In the Cloud view, select Add Photos. Lightroom will open the locations of your locally stored media.
Last updated on
May 21, 2024
Learn how to import, access, and edit photos in Adobe Lightroom on desktop.
In Lightroom on desktop, you can easily import photos or directly access locally stored photos from your device. This article discusses how you can import photos to Lightroom, access imported and synced photos through the Cloud tab, and edit locally stored photos through a new Local tab. You can access all the media under the Photos tab.
New in May 2024 release of Lightroom
Quickly free up the Cloud space and locally organize and edit your images in Lightroom. Learn more about the Archive photos locally workflow in Lightroom.
Starting with the October 2023 release of Lightroom, you can easily edit locally stored media without importing them into Lightroom. However, if you wish to import and sync your media to the Lightroom Cloud to access them across platforms, try the following steps:
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Browse on your device to upload the desired photos or videos, and then select Review for Import.
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In the 'Photos will be Synced to Creative Cloud' dialog box that opens, select OK.
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Select the album location through the Add to Album dropdown and then select Add photo. Your photo or video will be automatically synced to the Cloud.
Access photos from the Cloud tab
The Cloud tab in Lightroom lets you access imported and synced media to the Lightroom Cloud. You can edit, save, and export any photo or video that is imported and synced to the Lightroom Cloud. Select Photos tab > Cloud > navigate to the desired album to access the media stored on Cloud.
In the Cloud tab, you can access:
Add Photos: Select this to import photos to Lightroom.
Learn: Select this to access Lightroom tutorials and other learning materials like Lightroom Academy.
Community: Select this to search, filter, or follow fellow photographers, Featured edits, Remixes, and more. Learn more about in-app learning in Lightroom. Select the drop-down to directly view My Profile, Featured, Following, and Remixes.
All Photos: Select this to view all the photos and videos you have imported and synced to the Cloud. Select the drop-down menu to view photos by categories like Recently Added, Recent Edits, By Date, People, Connections, and Deleted.
Albums: Select this to view all the albums created in Lightroom. Hover over an album and right-click to:
- Share To: Select this to share a photo or an album to Adobe Portfolio and Add Connections
- Share & Invite: Select this to share a link to the photo or album with fellow photographers and allow them to contribute by editing, viewing, and more
- Rename Album: Select this to rename an album
- Set <album name> as Target Album: Select this if you want to directly add photos to a certain album
- Make Album Available Offline: Select this if you want to edit photos or videos of an album without an internet connection
- Delete Album: Select this to delete a particular album. When you delete it, the photos of the album can still be accessed from the Lightroom library
Shared: Select this to view all the albums that you have shared with others or they have shared with you.
Note:
- In the Albums view, select the Add icon to Create Album or Create Folder.
- You can sort the Albums by selecting the Sort by icon. You can sort albums by - Album Name, Recently Updated, Date Created, Photo Count, and select viewing options from Name & Covers and Name Only.
The Local tab in Lightroom lets you directly access locally stored photos and videos from your device. This workflow lets you edit photos from your device without importing or syncing them to your Lightroom cloud. Select Photos tab > Local > navigate to the desired folder to access the locally stored photos and videos.
Not only this, you can also organize and favorite folders in the Local tab.
Manage albums in the Local tab
Note:
You can access and open photos from your device, connected hard drives, camera cards, and other storage devices in Lightroom without importing them.
Local primarily has two tabs:
Favorites
Contains all the folders that you have marked as Favorite.
Browse
Allows access to all the folders stored locally on your computer and any connected hard drives.
Managing folders in the Local tab will help you organize and edit photos in Lightroom quickly and efficiently. What's better is that you can rearrange and rename the folders and bookmark them in Lightroom.
You can select the More menu using the icon in front of the album name to easily:
- Add as Favorite: Select this to add a folder to your Favorites list. This means you can access the folder from the Favorites tab without browsing through all the folders stored locally.
- Copy to Cloud: Select this option to copy a particular folder or photo to the Lightroom cloud.
- Rename Folder: Select this to quickly rename a folder directly from the Lightroom app. This change will automatically reflect on your device.
- Create Folder in <folder name>: Select this to create a sub-folder within a folder. This helps in better organizing your photos and folders.
- Show in Finder or Show in Explorer: Select this option to view the folder directly in Finder (macOS) or Explorer (Windows).
Tip:
- Select the icon beside the folder name to bookmark it as Favorite.
- If you have sub-folders within a folder, you can add them to Favorites.
- You can also organize photos on your local drive from within Lightroom by dragging and dropping them between different folders in the Local tab.
Managing the Cloud storage in Lightroom is now a lot easier. You can now quickly and efficiently archive photos from the Cloud and store them locally. This workflow helps free up Cloud space while allowing you to access and edit locally stored photos without importing them in Lightroom.
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In the Grid view, select all the photos you want to archive.
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Right-click on the selected photos and select Archive Photos locally option from the context menu.
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You can customize the details in the Archive to Local Storage dialog box on the screen.
- Save to - Select Browse to choose your preferred location.
- Organize - Select Into one folder or By date to organize the archived photos or album.
- Existing Files - If you already have the same file stored locally, you can select either Keep both or Replace.
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To archive an entire album, right-click on the album and select Archive Album Locally.
Tip:
You can organize the archived photos and albums and retain their structure.
Local tab FAQ
Do I need to import photos to Lightroom to access them in the Local tab?
No, you don't need to import or sync locally stored photos to Lightroom. The Local tab lets you edit locally stored photos without importing them into Lightroom.
What happens when I edit a locally stored photo in Lightroom?
When you edit a locally stored photo in Lightroom, the edits are locally stored on your computer to easily access them when needed. You can always edit the same photo again in Lightroom.
What does the Copy to Cloud option mean in Lightroom?
With the Local tab, you can access locally stored photos from your computer without importing them to Lightroom. This makes it easier to edit photos as you don't need to import every image to Lightroom before editing it. You can selectively copy pictures to the Cloud to access them on Lightroom for mobile and Lightroom on the Web.
When you copy a photo to the Cloud, the Cloud, and Local copies are separate. You can continue to edit the image in the Cloud section. If you edit the Local copy again, you can update the Cloud copy with the new edits from the Local section.
Can I delete a locally stored folder directly from Lightroom?
No, Lightroom does not support deleting an entire folder directly from the Local tab, as the folder may contain other files besides photos and videos. You can delete locally stored photos and videos from within Lightroom. To delete a whole folder, choose "Show in Finder/Explorer" and then delete the folder via the OS.
Do the edits in the Local tab automatically alter the original file, or do I need to export them to make the changes? Does this mean you 'edit-in-place'?
All the edits in Lightroom are entirely non-destructive. To finalize the edits and allow them to be seen by other applications, you'll still export the photos from Lightroom.
How does non-destructive editing work in the Local tab? How are those edits stored?
Edits made in the Local tab in Lightroom are stored non-destructively as metadata along with the original photo or video file. For some file types, the metadata is stored internally in the file. The metadata is stored externally as an accompanying XMP sidecar file for other file types. If you move a photo outside of Lightroom, move the XMP file with it so you don't lose its edits. (If you move the image within Lightroom, Lightroom will move its XMP sidecar file along with it automatically.)