Ipad and Lightroom. Can anyone offer help on how I kick start my image editing

[goinggreynow]

Hi all
Long time member but other hobbies have interrupted my photography for some time now, so I’ve been away for a while.
Currently, I have an old W10 desktop and an IPad pro. I have an ‘old’ Lightroom licence, version 6, which is loaded on the windows machine. I think this was the last LR version which you could buy without need for ongoing subscriptions. It doesn’t recognise my Sony RAW files but DNG sorts that. But I do know it doesn’t offer features such as de-haze, etc.
I am looking to kick start my image editing - it’s in a shocking state at the moment - motor racing, family and holiday photos from years ago are still sitting on the hard drive; mainly RAWs. I have literally thousands of photos and I’m totally overwhelmed. Sadly, almost to the point where part of me thinks it’s not even worth trying. How sad is that?
To her credit, my wife has regularly taken jpegs from the main Pc to put on her small Ipad, with just some cropping to fit but not much else.
I am in need of some help, please, to reignite the enthusiasm that was once there.
Mainly for health reasons, sitting at my desk in front of the main PC for hours on end isn’t the answer here, although I’m Ok sitting there for an hour or so.
I’m in need of a device/workflow, etc to enable me to carry out the majority of my quick edits/deletes, etc sitting in the lounge, leaving the main Pc for the more detailed work.
There isn‘t a laptop in the house with an IPS screen, but I do have a v2 IPad Pro (lightning port) and v1 pencil. I did load LR onto the IPad about three years ago but never used it.
I’m not a cheapskate but am careful with money, so if part of the answer ends up being a new device or a subscription, then I’m OK with that.
Quite honestly, I don’t know which way to turn and as I get older, choices seem to become even more overwhelming.
I have a basic idea to try using the Ipad and pencil for basic edits but even before starting, I find myself confused by the number of LR variants.
I see LR for Ipad, LR mobile. LR, LR CC, LR classic.
Wood for the trees or what!!
Would any fellow members who use the Ipad and LR kindly help by telling me;
Which version of LR do I need on the Ipad?
Is any part of this free?
Is it possible to run this alongside my PC version of LR and move images between the 2 devices?
If yes, is it an easy process or cumbersome?
I realise that asking questions such as these may give the impression that I haven’t bothered to do any research, but nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve read articles, forum posts and watched YT videos. I’m still totally confused.
Any help much appreciated- even if it’s along the lines of move away from LR and switch to something else.
Thank you all.

 

[RichardC27]

So, you need to be on the subscription LR to use it with your iPad. That is unfortunately non-negotiable. There is only one LR app for the iPad, but it talks to LR Classic just fine. I think the easiest way for you to work with your iPad, given you already have loads of images loaded into an LR Catalogue on your PC is this:

1. Subscribe to the Creative Cloud Photography Plan. The 20Gb plan is fine. This is £9.97 a month, but a year's subs is on sale a few times a year at Amazon for £70-£80
2. On your PC, install the latest version of LR Classic and migrate your catalog over from LR 6.
3. On your PC, organise your images into Collections. Collections in LR Classic = Albums in LR iPad
4. You'll notice, next to the the collections in LR Classic, a little lightning bolt / double arrow symbol. Click this, and your images will sync to the cloud. Doing it this way, LR only syncs smaller, Smart Previews to the cloud. The original files stay on your PC. The beauty of this method is it doesn't count towards your 20Gb cloud storage limit at all. It's also much faster to sync.
5. You'll see the images start to appear in LR on your iPad.
6. Edit to your hearts content. Anything you do on you iPad will sync back to the original files on your PC next time you open LR Classic.
7. The Smart Previews are, I think, 1200 pixels on the long edge. So fine for social media use but anything serious you'd have to export them from your PC
8. There is also an LR app for phones and the images will appear there too using this method.

I've been iPad Pro only with LR for over 3 years, so any further questions ask away and I'll do my best to answer. The only things you can't do on the iPad are HDR and Pano Merging and some of the more advanced new masking features. But for stuff like holiday snaps and motorsport I'd think you could do every edit you could possibly want on the iPad, it's for way more than basic editing.

 

[chphoto]

I'm also new to LR on the iPad so I'd be interested to see what tips come up.

One quick one I can't see on iPad is the ability to draw a line for straightening a horizon, I find that really helpful on desktop.

Nigel Danson had a useful video going through his workflow, albeit a little complicated when it came to transferring images - instead of leaving things in Collections, he moves them into his main file structure on desktop.

 

[RichardC27]

I'm also new to LR on the iPad so I'd be interested to see what tips come up.

One quick one I can't see on iPad is the ability to draw a line for straightening a horizon, I find that really helpful on desktop.

Nigel Danson had a useful video going through his workflow, albeit a little complicated when it came to transferring images - instead of leaving things in Collections, he moves them into his main file structure on desktop.

No you can't do that, which is a bit mad really because using an Apple Pencil to do that would be much easier than trying to use the current crop tool. I will say that Adobe do update the app regularly with useful new stuff so it may come in a future update.

 

[goinggreynow]

So, you need to be on the subscription LR to use it with your iPad. That is unfortunately non-negotiable. There is only one LR app for the iPad, but it talks to LR Classic just fine. I think the easiest way for you to work with your iPad, given you already have loads of images loaded into an LR Catalogue on your PC is this:

1. Subscribe to the Creative Cloud Photography Plan. The 20Gb plan is fine. This is £9.97 a month, but a year's subs is on sale a few times a year at Amazon for £70-£80
2. On your PC, install the latest version of LR Classic and migrate your catalog over from LR 6.
3. On your PC, organise your images into Collections. Collections in LR Classic = Albums in LR iPad
4. You'll notice, next to the the collections in LR Classic, a little lightning bolt / double arrow symbol. Click this, and your images will sync to the cloud. Doing it this way, LR only syncs smaller, Smart Previews to the cloud. The original files stay on your PC. The beauty of this method is it doesn't count towards your 20Gb cloud storage limit at all. It's also much faster to sync.
5. You'll see the images start to appear in LR on your iPad.
6. Edit to your hearts content. Anything you do on you iPad will sync back to the original files on your PC next time you open LR Classic.
7. The Smart Previews are, I think, 1200 pixels on the long edge. So fine for social media use but anything serious you'd have to export them from your PC
8. There is also an LR app for phones and the images will appear there too using this method.

I've been iPad Pro only with LR for over 3 years, so any further questions ask away and I'll do my best to answer. The only things you can't do on the iPad are HDR and Pano Merging and some of the more advanced new masking features. But for stuff like holiday snaps and motorsport I'd think you could do every edit you could possibly want on the iPad, it's for way more than basic editing.

Hi Richard
Just seen your detailed reply. Very many thanks.
I haven’t digested it yet in any detail but just wanted to say how grateful I am for your help.
Thanks for saying that you’d be happy to answer further questions. I’ll try to keep these to a minimum but I know there will be some!
At the moment, I have LR downloaded on the Ipad and it seems to allow me to do some edits and save as a JPEG. I downloaded from the App store. When I click on upgrade or features which are only activated when I do upgrade, the sw offers me an upgrade to “LR Premium“ at £4.99pm. Any idea how this ties in with the CC photography plan at £9.97 pm?
Stuart

 

[RichardC27]

Hi Richard
Just seen your detailed reply. Very many thanks.
I haven’t digested it yet in any detail but just wanted to say how grateful I am for your help.
Thanks for saying that you’d be happy to answer further questions. I’ll try to keep these to a minimum but I know there will be some!
At the moment, I have LR downloaded on the Ipad and it seems to allow me to do some edits and save as a JPEG. I downloaded from the App store. When I click on upgrade or features which are only activated when I do upgrade, the sw offers me an upgrade to “LR Premium“ at £4.99pm. Any idea how this ties in with the CC photography plan at £9.97 pm?
Stuart

That's a different thing which isn't what you need, that will only give your LR on your iPad and it won't talk to Classic. You need the Photography Plan, which also gets you Photoshop, LR CC and Portfolio if you want to build a website. As long as you're signed into them all with the same account and you link your LR Classic Catalog to the cloud it will all work together. It's completely OS agnostic too. I have a W10 PC, an iPad Pro and and Android phone and it all works seamlessly across all of them.

 

[Craikeybaby]

So, you need to be on the subscription LR to use it with your iPad. That is unfortunately non-negotiable. There is only one LR app for the iPad, but it talks to LR Classic just fine. I think the easiest way for you to work with your iPad, given you already have loads of images loaded into an LR Catalogue on your PC is this:

1. Subscribe to the Creative Cloud Photography Plan. The 20Gb plan is fine. This is £9.97 a month, but a year's subs is on sale a few times a year at Amazon for £70-£80
2. On your PC, install the latest version of LR Classic and migrate your catalog over from LR 6.
3. On your PC, organise your images into Collections. Collections in LR Classic = Albums in LR iPad
4. You'll notice, next to the the collections in LR Classic, a little lightning bolt / double arrow symbol. Click this, and your images will sync to the cloud. Doing it this way, LR only syncs smaller, Smart Previews to the cloud. The original files stay on your PC. The beauty of this method is it doesn't count towards your 20Gb cloud storage limit at all. It's also much faster to sync.
5. You'll see the images start to appear in LR on your iPad.
6. Edit to your hearts content. Anything you do on you iPad will sync back to the original files on your PC next time you open LR Classic.
7. The Smart Previews are, I think, 1200 pixels on the long edge. So fine for social media use but anything serious you'd have to export them from your PC
8. There is also an LR app for phones and the images will appear there too using this method.

I've been iPad Pro only with LR for over 3 years, so any further questions ask away and I'll do my best to answer. The only things you can't do on the iPad are HDR and Pano Merging and some of the more advanced new masking features. But for stuff like holiday snaps and motorsport I'd think you could do every edit you could possibly want on the iPad, it's for way more than basic editing.

This is also the workflow that I use for connecting iOS with my Lightroom library. Importing into Lightroom Classic on the computer lets you manage the files sensibly (so you can make sure they are backed up etc), and the smart previews let you edit/sort/share from your iPad.

It may be worthwhile ignoring your existing images for now, and get your workflow sorted out with new images, before bringing the old ones in. My advice for the old ones is to do them a year/month at a time,s so it is easy to keep track of which ones are in the new system.

 

[goinggreynow]

That's a different thing which isn't what you need, that will only give your LR on your iPad and it won't talk to Classic. You need the Photography Plan, which also gets you Photoshop, LR CC and Portfolio if you want to build a website. As long as you're signed into them all with the same account and you link your LR Classic Catalog to the cloud it will all work together. It's completely OS agnostic too. I have a W10 PC, an iPad Pro and and Android phone and it all works seamlessly across all of them.

Thanks Richard.
I don’t think I will ever be anything but confused by the naming conventions for the various iterations of LR & how they all integrate.
A couple of points if I may;
If for, whatever reason, I am someone who insists on continuing to use his existing LR6 subscription (irrespective of the subsequent software enhancements with later versions), then my ONLY option is either to run it on my existing PC or get hold of a laptop/macbook and run it on there? There would be no option to edit anything on the Ipad?
If I were to go for (say) the photography plan and then sometime later, decide to change to non LR software (cancelling the subscription), do I run the risk of losing data, edit history, etc?
With the 20Gb plan, I must confess to still being confused as to exactly what is stored in that 20Gb space.
Do you mind me asking if you ever considered anything other than LR? Although I am more familiar with LR than any of the alternatives, I don’t consider myself anything more than a reasonably competent beginner and therefore, I guess I do still have the option of trying to learn how to use something else from scratch.
Stuart

 

[Craikeybaby]

My understanding is that if you stop paying the subscription, you can no longer use the develop module, but you can still see/export your images from the catalog module.

I have been using Lightroom since it was launched in 2007, a few years ago I tried using Capture 1, as it handles raw files from my Fuji cameras better than Lightroom. However, after 10+ years of Lightroom, and having refined my workflow, I found I just could not get on with it and went back to Lightroom. The iPad side of it did not exist back then, but as far as I am aware, it is not as polished as Lightroom's. They (used to at least) do a free version for Sony cameras, so may be worth trying. However, I think for the £80 (ish) a year I pay for Lightroom, it is worth it, especially when you include the free website.

 

[goinggreynow]

My understanding is that if you stop paying the subscription, you can no longer use the develop module, but you can still see/export your images from the catalog module.

I have been using Lightroom since it was launched in 2007, a few years ago I tried using Capture 1, as it handles raw files from my Fuji cameras better than Lightroom. However, after 10+ years of Lightroom, and having refined my workflow, I found I just could not get on with it and went back to Lightroom. The iPad side of it did not exist back then, but as far as I am aware, it is not as polished as Lightroom's. They (used to at least) do a free version for Sony cameras, so may be worth trying. However, I think for the £80 (ish) a year I pay for Lightroom, it is worth it, especially when you include the free website.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Much appreciated.
I think there may be a case for me to simply load a few photos onto my Ipad pro (I have the v2) and see if I am OK editing with the apple pencil. I’ve never done this before but I guess that is the preferred way of editing on the Ipad (i.e. rather than using one’s finger on the sliders?).
As far as you know, would I be at a disadvantage using a v2 Ipad Pro (lightning port, etc), when compared to the latest offering?
Stuart

 

[gjhill]

My subscription has expired but for some reason I appear to be able to still use the develop module??
I am not sure if I will restart my subscription, I have affinity photo but much prefer the printing method of Lightroom

 

[RichardC27]

Thanks Richard.
I don’t think I will ever be anything but confused by the naming conventions for the various iterations of LR & how they all integrate.
A couple of points if I may;
If for, whatever reason, I am someone who insists on continuing to use his existing LR6 subscription (irrespective of the subsequent software enhancements with later versions), then my ONLY option is either to run it on my existing PC or get hold of a laptop/macbook and run it on there? There would be no option to edit anything on the Ipad?
If I were to go for (say) the photography plan and then sometime later, decide to change to non LR software (cancelling the subscription), do I run the risk of losing data, edit history, etc?
With the 20Gb plan, I must confess to still being confused as to exactly what is stored in that 20Gb space.
Do you mind me asking if you ever considered anything other than LR? Although I am more familiar with LR than any of the alternatives, I don’t consider myself anything more than a reasonably competent beginner and therefore, I guess I do still have the option of trying to learn how to use something else from scratch.
Stuart

It is a mess to be honest, I don't know why Adobe thought having two desktop versions of LR, and then a suite of mobile apps that talk to both versions in different ways was a good idea but here we are.

To answer your LR6 question, no that will not talk to the iPad. LR6 was the last version before the whole subscription and cloud syncing model, so the iPad app won't be able to link to it.

If you cancel and move to something else then you can of course export everything from LR and start using something else.

The 20GB is cloud storage, which you can use for full size Jpegs or Raw files. Since I'm iPad first, and my dad uses the LR Classic side of my subscription, I pay £20 a month for 1TB of cloud storage. All of my Raw files are stored there, alongside jpegs from my phone, and I can access them anywhere. I don't really use local storage anymore. I was on the 20Gb plan for a while but found it a pain managing the limited amount of cloud space when my iPad is my primary editing device so I just bit the bullet and got more cloud storage. If you're primarily using LR Classic and local storage then you don't need anymore than 20Gb. Smart Previews, which is all you'll be uploading to the cloud and using on your iPad, don't count towards your 20Gb limit. You can have tens of thousands of smart previews in the cloud and use none of your 20Gb allowance.

I've been using LR since about 2010, I've tried a few others but nothing else come close in terms of ease of use and having all of my photos available and editable on all my devices. I have fully embraced the cloud side of things and basically never use desktop LR anymore. All of my editing, exporting, sharing, uploading, Instagram, Flickr etc is all done from my phone or iPad.

 

[RichardC27]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Much appreciated.
I think there may be a case for me to simply load a few photos onto my Ipad pro (I have the v2) and see if I am OK editing with the apple pencil. I’ve never done this before but I guess that is the preferred way of editing on the Ipad (i.e. rather than using one’s finger on the sliders?).
As far as you know, would I be at a disadvantage using a v2 Ipad Pro (lightning port, etc), when compared to the latest offering?
Stuart

The Apple Pencil is a fantastic way to edit. I can't ever imagine going back to sitting at a desk and using a mouse. As far as I'm aware as long as your iPad supports the latest version of iPadOS then it should do everything a more modern one can. The newer models with a USB-C port will import photos much faster and have more performance overall, but there's nothing you could do on a 2022 iPad Pro that you can't do on your V2 one.

 

[garryknight]

So, you need to be on the subscription LR to use it with your iPad.

I use the app called Adobe Lightroom for iPad and it doesn't cost me anything. There are a few functions I can't use without having to pay, but I can import a batch of photos and cull them, process them using the regular sliders for light, colour, tone, sharpness, and so on, then title, tag, and comment them, apply licence text, then export them ready for upload.

I use it when I'm on the road or out and about with just my iPad Mini or Air so that I can upload photos I've just taken of some event or other.

But I mostly use Snapseed for most editing and LR for last-minute touch-ups and asset management.

If Adobe had a less expensive tier for hobby photographers I'd be glad to pay, but since they don't I'll continue to use free solutions.

 

[RichardC27]

I use the app called Adobe Lightroom for iPad and it doesn't cost me anything. There are a few functions I can't use without having to pay, but I can import a batch of photos and cull them, process them using the regular sliders for light, colour, tone, sharpness, and so on, then title, tag, and comment them, apply licence text, then export them ready for upload.

I use it when I'm on the road or out and about with just my iPad Mini or Air so that I can upload photos I've just taken of some event or other.

But I mostly use Snapseed for most editing and LR for last-minute touch-ups and asset management.

If Adobe had a less expensive tier for hobby photographers I'd be glad to pay, but since they don't I'll continue to use free solutions.

This is true, most of the app is free, but if you want to sync between a PC and the iPad then you need to pay the subscription.

 

[NPUK]

If Adobe had a less expensive tier for hobby photographers I'd be glad to pay, but since they don't I'll continue to use free solutions.

At the moment, I have LR downloaded on the Ipad and it seems to allow me to do some edits and save as a JPEG. I downloaded from the App store. When I click on upgrade or features which are only activated when I do upgrade, the sw offers me an upgrade to “LR Premium“ at £4.99pm. Any idea how this ties in with the CC photography plan at £9.97 pm?

Lightroom Mobile (on my phone) appears to offer me the same offer of £4.99 per month for Lightroom Premium. I assume this is almost the same as the £9.98 per month subscription but without LR Desktop and 1TB cloud storage and website/portfolio ?

 

[RichardC27]

Lightroom Mobile (on my phone) appears to offer me the same offer of £4.99 per month for Lightroom Premium. I assume this is almost the same as the £9.98 per month subscription but without LR Desktop and 1TB cloud storage and website/portfolio ?

You get 100Gb cloud storage there, but correct no desktop LR at all and no Portfolio. To be honest if you're going to do go mobile only and don't need the Masking and Healing tools then you're better just using it for free.

I pay the full £20 because I have all of my older work synced as smart previews, my dad uses LR Classic as part of my sub. I use my iPad as my primary editing device so my only option is cloud storage, I actually do a lot of quick edits on my phone so the syncing is important, and I have my website built on Adobe Portfolio (which for some absolutely inexplicable reason, you can't edit on an iPad). £20 a month is more than I like paying but I do use almost everything I pay for.

 

[NPUK]

You get 100Gb cloud storage there

You get 100 GB of storage with Lightroom Premium for £4.99 per month ?

 

[RichardC27]

You get 100 GB of storage with Lightroom Premium for £4.99 per month ?

I'm 99.9% sure you get 100GB cloud storage with that plan, but you don't get any desktop apps whatsoever. It's iPad and phone apps only.

 

[ShinySideUp]

The OP referred to being old and whether or not to start a LR subscription. Well, I am 68 and have just taken it out as other packages just haven't cut it for me.

I only use LR Classic as I have no interest in manipulating pictures in Photoshop or the [perhaps my perceived] limitations to Lightroom -- the cloud version -- (why they have such confusingly similar names is beyond me -- what's wrong with Lightroom Desktop and Lightroom Cloud?).

I don't use collections as I prefer to keep things in one place on my PC (yes, I know 'collections' doesn't move anything but now the names appears in more than one place and I don't see the point when I have made collections on my hard drive).

As others have said, don't fret over the number of images you have done nothing with over the years, I have the same problem. I'll occasionally pick on an older folder and cull and/or edit the images and leave it at that until I have some spare time to do another edit. I do try to keep on top of newly-taken pictures as I don't want to get into the old situation where I have 20 pictures of the same subject that all vary slightly by position or exposure. These days I am ruthless when it comes to deleting surplus images.

If there is one thing to remember though, once you start a Lightroom subscription, is to do nothing to a file outside Lightroom itself so that the software always knows where things are.

 

[goinggreynow]

The OP referred to being old and whether or not to start a LR subscription. Well, I am 68 and have just taken it out as other packages just haven't cut it for me.

I only use LR Classic as I have no interest in manipulating pictures in Photoshop or the [perhaps my perceived] limitations to Lightroom -- the cloud version -- (why they have such confusingly similar names is beyond me -- what's wrong with Lightroom Desktop and Lightroom Cloud?).

I don't use collections as I prefer to keep things in one place on my PC (yes, I know 'collections' doesn't move anything but now the names appears in more than one place and I don't see the point when I have made collections on my hard drive).

As others have said, don't fret over the number of images you have done nothing with over the years, I have the same problem. I'll occasionally pick on an older folder and cull and/or edit the images and leave it at that until I have some spare time to do another edit. I do try to keep on top of newly-taken pictures as I don't want to get into the old situation where I have 20 pictures of the same subject that all vary slightly by position or exposure. These days I am ruthless when it comes to deleting surplus images.

If there is one thing to remember though, once you start a Lightroom subscription, is to do nothing to a file outside Lightroom itself so that the software always knows where things are.

Hi Martin
Thanks.
Can I just clarify - you’re subscribing to a Photography plan, but just using the sw licence on your main PC?
Nothing stored in the cloud, no Ipad use, no syncing to other devices?
Stuart

 

[ShinySideUp]

Hi Martin
Thanks.
Can I just clarify - you’re subscribing to a Photography plan, but just using the sw licence on your main PC?
Nothing stored in the cloud, no Ipad use, no syncing to other devices?
Stuart

That is correct. But just to make it unequivocal, because Adobe don't make it easy -- I have the Photography Plan which is the one that costs £9.98 per month and with which you get LR (the cloud one), Lightroom Classic (for use on desktop), Photoshop (for both cloud and desktop), plus 20GB of storage (which I also don't use). I personally only use Lightroom Classic on my desktop, but I do have access to the other two for my subscription.

I might add that this is the way it is now but Adobe seem to change their minds all the time about what you get for your money. When I did this the first time, years ago, my subscription got me access to almost everything they produced.

 

[goinggreynow]

That is correct. But just to make it unequivocal, because Adobe don't make it easy -- I have the Photography Plan which is the one that costs £9.98 per month and with which you get LR (the cloud one), Lightroom Classic (for use on desktop), Photoshop (for both cloud and desktop), plus 20GB of storage (which I also don't use). I personally only use Lightroom Classic on my desktop, but I do have access to the other two for my subscription.

I might add that this is the way it is now but Adobe seem to change their minds all the time about what you get for your money. When I did this the first time, years ago, my subscription got me access to almost everything they produced.

Thank you for explaining.
I think I need to try and get clear (in my head) whether using LR on my Ipad will work for me. True, it’ll give me the ability to edit photos when sitting on the sofa (crucial for me now) but I need to be happy editing on a 12.9 inch screen. This is a heck of a difference to my 27 inch desktop screen, but I’m going to give it a go by playing with the ‘free’ Ipad LR which i downloaded from the app store. It’ll cost me nothing to begin with, other than me needing an Ipad adapter to connect a hard drive.
If it works and I’m comfortable with it, then the answer is most probably a subscription similar to your own.
If I can’t get on with this size of the Ipad screen and given that my enthusiasm for sitting at my desktop, editing, has all but gone, then my only other answer is to buy a laptop with an IPS screen. I could use this for 90% or so of my editing, leaving the option to connect to my 27 inch screen now and again.
I realise that I don’t have an acceptable ‘no cost’ option. I don’t mind spending if I can be fairly sure the money won’t be wasted.
Thanks again.

 

[garryknight]

This is true, most of the app is free, but if you want to sync between a PC and the iPad then you need to pay the subscription.

Or there's PhotoSync, but even they have moved to a subscription model.

 

[RichardC27]

Thank you for explaining.
I think I need to try and get clear (in my head) whether using LR on my Ipad will work for me. True, it’ll give me the ability to edit photos when sitting on the sofa (crucial for me now) but I need to be happy editing on a 12.9 inch screen. This is a heck of a difference to my 27 inch desktop screen, but I’m going to give it a go by playing with the ‘free’ Ipad LR which i downloaded from the app store. It’ll cost me nothing to begin with, other than me needing an Ipad adapter to connect a hard drive.
If it works and I’m comfortable with it, then the answer is most probably a subscription similar to your own.
If I can’t get on with this size of the Ipad screen and given that my enthusiasm for sitting at my desktop, editing, has all but gone, then my only other answer is to buy a laptop with an IPS screen. I could use this for 90% or so of my editing, leaving the option to connect to my 27 inch screen now and again.
I realise that I don’t have an acceptable ‘no cost’ option. I don’t mind spending if I can be fairly sure the money won’t be wasted.
Thanks again.

Bear in mind you're sitting much, much closer to the iPad screen. I only have an 11" iPad and I don't find the screen too small. The actual image size in LR isn't that much different to a 14" laptop screen.

 

[goinggreynow]

Bear in mind you're sitting much, much closer to the iPad screen. I only have an 11" iPad and I don't find the screen too small. The actual image size in LR isn't that much different to a 14" laptop screen.

Thank you Richard.
I’m going to give this a go.
I have an Ipad and pencil, so I really have nothing to lose.

 

[srhmoto]

@RichardC27 would you mind sharing your workflow Richard from getting back after a shoot please? I’m really interested in following your lead and going over to a 100% iPad workflow.

 

[RichardC27]

@RichardC27 would you mind sharing your workflow Richard from getting back after a shoot please? I’m really interested in following your lead and going over to a 100% iPad workflow.

No problem. For my SD card reader I just use this from Amazon, it's tiny and actually reasonably fast. Fast enough for me anyway: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B081VHSB2V?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I have the LR app set to apply one of my presets on import of a Raw file, which means the images already have a bit of processing applied as part of the import process. If you're planning on working exclusively on the iPad and you're going to be importing a lot of images, I find it easier to pause the cloud syncing until you've done your culling. That way the original files stay in your iPads local storage, and you don't waste time uploading shots you're not going to keep to the cloud, only to delete them later. It also makes the entire import process much quicker. Once you've got all your keepers, restart syncing and leave the iPad plugged in to upload your images to the cloud. It will remove them from local storage as it does this. I have a 256GB iPad and have never come remotely close to filling it up. Also, get the Apple Pencil or some sort of stylus if you don't have one, it makes editing on the iPad so much better.

My workflow goes like this:

1. Open LR, and create a new Album for the current shoot. The creates a blank album which you can directly import your images into.
2. Plug in your card reader and SD card. Hit the small blue + button in the bottom right corner, select From Camera Device. This opens the import wizard, which will read the images directly from your SD Card.
3. Select all, hit Import. The iPad will copy the files from the SD card to local storage. This bit is quite fast. Once this is done, LR will let you know and you can close the Import wizard.
4. LR now imports the images into the album. This bit can take a while, certainly on my 2018 iPad Pro. I'd imagine the M1 and M2 models are much faster. It's quite battery intensive too so plug the iPad in if you can and go and do something else for a few minutes.
5. Culling: Set the album filters to only show Unflagged Images and images with a Pick flag. Now, touch the Star icon in the bottom right corner to enter culling mode. You can either use the Pick / Reject buttons at the bottom of the screen, swipe down on the right hand side of the image, or press the X key on your keyboard if you have one to Reject images. As you set the album filters to only show Unflagged or Picked images, every time you Reject an image LR automatically moves on to the next image. A small change but it saves a good amount of time when culling 1500 shots from a race meeting.
6. Once you've culled your images, go into the editing mode and edit your keepers.
7. Filter to only show Rejected images and just have a scan through to make sure there's nothing there you actually want to keep. Once you're happy, select all and delete all the Rejected images.
8. Turn Syncing back on to upload your keepers to the cloud. This will remove them from your local storage, and LR will go back to using Smart Previews instead of the full Raw file (this can be changed in settings).

Hope that helps!

 

[adrianday]

My workflow goes like this:

1. Open LR, and create a new Album for the current shoot. The creates a blank album which you can directly import your images into.
2. Plug in your card reader and SD card. Hit the small blue + button in the bottom right corner, select From Camera Device. This opens the import wizard, which will read the images directly from your SD Card.
3. Select all, hit Import. The iPad will copy the files from the SD card to local storage. This bit is quite fast. Once this is done, LR will let you know and you can close the Import wizard.
4. LR now imports the images into the album. This bit can take a while, certainly on my 2018 iPad Pro. I'd imagine the M1 and M2 models are much faster. It's quite battery intensive too so plug the iPad in if you can and go and do something else for a few minutes.
5. Culling: Set the album filters to only show Unflagged Images and images with a Pick flag. Now, touch the Star icon in the bottom right corner to enter culling mode. You can either use the Pick / Reject buttons at the bottom of the screen, swipe down on the right hand side of the image, or press the X key on your keyboard if you have one to Reject images. As you set the album filters to only show Unflagged or Picked images, every time you Reject an image LR automatically moves on to the next image. A small change but it saves a good amount of time when culling 1500 shots from a race meeting.
6. Once you've culled your images, go into the editing mode and edit your keepers.
7. Filter to only show Rejected images and just have a scan through to make sure there's nothing there you actually want to keep. Once you're happy, select all and delete all the Rejected images.
8. Turn Syncing back on to upload your keepers to the cloud. This will remove them from your local storage, and LR will go back to using Smart Previews instead of the full Raw file (this can be changed in settings).

Hope that helps!

This is the way.

I've recently moved to a 100% iPad/Cloud workflow. Having previously hoarded every RAW file I've ever taken, getting into the habit of deleting non-keepers was at first difficult. Once you've finished your edits, you export the image to local storage. Then to save cloud storage space, you download the RAW files to a locally attached SSD. I'm using a 2022 iPad Pro (M2, 512GB, 11" screen), Apple Magic keyboard and Pencil, Adobe Photography Plan with 1TB cloud storage, Anker USB C hub and a Sandisk Extreme 2TB SSD. I'd been contemplating buying a new Mac specifically for photo editing. I see no need now.

 

[ShinySideUp]

Once you've got all your keepers, restart syncing and leave the iPad plugged in to upload your images to the cloud. It will remove them from local storage as it does this.

I couldn't be doing with that. Perhaps I am hyper-independent (well, actually, I am) so to have my entire photographic collection reliant on someone else would fill me with dread.

Works for some though I suppose.

 

[srhmoto]

No problem. For my SD card reader I just use this from Amazon, it's tiny and actually reasonably fast. Fast enough for me anyway: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B081VHSB2V?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I have the LR app set to apply one of my presets on import of a Raw file, which means the images already have a bit of processing applied as part of the import process. If you're planning on working exclusively on the iPad and you're going to be importing a lot of images, I find it easier to pause the cloud syncing until you've done your culling. That way the original files stay in your iPads local storage, and you don't waste time uploading shots you're not going to keep to the cloud, only to delete them later. It also makes the entire import process much quicker. Once you've got all your keepers, restart syncing and leave the iPad plugged in to upload your images to the cloud. It will remove them from local storage as it does this. I have a 256GB iPad and have never come remotely close to filling it up. Also, get the Apple Pencil or some sort of stylus if you don't have one, it makes editing on the iPad so much better.

My workflow goes like this:

1. Open LR, and create a new Album for the current shoot. The creates a blank album which you can directly import your images into.
2. Plug in your card reader and SD card. Hit the small blue + button in the bottom right corner, select From Camera Device. This opens the import wizard, which will read the images directly from your SD Card.
3. Select all, hit Import. The iPad will copy the files from the SD card to local storage. This bit is quite fast. Once this is done, LR will let you know and you can close the Import wizard.
4. LR now imports the images into the album. This bit can take a while, certainly on my 2018 iPad Pro. I'd imagine the M1 and M2 models are much faster. It's quite battery intensive too so plug the iPad in if you can and go and do something else for a few minutes.
5. Culling: Set the album filters to only show Unflagged Images and images with a Pick flag. Now, touch the Star icon in the bottom right corner to enter culling mode. You can either use the Pick / Reject buttons at the bottom of the screen, swipe down on the right hand side of the image, or press the X key on your keyboard if you have one to Reject images. As you set the album filters to only show Unflagged or Picked images, every time you Reject an image LR automatically moves on to the next image. A small change but it saves a good amount of time when culling 1500 shots from a race meeting.
6. Once you've culled your images, go into the editing mode and edit your keepers.
7. Filter to only show Rejected images and just have a scan through to make sure there's nothing there you actually want to keep. Once you're happy, select all and delete all the Rejected images.
8. Turn Syncing back on to upload your keepers to the cloud. This will remove them from your local storage, and LR will go back to using Smart Previews instead of the full Raw file (this can be changed in settings).

Hope that helps!

That is incredibly helpful Richard, and has clarified a number of things I wasn’t sure about.

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain it so clearly.

Cheers,

Simon.

 

[RichardC27]

This is the way.

I've recently moved to a 100% iPad/Cloud workflow. Having previously hoarded every RAW file I've ever taken, getting into the habit of deleting non-keepers was at first difficult. Once you've finished your edits, you export the image to local storage. Then to save cloud storage space, you download the RAW files to a locally attached SSD. I'm using a 2022 iPad Pro (M2, 512GB, 11" screen), Apple Magic keyboard and Pencil, Adobe Photography Plan with 1TB cloud storage, Anker USB C hub and a Sandisk Extreme 2TB SSD. I'd been contemplating buying a new Mac specifically for photo editing. I see no need now.

This is the bit missing from my current workflow, I need a portable SSD to backup the files locally as well. Not essential but would give me more peace of mind.

I couldn't be doing with that. Perhaps I am hyper-independent (well, actually, I am) so to have my entire photographic collection reliant on someone else would fill me with dread.

Works for some though I suppose.

I'd hope Adobe is a big and rich enough company to make sure their cloud storage is robust enough that it would be basically impossible for me to lose my files. You can set the iPad to keep all the files locally if you want to. I guess if you've got a 1Tb iPad then that would make sense. All my older stuff is backed up on external drives but since going all in on a cloud based workflow I've let that slip for newer work. I like having all my photos available on whatever device I happen to be using at the time. Laptop, phone, tablet whatever. There's even a web based interface if you go lightroom.adobe.com which has rather a lot of editing tools available (right up to masking and colour grading) so you don't even need LR installed on your device now.

That is incredibly helpful Richard, and has clarified a number of things I wasn’t sure about.

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain it so clearly.

Cheers,

Simon.

No problem I hope it helps. There's still this misconception that iPads are only consumption devices and that it's impossible to do work on them but it's not true anymore. The mobile LR apps are almost as full featured as the desktop apps now, the only things missing are HDR / Pano merge and some of the more advanced new masking features. Other than that you can do everything on an iPad or even a phone.

 

[WanderingCameraGuy]

I use Affinity Photo 2 on the iPad. It’s a one time buy and I believe it has a free trial period. I have a 512GB model so I keep my files local for the editing and use an SSD to move to backup etc. If you have a small memory iPad you will need to work with the cloud or an attached SSD and it sounds like lightroom does that well.

 

[srhmoto]

This is the bit missing from my current workflow, I need a portable SSD to backup the files locally as well. Not essential but would give me more peace of mind.

I'd hope Adobe is a big and rich enough company to make sure their cloud storage is robust enough that it would be basically impossible for me to lose my files. You can set the iPad to keep all the files locally if you want to. I guess if you've got a 1Tb iPad then that would make sense. All my older stuff is backed up on external drives but since going all in on a cloud based workflow I've let that slip for newer work. I like having all my photos available on whatever device I happen to be using at the time. Laptop, phone, tablet whatever. There's even a web based interface if you go lightroom.adobe.com which has rather a lot of editing tools available (right up to masking and colour grading) so you don't even need LR installed on your device now.

No problem I hope it helps. There's still this misconception that iPads are only consumption devices and that it's impossible to do work on them but it's not true anymore. The mobile LR apps are almost as full featured as the desktop apps now, the only things missing are HDR / Pano merge and some of the more advanced new masking features. Other than that you can do everything on an iPad or even a phone.

@RichardC27 when you’ve culled your images, how are you deleting them out of Lightroom? I’ve so far selected them all and then chosen ‘Delete’ which removes them from the album, but when I resume cloud sync after editing the file counter seems to imply it’s trying to sync every file. I’m somewhat confused!

Hope you can help.

Simon.

 

[RichardC27]

@RichardC27 when you’ve culled your images, how are you deleting them out of Lightroom? I’ve so far selected them all and then chosen ‘Delete’ which removes them from the album, but when I resume cloud sync after editing the file counter seems to imply it’s trying to sync every file. I’m somewhat confused!

Hope you can help.

Simon.

When you delete them they go into a Deleted Files section which keeps them for 60 days in case you want to restore them. You can go to the Deleted section of the main menu and fully delete them from there which means they're gone forever. Sorry I forgot about that bit!

 

[srhmoto]

When you delete them they go into a Deleted Files section which keeps them for 60 days in case you want to restore them. You can go to the Deleted section of the main menu and fully delete them from there which means they're gone forever. Sorry I forgot about that bit!

Thanks Richard . I’m slowly getting there with my iPad workflow. The speed difference at the culling stage in particular compared to using my PC is almost unbelievable!

Simon.

 

[RichardC27]

Thanks Richard . I’m slowly getting there with my iPad workflow. The speed difference at the culling stage in particular compared to using my PC is almost unbelievable!

Simon.

I find it a much, much faster way of culling and editing than sitting at desk in front of a PC.