Import/move photos directly from Apple Photos library to Lightroom library

[jclin10]

Greetings

In moving photos from my Apple Photos library to Lightroom, is there a way to import/move them directly from one library to another? Right now when I want to do it, I export photos from Apple Photos, import them into Lightroom, and then delete them from Apple Photos so I don't have any duplicates.

For the most part, I use Lightroom to edit/organize photos and then Apple Photos to sync across devices

Thanks!

[Sahil.Chawla · Accepted solution]

Hi there,

Please have a look at this article and let us know if it helps: https://helpx.adobe.com/in/lightroom-cc/using/migrate-apple-photos-library.html

Regards,
Sahil

[jclin10]

Thanks for this!

Actually, I had in mind moving photos a few at a time rather than
converting the entire library. I don't think what you sent has that in mind.

[Rob_Cullen]

I think you may need to clarify which 'Lightroom' you are using!

Lightroom  OR Lightroom-CLASSIC   (You are posting in a 'Classic' forum)

The link given by Sahil is for 'Lightroom' - not 'Lr-Classic'. Answers would be entirely different.

[jclin10]

Thanks for this

I'm using Lightroom Classic. Basically, I'd like to move individual photos in my Photos library directly into Lightroom. Right now what I do is export the photo from Photos, import into Lightroom and then delete the photo from Photos. I'm wondering if there is an easier way. I'm not looking to convert the entire Photos library, just moving individual photos over.

[Rob_Cullen]

TBMK (not a Mac user!) your method "Right now...." is the way.

Maybe this site may provide more info for you-

https://photofocus.com/software/moving-from-apple-photos-to-lightroom-the-why-and-the-how/

There is a Chapter-

B. Moving Album by Album in Photos to Lightroom

[Robin5EE6]

Hi Sahil,

I just read the article you referenced above.  Is there an update that speaks to the latest Mac OS (i.e., Catalina)?  Can a Apple Photos libraries be migrated to Lightroom Classic running on a Mac with Catalina?  Another question:  Is it really true that photo edits are not migrated to Lightroom?  Does that mean that the sequence or combination of edits is not preserved in the migration or does it actually mean that the edited photo itself reverts to the original upon migration?

Thank you,

Robin

[SaskiaPS]

Hej!

Today I experienced the exact same problem. I use a Mac and I have almost 10,000 photos stored in the Photos app. My experience is that this program makes it difficult to use photos in programs like Adobe Photoshop and InDesign because you can't access the original files. You would first have to make exports which a) is a lot of work, b) creates duplicate files that take up unnecessary space, and c) presumably changes the settings of the original photographs.

I have read through the forum and articles referenced and this has not helped me. It is thanks to a tip from my husband that I found a fairly simple solution that I would like to share herewith:

1. Open Adobe Lightroom Classic, but don't import anything yet.
2. Go to the Finder icon in your Dock and right-click it. In the pop-up window choose 'New Finder Window'.
3. In the Finder Window you've just opened, go to 'Pictures' and here you should be able to see the Photos Library.
4. Right-click on its icon and in the pop-up window choose 'Show Package Contents'.
5. Now you should see a few folders (database, external, originals, private and resources). The one that contains your original photos is called 'originals'.*
6. You should be able to simply drag and drop this folder into Adobe Lightroom Classic.
7. Lightroom then asks if you want to include the subfolders when importing and you should definitely check this option, because the 'originals' folder includes subfolders (1-9 and A, B, C etc).
8. The last step is to click the button 'Import' on the right and then you could make some coffee or so, because it might take some time depending on the number of photos.

It worked for me and I hope it will make your life a little easier too 😉

* In earlier versions of the Photos App this folder was called 'masters'.

[loopback]

Great instructions... worked perfectly- thank you!