Is there a way to export these unedited RAW files to my Lightroom Classic photo library on my MacBook Pro without using the cloud?
It’s possible without using the cloud, but not very fun because there are complicated steps to remember.
When you tap the Share icon in Lightroom for iPad, choose Export As. That is the only option that lets you specify a raw file format. On the Export As screen, in the File Type menu, you want to choose Original. That may be part of what is confusing — Lightroom does not show you a “raw” option in the format list, but you will get raw originals if you selected raw images and you choose Original. (If you wanted the raw file and its Lightroom edits, you would choose DNG.)
If you continue on from there by tapping the check mark in the top right corner of the Export As screen, Lightroom will get all the images you selected ready for export*, and when that’s done you will finally see the standard iOS Share sheet. On that sheet, scroll down a little and tap Save to Files. At that point you can select the folder where you want to export the raw files.
Because you want to import them into Lightroom Classic, you should select a folder that Lightroom Classic can import from. That could be:
- A folder on external storage you connected to the iPad, such as a USB SSD, hard drive, or stick drive. Plug it in to your Mac and use Lightroom Classic to import the exported raw files from there.
- A folder on the Mac, if you mounted the Mac on the iPad using Connect to Server in the iOS Files app (and File Sharing enabled on the Mac). Then have Lightroom Classic import them from there.
You shouldn’t choose a folder on the iPad itself, because the main way Lightroom Classic can import directly from an iPad (without the cloud) is from the Apple Photos app, not from the Files app or from the Lightroom app.
*NOTE: When you attempt to export originals, at least some of your originals are probably not on the iPad but in the cloud, if you left Lightroom sync on during the trip and the iPad was connected to the Internet. When exporting raw in bulk from Lightroom on iOS, if you want to avoid having to wait for originals to download before they can be exported, before you leave home Lightroom sync should be disabled and left that way during the trip so that all originals stay on the iPad.