Importing photos

[MikeOnTheRun]

How can I import from Photos app into Lightroom? From the answers I've seen online, tge File menus aren't even the same and none of the options seem to work

[JohanElzenga]

Which version of Lightroom? Lightroom mobile? Lightroom Classic? Lightroom desktop? And where are the photos? On your Mac or on your phone?

[MikeOnTheRun]

• Newest version of Lightroom Classic(just got it)  on iMac. Photos are on iMac, stored in Photos app

[Theresa J · Accepted solution]

First, you need to get your photos out of the Photos app and into a folder on a local hard drive. The best option is probably to Export from the Photos app. If there are lots of images, and if the images are stored in iCloud, it could take a long time for the export.

After the photos are in a local folder you can import them into Lightroom Classic. Make sure to use the Import Add method so that the photos don't get moved to someplace else during the import.

[JohanElzenga]

Make sure you export as 'Unmodified Original' if these are raw files that you want as raw files in Lightroom.

[johnrellis]

Two more options for importing photos from the Photos app into LR Classic:

1. Import the photos into LR Desktop (Cloud) using the menu command File > Migrate From > Apple Photos Library.  Enable Cloud Sync in LR Classic to sync the photos from LR Desktop.

2. Use the Avalanche app, which will convert edits you've made in Photos into LR Classic Develop settings and do the best job of preserving metadata.

[Theresa J · Accepted solution]

If your photos are synced to the Photos app you may be able to import directly from your phone into Lightroom Classic. Plug your phone into your iMac with a USB cable and see if it shows up in LrC. It works for me.

The most important thing to understand is that whatever method you use, the photos have to be on a local hard drive before they can be imported to LrC. If you import directly from your phone, the images will first copy to the computer. By default, they are copied to the Pictures folder.