What are the ways to run Lightroom on a Laptop and Desktop?

[rob-nikon]

Im planning to run Lightroom on both a laptop and a desktop. Currently all my uploading, editing and storage is done on the desktop but I'm going to be using a laptop whilst away. So I don't have to redo tags, culling etc when transferring to the desktop later I would like to work out a work flow to use both a laptop and desktop.

Option 1/ Export laptop LR catalogue and integrate with desktop LR (David Clapp tutorial explains this well).

http://www.davidclapp.co.uk/blog/view/merging-lightroom-catalogues-from-laptop-to-desktop

Option 2/ use an external SSD to store this years images and the whole Lightroom catalogue file on it. The previous years images will stay on the desktop HDD as archived and viewable on the desktop. The desktop HDD is backed up too. I would plan to set up some kind of back up of the SSD on the desktop too..

Option 3/ other options??

Both option 1 and 2 both have their own advantages. The external SSD would seem to be easier to seemlessly swap between the laptop and desktop by just plugging it in. I do like the idea of importing, tagging, rating and culling on the laptop prior to doing the editing/processing on the large desktop screen.

I'm guessing other use a laptop and desktop so I thought I would ask how you do it.

 

[Major Eazy]

Um, I haven't used my LR for more than three quarters of a year, so I would consider myself still a novice, so hope I don't sounds silly when suggesting an idea or two, I'm sure there may be someone better than me who could explain if it can be done or not...

Why not use cloud computing? Use your Laptop to do some work, then those files are saved either on the cloud, or on your own home cloud (one of those personal NAS stuff like MyCloud or similar,) which you can then work on them using the desktop.

Other option is you do use external SSD for the actual photos, as long as you use 'Build Smart Previews' under the 'File Handling' options during Import, which still allows you to do any editing on laptop in LR, even if the actual photos is not there. You can still plug the external SSD to your desktop for other work.

Beside, who knows, if someone breaks in and took your desktop, you would be still lucky enough to have the photos on the SSD which you put away somewhere safe at end of the day, every day.

 

[boyfalldown]

The way o do is to use smart previews. Don't take the images with you of laptop. Just create smart previews and edit those

 

[Chappers]

Are you planning to edit existing files or just new ones? If it is the later you can simply use the "Import from catalog " option. Oherwise I'd gp with the smart previews option. This would be the simplest if you want to edit existing files.

 

[rob-nikon]

Um, I haven't used my LR for more than three quarters of a year, so I would consider myself still a novice, so hope I don't sounds silly when suggesting an idea or two, I'm sure there may be someone better than me who could explain if it can be done or not...

Why not use cloud computing? Use your Laptop to do some work, then those files are saved either on the cloud, or on your own home cloud (one of those personal NAS stuff like MyCloud or similar,) which you can then work on them using the desktop.

Other option is you do use external SSD for the actual photos, as long as you use 'Build Smart Previews' under the 'File Handling' options during Import, which still allows you to do any editing on laptop in LR, even if the actual photos is not there. You can still plug the external SSD to your desktop for other work.

Beside, who knows, if someone breaks in and took your desktop, you would be still lucky enough to have the photos on the SSD which you put away somewhere safe at end of the day, every day.

The way o do is to use smart previews. Don't take the images with you of laptop. Just create smart previews and edit those

Are you planning to edit existing files or just new ones? If it is the later you can simply use the "Import from catalog " option. Oherwise I'd gp with the smart previews option. This would be the simplest if you want to edit existing files.

Thanks for the replies. I think I'm gong to try the import from catalog function first. The smart preview function sounds quite interesting, that's something I'm going to have to read up on.

 

[Major Eazy]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'm gong to try the import from catalog function first. The smart preview function sounds quite interesting, that's something I'm going to have to read up on.

The smart previews were designed to allow you to do any editing to the previews, even if the original photos which are on an external HDD/SDD is not hooked up to the laptop, that way you can do any editing to photos without needing the actual photos. When you do plug the external drive to the laptop, LR would then just apply the editing done using previews to the original photos.

Nearest metaphorical example I could say would be a bit like...

You pick up your big heavy original first edition book (the original photos on your external HDD or SSD), photocopy some of the pages (Import using smart preview), leave the book home (leave the external drive at home) but take the photocopied pages (the smart previews in LR on the laptop) with you. You do some editing using smart previews, then when you get back home, you sort of glue the edited photocopied pages on top of the pages in the original book.

Without it, you would have to bring the external drive with you, like you would bring the book with you.

I don't use it as I use desktop and my photos are on my internal HDD. But it would be useful for someone like you who prefer to use a external drive for both the laptop and desktop. Smart previews as far as I can tell, do work with if you use LR on desktop, but still use external drive for the photos (in case you took the external drive, but left it at your workplace, your family's home, locked up in your locker but you're waiting for the locksmith), so you can use smart previews on desktop until you get the external drive back.

Well, that's how I see it after reading about it in Scot Kelby's book.

 

[rob-nikon]

The smart previews were designed to allow you to do any editing to the previews, even if the original photos which are on an external HDD/SDD is not hooked up to the laptop, that way you can do any editing to photos without needing the actual photos. When you do plug the external drive to the laptop, LR would then just apply the editing done using previews to the original photos.

Nearest metaphorical example I could say would be a bit like...

You pick up your big heavy original first edition book (the original photos on your external HDD or SSD), photocopy some of the pages (Import using smart preview), leave the book home (leave the external drive at home) but take the photocopied pages (the smart previews in LR on the laptop) with you. You do some editing using smart previews, then when you get back home, you sort of glue the edited photocopied pages on top of the pages in the original book.

Without it, you would have to bring the external drive with you, like you would bring the book with you.

I don't use it as I use desktop and my photos are on my internal HDD. But it would be useful for someone like you who prefer to use a external drive for both the laptop and desktop. Smart previews as far as I can tell, do work with if you use LR on desktop, but still use external drive for the photos (in case you took the external drive, but left it at your workplace, your family's home, locked up in your locker but you're waiting for the locksmith), so you can use smart previews on desktop until you get the external drive back.

Well, that's how I see it after reading about it in Scot Kelby's book.

Thanks the explanation, it does make sense but I'm still not sure where the LR catalogue would be stored as I would be using a desktop and laptop. It seems to make sense to me that the LR catolgue would be kept on the SSD but that would need the SSD connected.