Save or export to Apple Camera Roll directly from Lightroom on MacBook?

[Jana Bouc]

Lightroom Version Number

Lightroom version: 2.4 [ 20190802-0905-45e6444 ] (Aug 2 2019)

Operating System

1. macOS 10.14 Mojave

I took photos using LR on my iPhone, opened and edited them in LR on my new MacBook and now can't find a one-step method to save to my iOS camera roll for easy uploading to Instagram. The only option I get when I try share/ SAVE as JPG is to a folder on my hard drive (defaulting to Pictures/Lightroom Saved Photos). Media/Photos isn't available (though it is available to be imported from) and the iOS photo library is grayed out in the Pictures folder.

I had to save it to the Lightroom Saved Photos folder which I could then access from LR on my iphone and from there easily save it to my camera roll. Is this the only way to do it or am I missing something. I don't like having to save it twice like that and then have to remember to delete it since I don't need two JPGs of the same thing in two places.

Or am I missing something?

 

[Jim Wilde]

Or am I missing something?

Yes. Use the Share option in the LrMobile app (click on the icon at the top of the panel thatI've indicated on the attached screenshot and you'll get the share options shown at the bottom of the panel).

 

[Jana Bouc]

Yes. Use the Share option in the LrMobile app (click on the icon at the top of the panel thatI've indicated on the attached screenshot and you'll get the share options shown at the bottom of the panel).
View attachment 13028

 

[Jana Bouc]

Right. But I was trying to save to camera roll from the Mac cloud version. That doesn't seem to be possible. I only get this option.

 

[Jim Wilde]

Correct, the desktop version can only save images to the desktop, which is logical. To be able to save to your phone, that phone would have to be connected to the desktop AND be seen as a mounted device that you could select in the Save To dialog. That's rather a lot of messing about if you can save it to the phone by using the phone.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

If you did want to do it on the desktop, you could save to a designated folder and then set up an Automator action to automatically add to photos, but I'd question why you even need to save back to Photos. That's like trying to wear two pairs of trousers at the same time.

 

[Jana Bouc]

If you did want to do it on the desktop, you could save to a designated folder and then set up an Automator action to automatically add to photos, but I'd question why you even need to save back to Photos. That's like trying to wear two pairs of trousers at the same time.

LOL! That’s funny. I think you’re saying either use Photos or Lightroom, not both. But if I want to post to FB or IG, as you’ve pointed out in your guide, it’s much easier to do so from mobile and I have to say, easier still to post from Photos than from LR. For one thing, if I’m already in FB or IG and want to add a photo, if I click the plus sign in IG or the add photo button in FB, it will only take me to Photos, not to LR. With LR, if I understand correctly, it’s ”push” out to social media only but with Photos, if you’re already on social media you pull in from there, as well as push out. I believe that gives me more control over the order the photos will appear too. In IG for example, to post several photos that viewers can swipe through, you click the Add button, then select the photos, picking them in the order you want them to appear and they get numbered, 1, 2, 3 etc. I don’t know how you’d accomplish that from LR.

Therefore, I wear two pairs of pants. In fact, I even wear 3 sometimes. My photos taken with the iPhone camera automatically upload to google photos because Apple Photos’s search engine is useless and Google’s is great. Since I basically quit using LR when I switched to an ipad for most of my work over a year ago and am just now trying it again, I haven’t compared LR search to Google photo search yet.

So far I’ve been extremely impressed with LR’s much better photo editing but there are still a few missing pieces in the LR cloud/mobile system and some frustrations with trying to use LR Classic along with mobile that also feel like wearing two pears of pants at the same time (eg I have a huge LR photo library on my iMac, limited storage on my new laptop (which to be honest, I may return because it’s not really getting me enough over what I can do with my iPad Pro with keyboard), and my unwillingness to pay Adobe another $10/month for their storage plan. It feels like we’re in a transition period and in another year this will all become much clearer but right now, not so much.

 

[clee01l]

Therefore, I wear two pairs of pants. In fact, I even wear 3 sometimes.

I am able to manage my workflow entirely inside of LR. By using the {Share} button I can get to any social media from LR. I don't use the Photos app for anything and take photos with the mobile device camera that are directly added to a album in LR.
The FB app for instance does not know about other photo apps and the camera roll is a special OS container. This is why FB only gives you the option to access the Camera Roll. The developers for the FB app and others like it need to provide the user with a link to other photos tools that show up on the iOS platform. In addition to LR, there is Photoshop, On1Photo, Snapbridge and I'm sure others that want access to the social portals without having to go through Apple's controlled environment.
Most people find the Photos app less than useful as you have yourself indicated. Perhaps some of this will change with iOS13/iPadOS13. Other developers like those for FB and Google and other will be making accommodations for changes wrt files in iOS13/iPadOS13