Lightroom Classic images stored on NAS - OFFICIAL Yes or No?

[Yukon Dan]

Hey Folks, 

I'm trying to determine the official line on whether you can store photos on a NAS and import them to your Lightroom CC catalog. You'd think this would be a simple enough question, but no...

Some users say you can, while others appear to have constant issues. If you contact Adobe support, they will tell you the answer is NO; you cannot store images on a NAS and import them to your LR Classic catalog. 

However, the LR Classic FAQ (here) states, "Can I store or share a catalog on a network? No, you can't store catalogs on a network, but you can store or share your photos on a network."

If you point this FAQ out to Adobe support, their response is a frankly ridiculous claim that by "network," they actually mean "cloud."

Now, I ask you, what company that runs a gigantic cloud storage service would suddenly decide to refer to it as a "network" instead of a cloud in a support FAQ?

There's no way this FAQ was ever written to mean that. Additionally, while you can store LR Classic images in the cloud, they have to be synced from the catalog in the first place, so that excuse doesn't even make sense in a real-world workflow scenario.

To add more confusion to this topic, you have Adobe Evangalist Terry White writing on his website about how he stores all his Lightroom photos on a NAS. You know... the thing Adobe support says is not possible or supported...

Once and for all, I'd like to get to the bottom of this. I understand that a NAS can be a complex thing, and it can introduce many variables to a computer system that makes troubleshooting difficult. At the moment, it seems as though Adobe support simply falls back on the notion that "it's not possible" when they cannot troubleshoot the issue.

I also note that if you explain you are having an issue with accessing NAS-stored images, they will gladly book a time slot with you to take control of your computer and take a look. When they can't figure it out, they fall back on the idea that you cannot store LR Classic images on a NAS. In which case, if they knew NAS image access was the original issue raised, why did they even escalate the ticket to book a call, and then waste time poking around and screen sharing?

I fully expect to get replies from people saying it works fine for them, and others who say it has issues. I'd be particularly interested if anyone has ever gotten any straight answers from Adobe about this issue, or can point to any other online sources (like the FAQ I pointed to) that say it should work.

Thanks all!

[Ian Lyons]

The LrC catalog cannot be on a network drive, NAS, call it what you will. The photos can be.

[richardplondon]

Cloud storage is not a "place" so far as the LR Classic Catalog importing something with a known file and folder location.

Lightroom (non-Classic) does not report, or rely on, any actual file and folder location - reflecting only virtual forms of organisation - so that is a very different matter. 

Either a locally mounted drive volume (internal or external) or else a fileshare presented over the local network, are considered persistent "places" for importing. As already commented, further restrictions apply to a Catalog.

If you have a sync arrangement in place so photos primarily in cloud storage also have secondary local copies maintained, then the Catalog can import these local copies - no different than any other files present in local storage. But this can prove problematic in practice for various reasons, and subject to specific syncing settings.

[Yukon Dan]

Thanks. Yeah, that is how I understand it. Unfortunately, if you ever have any Lightroom issues and happen to use your NAS for storage, it seems that Lightroom support will just use that as a get-out clause. They will tell you that is the root cause of the issue because a NAS cannot be used for photo storage.

More than anything, and as another commentor pointed out, this is just an indication of how little use Adobe support technicians are. Sure would be nice if Adobe invested some of their growing profits into training useful tech support, eh?

[D Fosse]

@Yukon Dan 

NAS is one of those things that should work, but sometimes doesn't. Network configuration can be a moving target. Read this for some background: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/networks-removable-media-photoshop.html 

There's quite a few threads about problems with NAS storage, from slow performance to corruption and lost files. So you can either blame Adobe, as many like to do, or you can err on the cautious side.

[johnrellis]

"Network configuration can be a moving target..."

Fully agree about this. But Adobe Support should not say that Lightroom Classic won't work with NAS, and they should be more careful in what they say about "support".  A better canned answer:

"Lightroom Classic allows photos to be stored on correctly operating NAS volumes. However, we are unable to provide customer technical support for particular NAS installations. We recommend contacting your NAS manufacturer for troubleshooting problems."

[johnrellis]

Adobe Support isn't to be trusted for anything but the most routine and basic questions. They have a longstanding reputation for saying anything to close out a call.

Based on long experience, I think it's less likely Adobe would provide an official comment. But here are some more facts:

* The Lightroom Classic system requirements don't exclude NAS for photo storage:

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/system-requirements.html 

though it does prohibit the installation of the app on case-sensitive file systems and removable media.

* The Lightroom Classic Help says:

"Lightroom Classic offers flexibility in managing, organizing, and editing photos because your photos can be anywhere — on the same computer with the Lightroom Classic application, on an external hard disk, or perhaps on a network drive." [Emphasis added]

* LR explicitly checks the location chosen for a catalog and won't let you store them on NAS volumes. If Adobe didn't intended LR to access photos on NAS, it would have been trivial for them to implement the same check for Import.

* Lightroom Classic: The Missing FAQ by Victoria Bampton says (page 23):

"Lightroom doesn’t mind where you choose to store the photos. They can be on an internal drive, an external drive, a network drive, or even a mix of different drives."

The Missing FAQ is the most authoritative third-party book for using LR. Bampton works very closely with Adobe to make sure the book is accurate and complete.

* Adobe has fixed bugs in LR triggered by storing photos on NAS, e.g.

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/whats-new-lightroom-2019-04/ 

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/whats-new-in-lightroom-classic-10-1/

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/whats-new-in-lightroom-cc-2015-6-and-lightroom-6-6/ 

[darrellm2096332]

this is a late response.. and i dunno about "official" response.. but i can tell you my workflow.. i've been storing images on a Synology Nas for about 10 yrs now. 

Hardware: Macbook Pro + Mac Mini + Samsung 4tb thunderbolt SSD + 8bay synology NAS 

I shoot live music, burlesque, festivals, and whatever ridiculousness is going on in New Olreans, La. i come home with a TON of photos.. then cull down to just a few. I use the external SSD to store my lightroom catalog and Images i'm currently working on. When i'm done with images i move them to the NAS. I store catalog and current work on an SSD so i can move between laptop and desktop easily. I have one big catalog ~300k in images organized by producer of show/festival --> then year - date - name of show

Basic Workflow:
- take photos, lots of photos
- create a folder structure on SSD for the images
    Example: [2025-Feb-VivaciousProductions-SaturnariumBall]
                             [images]
                             [exports]
                             setlist.jpg (usually a pic of the set list from the sound booth, so i know the performers names)
- i shoot multiple cameras, so i rename the DCIM folder on the memory card before copying to keep things organized. [DCIM]. renamed to something like [DCIM1-SonyA1]. This also helps me know which cards i've copied.
- i then copy that folder to the images folder on my SSD. After i'm done with all my memory Cards.. it might look like:
Example: [2025-Feb-VivaciousProductions-SaturnariumBall]
                             [images]
                                [DCIM1-SonyA1]
                                [DCIM2-SonyA1]
                                [DCIM3-SonyA4]
                                [DCIM4-SonyA4]
- Once this is all done, first thing i do is backup this folder to the NAS. i have a folder called [Current-Projects-Backup].. and i make a copy of all the images. This has saved my ass a few times when i deleted something i didnt mean to. 
- once the backup copy is done, i open up my main lightroom catalog and import the images folder. i put general tags for the show and build smart previews. General Tags might be: VivaciousProductions,DarrellMillerPhotography, NewOrleans,JoyTheater,2025,Burlesque, SonyAlpha
- i then break down the images by act/performance in collection set and sub collections. i add tags for each performer and whatever else needs to be added specific to the act. this process sucks and is tedious.. but in the long run, helps a ton. 
- Once this is done i cull down to the amount of images i want.. typically 200-300.. 
- once thats done i cull again and find the best 20-30 images.. and start editing.. 
- i export out the images for the client, and give them to client
- once i know the client has recieved the images and they are happy. (sometimes they ask for minor changes) the project is done so its time to move the folder to my NAS. i move the project folder WITHIN LIGHTROOM to my nas archive folder and the folder structure. 
- thats it.. i can still access the files and images because its in my main catalog, its just on a network drive. its a little slower.. but the. main work is done.. every once in a while i get a request for an edit or to get some more images which can easily be done.. but that opens up my fast local storage for the work i'm currently working on. 
- Once i know its backed up (A NAS IS NOT A BACKUP, ITS REDUNDANT STORAGE) i delete my backup copy of the shoot from the [Current-Projects-Backup] folder.. and move on to whatever is next. 

i hope that makes sense. 


                  

[Jao vdL]

Been using NAS for Lightroom CLassic storage for a decade. This works absolutely perfectly as long as you connect it right for your Operating System which is nowadays smb for both Mac and Windows and use a good NAS. You won't get an official answer since there are too many variables involved that can mess things up. Just saying NAS doesn't help since you could be connecting over wifi instead of ethernet (wifi can be unstable), you could be using the wrong unsupported network protocol (nfs and AFP are not really supported anymore by Apple), you could have a unstable NAS device (many reasons possible for this), and many other causes for problems that have nothing to do with Lightroom.

[martinc82823889]

Not sure it helps but I use both a MacBook Pro and a PC to work on Lightroom. I ended up putting the catalog and the image files on a large SSD connected via USB3.2  I just move the SSD between machines as needed, works well without issues as the licence for Lightroom allows two installes but only one active at a time.

[Paul David23805545qi8u]

I always copy photos onto an external hard drive and onto NAS.  Once imported through Lightroom from the HDD, I disconnect the HDD and lightroom tells me photos aren't available. Use the 'relink folder' and select NAS as source.  Longwinded maybe but, yes, possible. Have the NAS and PC connected through ethernet cable and works a treat, extremely fast.

[Brian24107814jrbe]

I have been using Mac computers, Synology NAS and LR-C for well over 10 years with no problems.  Catalog is on local drive.  With latest MAC IOS upgrade and LR-C upgrade [feb 2025] I hit a wall.  LR-C would not copy pix from SD card or iPhone to NAS. MAC would freeze, and reuired re-boot to get going again.  If I manually put pix on NAS, it would add them to LR-C catog.  Very painful and time consuming, especially from iPhone or iPad.  In reading multiple threads [sorry, I can't find the source again] I saw referrence to AFP vs SMB protocol for MAC to NAS communication.  I have never worried much about this, but when I checked my network protocol, I had been using AFP all along.  I also remember reading somewhere that SMB was going to be "the standard". I changed my NAS log-in [at start-up] to SMB and so far, everything works [knock on wood].  I will post again, if things fall apart.  

[Jao vdL]

AFP was deprecated by Apple quite a few years ago and is no longer being developed nor supported by them even though it still works. The official line by Apple is that you should use SMB for filesharing. That is still somewhat buggy but there are a few settings you can do to optimize smb on the synology and on your Macs to make it faster and more reliable but usually it is fine out of the box. I also highly recommend the automounter utility (it's on the App Store but website here: https://pixeleyes.co.nz/automounter/ ) as Mac OS tends to constantly unmount any mounted shares if your mac goes to sleep. Incredibly annoying but this utility fixes it.