Skip to main content

Adobe just made it easier to download Lightroom files from the cloud

adobe lightroom feb 13 update performance lifestyle laptop photo toning editing print
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Now that Adobe Creative Cloud can store more than just Lightroom Smart Previews, the software giant is offering users an easy way to download Lightroom files from the cloud. Earlier this week, Adobe launched the Adobe Lightroom Downloader, software that grabs all those cloud-based files and saves them to the hard drive.

Adobe Lightroom’s Creative Cloud integration was previously only for Smart Previews, so you could start editing a shot on the computer and finish on your smartphone or tablet. With the launch of two separate programs, Lightroom Classic and Lightroom CC, The CC version can now also save the original version. While the cloud-based system has always allowed users to go in and download one file at a time, the system was lacking a way to download large quantities of images at once.

Recommended Videos

Adobe Lightroom Downloader is the company’s solution. After downloading the software and logging in to their CC account, Lightroom users can download their entire library at once. The library is downloaded as original files, and any edits are downloaded separately into an XMP file. When those images are imported into Lightroom, the originals will mix with the XMP to make those same non-destructive edits available.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The software will automatically organize the cloud photos into folders separated by the date the images were taken. Photographers using the new Lightroom CC have access to the original images, but using Classic, only the Smart Previews are saved to the cloud, which means only those files are available to download.

Adobe Lightroom Downloader is a free download available directly from Adobe. The program only downloads all backed-up photos (or Smart Previews) at once and requires enough hard drive space to accommodate those images.

The new program expands the use of the new Lightroom CC, making it easier for users to take advantage of the cloud storage with an easy way to download those photos in the event of data loss. Announced last month, Lightroom CC keeps the tools the same across Desktop and Mobile devices, with cloud-based backups of the original files. The Lightroom that photographers are familiar with then got the new name of Lightroom Classic.

Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
What Lightroom RAW photo import defaults are and how to adjust them
adobe lightroom feb 13 update performance lifestyle laptop photo toning editing print

A RAW photograph is like a blank color-by-number picture; it's not quite a blank canvas, yet far from being a finished, polished image. When shooting RAW, the screen on the back of the camera doesn’t actually display a RAW image, but an in-camera processed JPEG preview: A color-by-number already colored in. When you import those RAW files into Lightroom, then, the neutral-colored images can often feel disappointing, or even intimidating.

RAW defaults in Lightroom Classic allow you to customize how a RAW file looks when it is imported. You can keep that neutral starting point, or you can start with the preview that your camera showed you, even in some cases keeping the in-camera styles or filters such as black and white. Lightroom even allows photographers to set different RAW defaults for different cameras, or apply more noise reduction to photos taken at a certain ISO.

Read more
Lightroom update for iPhone and iPad deleted photos and presets
lightroom app update for ios deleted photos and presets in this photo illustration an adobe logo seen

An update rolled out earlier this week by Adobe for its iOS Lightroom app contained a bug that wiped user photos and presets from the device.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Adobe has since confirmed that the lost photos and presets are not recoverable.

Read more
Apple files a patent for on-demand cloud gaming services
3nm iphone ipad processors apple silicon imgae

Apple has filed a patent for a cloud gaming-type streaming service similar to Google Stadia, Xbox Game Pass, and PlayStation Now.

The patent filed in February was first spotted by Patently Apple and published internationally on August 14. It's called "Enabling Interactive Service for Cloud Rendering Gaming in 5G Systems."

Read more