Lightroom Mobile is a Game Changer

When I opened Lightroom today, I got a message about an update. It mentioned something about Lightroom Mobile, so I was instantly curious.

Signing into my Adobe account in Lightroom

After installing the update, I was prompted to sign in with my Adobe ID, and to download the iPad version of Lightroom. I complied instantly. Adobe’s site says there’s an iPhone version coming soon.

This is what I’ve been waiting for.

I skimmed the instructions, but saw mention of Collections. I hardly ever use Collections in Lightroom, but I’m about to start. On the Mac, I simply mark a collection to sync. It takes a bit, but eventually, all the photos in that collection find their way to the iPad version of Lightroom.

Check the box to the left of a collection to sync with Lightroom Mobile

I created a Collection on the iPad. In a few minutes, it showed up as a Collection on my Mac.

So far so good.

Then I realized I could actually do some basic editing and adjustments on the iPad. Of course, those adjustments found their way back to Lightroom on my Mac. LR Mobile supports RAW images.

I did notice that images added from the iPad aren’t automatically imported into the folder structure within Lightroom. I had to create a folder, then drag them in. Not a big deal, but it would be cool if they imported according to some default import settings.

I’ll work on a more detailed post once I have time to play with the app, but so far it appears to be exactly what I’ve been looking for.

Lightroom Mobile is a subscription service, but if you are a CC member, it’s included. A trial is available.

More information on Adobe’s site

Update

It would appear that LR Mobile only supports RAW images that are imported via your computer. Importing RAW images from the Camera Connection Kit into the iPad does not currently work. This is disappointing, as I was hoping to be able to select, edit, and share directly from my camera to my iPad in LR Mobile. For now, I’ll have to stick to using other apps for this. The Computer –> iPad functionality is still useful, but if the service didn’t come with my Adobe Photographer Bundle, I probably wouldn’t pay for it without the iPad –> Computer workflow.