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Import photos in Lightroom for mobile (iOS)

  1. Adobe Lightroom User Guide
  2. Introduction
    1. What's new in Lightroom
    2. Lightroom system requirements
    3. Lightroom | Common questions
    4. Lightroom tutorials
    5. Work with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for mobile
    6. Set preferences
  3. In-app learning
    1. In-app learning and inspiration
    2. In-app learning and inspiration | Lightroom for mobile (iOS)
    3. In-app learning and inspiration | Lightroom for mobile (Android)
  4. Add, import, and capture photos
    1. Add photos
    2. Capture photos with Lightroom for mobile (iOS)
    3. Capture photos with Lightroom for mobile (Android)
    4. Import photos in Lightroom for mobile (iOS)
    5. Import photos and videos in Lightroom for mobile (Android)
  5. Organize photos
    1. Organize photos
    2. Find and organize photos of people in the People View
    3. Search and organize photos in Lightroom for mobile (iOS)
    4. Search and organize photos in Lightroom for mobile (Android)
  6. Edit photos
    1. Presets in Lightroom
    2. Edit photos
    3. Crop, Rotate, & Geometry tool in Lightroom
    4. Remove tool in Lightroom
    5. Remove tool in Lightroom for mobile (iOS)
    6. Remove tool in Lightroom for mobile (Android)
    7. Masking in Lightroom
    8. Lens Blur in Lightroom
    9. Edit photos in Lightroom for mobile (iOS)
    10. Edit photos in Lightroom for mobile (Android)
    11. Merge photos to create HDRs, panoramas, and HDR panoramas
    12. Edit HDR photos
    13. Edit HDR photos in Lightroom for mobile (iOS)
    14. Edit HDR photos in Lightroom for mobile (Android)
    15. Easily enhance image quality in Lightroom
  7. Edit videos
    1. Edit videos 
    2. Edit videos in Lightroom for mobile (iOS)
    3. Edit videos in Lightroom for mobile (Android)
  8. Save, share, and export
    1. Export or share your photos
    2. Export and share photos in Lightroom for mobile (iOS)
    3. Save, share, and export photos with Lightroom for mobile (Android)
  9. Lightroom for mobile, TV and the web
    1. Get started with Lightroom for mobile (iOS)
    2. Get started with Lightroom for mobile (Android)
    3. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom on the web
    4. Set up Lightroom for Apple TV app
    5. Use keyboard shortcuts in Lightroom for mobile (iOS and Android)
    6. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for mobile and Apple TV | FAQ
    7. View Lightroom photos and videos on your TV
    8. How to Add Presets/Sync Presets with mobile
  10. Migrate photos
    1. Migrate Apple Photos Library to Lightroom
    2. Migrate photos and videos from Lightroom Classic to Lightroom
    3. Migrate photos from Photoshop Elements to Lightroom
  11. Troubleshooting 
    1. Fixed Issues 
    2. Known Issues

 

Learn to import photos directly into Lightroom from the device photos or attached photo storage devices on your iPhone/iPad.

Access your photo gallery

Starting from Lightroom for mobile (iOS) version 8.4,  opening the Lightroom app will instantly give you access to edit your device's photos from the Device view. To view the Albums on your device, tap the dropdown menu and select an album to populate the corresponding files. You can tap on any photo to start editing. The edited photo will be imported to Lightroom and appear in the Lightroom view. An () icon will appear on the upper left corner of the edited photo in the Device view.

Import multiple photos in Device view

Follow the steps to add multiple photos to Lightroom while on Device view.

  1. Tap the three-dot () icon at the upper right corner of the screen.

  2. From the pop-up menu, tap Batch import to Lightroom.

    Screenshot of pop up menu highlighting the batch import button
    Tap Batch import to Lightroom

  3. Select Photos or Albums from the top panel and select the photos you want to import. You can also search for specific photos from the search bar.

  4. Tap Add to import it to the LightroomEdits view.

Import multiple photos in Edits / Lightroom view

Follow the steps to add multiple photos to Lightroom while on Edits / Lightroom view.

  1. Tap the three-dot () icon at the upper right corner of the screen or tap the import button on the bottom right corner of the screen.

  2. From the pop-up menu, tap Add photos and tap a source you want to import from.

    Add photos from lightroom view
    Tap Add photos

    Screenshot of sources to import
    Select a source of photos

  3. Tap three dot icon at the upper right corner to filter files. You can also select the size of thumbnails as per your convenience.

  4. Tap Add to import it to the LightroomEdits view.

Note:

If the blue import button at the lower right corner of the screen is missing, try from a different album or create a new album or follow the process with the three-dot menu as mentioned in step one.

Import photos from a connected camera memory card or camera

Directly access and import photos (including raw images) from your camera, camera memory card, or compatible USB media to Lightroom for mobile (iOS). For more information, see Supported storage devices.

To import photos directly into Lightroom, follow these steps:

  1. Launch the Lightroom app, and navigate to All Photos or select an album. The Import button appears at the bottom-right corner of the screen.

  2. Connect your mobile device to the camera memory card, camera, or USB storage device. In the Device connected dialog box, tap Continue

    To access photos and videos in your attached media, click Continue.
    To access photos in your attached media, click Continue.

  3. Tap Import in the bottom panel.

  4. Tap From Camera Device.

  5. In the Direct Import screen, you can view the files in the attached media. Tap the Add To drop-down list for options - All Photos, Current Album, or Create a New Album to import the photos to. The default location for import is the current album you are in.

  6. Select the photos you want to import. You can also do the following:

    • Tap <title of the camera card or storage device> to import all the photos from the card. If the card has no assigned title, tap Untitled.
    • Tap a displayed date to import all the photos that were captured on that date.
    Directly import photos of your choice to Lightroom.
    Directly import photos of your choice to Lightroom.

  7. Tap the  icon to see the available import options:

    Select All

    Selects all the images displayed in the import interface. This option is enabled once all the thumbnails of the images from the connected device are loaded. 

    Deselect All

    Deselects all the selected images displayed in the import interface.

     

    Photos

    Displays JPG and PNG images only from the connected device.

     

    RAWs

    Displays raw images only from the connected device.

     

    Select the thumbnail size from Tiny, Small, Normal, or Large.

    Import options

  8. Tap Import at the bottom of the screen. The selected photos are then copied from the attached camera or memory card to Lightroom.

  9. In the Copying complete dialog box, you can decide to keep the copied photos in the attached media or delete them. To keep the copied photos in the attached camera or SD card, tap Keep. To delete them, tap Delete.

    Safely disconnect the attached media when you get the notification in the bottom of the screen.

    The imported photos and videos can be viewed in the assigned album, All Photos, or in Recently Added.

    Note:
    • If you are unable to connect your camera to your mobile device, try to import photos directly from your camera memory card.
    • Your mobile device needs to run on iOS 13.3 or later to delete the copied photos from the attached camera or SD card. 

Supported storage devices

If the attached photo storage media is compatible with the iOS device, it should work with Lightroom. The following types of storage devices are supported with Lightroom:

  • SD camera memory card: Use the USB-C to SD Card Camera Reader or the Lightning to SD Card Reader, depending on your iOS device.
  • Other types of camera memory cards, such as XQD or Compact Flash, that can be read by compatible third-party card readers.
  • Camera via Apple's USB Camera Adapter.
Note:

Most cameras need to be plugged into Apple’s USB Camera Adapter and turned on. However, some cameras may need to be connected in PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) mode in camera settings.  Please consult your camera user manual to learn more about USB connectivity.

  • USB storage, such as thumb drives or external USB hard drives.
Note:

Photos must be placed in the DCIM folder and it is recommended that the storage media uses ExFAT or FAT32 file system.

Add photos from third-party photo apps

You can directly add photos to Lightroom from other apps such as Apple Photos or Google Photos. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. In a desired iOS photo app, select a photo that you want to open in Lightroom for mobile (iOS).

  2. Tap Share and choose Lightroom from the given Share options.

  3. In the dialog box that appears, do one of the following:

    • Click Got it to import the photo on the next launch of Lightroom for mobile (iOS).
    • Click Launch Lightroom Now to open the photo in the Lightroom app.
  4. You can find the selected photo in the Lightroom app by tapping the Lightroom view and choosing Imports from the top dropdown menu.

Note:

To learn how to import photos into Lightroom on your Android device or desktop, see Import photos in Lightroom for mobile (Android) and Add photos in Lightroom (desktop).

Auto-add photos to Lightroom

Starting from Lightroom for mobile(iOS) version 8.4, automatic import from device photos to Lightroom is available through Auto-add for subscribed users under App settings. Once imported, the app will sync photos to Lightroom cloud storage regardless of whether edits are applied or not.  Subsequent edits, album organization, or deletion of photos will also sync to Lightroom’s cloud storage system. Once synced, imported photos can be cleared from the Lightroom mobile app's cache. Follow the steps to enable Auto-add.

  1. Tap the three-dot () icon in the upper right corner.

  2. Tap App settings > Import.

    Screenshot of App settings import button
    Import under App settings

  3. Toggle the switches to enable the Auto-add of Photos, Screenshots and Videos.

    Auto-dd screenshot
    Toggle switches aginst corresponding file for Auto-add

Auto-add is available to subscribers only.  Once synced, imported photos can be cleared from a subscriber's app cache. Since free app users don't sync to Lightroom cloud storage, Auto-add is removed to help prevent excessive use of device storage.

Energy Saving Settings

To help reduce device overheating, select App settings > Import > Pause sync while importing, to reduce the workload of the device and help retain good thermal state.

Note:

Energy Saving Settings would be applicable to subscribed users with active sync.

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