is it possible to use iPad as a pen tablet with lightroom classic + big screen (possibly with mac)??

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
December 11, 2022
3 replies
7990 views

I haver a macbook pro where i do all my editing, but i also have a iPad pro which i still haven't found a good use for with photo editing.

curious if it would be possible to use it a pen tablet with lightroom classic *while* still editing on my big screen (studio display) ??? that would be🔥🔥🔥

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Theresa J

Community Expert

Another option is to sync images from LrC to Lightroom then use the Lightroom app on the iPad for editing. I do this a lot because I enjoy editing with my iPad. However, editing is limited because the new AI masking tools are not yet available in the mobile version of Lightroom.

R

rb16826567Author

Participating Frequently

hmm you sync it using lightroom cloud ?

Conrad_C

Community Expert

If you set up the iPad Pro using the Sidecar feature, your Mac will recognize it as an external display, which Lightroom Classic can use.

If you set up the iPad Pro through Sidecar using Extended Desktop mode, the problem is that the Apple Pencil will operate only on the iPad Pro display and will not be able to cross over to any other displays.

To get what you want, you can set up the iPad Pro through Sidecar using Screen Mirroring. The iPad Pro will then show the same image as the main Mac display, so you can use the Apple Pencil to control what you see on the iPad Pro while watching the same thing happen on your main display. So, for example, you could use the Apple Pencil on the iPad Pro to paint brush masks in the Lightroom Classic Develop module shown on both the Mac and iPad displays.

But be aware that Screen Mirroring requires that both displays use the same pixel dimensions. Because the iPad Pro display is so much smaller than a Studio Display, that means the screen display will look a lot smaller on the iPad Pro, and UI controls may become tiny and hard to click or drag. It might be possible to change the display resolution settings when mirroring so that the image is larger and easier to read on the iPad Pro, but that would lower the resolution of the mirrored screen image on the Studio Display.

So it can work, but with a few tradeoffs.

R

rb16826567Author

Participating Frequently

hey thanks! the stylus is exactly the thing i was hoping to leverage. that's a bummer about resolution limitation but sounds like that's the only option 😞 i will try it!

would you recommend still getting a Wacom tablet even when someone has a macbook + ipad pro?

Conrad_C

Community Expert

It depends on what you need. If all you need is a way to paint in Lightroom Classic and Photoshop with a stylus, then a good graphics tablet without a screen can be useful, like the Wacom Intuos Pro line which is what I have.

If what you want is a way to paint directly on the screen, then you need a tablet that has a display built into it such as a Wacom Cintiq. This type of tablet is what an iPad can replace. But again, if you like working on a large display, no iPad comes close to the size of a Studio Display. The Wacom Cintiqs are available from 16 to 32 inches, much larger than any iPad, but they are also very expensive.

But I also think a stylus is much less useful in Lightroom Classic than in Photoshop or Illustrator. Photoshop and Illustrator offer many opportunities to do a lot of pressure-sensitive painting, retouching, and drawing. But in Lightroom Classic, a stylus is helpful less often. Mostly when painting masks with a brush (the Brush mask, or Objects mask tool in Brush Select mode), or when using the Healing tool. But for the rest of it, Lightroom Classic is mostly about clicking and dragging a lot of tiny controls, which are often easier to grab precisely with a mouse or trackpad pointer.