Does Lightroom Classic download full resolution images?

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I'm curious about the following process:

1. Capturing an image on your iPhone
2. Importing it into Lightroom mobile
3. Syncing to Adobe's cloud
4. Accessing Lightroom Classic on your laptop
5. Moving images from the "iPhone" device to a local folder

My questions are:

1. Are the files you're moving full resolution, allowing you to safely delete them from your iPhone's Camera Roll? For DNG files taken with Lightroom mobile, are you getting the full RAW file or just a smart preview?
2. Is this process officially documented by Adobe? You're concerned about potentially losing data if you remove photos from your Camera Roll after syncing.
   
   
3. You're aware that syncing from Lightroom Classic to Lightroom CC only transfers smart previews, but you're specifically interested in the reverse (Lightroom mobile to Classic).
   
   
4. Does this workflow result in full-resolution images remaining in Lightroom CC, consuming your plan's storage? Is there a method to transfer photos to a local folder while still syncing Lightroom Classic collections using only smart previews to avoid using your plan's storage?
   
   

I want clarity on these points to ensure I'm not inadvertently losing image quality or data in your workflow, and to optimize your Adobe cloud storage usage.

[dj_paige · Accepted solution]

I'm curious about the following process:

1. Capturing an image on your iPhone
2. Importing it into Lightroom mobile
3. Syncing to Adobe's cloud
4. Accessing Lightroom Classic on your laptop
5. Moving images from the "iPhone" device to a local folder

My questions are:

1. Are the files you're moving full resolution, allowing you to safely delete them from your iPhone's Camera Roll? For DNG files taken with Lightroom mobile, are you getting the full RAW file or just a smart preview?
   
   

Moving photos from the iPhone camera roll to Lightroom mobile does not change one pixel of the image, it is all there, no change in quality. 

Is this process officially documented by Adobe? 

I have no idea.

You're aware that syncing from Lightroom Classic to Lightroom CC only transfers smart previews, but you're specifically interested in the reverse (Lightroom mobile to Classic)

Lightroom Mobile to Classic doesn't change a pixel, all of the original image is transferred.

Does this workflow result in full-resolution images remaining in Lightroom CC, consuming your plan's storage? Is there a method to transfer photos to a local folder while still syncing Lightroom Classic collections using only smart previews to avoid using your plan's storage?

The photos remain in Lightroom mobile storage unless you delete them. As far as I know, they do not take up your mobile storage quota, but I have to admit I only rarely do it this way.

[JohanElzenga]

The photos remain in Lightroom mobile storage unless you delete them. As far as I know, they do not take up your mobile storage quota, but I have to admit I only rarely do it this way.

By @dj_paige

Photos taken with the Lightroom built-in camera app definitely take storage quota! You are confused with smart previews synced up from Lightroom Classic.

[peter_zoom]

Here some ideas to get along.

• Moving files to a local folder: When you move images from your "iPhone" device folder in Lightroom Classic to a local folder, the files should be full-resolution. For DNG files captured in Lightroom mobile, the full RAW file is transferred, not just a smart preview.

• Deleting from Camera Roll: Once the full-resolution files are in Lightroom Classic, it is safe to delete them from your iPhone’s Camera Roll without losing data.

• Adobe documentation: Adobe confirms that syncing from Lightroom mobile to Lightroom Classic transfers full-resolution images.

• Cloud storage: Full-resolution files synced from Lightroom mobile remain in Adobe's cloud, consuming your storage plan. To optimize storage, you can:

  • Move files to a local folder in Lightroom Classic.
  • Enable "Store a copy of all originals locally" on Lightroom mobile if needed for backups.

• Using smart previews only: After moving the originals to a local folder, you can set up Lightroom Classic collections to sync smart previews instead of full-resolution images, reducing cloud storage usage.

Hope that helps!