P: I would like to synchronize over LAN/Cable instead of internet

Report · May 30, 2014

LR mobile sync is extremely slow. Giving me an option to sync locally would be excellent. And I'm sure very useful for professionals travelling in areas where internet is limited/non-existent or expensive and time consuming.Come on Adobe. If this is designed for professionals this slow sync and data usage issues on global data roaming....? It simply isn't practical. The product as is can't be recommended as is.(please also add keywords, ratings, labels to app functionality)Thanks!

Report · Sep 19, 2018

+1 for WLAN sync. Would love to be able to sync iPad to MacBook when I’m off grid.

Report · Sep 19, 2018

Actually, I am on vacation and have found a very simple workflow for using my iPad and LR CC Mobile with no internet access. I upload my photos to my iPad using the SD card reader to Camera Roll. I work on the photos in LR CC Mobile, PS Express, Snapseed, etc. and save them back to Camera Roll. I then back up using a WD Passport wireless drive. I check to make sure I have all photos on the drive using the My Cloud App and then copy all my RAW shots to the Passport which has an SD card slot. I format my card and I am good to go for the next day. Short, sweet and simple and no internet needed.

Report · Oct 24, 2018

But can you copy the raw files with all the edits? Or only the finished JPGs?

Report · Oct 28, 2018

I tried this and it didn't work for me. The files in the MLCC "Originals" folder download from iTunes have a long string of letters and digits added to the file names. When I add those files to DLCC they are synced to the Cloud as new files since the file names don't match the original file names.

As a result, I wind up with two copies of the images:

1) The original photos taken by the MLCC app, and
2) the photos with the extra letters/digits in their file name.

I'm using Mobile version 4.0 and LR CC 2019. It's possible that something changed in these newer versions to stop the workaround from functioning correctly.

Report · Feb 22, 2019

This is getting out of hand. Almost every photographer I know would rather edit on the road with an iPad. Especially since it LR mobile runs significantly faster than classic on a desktop. But transferring all of our edited files back to our desktop at home via wifi is absurd. Especially as MP count goes up on cameras. I shot 200 photos today, and it has taken 5 hours to upload half of them to the adobe server to transfer to classic. And I have the fastest internet speed my provider has available. This is so stupid. The iPad is sitting in front of the computer and I can't simply connect them so my time is wasted. FIX THIS ADOBE!!!!!

Report · Feb 25, 2019

Another vote for what is nothing more than a PITA

Report · May 22, 2019

We also take a lot of raw photos while traveling (often with no internet available) and would like to both cull and make initial edits using the iPad Pro, and then transfer the original culled raw plus edits to a desktop once home. We use Lightroom Classic at home and do not otherwise need to use the CC for our photography needs. All we need is the ability to use a local LAN. In our case airdrop would be sufficient. We do use the CC library for InDesign and PS work, etc. but transferring large numbers of RAW photos wirelessly makes for a poorly functioning yet expensive workflow.

Report · Jun 20, 2019

The idea is pretty simple, allow devices to sync when plugged in over USB. Open up Lightroom on the mobile device and on desktop, and have an option to press for USB syncing, so that originals and smart previews including edits and album structure can be synced over.

Eg: Raws I imported onto my iPad Pro should sync to my desktop over USB. And vice versa.

The devices can still sync to the cloud, but it will save time and data usage of having to re-download images that you already have stored locally.

And if possible, the same but Wi-Fi syncing, desktop and device or two devices connected direct over Wi-Fi (one in hot spot mode?).

Report · Jun 25, 2019

I like the idea from a practicality standpoint. Unfortunately, I don't think this is currently possible on iOS, but this year's new Apple OS releases may address that. iOS/iPadOS devices will now appear in/sync via the Finder (rather than iTunes), but I'm still not sure if it would be possible. WiFi may be more universally useable.

Report · Jun 25, 2019

I can sync files directly from device to device (both windows and Mac laptops, my QNAP web server, etc.) using Resilio Sync over WLAN now, so I don't think it's a current iOS limitation.

Report · Jun 25, 2019

Oh, WiFi sync has been possible for a long time - I was talking about USB sync between Mac and iOS not currently being possible in a way that would be useful for Lightroom users.

Report · Jun 25, 2019

Oh yeah, I think you are right on that front.

Report · Jun 25, 2019

I honestly don’t think it’s a technical limitation but rather:
1) Totally not the priority. Many bugs ares still not fixed, so this kind of request, if on the roadmap, will be very low in the pile
2) Totally out of scope as it would go against Adobe market to sell more cloud storage.

Report · Jun 25, 2019

I don't think there's ever been any doubt that it's a business decision, rather than technical. We're just hoping that, if we make enough noise for long enough, Adobe will realize that they're forcing loyal customers to jump through ridiculous hoops, and making those customers happy might be worthwhile.

The switch to subscription has worked out very, very well for Adobe's bottom line. I honestly think that the Photography Plan is a pretty good deal, considering that I get Lightroom (in several flavors), Photoshop, 20GB of cloud storage (most of which goes unused because of the miracle that is Smart Previews), and website hosting for one small monthly fee. Even with all that, though, there is a limit on how much aggravation even loyal customers will endure, and ignoring those areas where the current cloud sync model falls flat on its face is a pretty major aggravation for a company to ignore.

I don't have any major complaints with the current system in my day-to-day use, but anything that involves travel is a major pain point, and it's astonishing that Adobe has not figured out a solution. I'm hoping that the coming of iPadOS (and similar enhancements to iOS) will spur some fresh thinking at Adobe.

Report · Jun 25, 2019

I hope you're right, but... have keywords sync been implemented yet ? Stacks ? Pano/HDR? Are the recent updates the most requested features or even bug fixes ?

Not sure Adobe cares about photographers anymore. Casual cell phone users wanting cloud storage is, imho, Adobe's new target.

They're making a shitload of money and that's the only thinkg that counts. And who could blame them? But luckily competition is working hard to bring good software. Let's hope this pressure wil help.

Report · Jun 26, 2019

I choose to live in hope.

Just like everyone these days, Adobe is chasing the mass market, but I honestly don't see them making major inroads on the consumer side - the offerings from Google/Apple/Insta are good enough that I really can't see why that market would pay anything for Adobe's cloud (Lightroom, not Classic) photography plan. The average consumer is just never going to bother with raw on their phone, and without that, why would anybody bother with any version of Lightroom?

So, long run, I think that professionals are Adobe's core business, and at some point, they'll start providing the features that professionals keep asking for. Nobody else has the end-to-end solution that Adobe has, even with the annoyances, but that may not hold forever. If Capture One came up with an iPad version and syncing (whether cloud or local), it would certainly make things more interesting.

Report · Jun 26, 2019

I sometimes receive user surveys from up and coming LR competitors. Judging from the content of those surveys it is clear they will be nipping at Adobe's heels soon enough.

Report · Jun 26, 2019

Coudn’t agree more 😉

But is living in hope acceptable when you pay this much for a software (in euro, it’s like buying a soft every year!) ?

Agreed, LR is for, at least enthusiastic photographs. But are the latest dates answers to the needs of this target? Lightroom “non-classic”? Tutorials? Not sure this is an answer to “Classic” users. Users who were happy with a perpetual license and who are expecting more from a subscription (because more expensive)

Also agreed:
“Nobody else has the end-to-end solution that Adobe has, even with the annoyances, but that may not hold forever. If Capture One came up with an iPad version and syncing (whether cloud or local), it would certainly make things more interesting.”
To be honest, that’s (and laziness) is what keeps enthusiasts and pros with LR. IMHO, there are too many bugs, limitations and restrictions for smooth and pro workflow integration. The moment a good pro workflow will be available, people will massively switch to that one 😉

Report · Jun 26, 2019

@avpman, could you elaborate?

Report · Jun 26, 2019

ON1, and Capture one are the biggies. They have a ways to go toward an end to end solution. Check 'em out and decide for yourself. I'm still holding out for Adobe to clean up LR but it seems with every release there are more and more problems.

Report · Jun 26, 2019

with every release there are more and more problems

That last comment is nonsense.

Report · Jun 26, 2019

Thanks avpman! I wasn’t sure about your point but I totally agree. I’ll definitely check them out when my subscription expires. I hope they’ll have a good mobile workflow, because that’s literally the only thing holding me back.

Report · Jun 26, 2019

That's the problem - nobody else has anything resembling a mobile workflow. On1 and Capture One have mobile apps, but they don't do any processing on mobile - On1's was just a gallery (the app seems to have disappeared, actually), and Capture Pilot is a gallery/rating app with a remote camera control option.

Report · Aug 05, 2019

Let's wait for IOS 13.0 and we will see what we will do with our iPad because it is expected that we can connect an external disk to our tablets .... Because, really, via the Internet it is not viable in many languages. places in the world called the Earth!

Yves Crausaz, Suisse, retraité actif dans le monde de la photo et des arts graphiques.

Report · Aug 07, 2019

My download speed is 40mbps.
My upload speed is 7mbps

It is not the fastest, but it is the second fastest provider in my country. And I cannot use LR Mobile, because it wont sync raw files. I left it on for 2 days nonstop. didn't went over 3%...

So not only that the sync is slow for some.
It is also non existent for others.
It was like it tryed and then gave up.

I upload and download large files to services as wetransfer, myairbridge on regular basis and those work. I don't know why LR wouldn't then?

I had to start with all the edits and selections over.
Now I am looking for solution while paying for 1tb plan which i cant use.

take my vote.