloud and realize it already has them and simply link them to the cloud versions and start syncing them while using the local version it already had.

    With all this realize you need a real backup strategy which has many components. Again CC is not a real backup solution.

      Tony_See
      Tony_See
      Inspiring
      September 2, 2018

      You could with certainty import your image files to a local Creative Cloud folder on your computer, and that will sync of course.

      From within LR Classic CC you can choose a Collection to sync to Adobe Lightroom Web.

      Syncing can be turned on or off in the LR Module bar at the top of the main LR window on the left near the identity plate . . .

      J
      Joe Foe Toe
      Legend
      September 2, 2018

      Lightroom CC moves raws thru the cloud to Lightroom Classic, but it doesnt work the other way around and they don't live on the cloud.  So the cloud can't be a backup for your raws.

      R
      Community Expert
      richardplondonCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      September 2, 2018

      The Creative Cloud subscription also includes some cloud storage and a utility to 'replicate' the contents of a local folder to / from that cloud storage.

      So if some Raws on your computer (as accessed by LR Classic) were located in a folder inside this "Creative Cloud Files" location on your local disk, these Raws would get copied in due course as a corresponding folder in the cloud storage - taking up space from its quota. And replicated back down into another computer, or viewable via the web, under the same Adobe account login.

      However, IMO this does not constitute a sensible backup strategy - not if, file deletions (including non-deliberate ones) or changes (including, accidental and unwanted ones) are going to get silently replicated into the cloud location just the same as deliberate change and newly added files are.

      The job of a backup strategy is to protect you from regretted user actions, ransomware etc which CHANGE the data, as well as from equipment failure or theft which deny ACCESS to the data. So that IMO means, a disconnected or manually invoked duplication-with-rules, rather than a continual and live simple replication.

      That provides redundancy - unlike having all your eggs in one basket, "backed up" by a second basket, WHEN that basket is always magically made to contain exactly the same broken or whole eggs, as the first basket does. It's sometimes NOT the job of a backup to be identical to your primary storage - but rather, to be potentially different... for example, remaining intact despite your main basket of eggs having just fallen on the ground.

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