Recommendations for NAS for Lightroom

Report · Nov 23, 2022

I am using a new Macbook Pro with Lightroom and I want to store my original images on a NAS.

I have been doing this with an older QNAP NAS, but lightroom keeps loosing the NAS and I have to keep finding the missing folders in lightroom. QNAP have suggested that maybe the older NAS is not upto the task.

Any recomendations on NAS's. My preference is to stay with QNAP as I would like to use the current NAS as a backup and the new NAS as storage.

Report · Nov 23, 2022

Actually LrC is not up to the task of using a NAS or any other Network storage, be it a NAS, an actual Server, or the cloud. Specifically Adobe does not support placing the catalog on a network share. They do appear to support placing the photos on a network share (at least if smart previews are used) BUT many find that eventually fails in exactly the situation you had.

My recommendation would be use NAS for backups, use external hard drives for photos (could be a RAID).

I assume you use a NAS as to support two different computers. Not for extra space (a lot more money for that vs external drives). Their are other ways to do that.

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/kb/catalog-faq-lightroom.html

Link below goes against some of what I said above, but...

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/how-to-lightroom-catalog-multiple-computers/

Report · Nov 24, 2022

Thanks for your reply.

The catalog is on the laptop, and for the most part the DMG files start on the laptop then are moved to the NAS after the project is finished.

I've seen a lot of articles/videos of professional photographers using synology NAS's for storage with lightroom. Adobe gives advice on the following link (https://helpx.adobe.com/au/lightroom-cc/using/preferences.html#store-originals-network-drive) on how to use a NAS for original images.

I've used external hard drives in the past. Portability of a larger external harddrive systems is an issue (as I don't want lots of external hard drives and I prefer to RAID set up incase a drive fails), and being able to access the NAS remotly makes it an attractive option if I can get the right one.

Report · Nov 24, 2022

That article you provided a link to is for Lightroom (then called CC) not for Lightroom Classic .

Now going back and reading your original post, I am wondering if you posted in the correct community, and if I was replying to the wrong question.

What is your current apps full name and version?

And see: https://www.lightroomqueen.com/lightroom-cc-vs-classic-features/

Report · Nov 25, 2022

I missed that it was not for lightroom clasic. I am running Lightroom Classic version: 12.0.1

Report · Nov 25, 2022

Thank you for the information. Would you please be kind enough from now on to refer to your software as "Lightroom Classic" and not as "Lightroom".

but lightroom keeps loosing the NAS and I have to keep finding the missing folders in lightroom

This usually isn't the fault of the NAS, unless it is somehow malfunctioning. Have you checked the health of your NAS? Normally, this type of problem where you have to find missing folders is the fault of the user, or a 3rd party program that moves/renames/deletes folders that contain your photos.

Report · Nov 25, 2022

This issue with the originals stored on the NAS is while editing Lightroom Classic will suddenly say that 'File could not be found.' I'll go out of develop mode and back into libary mode, to re-establish a connection with the NAS with in Lightroom Classic and then after a while the problem will happen again.

The NAS is not disconnecting, because if I go into finder it is still there and has not disconnected. It seems to be an issue with Lightroom Classic loosing the NAS.

It has been suggested by QNAP that maybe the NAS is not up to task as it is an older NAS. What they have suggested is the version with Thunderbolt which is quite expensive. I'm after recomendations of models from people who use a QNAP NAS with Lightroom Classic.

Report · Mar 31, 2025

its 2025... and I just got this error as well. Any luck? Any tips?

Report · Mar 31, 2025

sorry wrong chat. please delete my message