• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Photography Concentrate

Learn Photography Faster!

  • Blog
  • Learn
    • Camera Skills
    • Light Skills
    • Composition Skills
    • Photo Editing Skills – Lighroom
    • Creativity Field Guide
    • Shoot Awesome Video
    • Pro – Build Your Business
      • Photography Income Formula
      • Simple Wedding Photography
      • Awesome Album Design Skills
      • Really Easy Retouching
  • About
  • Free Resources
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Lightroom and Post Processing / Will Lightroom Mobile Improve Your Photography Workflow?

Will Lightroom Mobile Improve Your Photography Workflow?

Updated on March 17, 2020 by Rob Lim

lightroom-mobile

Today Adobe announced Lightroom Mobile – an iPad app designed to be a companion for the desktop version of Adobe Lightroom.

The big idea with this app is that it will allow you to sync photos from your desktop Lightroom to your iPad. You’ll be able to sort through photos and make basic editing adjustments on your iPad and have those changes be automatically synced back to your desktop Lightroom app.

Here’s what you need to know about the new app:

  • You can find it here: Lightroom Mobile
  • The app itself is free but it requires a membership to Adobe’s Creative Cloud since the photos from the desktop version are synced through Creative Cloud. The cheapest membership you can purchase is the Photoshop Photography Program (which includes both Photoshop and Lightroom for $9.99/month). The  full Creative Cloud subscription  includes all the major Adobe professional products for $49.99/month.
  • It’s important to keep in mind that this is the first version of the Lightroom iPad app – with this first release the feature set is limited compared to the desktop version. For example, with the iPad app you can apply pick flags to images but not star ratings. And while all the basic editing adjustment sliders are present, adjustment tools like the adjustment brush or point tone curve are not included.
  • The Lightroom iPad app is designed to be an access solution, not a backup solution – your full sized photos are not being stored in the cloud. Lightroom is creating compressed versions of the original files (smart previews) and sending those smaller versions to the cloud to be synced with your iPad.
  • The app requires an internet connection to sync changes back and forth, but you are able to download galleries to your iPad for offline viewing. It’s pretty easy to manage which galleries you download to your iPad so that your iPad isn’t completely filled up with your Lightroom photos.
  • If you’re just getting started with the Lightroom Mobile app you should check out this quick start guide

Now we haven’t had the chance to personally use the iPad app, yet but here are a few first thoughts about it in a pro vs. con format:

We’ll start with the Cons:

  • This app requires a subscription to Adobe Create Cloud.
  • There’s no star rating system in this first version, which is a very useful way to organize photos.
  • There is no adjustment brush, which is a really powerful tool (and possibly no graduated filter tool, spot removal, or radial filter – but I haven’t confirmed this yet).
  • You cannot use your own custom created Lightroom presets – only Lightroom’s default presets – this is a bummer, since I’ve never been a big fan of the default presets, and much prefer to create my own presets.
  • The app is only available for iPad (not for Android). They plan on releasing an iPhone version later this year.

Now the Pros:

  • This is Lightroom on the iPad! That one point is strong enough to balance out all the negatives! More than anything, I’m really excited to see this as the starting point for a mobile version of Lightroom. I like that Adobe has approached the concept with restraint and not tried to do everything the desktop version can do right off the bat.
  • It supports multitouch, so there’s a lot of great potential there.
  • The built-in social sharing on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr might make it easier for you to share your photos (something surprisingly more challenging to do on the desktop version)
  • Because of the super high resolution of the iPad displays, photos on the iPad look beautiful – way better than on computer monitors! It sure is fun to work with photos on the iPad!

This being the first version of Lightroom Mobile, I feel it will be more of a novelty than a tool you could use in a professional capacity. Adobe has specifically stated that it isn’t yet designed to be a stand-alone tool that photographers could take into the field like they could a laptop with the desktop version of Lightroom. The fact is that if you’re a professional you’ll likely need the full power of Lightroom, and laptops are already so easy to use when working with clients.

I think there are two big uses for this app:

1. The app has the ability to edit mobile photos and have those photos (full resolution originals in this case) uploaded back to your desktop computer. You can even automate this process, so that you no longer have to remember to plug in your phone to upload all your images. It will be super easy to get your iPhone photos onto your computer, and safely backed up.

2. The obvious big use for this app will be to simply have access to a mobile version of your photos to “show and share” wherever you are. There’s a built in slideshow feature that should help make that experience a pretty good one.

At this point it’s really just a bonus that you can make basic editing adjustments and have those adjustments synced back to your main computer. I’m sure that as the app progresses Adobe will figure out ways to add in more features and make the app more useable – to the point where maybe we won’t need desktops for photography anymore.

What do you think about the new Lightroom Mobile iPad app? Is it something you could fit into you workflow? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

Filed Under: Lightroom and Post Processing

About Rob Lim

Hi there, I’m Rob! I’m a photography ninja here at Photography Concentrate. I love all things photography: shooting, teaching and always learning more! If I’m not reading up on the latest photography news, or studying a technique, I’m probably reading a book or planning our next adventure!

Primary Sidebar

Hi there!


We're The Photography Concentrate Team: Daniel, Kaitlyn and Kristal. Think of us as your photo friends – we’re here to help you take great photos, and have a ton of fun together while we’re at it!

Instagram Twitter Facebook YouTube Browse the Archives

Footer

Navigation

  • Blog
  • Learn
  • About

Connect

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Newsletter

Important Stuff

  • Comment Policy
  • Material Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Earnings Disclaimer

Disclaimer

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Additionally, we participate in other affiliate programs and sometimes get a commission through purchases made through our links.

Return to top of page
Copyright © 2020 Photography Concentrate

newsletterpopupheader

Get FREE photography training today!

Subscribe to our newsletter and learn how to take awesome photos, and get tons of free stuff to make it faster, and easier!
Join today and get instant access!

Join our +48,000 photographer pals, and get our very best content and freebies delivered straight to your inbox!
Register To This Secret Photography Training (FREE but seats are limited!)
How To Start & Grow
A Professional Photography Business
And Get Paid For Your Photos In The Next 30 Days
This method works even if you don’t have expensive gear and don’t want to chase clients!

We like to keep it a small group so we can engage together.
Our webinars are always filled to the last seat.
ONLY reserved seats will gain access to the room!

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkView our Privacy Policy