How do the current LR programs really work?

[thefsb]

The last version of LR I used was 4. I'd like to understand how the products in the new subscription plans work. But I've found some of the FAQ answers perplexing that I don't dare try the software until I get better information.


> Q: What is Lightroom CC? A: Lightroom CC is a new photography service by Adobe that includes desktop, mobile, and web apps. Lightroom CC automatically backs up all your photographs to the cloud and lets you access and work with your photos from any desktop or mobile device.


All? Really?

My computer has 8 TB storage on local devices (with triplicate backups) and many more in network storage devices. I cannot sync all of the photos to the cloud. There is no reason to sync all of them and many reasons not to, including licensing.

> Q: Can I sync just some of my photos to the cloud? A: No; Lightroom CC safely backs up all your photos to the cloud.

That's pretty clear. If I run Lightroom CC then all photos on all attached storage devices are automatically sequestered into Adobe's cloud.

Well, I cannot allow that. So how about I create a new user account on my computer, share only certain directories with that user, and run Lightroom CC only as that user. That way I can control which photos it has access to. (convenient, huh?)

Assuming that solves that problem, what about the photos that I want to edit with Lightroom Classic CC? I suspect Lightroom CC won't satisfy all my needs (I've been using Capture One Pro for years).

> Q: Can I use Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic CC together? A: Syncing between Lightroom Classic CC and Lightroom CC for desktop isn’t recommended.

Huh?

If Lightroom CC automatically takes control of all my photos and using Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic CC together isn’t recommended then, if I use Lightroom CC, how do I use Lightroom Classic CC at all?

None of this makes sense to me. And I dare not try the software to find out how it really works in case it tries to copy several terabytes of photos.

[99jon]

Your computer files will not be cloned. That is not the intention. In this case All means everything added directly into LRCC. So if you import photos to the desktop version of LRCC, or using a tablet or phone, they will all be uploaded to the cloud.

It sounds as if you have a comprehensive folder structure and independent backup routine. So you are probably better sticking with LR Classic.

[thefsb]

99jon  wrote

It sounds as if you have a comprehensive folder structure and independent backup routine.

Yes.

99jon  wrote
So you are probably better sticking with LR Classic.

If so, how do I benefit from the cloud aspects? Having LR on phone and tablet is attractive. So is cloud platform for sharing pictures and for managing a selection of photos on multiple devices.

[99jon]

If you place selected photos into a LR Classic Collection you can enable the collection for synchronization with the cloud.

Appropriate sized previews will then be sent to your phone/tablet.

You would need a subscription to activate sync in LR Classic.

99jon tech: Compare Adobe Photography Plans

[Jao vdL]

Another really pernicious thing is that Adobe describes the process as automatically backing up all your photographs when using Lightroom CC. This is really dangerous language as it really isn't a backup at all. The cloud image becomes the main image. If you import into Lightroom CC from a memory card or somesuch, Lightroom uploads this image to the cloud and by default after a while deletes the copy it maintained from your hard disk to save hard drive space. This is NOT a backup and I think it is really dangerous that Adobe describes this as creating backups. Worse, if you delete an image from Lightroom CC it immediately deletes it from everywhere. There is not even a "deleted images" area like other cloud photo services have where deleted images are kept for a while.

We've seen quite a few people on this forum that lost images this way because they naïvely thought that Lightroom was creating backups in the cloud.

[thefsb]

99jon​ Thanks for the help. What you described makes sense. Adobe's marketing and FAQ material had me completely on the wrong track.

Jao vdL​ Thanks. It's fairly clear that CC's replicated filesystem (i.e. cloud) isn't mature. File deletion that allows the user an "Oops!" has been around since the 80s. It's daft to deploy a filesystem without it, especially one that replicates permanent deletion. While I can envisage how to use it that would be adequately safe, I'd rather avoid the complexity of managing copies in the CC and elsewhere with real backups.

Iiuc, the Lightroom version that works on mobile is tied to the could filesystem, so I won't be using that either.

Looks like the only part of the Photography Plan useful to me is Lightroom Classic CC but without using the CC. I don't see an obvious advantage over my current arrangement with Capture One Pro, rsync for local backups, Backblaze for remote backups and Google Photos for cloud sharing the jpeg products. I'd just be swapping out C1P for LR Classic.

Thanks all for guiding me out of my confusion.

[Jao vdL]

The photography plan comes with Photoshop too. Also you can use Classic to sync images with the mobile Lightroom and back. You never have to use Lightroom CC on the Desktop and still get some benefit from the cloud thing. I edit some images on my iPad that I sync from Classic and sync back raw images I shoot with my iPhone. Works great but I would agree that if you have a working workflow there is not much reason to shift.

[thefsb]

My motivation to look again at LR was the cloud and mobile features. My workstation is nice but it is not portable.

So again. It seems I don't understand how it works.

[thefsb]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Jao+vdL  wrote

you can use Classic to sync images with the mobile Lightroom and back.  ...  I edit some images on my iPad that I sync from Classic and sync back raw images I shoot with my iPhone.

Seems I'm back to square one in terms of confusion.

To quote Adobe: Lightroom CC Common questions

[john beardsworth]

It depends what you really want. Lightroom Classic and the Lightroom CC mobile apps (iOS, Android, web browser) give you the ability to take collections of images with you on your mobile devices, whether to show people, review or adjust them. They also give a fluid workflow for any photos you shoot on those devices, so this weekend I was using my iPhone's camera to record timelapse videos and they automatically appeared in my catalogue this morning. In fact they also had titles and captions which I'd entered in the phone as I travelled home on the train. The one thing that doesn't work is keywording, which Adobe decided not to implement properly. So syncing between Lightroom Classic and the Lightroom Mobile apps (iOS, Android, web browser) can be very useful, and you can share sets of photos very easily. That's very different from C1.

Where the so-called "Lightroom CC" (for Mac/PC) fits in is less clear, especially when you have more than a trivial number of prhotos. I find some value in using it as Lightroom Mobile for the laptop. "Lightroom CC" doesn't do much more than Lightroom Mobile on my iPad or iPhone, but it's equally convenient. So I might have been importing DSLR photos using the laptop on the train home, and they would appear automatically in my Lightroom Classic catalogue.

I think you should also read between the lines of Adobe's recommendation. They don't recommend syncing between real Lightroom and "Lightroom CC" (they mean Mac/PC), so they aren't encouraging people to do so or saying that's how they intend the programs to be used. On the other hand, they don't explicitly say don't do it. You can do, if you know what you are doing, and if you limit your use of "Lightroom CC" and think of it as Lightroom Mobile on the laptop.

[Jao vdL]

John gave you a great answer already. The important modifier in the questions document is the "for desktop" qualifier. That said, even that works just fine. In effect, the very best way to think of Lightroom CC on the desktop as opposed to the real Lightroom (i.e. Classic), is that Lightroom CC is a port of the mobile version of Lightroom to the Desktop. This is exactly what it is. It doesn't do much more and works basically the same. What I will do is take a small laptop (or even smaller my iPad Pro) with Lightroom CC on trips and import and edit there and when I get back all my files show up downloaded, edited and all in my main Classic catalog including anything I shot with my phone as opposed to the DSLRs. What I do then is unsync all these files in Classic and they will disappear from the cloud but are nicely preserved and edited in Classic and subject to my normal backup routine and not take up gobs of cloud space. Only problem is the keywording indeed.