Share Lightroom CC Library between accounts

[henrikgrunden]

Hi Adobe, friends and helpful people out there!

I have the most annoying problem at the moment. We're a group of 10 employees working on separate computers with a photos in Lightroom CC. Each and everyone has their own Adobe-account.

The problem:
We all want to have one single and same Lightroom Library where we need to be able to add photos, edit and contribute in the same library from different computers.

Question 1:
Right now - there's (as far as I  understand) no feature allowing me to invite several Adobe-accounts to one and same library to edit, create and change photos? @Adobe - will you help me to confirm?

Question 2 (The option we're forced to have)

Right now, the only option we seemed forced to have (not even scalable solution) is to have one Adobe-account creating the Library. Then to be able to access the photos from different computers we need to log in to the same Adobe-account to be able to access that specific library.

Unfortunately we can only have 2 computers logged in at the same time on the same account. A solution would be if they allowed me to increase the number (to 10, as we are 10 in the group) of users allowed on the same account.

The second solution would be if there is any feature to invite different accounts to the same library with capabilities to edit, add photos, create etc.

Adobe, or anyone else! Please give me advice!

I can't be the only one with this problem? Do you guys have any idea on how to solve it?

[kglad]

[moved from Adobe Creative Cloud to File Hosting, Syncing, and Collaboration]

[Abambo]

I do not think that Lightroom CC is a multi-user program.This would involve some locking work, simultaneous data base access etc.

In addition your workaround solution violates the terms of use of your Lightroom license if I'm correctly informed, as the license well allows for 2 concurrent activations but only one active user at the same time.

Moving from File Hosting, Syncing, and Collaboration​ to Lightroom CC — The cloud-based photo service​, as this seams to be a Lightroom sharing question and not a general file sharing question.

[henrikgrunden]

Hello Abambo​

Thanks for your reply.

In my world the strength of most cloud-based services is to involve multiple users to collaborate in a workspace. Seems kind of to be the idea of a cloud concept as far as I'm concerned.

But my question still remains... is it possible to upgrade the license with increased number of users for one single account, that would basically solve the problem for us.

And secondly, there are no features allowing other adobe users to access the library?

Thanks!

[99jon]

Adobe offers separate plans for teams with collaboration available via Creative Cloud Libraries.

https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/business/teams/features.html

[henrikgrunden]

Unfortunately it does not support Lightrooom.

[Abambo]

henrikgrunden  wrote

In my world the strength of most cloud-based services is to involve multiple users to collaborate in a workspace. Seems kind of to be the idea of a cloud concept as far as I'm concerned.

Well, in my world, cloud storage may also be ... edit where you are. As I'm working from different locations, cloud storage does make it easy to have the data available where ever in the world I am.

Also Adobe advertises Lr CC as using some of the cloud power and Adobes AI for supporting the user.

I understand your concept of "cloud based" multi user access, but that may not be as the software has been designed. When looking at the commercials, I see the "access from any device", I see "share your photos" but I do not see "share your library" or "collaborative editing".

But may be someone more knowledgable with Lr CC can answer the question in your sense.

[Jao vdL]

You can't do this from computers (as opposed to mobile devices where you have far more devices that can access the same account. Unfortunately this is even true for the team plan. It will not share lightroom CC libraries across accounts as far as I know. It can share all the other cloud stuff but not Lightroom CC which is the odd duck out. Technically this is not much different from accessing the same account on multiple devices and computers and so all the hard work has been done. Adobe just never enabled it for sharing libraries across accounts. Amazingly, Apple photos and Google photos can do this just fine but not Lightroom.

[henrikgrunden]

Thank you Jao! I unfortunately think you're right. Hopefully Adobe will understand the need of this as content producers, photographers and companies will have a great value of sharing albums together.

I think we might stick with iCloud Photos (Apple) for now until I hear something other from Adobe.

[Abambo]

The only "multi user" photo editing software from Adobe is Bridge with Camera Raw processing. What is missing there is the database. That is how we organise our photo work.

[selondon]

Adobe Revel was Lightroom CC's Cloud Based Photo Storage forerunner.

Although a lot more basic than CC, it did have Multiple Collaborative Libraries (the equivalent of Catalogs).

I'd love to see a similar feature in CC and you can vote for them here if you want:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-ecosystem-cloud-based-ideas/p-multiple-collaborative-catalo...

[nfian]

Waiting for Adobe to implement this feature too.

In the meantime, my team's workaround is to use a shared lightroom catalog via the web app. It's nearly as functional as the desktop app,  using a different google/chrome user to sign in with the shared adobe team account and then using chrome's "create shortcut" tool to spin it off as a standalone web app. This allows us to have our own lightroom catalogs and our team catalog open at the same time. 

[Timothy.Spear]

I am also looking at the same kind of freature/license issue. But from a family perspective, I would love to have my kids and parents put all their photos in and sort of have an ongoing family digital album system.

Note: I have not put any real thought into how this would except to say I want it. 🙂

Tim

[Charlie.D · Accepted solution]

Hello @nfian and @Timothy.Spear 

Lightroom now allows paid users to invite other people to collaborate (add and edit photos) in shared albums -- your friends, family, colleagues etc can now help contribute new photos or even help edit photos inside your shared albums.  People you invite do not need to be paid Lightroom users -- the album owner's paid subscription provides access to every member of the shared album.  Privileges are set per-person in the shared album's settings, so some people may only view the album while others may be real partners and collaborators.  This helps avoid the need for sharing the same login amongst a group of people, if one doesn't want to share every photo or video in one's own catalog/account or risk losing data through other people's actions.  

Note that when using LR Mobile or Desktop or Web apps to collaborate, free users will be able to view photos, or view + add photos, or view + add+ edit photos.  However, free users will still lack access to premium features, which may limit their editing abilities.  

For more info, see: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-cc/using/save-share-photos.html 

[Timothy.Spear]

@Charlie.D 

I am aware of sahred albums, and they are missing some features; e.g shared ratings does not work.

In addition, just sharing an album is not conducieve to photo management. And photo management is a weak point of Lr in the cloud.

I have created a manual work around for the lack of photo management in Lr; but the reality is photo management sucks in Lr.. I also have not put any real thought into how to do it; however I know if I create a shared album and have my kids or parents put images in there, it will quickly become a disorganized mess.

Tim

[Charlie.D]

Hi again @Timothy.Spear 

You're right that other members in the shared album do not have all the same abilities (lack the ablility to rate images, etc).  We're thinking about how improve our collaboration workflows.  Feedback like your helps the LR team understand what's needed in future releases.  Whatever solution you do try, please feel free to share with us -- we are eager to hear what is and isn't helpful or working well, or is missing in the app to support workflows you need.

Kind regards,

Charlie

[g1jeff]

Charlie,  Our studio, with multiple photographers, would love to have the ability to store our portfolio image catalog online and have it accessible by our whole team.  This doesn't seem to me to be something that should be that hard to find, but it sure seems to be.  Right now, we have a lightroom catalog on a portable hard drive and we have to phyiscally move it around to who ever needs to use it.  So archaic.  I really hope Adobe can realize this need. I'm sure we are not alone.  Please, please, please.  

Jeff

[Charlie.D]

Hi @g1jeff 

Your feedback is appreciated, and is something I will escalate to Lightroom Product Mgmt. 

You mentioned this seemed hard to find.  I would guess you are using Lightroom Classic, and not the separate more cloud-centric Lightroom CC / Lightroom Mobile / Lightroom Web.

Lightroom CC's current album sharing does let one catalog owner setup an album which other users can join, add photos, and edit (with premium features still requiring a separate subscription for those other users).  These other members in the shared album (sometimes referred to as "group album") can also like images and comment on them, but currently cannot rate, pick/reject, keyword.  More info can be found here: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-cc/using/save-share-photos.html 

Please post any additional feedback or questions you have!

[g1jeff]

Thanks, Charlie.

I have tried utilizing Lightroom CC's sharing ability but it is far lacking.  We need our people to be able to search the shared images via keyword, which doesn't work, and be able to create their own collections from those shared images.  Also, not doable.   In this day and age, with all the cool things that Adobe is creating, it seems mindboggling that something as simple as this isn't offered.  It can't be that hard.

Jeff

[Timothy.Spear]

@g1jeff 

You probably should give Adobe your full use case. I find Lr on the cloud falls down for me in a couple ways. the largest, it is really aimed at a single user, not for a family.

I previously posted the family usecase, and would like to see Adobe support it. I believe the family use case, and the business use case likely have significant overlap.

Tim

[Joy22418499mblm]

I work with a company with locations on two continients (and some islands in the Pacific). We need a shared catalog in the cloud that everyone has access to, can keyword tag and search. Is this something Lightroom CC can do (ie not classic). I am trying to make a recomendation if we should use Lightroom or Bridge for this purpose. Idealy this would work with images stored on Google Drive.

[Timothy.Spear]

You want a professional digital assest manager. Lr does not come close to that, it realy has very basic DAM functionality with fairly robust image editing tools.

You should be looking at tools like:

https://www.photools.com/

The old product was called iMatch; I have not paid attention to keep up with the correct product name for multi-user.

Tim

[Joy22418499mblm]

Thanks for the suggestion. It looks like imatch is only for Windows? we have a mix of Windows and Macs in our environment.  We are trying to avoid paying for additional services since we are already paying for the full Creative Cloud for multiple users, so was hoping to find an Adobe solution.  We'll see how far bridge will get us, since it at least supports multi-user caches https://helpx.adobe.com/bridge/using/centrally-manage-bridge-cache.html

Makes me sad we cant use Lightroom for this, but the editing tools arn't realy needed for this use case.

[ericb68043392]

A little late to this conversation.  Just did a lot of research into this space for my company and a lot of the features that you're all discussing are found in Adobe's own very expensive Adobe Experience Manager which costs companies that subscribe 30-50k/yr.  Competitors charge 11-25k/yr for similar offerings.  I imagine the issue they are running into is how to make Lightroom useable as a DAM without being a DAM.  Seems like it shouldn't be hard to take some of those features that enterprises need and strip them down to something useable for average folks.

[ericb68043392]

A few more thoughts.... as i was going down the Lightroom-as-a-DAM rabbit hole I discovered MediaGraph.io that offers a Lightroom plugin for shared catalogues/libraries synced online.  Ironically enough they are a full service DAM company competing with legacy companies charging 3-10x as much, which i think very much lends a lot of evidence to my earlier point: Adobe doesn't want to compete with their own very very expensive dam service that large enterprises way overpay for.