Is there a way to use Lightroom in an offline sense?

[Reynolds_Beta]

I'm really trying to like Lightroom, but all this syncing to the cloud is really frustrating and chews up lots of bandwidth for no gain I can see. I already have other backup solutions on the cloud in place (eg. OneDrive, etc.) so why would I need to push everything (again) to a different cloud?

Again, I like Lightroom's editing capabilities - it does a fantastic job and with very high, standards-setting  quality. But I would really like to use it locally.

[Theresa J]

If you want to use Lightroom locally you should be using Lightroom Classic instead of Lightroom.

[Reynolds_Beta]

But you cannot get LR Classic by itself. Or can you?

And by "classic," doesn't that imply no longer supported or under active development? When I first purchased a subscription, I chose (quite understandably) what is being advertised as the latest modern version... Didn't realize there was a difference, hopefully you can understand the confusion.

[Theresa J]

You are not alone in being confused. It is confusing for sure. I can assure you that Lightroom Classic is still be actively developed. If you purchased a Photography Plan you have access to Lightroom Classic, Lightroom and Photoshop. Use the Creative Cloud desktop app to instal Classic and Photoshop if you want to use them. Here's an Adobe help page that explains the differences between the Lightroom applications. https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom-classic/lightroom-cc-vs-lightroom-classic.html

Classic has a much steeper learning curve than Lightroom does. You need to understand file management, and how to organize your photos with your computer's folder structure. Classic does not actually place photos into the application, it simply points to the location of the photos on your computer. I recommend getting a book or watching a video course before getting started.

[Reynolds_Beta]

Thanks,

I'm quite familiar with catalogs - assuming they don't go overboard and store full-bit copies of the images already on my HDD into the catalog. I assume LR (classic) catalog is simply a shortcut to the actual file, perhaps a preview, and any deltas you've applied to the image. Hopefully nice and compact instead of taking up gobs of space.

File management is easy - I already have everything already categorized in their various folders. 4 TB worth. Probably won't even bother importing most of it, just new things as they happen.

Lightroom Classic's editing seems to be on-par (perhaps more detailed) than the CC version; lay-out is different, but still recognizable to the features in the CC version. Seems to have more control over sizing of panels, supports two-screens (that's really nice!). Nope, this is what I wanted all along.

So, thanks again for pointing me to the right software to meet my needs. Would be nice to not have to pay for things I won't use, but at least it isn't any more expensive that the "Lightroom Plan."

[Theresa J]

Sounds like Classic is definitely the app you want. Classic is what Lightroom was originally before they created the cloud version and named it Lightroom and then renamed the original to Lightroom Classic.

Lightroom Classic has many more professional features than Lightroom because it is a much older application. It will likely take a long while before Lightroom catches up to it.