So you’ve decided to step up your photography game and get Adobe’s Lightroom to manage and edit your photos, eh?! This guide will help you get your photos from Apple’s Photos into Adobe Lightroom Classic. As of the date of this publication, there isn’t an everyday tool or utility that transfers an Apple Photos Library to Lightroom Classic, like there is an Apple Aperture Library to Lightroom Classic tool.
While this gets your images into Lightroom, this, however, does not go over editing within Lightroom. There are a load of resources here on Photofocus.com that can help with that!
This works for Apple Mac’s that run OS X 10.10 – 10.11, and macOS 10.13
Why switch from Apple Photos to Adobe Lightroom?
If I didn’t know much about photography and just wanted photos to easily sync up with my Mac and all my iOS devices all while being able to lightly edit photos, this would be a grand piece of software. The option for iCloud Photo Library within the Photos App, makes it super easy and hassle-free to have your photos synchronized to a remote server (iCloud), and consequently other Macs, iPads and iPhones that have that feature turned on — pretty awesome because if you lose your device, you at least know your pictures are safe on other devices and in the iCloud Photo Library. Images you take on an iPhone upload right away to the iCloud Photo Library, same with images you import into the Photos App on the Mac. It is really is good for what it is meant for, which to provide convenience to those who want their special moments safe with them at all times.
But …
Photographers like myself don’t exactly want all hundred-thousand photos taken in a year appearing on their iPhone and iPad, which would happen if they used Apple Photos and iCloud Photo Library to the fullest extent that it is meant to. So, instead of having every single image sync over to the iCloud Photo Library, it might be better to keep a selection of images that really mean something to you on the iCloud Photo Library and utilize it for its ease of getting images from one device to the other. More about that later, though.
Organizing your photos within Lightroom does become pretty simple. Lightroom has quick and easy options of importing images straight to folders on a hard drive — internal or external, and even remote if you’d want. Lightroom was also made to help you cull out unwanted images and choose/rate images that you want to keep. Easily searchable Keywords and file information is readily available by default, so there aren’t any hidden things to turn on or off. Lightroom has a whole lot of built in editing tools that are a bit more advanced than what Photos contains, and those tools give you more control.
I could technically be pretty content with using Photos as an everyday consumer, but as an advanced user, these things among others prevent me from staying in Photos:
1. File structure
- All the files that are imported or stored in Apple’s Photos program are contained within a file called Photos Library, which stored by default in the Pictures folder, within the Mac user’s home folder on. This file, in OS X is actually a special folder that contains other folders that Apple’s software manages, so the user only has to worry about the one seemly appearing “file” to back up.
- When you organize your photos into Albums in Photos, which many people do, the pictures don’t get moved into corresponding folders within that special library file. This can often cause frustration when trying to move from one program to another. Sorry to break it to you, but if you’ve organized your photos by albums, we’re going to lose out on them by moving to Lightroom — but believe me, it’ll be worth it when you’re done, more about that later.
- Files stored within Lightroom reflect the actual location on the hard disk. I won’t go into detail about organizing at the moment, but basically, when you import into Lightroom configure it to create a new folder in the Pictures folder called Family Photos, you can then use Finder to navigate to the Pictures folder, and you’ll find the Family Photos folder there with your pictures within it. This makes it really easy to duplicate, transfer and really get a hold on more advanced file management options.
2. Third party programs
- When you’re getting more advanced, you’re often broadening the scope of work that you can do, often by different tools. While Apple is working hard to get third party software like MacPhun’s suite of software, Perfectly Clear, or Pixelmator integrated into Photos via Extensions, the industry standard for photo editing and retouching — Adobe’s Photoshop — isn’t one of those Extensions.
- Photos has a 7 different Filters, which are presets based off of processed film that alter the image’s look, integrated into the their Edit area. That’s super cute, as it reflects the rest of their Photos app on the iPads and iPhones. However, Lightroom has a whole lot more built in, has the easy ability to add other amazing presets from the likes of VSCO, Mastin Labs and other companies that provides presets, and has the ability to save and create your own.
- Extensions are nice to have mainly because when you use them, you don’t need to export a picture to a location on your hard drive, edit the picture, then re-import it back into Photos in order to keep track of them. Super nice right? Well if you want to use Photoshop with Photos, you’ll have to do that export-edit-reimport loop.
- Lightroom has integrated functionality similar to Extensions, with many software developers that allows Lightroom to manage those files after they’re edited — making Lightroom a one-stop shop that keeps the images in the catalog.
3. Editing tools
- I was rather impressed with how simple or how advanced Photos could be. Under the Adjust panel of Photos, you have access to many of the sliders you can use to tweak the look of the image, the bells and whistles — white balance adjusting and sharpening among others — are mostly hidden by default to avoid confusion, which is different from Lightroom, which basically lays out all your options under the Develop Module.
- All the tweaks, like lightening the picture, color correcting the picture and sharpening/defining the picture on done a global scale (effecting the whole image). If you only wanted to brighten a certain section of the image, well … you’ve got to use another program, like Photoshop. And well, you just read the process that it entails.
- Apple has made Photos to really protect you from yourself, which is really kind of them to do when I really think about it. They make it so simple that you really can’t mess it up.
- Lightroom, while it is a bit overwhelming at first, has so many things built into it that it can often be daunting to learn. Don’t freak out though. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was some sort of free online resource you can use to help you learn Lightroom? Hmm. One of the things that I definitely love and need within Lightroom is the ability to batch edit images.
Anyway, if you’re taking photography seriously, you’ll want more control, and that’s what Lightroom can help you with. Don’t get me wrong though, I’ll keep saying this throughout this guide — Apple’s Photos is great for what it supposed to do.
This is what I do …
While this works for me, this may not work for you, so feel free to change things around based off what you tend to use.
I import and store client images on my Drobo 5D (my directly attached expandable external storage) in individual folders created by Lightroom and organized date taken (one of the great options available at the time of importing). I’ll then add a little note of what/who I shot to that folder after the date. Because of that, I’m able to keep the internal, low capacity but high speed drive, uncluttered with pictures that I don’t need everyday and I’m able to find them quickly. I’ll then do all the culling of images that I know that I don’t need — closed eyes, blurry pictures, black misfires and such. After that, I’ll start editing images. I may send them out to Photoshop, or apply presets that I’ve made or bought from other companies and I’ll make sure that things look consistent with the other pictures from the shoot. That’s about it. I may print them out using the Print module in there, or create a quick slideshow, like in Photos. I’ll keep the images cataloged in Lightroom, and summon them whenever I need to.
Within Photos, I have iCloud Photo Library turned on. This essentially syncs all images in Photos to the iCloud and consequently other devices that have iCloud Photo Library turned on, such as my iPhone and iPad. This makes it easy to get an image that I’ve edited in Lightroom onto my iPhone. So this is what I do after editing in Lightroom:
- I’ll export the image from Lightroom on the Desktop.
- I’ll drag that image from the Desktop onto the Photos icon on the dock. This imports it to the iCloud Photo Library and puts it onto the iPhone. Then I’ll delete the image from the Desktop.
- I’ll then post the image to Instagram from my iPhone, which also goes to Twitter and my Facebook and Flickr.
- I’ll delete the image from my iPhone if I don’t want to keep it. Since everything syncs, deleting it from the iPhone deletes it from the Photos App on the Mac.
So, I basically keep all my personal pictures and snapshots stored on my iPhone and iPad. And with iCloud Photo Library turned on, all my photos are safe in the rare occurrence that I have either device stolen or misplaced.
Moving images into Lightroom
When moving these images into Lightroom, I think of two different ways to really get things going, one being more quick and fast, the other one, more detail oriented — for those who want to create folders from their existing Albums in Photos.
This move from Photos to Lightroom assumes that files are in their default locations, that you are using a Mac, and that this is your first time running Lightroom and that Lightroom contains no photos as of yet. These instructions will be for those using the latest version of El Capitan as well as Adobe’s Lightroom Classic.
Dump all the images into Lightroom!
This move does not retain any organization created within Photos and will reorganize the photos by creating folders based off the date that the images were taken according to the metadata stored in the image. This is a quicker and easier method due to the reorganizing that is done by Lightroom. I personally sort and store all my images by date and add a description to each folder after the date, just to help me get a quick clue as to what was there.
By the end of this process, all your pictures from Photos will then be moved to Lightroom. Photos will then be empty and ready for images you take with your iPhone or for images you import into Photos on your Mac.
Main steps for this are:
- Ensuring that images are stored on your Mac/Turning off iCloud Photo Library
- Finding the Photos Library and Navigating to the Masters Folder
- Importing the original images to Lightroom
- Deleting the Photos Library
- Creating a new empty Photos Library
1. Download Originals/Turning off iCloud Photo Library
To get started, you’ll need to launch Photos then access the preferences for Photos (Command+,).
It is important that before you turn off iCloud Photo Library, you select the option “Download Originals to this Mac.” If you’ve have “Optimize Storage” selected, your computer would hold a lightweight, lower resolution and space saving version of the images, while iCloud Photo Library holds your originals. Turning off iCloud Photo Library and having the originals saved to the computer will be necessary to not mess anything up within your Photos Library that is stored locally on your computer and ensure that the images will be physically moved over to Lightroom.
2. Finding the Photos Library / Navigating to the Masters Folder
With the Photos App, all your images are managed by the software and hidden away in a nice little package called the Photos Library. Apple had the right thing in mind for all the novice users — making the software keep all the photos in a consolidated place so they wouldn’t be scattered across the hard drive. This kind of makes it simple for us to pull the actual image files out and move them into Lightroom.
You’ll need to open a Finder window, then for the sake of ease, head up to the Menu Bar and find the Go menu and select Home, which is the place where OS X tends to hold all your personal files and folders.
We’re going to find the Pictures folder and open it up. There, we should have located the Photos Library package.
Secondary click (commonly called a right click or a two finger click) on the Photos Library and select Show Package Contents
Find the Masters folder, and drag it onto the Lightroom icon.
3. Importing the images into Lightroom
This is pretty simple for the most part. This is when you configure Lightroom to import your images. There are a lot of options that are available, so take it easy at first. The things to understand at first is where the images are coming from, where they’re being imported to, and what things are going to happen when you import them.
The top left should say where your Masters folder is — effectively showing you the source from where Lightroom will move files from. The left sidebar is where you should see a visual of the source as a folder hierarchy. In this section, we will want to select “Include subfolders” or click the button in the center of the screen.
The top center is where you can select Lightroom’s behavior toward the pictures we want to import, in this instance, we are going to select “Move,” which will move the files from the Masters folder over toward a destination.
The right sidebar shows us more options to choose. We want to look at the “Destination” area. This is where we are going to select where we want our pictures and folders to be created on our hard drive. With the default settings, Lightroom will move images into the Pictures folder (the same place that the Photos Library was stored) and will create folders based off the date the image was taken. The folders will be made by year, and within each year will be another folder with the month and the date. The “Date Format” is where you can choose from several different folder options. The default is like this “2016/2016-09-07.”
Finally, just click the Import button on the bottom right corner and let it go at it.
4. Deleting the Photos Library
In my workflow, I end up using Photos to help me get images from the computer to my iOS devices. The best thing to do after moving your images and having Lightroom import and move everything over is to clear out Photos to be brand spanking new! This step is pretty simple. Move the Photos Library over to the Trash!
5. Creating a new empty Photos Library
The easiest way to create a new library at this point is to just try and launch Photos. Since the original Photos Library was thrown away to the trash, Photos has no idea what to do at this point, so it squawks at you, saying that the Library is gone! Well, we’re going to have to Open Other …
Once you’ve clicked that, you’ll end up seeing another window appear, letting you choose another Library to open with Photos. If you have no other libraries, your window will look like mine and from here, all you need to do is click Create New. From there, you’ll be able to name your new library (I just left the default name there, since that’s what I deleted), and choose its location.
Moving album by album in Photos to Lightroom
This is quite a bit simpler, but it is more of a meticulous process, leaving you able to choose which original images you want import into Lightroom. I say original images because some of you out there may have shot in RAW, and you’ll definitely want those to get into Lightroom in order to secure the awesome magic-making powers from the photo-angels. You’ll need to tell Photos to export the pictures from an Album to a folder someplace. Then you can import that whole structure of folders into Lightroom. Lightroom can then move that whole folder with the corresponding subfolders to a collective place such as the Pictures folder. The nice thing about this process is that you can pick and choose what images and albums you want to bring over to Lightroom. Often times, people I know will continue to use Photos to hold all their images and have them sync to their other devices. These are they who tend to edit only lightly and focus on iOS apps to edit their images.
- Select the images within the Album
- Export the Original images out to a folder.
- Import the images into Lightroom
- Clean Up
1. Selecting images within the Album
You’ll first want to navigate to the Album that contains your photos, then select the images. You can use Command+A to select all. Then you can hold Command while clicking on images to deselect individual images or select individual images. Here, I have an Album named Motorcycle, and everything is selected — which is why they’re in blue.
2. Export the original images out to a folder.
Well, you may have made some small edits in Photos already, but this will take the original image taken, whether in JPEG or in RAW, and copy them into a safe little folder where we can retrieve them later.
You’ll need to go to File on the menu bar, then move your mouse down to Export and then to Export Unmodified Original. The number images selected will also be designated there as well.
Use the original defaults, keeping the original File Name and such, without any subfolders.
We’re going to create our own folder and subfolders for us to place our images. Clicking Export should take you to the next screen where you can point Photos to a location, and have the option to create a New Folder.
I’d choose the Desktop, since it is easy access. Create a new folder by clicking the button that says the same. Name it whatever you’d like, I chose “Lightroom Images” and click Create.
That should’ve taken you into that folder, where you’re going to create another New Folder with the name of the Album that you’re exporting (that would make the most sense, but you can change that around how you’d like). I ended up making one called Motorcycle.
Now, repeat for every Album you’ve got. I did it twice.
3. Import the images into Lightroom
Now, we’re just going to drag the folder from the Desktop right into Lightroom! The Import dialog should pop up, with the same options that you’d have if you were just doing the Masters from earlier. Same thing goes! Top left is where you should see where you are importing the images from and make sure you have Include Subfolders on. Top and center needs to have the Move option selected!
The thing that is going to differ from above is what we change in the “Destination” section on the right sidebar. You’ll want to change the option for “Organize” to “By Original Folders.” This is what is going to help you recreate the hierarchy that you made on the Desktop earlier.
4. Clean Up!
Well, the images are now in Lightroom, and you should still have a folder on the Desktop that has subfolders with nothing in it. This is safe to delete! Drag that to the trash and call it a day!
Moving from iPhoto or Aperture?
If you Aperture or iPhoto, Lightroom has a built in plug-in that will help you transfer your images over, simply and easily.
To migrate from Aperture
- In Lightroom, go to File > Plug-in Extras > Import from Aperture Library.
- Select the location of your Aperture library and choose a new location for your images.
- Click the Options button if you want to change any settings prior to migration.
- Click the Import button to start the migration.
To migrate from iPhoto
- In Lightroom, go to File > Plug-in Extras > Import from iPhoto Library.
- Select the location of your iPhoto library and choose a new location for your images.
- Click the Options button if you want to change any settings prior to migration.
- Click the Import button to start the migration.
If you’ve found this guide helpful, share it around to spread the word!
I’ve just been doing this very thing but can’t get the Keywords to carry over any ideas?
I’ve exported the originals with and without the XMP files still no joy. The only way I can get the keywords etc is to export the processes image which I am loathed to do as it changes the file size. Id like to keep the original image.
Strange, Maark… What operating system are you on?
Really great, this helped me me very much! Thumps up ;-)
Really great article. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome! Glad you found it helpful!
Mykii, does this apply to the new version on K
Lightroom CC? The one that stores your pictures in the cloud?
I know that we have now 2 options with Lightroom, CC and classic.
While this tutorial is for Lightroom Classic, a similar method can be applied to Lightroom CC, where you take the Masters folder (or export photos out of the Photos program) and then import those into Lightroom CC.
Mykii
Very informative. Thank you. I have a question. In approach A, step 2, you indicate I should “Find the Masters folder, and drag it onto the Lightroom icon.” Why do that? Why not leave the Masters where they are and simply import them?
Thank you
My guess is you can’t do this. The masters, if managed by Photos, exist in a folder that is hidden by the operating system, and so can’t be imported into Lightroom without first either navigating and exposing them in the finder (Approach A) or exporting them (Approach B).
When you drag the folder in. You’re instructing Lightroom to know that that specific folder is the source from which you’re importing from. It doesn’t technically move the pictures over until you get to the Import dialog and choose Move instead of Copy.
Thank you very much indeed. This worked. I was able to add the existing Photos app file structure to LR catalogue and now my LR simply references the same files and I do my edits through it.
Ha! That’s actually a pretty good idea! Do any changes automatically show up in Photos?
How were you able to do this?
This is really helpful – thanks!
One thing I liked about Photos was the ability to keep a library in sync between iMac, MacBook Pro, and iOS devices. I’m fine exporting some photos from Lightroom to Photos for syncing with iOS devices, but what about keeping Lightroom synced between Macs – any suggestions? Thanks!
That’s when things get a little bit hairy. I’m sure you can use Dropbox of some sort of process using a network server and some software like how Rob Sylvan from our website does with a Drobo and ResilioSync!
https://photofocus.com/2016/12/16/using-a-drobo-5n-to-allow-access-to-a-lightroom-catalog-on-multiple-computers/
Hopefully that works for yah. I’ve tried it across other Macs using Dropbox, and I can’t recommend it. I used to export parts of the main catalog on one computer as a mini catalog, edit that mini catalog and then re-import it into the main catalog. That kinda worked for a bit too.
This is very helpful! I have a small problem though: I chose option A. The number of photos in my Photos app is 36, 269, and the amount of photos that got imported into Lightroom when I moved the masters folder was around 35,900…. so I’m missing a few photos in the process. Would it be the photos that I’ve been through and edited? If so, how do I move those into Lightroom as well? I’m really try to simplify my organizing and have everything in one place! Also, do the videos get moved in the process that I chose?… Read more »
This article really convinced me that I should take the step to convert to Lightroom. Thank you so much, Mykii Liu!
I have the same questions as Maia J, in other words:
– in option A, ar both the original (RAW-)fils and the edited files transferred to Lightroom? So can I in Lightroom switch back from an edited photo to the original?
– what happens to the numerous small videos I have in my Photos library?
To my knowledge, videos are also stored in the same folders. You should be able to see the videos in Lightroom as well. When it comes to the numbers of images coming over from Photos to Lightroom, I haven’t been able to replicate it. My only guess is that small saved images like screenshots and smaller icons aren’t imported into Lightroom. I believe if you shot RAW as well as JPEG, they should also transfer over to Lightroom as two separate files. Depending on your settings in Lightroom, you may have them stacked together. I believe by default, they are… Read more »
HI
Are all the edited photos from Photo going back to their original form if transferred to LR?
I have 11000+ pics and that would be quite difficult to edit all of them again…
Thank you
If you use the second method and actually export the images, then no. You will finalize the changes you’ve made in Photos/iPhoto.
It would be difficult to edit all 11k pictures, but it’s a great opportunity to go through them and re-edit them again in Lightroom, since there are some better tools available.
I shoot about 11k a year, and I find myself going through the archives and changing how I’ve edited older images quite often. Try it– it’s kinda fun after you learn some post processing techniques!
I have 148,000 photos in iphoto. And 70+ albums made up of the best in iphoto.
I want to transfer to Lightroom.
I am not sure importing 148,000 is worth my while. If I just import the albums as you suggested above what happens if a photo no is repeated… this is bound to have happened as this is 16 years of photos, and no. img 101 will be duplicated numberous times. How do I get around this ?
Eek, it’s been a minute since I’ve used iPhoto. I’d hope that the iPhoto importer would work better than manually exporting the images out to the Desktop, in your case. Typically though, both iPhoto and Photos will export images with the same filename just like OSX would… adding a -1, -2, -3 next to images with the same file name. With 16 years of photos, you’re absolutely right that this could cause problems. If iPhoto has the Subfolder option like Photos does, you may be able to organize the photos into folders and then import that whole folder into Lightroom.… Read more »
Thanks for sharing your method here with us. Now, I believe I figured out how to move the unmodified RAW files from Photos to Lightroom. Thing is, I have thousands of already edited pictures of which I would hate to lose the edits I’ve made. Does Photos export XMP sidecars or anything like that, do you know?
I don’t believe it does… if it does, I believe it does it in its own way and they’re not stored in the same folder. I wish I knew of another way :/
You can try the export IPTC as XMP and see if those changes move across into Lightroom :/ I’m not sure how that exactly works. Let me know if it does!
I am working on expanding my photography skills and thinking of making the complete switch from using Photos as my main organization to using Lightroom.
Wondering if photos you are working on in Lightroom are available across multiple computers? For example Would I be able to work on my laptop and desktop? Thanks
There are a couple different roundabout ways of having Lightroom work on separate computers, but natively, no it isn’t something that is supported.
Here’s one way -https://photofocus.com/2016/12/16/using-a-drobo-5n-to-allow-access-to-a-lightroom-catalog-on-multiple-computers/
It specifically uses a Drobo 5N, but you can use any network drive if you’d like.
Are you sure Lightroom works properly if you store the catalog file on a network drive? I’ve been wanting to do this (on my Synology NAS), but all the forum posts I read on different sites all say that Lightroom does not allow for catalog files to be stored on network drives. What am I missing?
Hi James… There isn’t a direct way of just storing the catalog on a network drive and calling it good. Read the linked article and you’ll have an idea as to why it’s a roundabout way.
Great tutorial! Any recommendation on the best way to get new photos from the iPhone to Lightroom?
Thanks!
You can use Lightroom Mobile or simply sync with Photos and then migrate
Thank you for this great tutorial. After spending hours reading other how-tos, this actually worked.
Hi, thanks for the great article. I’m about to move from Aperture to Photos as I want the flexibility to easily access my photos on both my laptop (when travelling) and desktop (back at home) plus having the safety of a cloud backup. As you say here (and in all the articles I’ve read) I understand the difficulties of doing this with Lightroom. I’d still like to be able to have the possibility of using the greater editing powers of Aperture (while it still works!) or else Lightroom on occasion when a RAW photo I’ve taken deserves the extra effort.… Read more »
Heya Al,
Hopefully you’ve found your answer by now, but yes, if you have the original/RAW in Lightroom/Aperture, you can export it out to Photos to have it sync across your other computers in Photos via iCloud Photo Library.
Sorry for the late response, I’ve been MIA for a bit, but I’m coming back now that things are slowing down for me :D
Mykii
I may be missing something, but if I go through these steps, and then turn iCloud back on, isn’t the mac going to try to import all of my photos back into the Photos app?
Nope.. they are already there
Hi, I posted message yesterday, but for some reason admins rejected. After following Mykii’s instructions to migrate Photos library to Lightroom, I created a new photos library. The library is empty, but as Sally’s question implies, upon turning iCloud Photo library in Photos preferences, Photos starts downloading all the photos stored in the cloud. Is there way to be able to have new photos taken on iOs devices sync with Photos, without having the entire iCloud library download again?
Not that I am aware. Mac OS is all or nothing unless you create albums with another account and share them
Yeah, turning the iCloud Photo Library back on will restart the syncing to the computer from the iCloud. The computer, at this time, doesn’t have the ability to know what is “new” and what isn’t, so it just downloads everything at once. Maybe something like that in the future will be written and brought forth :D
Dear Mykii,
thank you so much for your most instructive and constructive advice. I am deeply grateful that you took time and effort to share your knowledge. Before finding your blog I have desperately been looking for the solution how to migrate my photos from Apple’s photos App to Lightroom in a sensible structure. I didn’t find anything as useful, well explained and reasonably illustrated as your tutorial. You helped me (and certainly lots of other Lightroom novices) a lot!
Thanks again and take care!
Gordian
Thanks for this excellent article. I have two large iPhoto (9.6.1) libraries with over 8- 10,000 photos in each and for just the reasons you say I have not moved them into Photos. I do not want them all on all of my devices though I love the idea of backing them up automatically. As iPhoto is no longer going to work when I upgrade my OS I am going to move them to LightRoom. Questions: 1) will all the file structure be maintained if I move them with the iPhoto plug-in or do I have to move one album… Read more »
Edits won’t transfer.
You’d be best migrating these into Aperture first (which will transfer stuff)
Then do the migreation from Aperture to Lightroom as described
I’m a hobby enthusiast but have used Photos and IPhoto’s for the last 10 years. I probably don’t need the functionality of Lightroom. But from what I can see you appear to be reinventing the wheel back to a windows based folder system,losing all the functionality of the apple Eco system and searchability, back ups etc so you can use Lightroom. Introducing many steps in your photography routine. I have digitised my mother’s collection of 1500 photos and restored them all using Photos and the pixelmator extension allowing me to edit just parts of a photo. The results have been… Read more »
Sorry for the late response…
There’s quite a difference between Lightroom and Photos. I’ve listed the top three reasons why I’d move over specifically.
In the recent updates to Photos, Apple has given quite a few more updates to Photos since this article was written, but still hasn’t caught up to Lightroom in my opinion.
Hi. I got to this page by googling something like “combine Apple Photos Library with Lightroom library family photos.” I am trying to figure out what to do with the 2 different libraries for my family photos. I use Lightroom professionally and for pics of family that I take with my DSLR. I have all of my iPhone pictures stored in Photos and they sync with Photos on my computer. However, I would like to find one central place to peruse all of my family photos, in one library. What should I use? Import everything into Photos or into Lightroom?… Read more »
Hi Dani!
Sorry for the delayed response. I hope that you’ve been able to figure out a solution by now.
I don’t like mixing all of my professional work with all my family photos. I keep the ones that I like to show off or so with my family and personal photos. Those are all in Photos with iCloud Photo Library turn on.
Well…now you dont have to do all that stuff, There is a very simple option provided in Lightroom CC to migrate your images from Apple Photos to Lightroom CC.
I may be missing something, but if I go through these steps, and then turn iCloud back on, isn’t the mac going to try to import all of my photos back into the Photos app?
Nope.. they are already there
Hi, I posted message yesterday, but for some reason admins rejected. After following Mykii’s instructions to migrate Photos library to Lightroom, I created a new photos library. The library is empty, but as Sally’s question implies, upon turning iCloud Photo library in Photos preferences, Photos starts downloading all the photos stored in the cloud. Is there way to be able to have new photos taken on iOs devices sync with Photos, without having the entire iCloud library download again?
Not that I am aware. Mac OS is all or nothing unless you create albums with another account and share them
Yeah, turning the iCloud Photo Library back on will restart the syncing to the computer from the iCloud. The computer, at this time, doesn’t have the ability to know what is “new” and what isn’t, so it just downloads everything at once. Maybe something like that in the future will be written and brought forth :D
I’m a hobby enthusiast but have used Photos and IPhoto’s for the last 10 years. I probably don’t need the functionality of Lightroom. But from what I can see you appear to be reinventing the wheel back to a windows based folder system,losing all the functionality of the apple Eco system and searchability, back ups etc so you can use Lightroom. Introducing many steps in your photography routine. I have digitised my mother’s collection of 1500 photos and restored them all using Photos and the pixelmator extension allowing me to edit just parts of a photo. The results have been… Read more »
Sorry for the late response…
There’s quite a difference between Lightroom and Photos. I’ve listed the top three reasons why I’d move over specifically.
In the recent updates to Photos, Apple has given quite a few more updates to Photos since this article was written, but still hasn’t caught up to Lightroom in my opinion.
Mykii
Very informative. Thank you. I have a question. In approach A, step 2, you indicate I should “Find the Masters folder, and drag it onto the Lightroom icon.” Why do that? Why not leave the Masters where they are and simply import them?
Thank you
My guess is you can’t do this. The masters, if managed by Photos, exist in a folder that is hidden by the operating system, and so can’t be imported into Lightroom without first either navigating and exposing them in the finder (Approach A) or exporting them (Approach B).
When you drag the folder in. You’re instructing Lightroom to know that that specific folder is the source from which you’re importing from. It doesn’t technically move the pictures over until you get to the Import dialog and choose Move instead of Copy.
Thanks for this excellent article. I have two large iPhoto (9.6.1) libraries with over 8- 10,000 photos in each and for just the reasons you say I have not moved them into Photos. I do not want them all on all of my devices though I love the idea of backing them up automatically. As iPhoto is no longer going to work when I upgrade my OS I am going to move them to LightRoom. Questions: 1) will all the file structure be maintained if I move them with the iPhoto plug-in or do I have to move one album… Read more »
Edits won’t transfer.
You’d be best migrating these into Aperture first (which will transfer stuff)
Then do the migreation from Aperture to Lightroom as described
Hi. I got to this page by googling something like “combine Apple Photos Library with Lightroom library family photos.” I am trying to figure out what to do with the 2 different libraries for my family photos. I use Lightroom professionally and for pics of family that I take with my DSLR. I have all of my iPhone pictures stored in Photos and they sync with Photos on my computer. However, I would like to find one central place to peruse all of my family photos, in one library. What should I use? Import everything into Photos or into Lightroom?… Read more »
Hi Dani!
Sorry for the delayed response. I hope that you’ve been able to figure out a solution by now.
I don’t like mixing all of my professional work with all my family photos. I keep the ones that I like to show off or so with my family and personal photos. Those are all in Photos with iCloud Photo Library turn on.
This is very helpful! I have a small problem though: I chose option A. The number of photos in my Photos app is 36, 269, and the amount of photos that got imported into Lightroom when I moved the masters folder was around 35,900…. so I’m missing a few photos in the process. Would it be the photos that I’ve been through and edited? If so, how do I move those into Lightroom as well? I’m really try to simplify my organizing and have everything in one place! Also, do the videos get moved in the process that I chose?… Read more »
This article really convinced me that I should take the step to convert to Lightroom. Thank you so much, Mykii Liu!
I have the same questions as Maia J, in other words:
– in option A, ar both the original (RAW-)fils and the edited files transferred to Lightroom? So can I in Lightroom switch back from an edited photo to the original?
– what happens to the numerous small videos I have in my Photos library?
To my knowledge, videos are also stored in the same folders. You should be able to see the videos in Lightroom as well. When it comes to the numbers of images coming over from Photos to Lightroom, I haven’t been able to replicate it. My only guess is that small saved images like screenshots and smaller icons aren’t imported into Lightroom. I believe if you shot RAW as well as JPEG, they should also transfer over to Lightroom as two separate files. Depending on your settings in Lightroom, you may have them stacked together. I believe by default, they are… Read more »
HI
Are all the edited photos from Photo going back to their original form if transferred to LR?
I have 11000+ pics and that would be quite difficult to edit all of them again…
Thank you
If you use the second method and actually export the images, then no. You will finalize the changes you’ve made in Photos/iPhoto.
It would be difficult to edit all 11k pictures, but it’s a great opportunity to go through them and re-edit them again in Lightroom, since there are some better tools available.
I shoot about 11k a year, and I find myself going through the archives and changing how I’ve edited older images quite often. Try it– it’s kinda fun after you learn some post processing techniques!
Well…now you dont have to do all that stuff, There is a very simple option provided in Lightroom CC to migrate your images from Apple Photos to Lightroom CC.
This is really helpful – thanks!
One thing I liked about Photos was the ability to keep a library in sync between iMac, MacBook Pro, and iOS devices. I’m fine exporting some photos from Lightroom to Photos for syncing with iOS devices, but what about keeping Lightroom synced between Macs – any suggestions? Thanks!
That’s when things get a little bit hairy. I’m sure you can use Dropbox of some sort of process using a network server and some software like how Rob Sylvan from our website does with a Drobo and ResilioSync!
https://photofocus.com/2016/12/16/using-a-drobo-5n-to-allow-access-to-a-lightroom-catalog-on-multiple-computers/
Hopefully that works for yah. I’ve tried it across other Macs using Dropbox, and I can’t recommend it. I used to export parts of the main catalog on one computer as a mini catalog, edit that mini catalog and then re-import it into the main catalog. That kinda worked for a bit too.
I am working on expanding my photography skills and thinking of making the complete switch from using Photos as my main organization to using Lightroom.
Wondering if photos you are working on in Lightroom are available across multiple computers? For example Would I be able to work on my laptop and desktop? Thanks
There are a couple different roundabout ways of having Lightroom work on separate computers, but natively, no it isn’t something that is supported.
Here’s one way -https://photofocus.com/2016/12/16/using-a-drobo-5n-to-allow-access-to-a-lightroom-catalog-on-multiple-computers/
It specifically uses a Drobo 5N, but you can use any network drive if you’d like.
Are you sure Lightroom works properly if you store the catalog file on a network drive? I’ve been wanting to do this (on my Synology NAS), but all the forum posts I read on different sites all say that Lightroom does not allow for catalog files to be stored on network drives. What am I missing?
Hi James… There isn’t a direct way of just storing the catalog on a network drive and calling it good. Read the linked article and you’ll have an idea as to why it’s a roundabout way.
Thank you very much indeed. This worked. I was able to add the existing Photos app file structure to LR catalogue and now my LR simply references the same files and I do my edits through it.
How were you able to do this?
Ha! That’s actually a pretty good idea! Do any changes automatically show up in Photos?
I have 148,000 photos in iphoto. And 70+ albums made up of the best in iphoto.
I want to transfer to Lightroom.
I am not sure importing 148,000 is worth my while. If I just import the albums as you suggested above what happens if a photo no is repeated… this is bound to have happened as this is 16 years of photos, and no. img 101 will be duplicated numberous times. How do I get around this ?
Eek, it’s been a minute since I’ve used iPhoto. I’d hope that the iPhoto importer would work better than manually exporting the images out to the Desktop, in your case. Typically though, both iPhoto and Photos will export images with the same filename just like OSX would… adding a -1, -2, -3 next to images with the same file name. With 16 years of photos, you’re absolutely right that this could cause problems. If iPhoto has the Subfolder option like Photos does, you may be able to organize the photos into folders and then import that whole folder into Lightroom.… Read more »
Thank you for this great tutorial. After spending hours reading other how-tos, this actually worked.
Hi, thanks for the great article. I’m about to move from Aperture to Photos as I want the flexibility to easily access my photos on both my laptop (when travelling) and desktop (back at home) plus having the safety of a cloud backup. As you say here (and in all the articles I’ve read) I understand the difficulties of doing this with Lightroom. I’d still like to be able to have the possibility of using the greater editing powers of Aperture (while it still works!) or else Lightroom on occasion when a RAW photo I’ve taken deserves the extra effort.… Read more »
Heya Al,
Hopefully you’ve found your answer by now, but yes, if you have the original/RAW in Lightroom/Aperture, you can export it out to Photos to have it sync across your other computers in Photos via iCloud Photo Library.
Sorry for the late response, I’ve been MIA for a bit, but I’m coming back now that things are slowing down for me :D
Mykii
Thanks for sharing your method here with us. Now, I believe I figured out how to move the unmodified RAW files from Photos to Lightroom. Thing is, I have thousands of already edited pictures of which I would hate to lose the edits I’ve made. Does Photos export XMP sidecars or anything like that, do you know?
You can try the export IPTC as XMP and see if those changes move across into Lightroom :/ I’m not sure how that exactly works. Let me know if it does!
I don’t believe it does… if it does, I believe it does it in its own way and they’re not stored in the same folder. I wish I knew of another way :/
Great tutorial! Any recommendation on the best way to get new photos from the iPhone to Lightroom?
Thanks!
You can use Lightroom Mobile or simply sync with Photos and then migrate
Dear Mykii,
thank you so much for your most instructive and constructive advice. I am deeply grateful that you took time and effort to share your knowledge. Before finding your blog I have desperately been looking for the solution how to migrate my photos from Apple’s photos App to Lightroom in a sensible structure. I didn’t find anything as useful, well explained and reasonably illustrated as your tutorial. You helped me (and certainly lots of other Lightroom novices) a lot!
Thanks again and take care!
Gordian
I’ve just been doing this very thing but can’t get the Keywords to carry over any ideas?
I’ve exported the originals with and without the XMP files still no joy. The only way I can get the keywords etc is to export the processes image which I am loathed to do as it changes the file size. Id like to keep the original image.
Strange, Maark… What operating system are you on?
Really great, this helped me me very much! Thumps up ;-)
Really great article. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome! Glad you found it helpful!
Mykii, does this apply to the new version on K
Lightroom CC? The one that stores your pictures in the cloud?
I know that we have now 2 options with Lightroom, CC and classic.
This article saved my life!! As a new MacOS user (Windows all my life, so I’m quite used to the ease of use of it and the ‘permissions’ I have there) it was made 0 sense to me that I couldn’t Import from my Photos Library. Anyway, now that that’s outta the way I can focus on actually working with Lightroom. Cheers to you and this great article!
P.S. – It worked even under Catalina.The only difference was that the Masters folder from the Apple Photo Library was called “originals” :)
Thanks again!
This -> ” Sorry to break it to you, but if you’ve organized your photos by albums, we’re going to lose out on them by moving to Lightroom– but believe me, it’ll be worth it when you’re done”is the deal breaker for those who arent major users of LR but see it as a replacement for Photos on the Mac . I would have thought it reasonably easy to have something that looks to your Albums in Photos and create the relevant folder name and put the photo’s in there but if it doesnt I do not want to manually… Read more »
Wow, thanks for the informative and in depth guide. It does underline my greatest frustration with Apple products in general. You play their way, or you have a great PITA to deal with.
The strategy may be to create loyalty (which I’m sure works), but for me, it pushes me further and further away.
I’m impressed with your knowledge, but your instructions to go from Photos to Lightroom is confusing, since I know nothing about Lightroom.
I previously imported from iPhoto to Aperture and then to Photos, so I’m a little nervous about the process.
You mention OS X, but I have OS 11 (Big Sur). Do the instructions change for OS 11, or is there a different procedure?