UPDATE JUNE 2018: This article was written in 2015, when the choice was between the non-subscription Lightroom 6 application and the subscription Lightroom CC 2015. Now the choice is among the non-subscription Lightroom 6, the subscription Lightroom Classic 7, and the new simplified cloud-based Lightroom CC application. (Adobe took the old “Lightroom CC’ name and put it on this new application.) Please refer to my article, Which Should I Use, Lightroom Classic 7, Lightroom CC or Lightroom 6” for a comparison of these.
There Are Two Ways You Can Obtain the New (2015) Version of Lightroom
1. Subscribe to Adobe’s Creative Cloud subscription program, and get “Lightroom CC 2015”. The most cost-effective version for photographers is the CC Photography Program, which includes Lightroom, Photoshop, and unlimited syncing of photos from Lightroom to Lightroom mobile for mobile devices, and to Lightroom web. The cost is $9.99 USD/month, and all future updates are included in the price. If you already are a CC subscriber, you can download the new Lightroom CC 2015 for free. I personally think that this plan is a great deal, but I realize that a subscription is not appealing to everyone.
Note that you can also subscribe to the Complete Cloud, which includes all other Creative Suite products (inDesign, Illustrator, Premier Pro, etc) as well as other apps, for $49.99/month. This would be relevant if your interests extend beyond photography to video, graphic design, illustration, etc.)
2. Purchase the stand-alone perpetual license “Lightroom 6”. This is priced at $149 USD for new users, or $79 USD to upgrade from any prior version (Lightroom 1-5.) Here’s the link to purchase the full and upgrade versions of Lightroom 6. For the upgrade, select the full version, click on Buy Now and then once it is in your cart, click on the “Full” drop down to change it to an upgrade.
What You Don’t Get with Lightroom 6
Lightroom 6 owners do not get new features added during the CC 2015 / 6 product cycle. So far CC subscribers have gotten Dehaze, for adding or removing atmospheric haze (locally and globally); local Whites and Blacks in the adjustment brush, graduated filter and radial filter; Boundary Warp, for warping panoramas created with CC/6 so that no cropping of the result is needed; Guided Upright, which allows users to draw lines on photos to tell Lightroom how to correct perspective issues; and Reference View, which allows you to edit one photo while having another photo next to it to use as a reference for your editing of the other.
Note that you will get free 6.x updates with bug fixes, support for new cameras, new lens profiles and some under-the-hood improvements.
You also receive more limited support than CC subscribers get. From what I understand, you have access to chat-support only, for getting the software installed and working within 90 days of registration. CC subscribers get premium support – chat and phone, for assistance beyond just installation, and it isn’t limited to the first 90 days.
In addition, CC subscribers receive access to Lightroom mobile and Lightroom web. With Lightroom mobile, you can easily sync an unlimited number of collections of photos from Lightroom desktop to Lightroom mobile for Apple and Android mobile devices (including Android tablets now), do some basic work on your photos on your mobile devices and and have that work seamlessly sync back to Lightroom desktop. Lightroom mobile on your mobile devices can also send your mobile device camera photos to Lightroom on your desktop. With Lightroom web, you can share collections of photos with people by turning on “sync” for collections you want to share in Lightroom desktop, and giving a web link / URL to your friends and clients that allows them to view and comment on your photos. With Lightroom web you can also import and edit photos when you’re away from home using just a web browser, and photos and editing will sync back to Lightroom desktop.
UPDATE September 2016: If you’re considering CC or 6 at this point, keep in mind that these were released over a year ago (in April 2015). There’s no indication at all from Adobe at this point as to when the next major release will occur, but if you subscribe to CC, you’ll get the next major version at no additional charge. If you purchase Lightroom 6, and if Adobe makes a Lightroom 7 available, you’ll pay the upgrade charge (which has been $79). It’s also possible that Adobe won’t make a Lightroom 7 available, in which case you’d have to subscribe to CC to get the new features.
The Advantage of Lightroom 6
As a stand-alone perpetual-license program, once you purchase it, you own it, and can use it as long as your computer supports it. You will never be locked out of any portion of the program.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Creative Cloud Plan
Will I have to work in the cloud?
No – the software will reside on your computer, just like Lightroom 5 or older versions do today. Your files (photos and catalog) will also continue to reside on your computer. The only ways the “cloud” (which means Adobe servers / computers), and the internet come into play are:
- You download software updates
- When you sync to Lightroom mobile, your files go from Lightroom desktop to the cloud (i.e. Adobe computers), and then to your mobile devices. Work you do on your mobile devices travels in the opposite direction back to your desktop.
- As a Creative Cloud subscriber, you also get 2 GB of cloud storage – which you can optionally use to share files with other people – but this is not where your Lightroom files are stored, and your syncing to mobile devices does not use this 2 GB and is unlimited.
Can I work when I am not connected to the internet?
Yes. The only requirement is that you be connected once every 99 days, so that Adobe can verify that your subscription is still active.
What happens when I stop subscribing – will I lose my photos and work?
No – you will not lose either your photos or your Lightroom work. In fact, you don’t even lose access to Lightroom – you just get locked out of making any additional develop edits to your photos. You can continue, for free, to use Lightroom to import and manage your photos, enjoy your past editing work or undo this work, and to create output and export copies of your photos.
In addition, right now if you try a subscription and decide to revert to the stand-alone version, you can, since the programs and the catalogs are the same. It’s possible that in the future CC subscribers get new features that require a catalog upgrade and are not backwards compatible with Lightroom 6, so moving back at that point may be more difficult.
If In Doubt, Try It Out
You can get a free 30 day trial to Lightroom CC 2015, with the mobile features. If you find that you don’t use the mobile features, and don’t mind that you might not get future new features as soon as CC subscribers, or possibly at all, you could always purchase Lightroom 6 at that point.
Related Posts
Adobe Releases Lightroom CC and Lightroom 6 (Read about new features and watch my Highlights video)
Lightroom CC/6 Free Tutorials – download a free 90 minute “Learn Lightroom CC/6 New Feature” video series with practice files, or watch video tutorials online on this page.
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Thanks Laura, you are as usual a wealth of information and help!
I did not think Adobe would honor there offer to keep a stand alone version of LR, PS or any other of there programs. I can’t wait to get the link and see whats new(To be honest, I do not know what more one ask from LR, but than again I thought so when I had LR 4 (-: )
At present the Adobe UK site is offering the standalone version, but only the full version. No reference yet to any option to upgrade. This for £207.77 (incl. VAT), so, as usual, we will have to pay considerably more than in the US. (£207 = approx $310 at current exchange rates.)
Hi Laura I have LR 5 now (stand alone) if I upgrade to the LR 6 will all of my presets that I purchased be available in the LR6?
Yes, they will, Tim.
Watched your “upgrade” video – great info that will be useful when I purchase the LR6 upgrade. Question: is it possible to copy the Smart Previews (folder) from my LR5 catalog into the new LR6 catalog (folder)? It’s a fairly lengthy process to create Smart Previews, and I would like to avoid having to do so. Both catalogs reference the same set of photo files, so my guess is that a simple folder copy would be sufficient.
Thanks.
Hi Jack,
Once you upgrade, Lightroom 6 will adopt the Lightroom 5 smart previews. The Lightroom 6 catalog gets installed in the same folder. You can move it after upgrade, if you wish.
Thx. I asked before purchasing the upgrade… the upgrade went smoothly and Smart Previews were adopted just as you mentioned.
Hi Laura, I have Lightroom 5 (stand alone) if I upgrade to LR CC 2015 will my Lightroom 4 and 5 presets work in LR6 and or LR CC 2015?
I like to make presets and share them on my blog with others, I have concerns about LR CC 2015 not being compatible with prior versions. Say I build a preset in LR CC 2015 will the preset be usable in LR 4-5 or 6?
Yes, Jerry, they are completely compatible.
Thanks for the quick response, much appreciated!
I was concerned because like Photoshop CC / Cloud has new tools that older versions don’t have which makes them non-compatible with older versions. This really makes it where those of us who make PS Actions among other things for others to enjoy a pain.
It kind of takes the fun out of making things for others who have older versions, meaning we have to make freebies in multiple versions of Photoshop.
Glad to hear Lightroom is compatible so I won’t have to make multiple versions.
Thanks for your help and time.
Jerry
You’re welcome, Jerry. If there were a new process version (develop engine) for Lightroom 6, some presets might not work, but Lightroom CC / 6 has the same process version as Lightroom 4 and 5.
But there are always going to be things that the newer versions of a program will do that the older ones cannot, so there may be some things you create that are not compatible. Just use a older version of a web browser to see evidence if that….
Sorry for typos! On a phone screen!
Hi Laura,
After upgrading my LR3 to LR5 I now have both icons on my Mac. I am afraid to delete LR3 and if I buy LR6 will I have tree of them?
Thanks,
Michael
You will, Michael. Once you are up and running, you can delete the old icons, and uninstall the old software.
Laura,
I currently own the standalone version of LR5. If I now subscribe to the CC Photography Program, what will happen to my installed LR5? Will it be automatically upgraded to LR 6 and if so will I be charged the upgrade fee? Will my standalone version be converted to the CC version?
Thanks
Curt
Curt, your stand alone Lightroom 5 will just sit on your computer alongside Lightroom CC, once you subscribe and install CC. Once you are up and running, you can uninstall Lightroom 5, if you wish.
Thanks–in advance–for your putting upgrade info about ordering Lightroom 6 for owners of previous versions (I’ve got Lightroom 5). That’s the way I intend to go, and I’m grateful, especially since–as you say–Adobe may bury the info on their web site.
I haven’t seen an answer yet to how many times you can install Lightroom CC (or the upgrade LR 6) on computers.. Photoshop CC is limited to 2 computers, Lightroom 5 did not have a limit like that. Does Lightroom CC have a 2 computer limit, and does LR 6 do the same? I know Lightroom CC has mobile, but that is not the full version on another computer, which is very helpful if you are using LR as your DAM platform.
I believe they all have a two-computer limit, Bill. Here’s the official answer regarding CC: https://forums.adobe.com/thread/998899?tstart=0
Thanks Laura I had the same question as Bill. Its now answered.
I was just on the Adobe site on Chat with them.. I couldn’t find the link for the UPGRADE version of LR6..
here is what they gave me.. https://www.adobe.com/products/catalog/software._sl_id-contentfilter_sl_catalog_sl_software_sl_mostpopular.html
scroll down that page for LR then click on BUY on lower right.. the FULL version shows up.. click on FULL-arrow to get a dropdown to see the UPGRADE version for owners of previous versions
149.99 Full … 79.99 Upgrade
they sure have those links buried on their Main site..guess they are pushing CC big time these days
Thank you, Ray!
Thanks, Ray, for the navigational help!
Good find Ray. Im sure there are many that will want to go that route,But it seems they are really pushing CC and it seems they wont offer ANY updates to LR 6 after the initial release, only updates for CC. Very sad
They want to get more $$ from you and by pushing the subscription for $129/yr instead of upgrading at only $79 per year they know they got you @ $50 more per year per user is a LOT more revenue for them,
For Lightroom 6, I would expect that at a minimum they will release “dot” releases with bug fixes and new camera support and lens profiles. They could also surprise us all and release new features – I just wouldn’t bet on it.
Thanks Ray! For UK users the upgrade cost from LR5 is £59.09
Creative Cloud* Photography plan cost £8.57 per month, i.e. £102.84 per year. This amounts to 74% more than paying the Lightroom upgrade price annually.
I have no problem at all with paying for software via subscription (I already do so for MS Office). CCPP is excellent value if you need the extras it provides, but very poor value for money if all you want is Lightroom itself. Adobe needs to look at the policy of selling a Lightroom subscription only when bundled with much more expensive products (Photoshop).
An interesting comparison:
Creative Cloud Photography plan: £102.84 p.a. from Adobe
Microsoft Office 365 Home Premium: £79.99 p.a. from Microsoft
If, like me, you have no need for Photoshop, this means:
£102 p.a. for Lightroom only on 2 PCs
£80 p.a. for Outlook + Word + Excel + Access + PowerPoint + Publisher on 5 PCs
Now this is not entirely a fair comparison because it is between mass-market and specialist software, but it does make Lightroom look over-priced. The comparison worsens when you see that the Office subscription is also available from various general retailers – the best price I could find today was £53 for 1 year.
Adobe, please think about a more competitive price for Lightroom-only subscribers, and stop trying to push all Lightroom users into buying a bundle with the much more expensive Photoshop – many may want this, but not all.
P.S. I am not against subscription per se, e.g. I am at present coming to the end of the second year of my Office 365 subscription.
This is exactly my concern. I am in USA and stopped buy MS Office as soon as the subscription became available. I pay $99 US for Office Home which of course includes; Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook (email client), OneNote, Publisher (pc only), Access (pc only) and of course all interim updates are free. In addition, I have 5 additional licenses I can let anyone use, (my wife, daughter-in-law, and son so far) and I also can use Office Mobile for free. This is a much better deal than Adobe CC. Oh I almost forgot, you also get OneDrive cloud storage with options to buy almost as most storage as you need AND a free Skype account also both available for free on all mobile platforms. I believe the free amount is 5 or 10 GB. You can also opt for Office 365 Personal of for 1 user with the same applications.
Like the others are saying, I don’t have issues with subscriptions but there needs to be something in it for me. I really don’t have a need for Adobe Cloud or mobile services. I don’t even like post–processing so why would I want to do it on a mobile device like a tablet or phone, ludicrous! I have tried the trial and opted not to keep it but it left residual pieces on my computer and my Adobe account still has it registered and I’ve tried to get them to remove it but the Adobe support reps seem to be unable do it. I gave up trying. I have been using LR standalone since version 3. I now have 5.7 and am contemplating buying LR 6 (not CC) but like some others haven’t been able to find the UPGRADE link. An Adobe rep tried to help me find it a couple of days ago but everytime I would go to the link I never get to the upgrade. The buy now link kept wanting me to complete the full $149 payment information. I wasn’t comfortable with completing the purchase and trusting I would be offered the upgrade price at the last minute.
Here’s an explanation of how to find the Lightroom 6 upgrade, George.
I see the link for the LR6 upgrade posted as of 11 April 2017, but when I go there I am only presented with an option to get LRcc. Am I missing something?
Turns out it was a mistake, Ian – it will be corrected, though the path to get to it won’t be the same as the article of mine you may have read showed. I’m not sure of the timing.
Will LR6 still seamlessly roundtrip with PS6 for more complex edits?
When I purchased LR5, I had to upgrade to PS6 for that purpose…
Matt, I would expect this to work the same as with Lightroom 5.
I reformat my Windows computer once or twice a year. For example. right now I’m testing the Windows 10 Technical Review. Should I uninstall Lightroom 6 before I reformat my computer so that it doesn’t count against my 2 installs? How about Lightroom CC?
Thanks for the great and clear job!
I’m not sure if this is necessary, Michel. To be sure, I’d suggest posting your question on lightroomforums.net, or contacting Adobe.
You can manage your subscriptions from your Adobe account and de-activate it if you want so it doesnt count and then re-activate it, May not be necessary. I just had to reformat my HDD on my laptop where LR 5 was installed previously. When I reinstalled it on same laptop it never mentioned anything about too many licenses so..
Hi Laura, thanks for answering the above questions. I have used Lightroom since version 1 and love it but never had PS, looks very daunting to me. Have been using PSE8 and have never upgraded cause I only use it infrequently for layers. Shame Adobe don’t give an option for LRCC without PS as I would definitely subscribe but since I don’t need PS do not want the subscription in case it goes up in price in the near future.
You say LR6 won’t get updates like LRCC, does that mean Adobe will not update periodically (6.1, 6.2 etc), like they did with previous versions?
Thanks and regards
Hi Vic,
While I can’t say for sure, I really think Adobe is going to stick with the $9.99 pricing for quite a while – I don’t believe it’s a teaser price, and Adobe is well aware of the outrage a significant price increase would cause.
I believe that Lightroom 6 will get “dot” releases with bug fixes and new camera support. Whether it gets new features remains to be seen – but I am guessing that it will not – otherwise I can’t imagine that they would have gone to the trouble of this dual branding.
Fyi, for accounting reasons, Adobe can’t introduce new features into the stand-alone version after the quarter in which the product was released. (For Adobe, the quarter ends May 31.) This has forced Adobe to hold back new features until they were ready to release a full new version. With subscriptions though, they can introduce new features at any time.
As always, thanks Laura for your helpful insights into the LR world! I’m retired and currently have LR 5- I will probably upgrade to LR 6 but don’t see a need for LR CC at this time. I have several of your tutorials from over the past few years and I imagine that most of that info will remain relevant for a while longer. Thanks again.
You’re welcome, Glenn! You’re right – my Lightroom 5 tutorials are still almost completely applicable. Together with my new free “Learn Lightroom CC & 6 New Features” video series, you’re set.
I still use Lightroom 3.6 a couple of times per month to ride herd on our family’s 7400 images.
What has kept me from upgrading has been the requirement to upgrade my OS from XP to Win7 or 8.
Is Win7 required for a CC 2015 subscription?
Yes it is, Jim. Win 7 on a 64 bit system.
I still use Lightroom 3.6 a couple of times per month to ride herd on our family’s 7400 images.
What has kept me from upgrading has been the requirement to upgrade my OS from XP to Win7 or 8.
Is Win7 required for a CC 2015 subscription?
Yes it is, Jim – Win 7 on a 64 bit system.
Hi Laura, thanks so much for the info. One thing I have a hard time finding a straight answer on is regarding bandwidth usage with the CC products. I currently live in a location with a very slow satellite internet connection. On a good day, I’m lucky to get 29kBps download and 16kBps upload. I’m currently using LR5 standalone, but am seriously considering switching to the CC version. Main selling point for me is cost savings. However I would not plan to use much if any of the actual cloud features. I understand that it can stand alone and operate independent of a connection to the internet, but I just gotta check here… can it be used on a computer that is connected to the internet, but in a way that it uses zero bandwidth? Is all that controlled by settings maybe? Some input here would be really helpful. If I switched to CC only to find that it’s always trying to sync something, or otherwise download or upload something, that just wouldn’t work well on our limited system. Thanks!
I can’t say for sure, Geoff – you’d have to talk with Adobe for confirmation. I could be wrong, but I would think that if sync and address lookup (reverse geocoding) are turned off, and you go into your Adobe account and turn off the sharing of data with Adobe, that it shouldn’t use any bandwidth.
Hi Geoff!
I’m a Tech, so I thought I’d make some comments about background activity…
The way I understand it, if you’ve got CC subscription the products (LR & PS) will require a LARGE download the first time, to install the programs on your machine. On such a slow connection you could have issues, as you could get a corrupted download and have to start over …
If possible, you could D/L the files (Called a Standalone or Offline installer) on a Friend’s machine that has a fast connection, put it on a USB Flash drive, then install on your machine.
Once installed, the programs WILL look for an internet connection for updates (Adobe Update Manager), but that CAN be turned off.
Additionally, the programs check to see if you’ve a valid License periodically, but that’s a very small communication, you’d not notice it.
Finally, as Laura wisely pointed out, Sync & Geocoding do require Internet connectivity, but they CAN be disabled in Preferences.
Hope this helps those with slow Internet!
PuterPro
Hi Laura! I would like to just clarify one point.
You mentioned that we will get locked out of making any additional develop edits to our photos when we stop subscribing. So does that mean that the develop module becomes practically unusable when we stop paying?
I originally thought only the cloud function (LR Mobile) will be stopped.
Thanks for any help!
Nope you are correct, once you stop paying your done. no more edits. Just view in Library.
Sad very sad.
they have you once you sign your life away
No one will want to give up all their edits so they know you will re-subscribe again
forced into it
a form of blackmail in a way
You don’t give up your edits, Stephen, you give up the ability to do more edits. You can enjoy your photos with edits, export copies or make output, and reset them to undo the edits.
Thank you Stephen and Laura! In a way it does sound like blackmail ;)
But since even those who stopped paying are able to download any future updates, Adobe has to find some way to limit their access to certain key functions.
Actually, they could just block the updates from non-subscribers by identifying their Adobe IDs.
Hi Gnohz, here’s the answer on that from Adobe:
http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal/2014/07/what-happens-to-lightroom-after-my-membership-ends.html
Thank you ProDesignTools! That helped clear my doubts :)
Yes, this is true, gnohz, you would be locked out of making more edits. You could always purchase Lightroom 6 at that point. I don’t think this policy of Adobe’s is unreasonable – free use forever of most of the program.
Thanks Laura!
At this point in time, getting the standalone first makes more sense to me. If in the future I need any new features offered only to CC, I can still subscribe :)
Will Lightroom 6 support the new Nikon D7200 ? If not when do you think it will ?
Thanks.
It’s on the list as supported in Lightroom 6, Richard.
BH is offering the Photographers combo of LR CC and PS for $99 for the 1 year license until 4/23:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1124191-REG/adobe_65259312_creative_cloud_photography_plan.html
[…] days — is Laura Shoe. Here’s a link to Laura’s discussion on the topic of “Which should I buy, Lightroom CC 2015 or Lightroom 6?” Once through with that — check all the rest of Laura’s offerings, which include […]
Hi Laura- after nearly 2 years, is this all LR 6 has to offer in new features and capabilities? Two years…really? And then play hide and seek with the upgrade path?
Although there are some photographers who may have some use of the graphic capabilities in PS, would it not be accurate to observe that there are many photographers that would make use of masking and layering and tailor it for LR? Rather than cannabalizing PS, it would demonstrate Adobe understands and respects photography vs graphics.
Laura- would love to see you demonstrating alternative non-PS programs that can commingle with LR (or stand alone!) that leads and enhances the photographic experience!
Hi I’m using Lightroom 5 and I will edit occasionally edit in CS5 for the content aware (only) will I be able to continue to do this if I upgrade to Lighroom 6
Yes, you will, Jane.
I’m now thinking of purchasing LR6 as an upgrade—hence (almost) $80. If after eight months (also, almost, $80 if subscribing to CC) I want to switch over, I will be paying no additional amount. If I switch over some further time in the future–or not at all–I will be ahead of the game. So there’s no “paying for LR twice”, so long as I just use the standalone for at least eight months.
Is there anything wrong with my logic?
I have the same thinking George. Since I have 5.7.1, getting the upgrade means it’s more affordable than CC. I can decide later if I want to subscribe for any new features etc ;)
Actually going the other way works too, ie getting CC only first and when you decide to stop subscribing, get the standalone as a fall back solution.
If you don’t want or need the mobile functionality then I would go with the upgrade (will probably do the same). As you say, 8 months down the line you can get the CC subscription without losing any investment. P.S. don’t forget you can also get a 30 day trial :)
Actually one question that has just come to me; I wonder, if after purchasing the upgrade you then later decide to move to the CC subscription and then some time later decide to cancel your CC subscription, will Lightroom still keep its full functionallity (minus mobile of course)?
I would expect so, Jez – though minus any new features that have since been added to CC.
I was told by Adobe that if you cancel your CC subscription, you will no longer be able to use the software at all!
That rep was wrong, Neaha.
I don’t know if this is a new development, but as of now there is a 12 month contract. If you cancel, you are billed for 50% of the remaining balance on the 12 month term and you lose access at the end of the month.
I knew it was an annual contract, but I didn’t know what the cancellation policy was, Thomas – but I ran up against this policy with Adobe Stock (after I cancelled my 30 day trial 10 days late.)
Will you be able to drag and drop photos out of LR6/CC2015? This is a deal breaker for me. I find it unfathomable that you can’t do this in LR5. I wish I had known this before I purchased it.
I’m not sure what you mean, Dave – if you mean export copies by dragging and dropping out, no.
That is exactly what I mean. I use several programs that allow dragging and dropping photos out of iPhoto, Picasa, etc. into the program. To have to first export a photo to say the desktop and then into the program is silly and not productive. I wish Adobe would make that available.
Laura, I own LR5 and want to simply upgrade to version 6 and own my software. You provided a link above to do just that, but no matter what I click on, they want to force me into installing the Creative Cloud and choosing a monthly or yearly subscription. What am I missing?
I have 2 installation questions and would be most grateful for direction on how to proceed.
1. About the new catalog Lightroom CC wants to create upon installation: It wants to create a new catalog file named Lightroom 5/Lightroom 5-2.lrcat. Why not Lightroom CC/Lightroom CC.lrcat? Wouldn’t that make things less confusing?
2. When I first installed Lightroom 4 way-back-when, I did not have it scan my whole disk for photos to catalog. Is there some way during this installation of Lightroom CC I can accomplish that?
Sorry for the delay, Robin. Presumably you have resolved your issues, but for others, you can rename your catalog after upgrading.
You can’t have it scan for photos during installation, but you can afterwards. In the Folders panel, right-click on your highest level folder and choose Synchronize. Here’s an article with more on this.
As with all Adobe programes only USA benefits. We in Australia are always the losers. It always costs us always twice as much for products and software. As for the CC version it will not be $9.90, it will be about 16.99 per month. This is a form of discrimination.
I’ve been reading all the posts about the $80 Lightroom 6 upgrade but I can’t find any site anywhere that is selling the upgrade now. Can you help?
From an earlier posting:
I was just on the Adobe site on Chat with them.. I couldn’t find the link for the UPGRADE version of LR6..
here is what they gave me:
https://www.adobe.com/uk/products/catalog/software._sl_id-contentfilter_sl_catalog_sl_software_sl_mostpopular_uk.html
scroll down that page for LR then click on BUY on lower right.. the FULL version shows up.. click on FULL-arrow to get a dropdown to see the UPGRADE version for owners of previous versions
149.99 Full … 79.99 Upgrade
Only have used iPhoto in the past, is it possible to upload all my photos from iPhoto to Lightroom6? If so can you in a big block or are you limited to a certain amount per transfer? Thanks any other helpful info would be greatly appreciated.
You have probably figured this out by now, Bob, but in case not, here is an article on importing from iPhoto to Lightroom, from Victoria Bampton.
Hi. I have been using the CC trial version. I just purchased and installed the DVD for Lightroom 6 as I prefer to own it. Can I delete the trial version? How do I do this? Thanks.
Hi recently upgrade to LR CC and am having a total nightmare as it has since, somehwo deleted all the custom presets I had created over the years -I cannot find them anywhere – and have uninstalled LR5 – help!!
Your preferences probably didn’t carry over, Kate. Go to Lightroom>Preferences (Mac) or Edit>Preferences (PC), and on the Presets tab, either check or uncheck “Store Presets with Catalog”. Restart Lightroom and see if they show up.
I will never subscribe to software so can you tell us a good stand-alone (I own it) alternative to Lightroom?
I don’t know, Kevin – I’d suggest the stand-alone version of Lightroom.
Hi there,
Thanks for the clear explanation and the pros and cons of the two versions.
I have a question regarding Lightroom 5. If you purchased it after May 30th, will the code to install it no longer work? I know you may wonder why anyone would buy it when Lightroom 6 is available. But my understanding is that a perpetual version of Lightroom if you do not have a previous version installed costs $149 instead of the $79 for the perpetual version of Lightroom 5.
Our college is not a fan of the subscription model and our labs are using the older versions of Photoshop for now. Buying the version the school using in class makes sense to me, even if Lightroom 6 has awesome features, especially if I can save some money right now. And I can’t commit to another monthly bill so buying outright is better for me.
Thanks,
Anne
Hi Anne, I would expect that it will work indefinitely.
Thanks Laura for the clarification.
I did also hear from an Adobe sales rep yesterday also confirming that the boxed version will work indefinitely. It is only the POSA “gift card” version of Adobe 5 expires.
And I saw Amazon now has the perpetual version of Adobe Lightroom 6 that does not expire. Sadly it is $70 more than Lightroom 5 perpetual.
Thanks! This is very helpful!
If you opt for the subscription, but there is a two computer limit, will it be possible to switch LR cc over to a new computer in the future? How will that work? Thanks!!
Yes, Jen. You’ll just sign out of the CC app on the old one, and then sign in on the new one.
Thank you!!
So, at the point when we don’t renew the cloud version, the software on our desktop will be adjusted to allow viewing only of existing photos, eliminating the functionality of additional edits. At that point one should still be able to export lossless versions of both the original and the edited copies. The edited versions, however, will remain static in the sense that software other than LR will not be able to remove edits, only add them. Is this understanding correct?
If so, it seems to me this is the same situation one will face when deciding to switch from a perpetual LR version to another editing software. So the choice is whether the additional mobile synch functionality is worth the price difference. The price of LR6 perpetual is about $145. The price of the cloud version.comes to about $120/year. For one year, not much difference. If we posit that the perpetual version will be usable for three years, it becomes more substantial.
Thanks for your perspective.
Correct, Allen, on your statements about moving to non-Adobe software.
The cloud version also includes Photoshop, and it potentially includes updates with new features.
Hi Laura,
I am still running the old Lightroom 2.7.. Wanted to upgrade to LR6 . Its a long story but have ended up with the full boxed perpetual version (DVD) LR6.
Its not an upgrade so do I just install the new LR6 ,Choose the most recent backed up catalogue for it, then uninstall the LR 2.7
Hi Richard,
It’s the same process. You can follow my instructions on how to upgrade, and it should find your old catalog.
Have you updated “”Help! My Photos Are Completely Unorganized and Lightroom is a Mess. How can I just start all over?” for Lightroom CC 2015?
Hi Dolores,
It is still completely applicable.
Hi Laurie
Lightroom CC update has fixed some bugs but all.
A major bug is when editing a photo in an external editing software and returning to Lightroom – Lightroom flashes and does not hold further edit in Lightroom.
Sue
Hi Sue,
Do you mean “Lightroom CC update has fixed some bugs but NOT all”?
As it currently reads there appears to be some ambiguity as to what you meant.
Cheers,
Alastair
Hi Alastair my error in my comment. Because I have Lightroom CC I was misguided to think that Lightroom CC updated automatically . Thus the bugs I had been experiencing e.g. flashing in lightroom and losing edits after returning to Lightroom after edits in external software had been fixed as a result of the update.
However, a couple of days later I received a notification from Adobe that I personally needed to update via my apps.
Now that I have done this., so thrilled the issues with Lightroom is not happening any longer.
Sue
Laura, how do I install Lr6 standalone to integrate with my Lr5? I bought Lr6 standalone and downloaded it but my previous edits weren’t the same. The photos were dull and darker. Long story short, I tried getting help from Adobe and they do not support users who bought standalone. My Lr6 crashed 5 times in less than 20 minutes. Very frustrated that help support is so difficult to obtain, I got a refund and decided to wait until they fixed the bugs.
Hi Rosanna,
Sorry for the delay, but the best place to get assistance with bug troubleshooting is on lightroomforums.net, or on the Adobe Lightroom forum.
Hi Laura,
I think that you may have covered this exact question before. If so please excuse me for repeating it.
I currently have the perpetual license version of Lightroom 5 installed. If I install the free trial perpetual license version of Lightroom 6 will it leave the original Lightroom 5 program untouched so that I can evaluate LR6 before purchasing.
Many thanks,
Brian
Yes, it will leave Lightroom 5 on your computer, Brian.
Laura,
I have Lightroom 4 installed and Lightroom stand alone 6 full version in the box. Can I install 6 as if it were an upgrade?
Thanks Lynn K
Yes you can, Lynn.
Well Laura along with the Photographic magazines you talk about an up grade to Lightroom 5.0. If this exists I certainly can’t find any evidence of it!! Paying $149 for a ‘full’ version or $149 for an ‘upgrade’ doesn’t strike me as a very good deal. I have purchased every version of CS and Lightroom from 7.0 and from the first version but I am now totally convinced that Adobe is throwing all it’s amateur photographs under the bus. I just wish that some of the people with any influence would fight back instead of just accepting that we have to rent their software.
You’ll find the link to the upgrade in this article under #2. Click through to buy, then once it is in your cart, change it from Full to Upgrade.
I’ve spent a long time trying to find an option to purchase an upgrade for my LR 5. I tried using the link to the upgrade from this topic, but am still not finding an option to purchase Lightroom 6. I get a list of products available, but LR 6 isn’t one of them. Maybe I waited too long and Adobe has now completely removed it from their web site.
Spoke too soon! Perseverance pays off finally. Clicked on link to purchase Photography CC, scrolled down to the bottom of that page and finally found a link to purchase LR 6. Yeah!
Hi Terrie,
The link is indeed still there.
1.Follow the link given (https://www.adobe.com/products/catalog/software._sl_id-contentfilter_sl_catalog_sl_software_sl_mostpopular.html) which takes you to the list of Adobe products.
2. Scroll down to PhotoShop Lightroom. The purchase options will default to “Full”.
3. Use the “down arrow” to change from Full to Upgrade.
4. On the next line specify what version of Lightroom you currently have. (I currently have 5.xx)
5. Add to Cart.
Hope this helps,
Alastair
I’ve been a LR user back to version 1. I’ve paid to upgrade each subsequent update. Imagine my consternation after paying for version 6 at being unable to download the file with a “server unavailable message”. I contacted support via chat. His answer was to go to CC and download a trial version of LR 6 and then enter my serial number. I tried that while he was on line but received a similar message “server unavailable” message. So that’s what he said to do. Wait and contact them again if I couldn’t get my download. He opened a Support Portal file. Thirty days later, yes 30 days, here is Adobe’s response.
Hi,
We would like to inform you that Lightroom 6 is only supported for Download and install on chat and any issue related to update you need to check it on forums.adobe.com as this issue is only supported on forums.
Thank you
Adobe
So Adobe does not support LR except via chat. Apparently this is the case with CC also since my issue with CC was include in this case file.
I was able to download a copy of the LR 6 file from another location without Adobe’s help. A fellow on a forum responded to my issue and together we spent several evenings trying to fix the issue. I have no issues downloading any other program, just Adobe.
Based on Adobe’s lack of interest in my case this is my last Adobe purchase. I believe that Adobe wants to push everyone to the CC concept including Lightroom users. But not this one.
I see lightroom 6cc has skin softing plus some other things you can do but not seeing lightroom 6. Why?
Skin softening is done with negative clarity or negative noise reduction in the adjustment brush, Robert. These are available in all version of Lightroom. Lightroom CC has a Dehaze feature and local Black and White controls that were introduced recently, that Lightroom 6 doesn’t have, because Adobe is adding new features to CC as they develop them. Lightroom 6 owners will have to wait for 7 to get these – it is just an advantage of going with the subscription.
I was using the free LR trial and decided to buy it outright rather than the subscription. Now, every time I click on anything, a blue screen with an x pops up and it says loading. What is that? It’s very hard to see the changes I’m making. Is there something I can click to turn that off?
Hi Terry,
Turn off GPU acceleration, since it’s not working with your graphics card. Go into Preferences (Lightroom>Preferences on Mac, Edit>Preferences on PC), and it’s on the Performance tab.
Hi Laura, that didn’t work. I still get that blue screen and am unable to see what I’m doing while making any edit. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the program and I thought it would install like a new set up but it went right back to the same as I had with all the collections ect. There has to be some way to set it up as brand new but I’m not sure how to do it.
Hi Terry, I would suggest posting on lightroomforums.net for more troubleshooting advice, as I am not familiar with the issue.
But 6 has improvements such as slideshow transitions & multiple music tracks that my latest version of 5 does not have. Any reason why (?) , I pay the monthly subscription.
Regards,
Les
It sounds like you haven’t updated to CC 2015, Les. Here is an article on how to upgrade Lightroom.
Hi, Great info, answered many of my questions, but I am wondering this…
I currently have lightroom 4 installed. If I subscribe to the cc and download lightroom 6 etc. but I decide I don’t like it and cancel, can I go back to using my lightroom 4? or will that not work anymore?
Yes, you can go back to using Lightroom 4, Christine, but your Lightroom 6 catalog, which stores your edits, can’t be passed back to Lightroom 4. In Lightroom 4 then, you can import the photos you had imported into Lightroom 6, but you’ll lose the work you did there.
Many thanks for the helpful article. I started with LR2, then bought LR3 – since then I haven’t had a chance to really do much. I’m retired now (yippee!) and want to get all my photos organized, edited etc. but it’s all a mess. I’d like to buy a standalone version of LR6 rather than having a subscription. Will it be fairly straightforward to shift what I have in LR3 to LR6 or am I going to have problems since my current version is so old?
Also, do you recommend fixing everything up in LR3 before installing LR6 – or would I be better to install the new version, and then try to fix everything. I feel quite overwhelmed at the prospect, but determined to organize properly! Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Daphne,
Here’s a video on how to upgrade to Lightroom 6. The only twist is that you need to learn about “process version“, which changed between Lightroom 3 and 4.
It won’t matter whether you reorganize before or after.
A lot has changed since Lightroom 3! I would recommend my Fundamentals & Beyond series. It hasn’t been updated for CC/6 yet, but it is still very applicable.
Be sure, Daphne, that your computer will support Lightroom 6.
I have a brand new computer with Windows 10. No “Clouds” for me! I am only interested downloading LR6 ….. will it be compatible with Windows 10?
Thanks.
Here’s an article from Victoria Bampton on Lightroom / Windows 10 compatibility, Janet.
I have 30,000 pics in Aperture on a late 2008 MacBook Pro with almost no disk space available. I would like to move to Lightroom for organization and editing, and buy a new Mac Book Pro. The OS system on a new MBP will automatically send my photos to the Apple Photos program that I don’t want. Thus, I haven’t updated my old MBP to the last two OS upgrades. I am wondering how to proceed. My pictures are very important to me and they are organized so perfectly in Aperture. I am willing to buy LR 6 or the subscription, whichever will make the process go more smoothly! Also willing to buy the new MBP and proceed. Can you offer any suggestions. please?
I apologize, Sue – I just found your comment in my spam folder. Did you get this all worked out?
I need some help My daughter asked for the Adobe Lightroom 6 for Xmas but I’m confused as to which I should buy. She has Apple products and uses her phone camera and a Cannon with multiple lenses. Which product will best suit her needs without costing her a bunch of additional money or commitments? I appreciate your assistance!!
Hi Vicki,
The stand-alone Lightroom 6 won’t have any additional commitment – but it doesn’t come with the ability to sync photos from her computer to her mobile devices. (This may or may not be important to her.) Alternatively, you could purchase a one-year subscription to Lightroom CC, and then she can continue it if she wishes to.
Hi, I have been using Picasa for years but I’m getting feed up with the lack of fixes to some of the bugs it has so I thought I would look at Lightroom, (which I thought about getting for a long time but never made the jump). The Subscription model doesn’t work for me, I tend to get a version of a program and stick with, I’ve only recently upgraded from Quicken 2002….
Anyway my question is about trial versions. I could only find LR CC trial which I have downloaded. It spent a long time building the catalogue and is now, slowly, looking for faces. Its been running for 24 hours already. So, if after trying the the trial version of LR CC I decide to buy LR6, is LR6 going to go through the whole build a catalogue and find faces processes again or will it pick up the ones built by LR CC ?
You can only trial CC, Ian, but if you purchase a Lightroom 6 license, you can promote it to 6. The catalog is compatible with either, so no need to rebuild.
That is nice. Polish chat help on Adobe official site told me different.
I got a year subscription bought with my camera, they told me that moving catalogue to box version after that year is not possible.
I have 3 questions:
-I have Lightroom 3.6. Use Lightroom just for hobby photo’s & family. I recently received a Sony a6000. I need to upgrade in order to convert the ARW it takes. Can I upgrade directly to 6.3 from 3.6 or do I need to purchase the full version?
If not…..
-The earliest version of Lightroom that will convert ARW is 5.4. Would I be able to upgrade to it from 3.6 for the upgrade price?
-If I have to purchase the full version, will my info from 3.6 transfer over to 6.3?
Hope this makes since
Thank You
LindaCC
Linda, you can upgrade directly to 6.3, at the upgrade price. You don’t have to upgrade though – you could convert your raw files to DNG using Adobe’s free DNG Converter (search for it on Adobe.com) before you import them into Lightroom 3. Nevertheless, a lot of great tools have been added since 3.
Hi Laura,
Just signed up with you, so haven’t explored all your posts yet ~ can’t wait to see.
But have a question: I live in Turkey, so is the only way to get English CC in English by using a proxy such as Zenmate?
Welcome, Tim! I don’t know the answer to your question. Perhaps someone on lightroomforums.net or the Adobe Lightroom forum would know.
Thanks for your reply re: getting in English language CC – I will ask in the forum.
Another question: I am considering changing from Nikon to Fujifilm. I went on a Fujifilm organised event and brought back RAF files on my SD card.
LR4 won’t open them. The info’ online is contradictory. Does LR have a solution to this problem?
Tim
You’ll need to convert them to DNG using Adobe’s free DNG converter, before importing them into Lightroom 4 — or upgrade to CC/6.
I have lightroom 2.3 and I am running on XP. I ntend to upgrade my OS to 8 or 10. Once I upgrade my OS all softwares will be gone. Can I install the upgrade on the new OS? I still have the oroginal Disc and the keyes for 2.3.
Yes you can, Apan. You’ll just need the old key.
Hi Laura,
I have LR4 but my desktop died. I recently purchased a new laptop {Windows 10} and I am wondering if it’s worth it to purchase the subscription?
Hi Reggie,
That depends on how much you value features that have been added since Lightroom 4. You could watch my highlights videos on the 5 and CC/6 releases: New in Lightroom 5Lightroom 5 (scroll down to the highlights video); New in Lightroom CC/6 (scroll down to the highlights video)
Is there a way to upgrade just the Camera Raw 8.7 and not the whole LightRoom 5.7?
I need to work with Nikon NEFs… you know the rest of the story.
Thank you.
Hi Paul,
Camera Raw is part of Photoshop, so you can update there, but this won’t allow you to work with files from a new camera using Lightroom 5.7. Instead, download the free DNG Converter from Adobe’s site, convert your raw files to DNG, and then import them into 5.7.
i have 2015 cc 5.7 but ctl-M doesn’t bring up LR panorama. Is it possible to loose it?
Use your Creative Cloud app, Lee, to update to CC 2015, which is equivalent to Lightroom 6. Note that you need to have multiple photos selected for the shortcut to work.
I currently use LR6 and PSE14, both purchased (upgraded) a few months ago. Can I switch to a CC subscription. If I do can I use my Samsung Galaxy to edit photos in my library?
Yes, you can, Albert – you can go to Adobe.com and purchase a subscription. You’ll find the Lightroom mobile app in your Android app store.
I have had nothing but trouble since the last CC update before the one which came out yesterday. I did go ahead and download that but it didn’t resolve any of my issues. I uninstalled light room the other day and then downloaded it again, but this did not resolve these problems:
Lightroom Issues:
1. When new photo’s are imported and Import new is selected . . . all photos, new and old, on the card are still loading.
2. When some photos from a card are deselected they upload to computer anyway.
3. When “eject card” is selected . . . sometimes it does eject and sometimes it doesn’t.
4. Slide show issues: gets struck on loading a particular slide and will go no further.
5. Won’t load videos from my camera periodically. i.e. sometimes they load and sometimes they won’t.
6. Can’t export videos from LR
7. When a group of photos are selected and keywords are added to that group, they only mark the first photo. The rest of the photos when looked at individually, are blank. In other words, Won’t sync keywords
8.I can only download to the first subfolder on my desktop. In the past I was able to select from a tree of folders to download for various purposes, but no more.
Any ideas of what I should do? We are traveling in the National Parks and it’s not a good time to have these problems! :( Anything you can suggest would be appreciated.
Dolores
Hi Dolores,
Just to chip in.
For No 7., I believe you have to be in Grid View in order for the metadata to be synced to all selected photos.
Good catch, truphotos.
Thanks for your response, truphotos.I wish I could say that this made a difference. However, it did not. The photos do not sync even when all are selected in grid view.
Hi Dolores, I’d recommend following the Lightroom troubleshooting steps in this article from Victoria Bampton.
Thanks, Laura. After reading the article and going through her steps, I will let you know the results.
Good news! Thanks again for the article you recommended, Laura. My issues are resolved! My LR catalog was corrupted! All of the issues I had melted away in the test catalog. Yay!
Dolores
Hi Dolores,
When I synch metadata for my photos (LR6.6) I add the keywords I want to show in image #1, manually select the photos I want to synch in the bottom filmstrip (with the modified image as #1), select Autosynch and select the Keyword box from the pop-up menu. On occasions the Keyword box in the pop-up box is NOT “ticked” so check that it is or the metadata won’t be added to the other images.
Laura,
I find that these subscription plans do not consider those of us who are on data plans via satellite due to lack of any other internet access. These plans are expensive and have low data limits but it’s the only game in town in my area.I am pleased to see that LR 6 is available on CD, which I will be ordering, but not having full versions available to those of us who cannot utilize the CC version is unfair. Note: my FIOS friends have twice the data and speed for less than half of my costs……
Hi Elle,
You only have to be connected to the internet every 90 days or so so that Adobe can validate your subscription. If you turn off syncing (it’s in the Identity Plate area – click and hit pause), Lightroom won’t be sending or receiving data.
Hi Laura
I have the latest Photoshop on my Mac that I own, I have never really got along with it as its above my skill level, do you think I should go for Lightroom?
If so shall I buy outright or Subscribe? To add though I travel a lot around Europe, use a MacBook and a iPad Pro But struggle to get a decent internet connection that concerns me about the Syncing between devices.
Thanks Giles
Hi Giles,
Lightroom is not completely intuitive, but it’s much more so than Photoshop and may be all you need. Here’s an article on whether to use Lightroom vs. Photoshop. (It may not be completely up-to-date, but my take on this topic is the same.)
Consider the factors in this article to decide whether to subscribe or buy outright, but if you do subscribe you just have to be connected every 90 days so Adobe can verify that your subscription is still active. Syncing to mobile devices and the web is completely optional. Here’s a video on how Lightroom mobile and web work.
You can get a free 90 day trial of Lightroom from Adobe.com. For training, I’d recommend my Lightroom CC/6 and 5: The Fundamentals & Beyond video series.
Best wishes with Lightroom!
Hi Laura
It appears that upgrading from LR5 to LR CC permits use on 2 computers. Can I use a Windows version on one computer and also run another on a Mac? Thanks
Robert
Yes, you can, Robert.
Adobe does not let you change from existing CC with PS plan ($10/month) to the Photography plan. You have to cancel your existing plan and then sign up anew. But Adobe tells me that if I cancel my existing plan, they will charge me $55 cancellation fee. I am using LR 5.7.1 standalone, but now have a new camera that 5.7.1 can’t see. Will I have to either pay the $55 fee or buy the stand alone LR6? “Contact Us” is completely useless. There is no way to use Chat which is their only “support”. Suggestions?
Hi Cecilia,
The $10/month plan with Lightroom and Photoshop is the Photography plan. There isn’t a Lightroom-only plan. I’m confused that you have a subscription, but are using Lightroom 5.7.1 standalone. Regardless, if you still want to use 5.7.1, you can convert your raw files to Adobe’s DNG format using their free DNG converter, and then they will import into 5.7.1.
If you do have a subscription, you can contact customer support by chat or by phone. On Adobe.com, click on Contact Us an go through the process.
Hi Laura,
I am using Lightroom 5 with my Fuji XT1. I will be getting an XT2 in a few months.
I’ve heard LR5 won’t support the raw files on the XT2.
1.Can I upgrade to stand alone LR6 and be able to support Raw files?
2.Also,I am a bit unclear about the steps required to change catalogue name. Might you
have a link for that info please?
3. Will Photoshop 5 still work?
Thank you.
Hi Hannah, you’ll find which cameras are supported by which version of Lightroom here. (It says Camera Raw, but there is a Lightroom column.) Alternatively you can convert them to DNG with Adobe’s free DNG converter and then import them into Lightroom 5.
I don’t think I have an article on changing the catalog name, but you’ll find it covered in my Fundamentals & Beyond series.
Yes, you can use an older version of PS.
Hi Laura,
My photos are a mess, and I’m trying to figure out the best organizational structure. I started in iphoto, but almost lost everything during an upgrade. My computer guy rescued everything, but now I have a lot of duplicates, some are color corrected and some aren’t, and some of the dates are wrong. Also, a friend tried to get me to upgrade to LR4 a few years ago and so I have a lot of images in those files, and some of those are also in iphoto folders. Finally, I started putting my favorite images in folders on my desktop for easy access, so those are also duplicated. Now I want to migrate everything into LR6 or LRCC, but I have about 40k photos, with lots of those as duplicates and many others can just be trashed. Right now, everything’s on my harddrive (with a timemachine as a backup system). What’s the best way to upgrade to a new version of LR while also purging and organizing? I’m still debating b/w LR6 or CC. If I have an external drive, do i have to have it plugged into my computer to access or do they make them with wifi? if so, would CC be better then? Sorry for all the questions, not sure where to start sorting this out, and I want to do it right this time!
Hi Cj, it doesn’t matter whether you upgrade and then organize, or reorganize and then upgrade. I don’t know about wifi drives – but if they exist, they would presumably read/write more slowly than if your drive is hardwired to your computer. when you import or after you import, you can create smart previews of your photos and work with these while your drive is disconnected – this is what I do so that I can work with my photos on my laptop from anywhere.
Thank you.
Hi CJ,
I’m pretty certain that when you import your photos into Lightroom you can select “do not import duplicates”. If you import folder by folder to a logical dated structure (Laura’s videos explain this well) the duplicates should be spotted.
Obviously this won’t get everything but for files with the same filename this should work. Hope this helps!
Thanks, one problem i have is that the file names are reused. So I have sometimes 4 or 5 photos with the same 4-digit number assigned to it. will it recognize the different images, or does it identify duplicates simply by file name?
Also, can you view the duplicates before deciding to import or not? Some versions have been edited, and some haven’t. I feel like it’s a huge mess that needs to be manually handled, but if there’s a way to automate at least a part of the import, that would be great.
I don’t have a definitive answer but when importing into LR it is logical to generate “sensible” folders (such as 2016-8 Duxford Airshow) remembering that the actual files stay where they are, LR simply generating “placeholders”.
Its worth repeating that you are NOT copying the actual files into LR.
In your case you may have two sorts of duplicates:
1. Identical images with different names
2. Different images with the same filename.
Where there’s a doubt (especially with (2)) maybe put the images into a different folder and sort manually.
As I wouldn’t recommend installing all 40,000 images in one go, doing it in batches based on the actual file folders on your image storage drive may show an obvious method to use.
Thanks, Laura. Very helpful article for me. And thanks for your blog and the free webinar I’ve benefitted from.
I’m using LR 5.9 and have been unable to validate my e-mail acct with LR, supposedly, I’m told by a user online, because validation will only work if I lower my security level. This is because LR 5’s so-called “low-end technology” can’t validate it any other way. I’ve lowered my security and my acct validation finally worked – after about a dozen tries without lowering my security. But I don’t like lowering my security level.
Do you know any other way to get e-mail acct validation to work in LR 5 other than by lowering security level? If not, I would upgrade to LR 6, but only if I am certain that this e-mail problem is fixed in LR 6. do you know if this problem is fixes in LR 6?
I don’t, Con. I’d suggest posting on lightroomforums.net.
“2. Purchase the stand-alone perpetual license “Lightroom 6”. This is priced at $149 USD for new users, or $79 USD to upgrade from any prior version (Lightroom 1-5.) Here’s the link to purchase the full and upgrade versions of Lightroom 6. For the upgrade, select the full version, click on Buy Now and then once it is in your cart, click on the “Full” drop down to change it to an upgrade.”
Hi Laura, I tried the above just now It doesn’t seem to work. After putting LR 6 in my cart, I clicked on Full and changed it to Upgrade but the the price stays at $149.00. I tried it several times with the same result. Has Adobe changed the price of the upgrade to the same as the full version? Maybe I am (or the website is) doing something wrong but I think I’m following your directions.
Thanks for all help!
P.S. I love your videos (I have the LR 5 series) and all your web info!
Hi Bob, this page explains how to find the Lightroom 6 upgrade, at least in the U.S.
Thanks Laura!
I got it this time. After I click buy a drop down menu shows “full version” and can be changed to “upgrade”. THEN there’s a thing to select what “i own:” (a previous LR version). That’s what I missed last time I tried.
Now, I just have to decide between LR 6 or CC (or waiting till LR 7 to upgrade – if there even will be a stand alone version of that). I just downloaded your free “Learning LR CC & 6” videos to see what I’ll get from upgrading now.
Another thing puzzles me though: the LR CC plan says it includes Photoshop CC AND LR, all for $9.99/mo. But further down the product page Photoshop CC alone costs $19.99/mo. Do you get a complete version of PS with the $9.99 CC plan? If so, this is very puzzling.
Anyway, thanks for all your help!
-Bob
Yes, Bob – you would get the full version of Photoshop with Lightroom for $9.99/month. I believe that $19.99 is the standard single-CC-app price.
Hi Laura
Just considering updating to LR 6 as just in the last 48 hours my LR 5 has been showing up an error. The software opens ok, but as soon as I go to “Develop” an image I get a window that pops up – Server Busy.
This action cannot be completed because the other program is busy. Choose “Switch To” to activate the busy program and correct the problem. From here you can choose “Switch To” or “Retry”. NEITHER works. The only way to exit the program is to go the the Task Manager and end task. Have tried uninstalling and reinstalling, upgrading to latest version and many other things that appear on Adobe Forums, needless to say nothing works. I love love Lightroom and use it daily until now. Thought my only option would be to fork out the money and upgrade to LR 6 and hope the problem doesn’t return.
Wondering if you have come across this problem and if so is there a resolution prior to be upgrading.
Many many thanks in advance Laura
Regards
Judy
I’d recommend posting your question on the Adobe Lightroom forum or on lightroomforums.net, Judy, so that you can get troubleshooting advice specific to your setup, as I don’t know the answer. I don’t think you’d need to upgrade to Lightroom 6.
Thank you for your reply Laura. After lengthy online chats and telephone conversations directly to Adobe, I was still no further ahead. None of these help people said they had any experience with LR 5 and that I should just go to the forums like you say. I have done this and followed advice on what people suggested because it worked for them. Sadly no happy endings with mine. Ended up buying LR 6 upgrade stand alone. Very difficult to find on the Adobe site, everything keeps sending you to CC. Anyhow, I’m up and running again and able to finally get some work done. Let’s see what LR 6 can do!
Again many thanks, appreciate your time
You’re welcome, Judy!
“Boundary Warp, for warping panoramas” – aren’t they warped enough already?
It’s designed to fill in the areas around the uneven edges that would otherwise have to be cropped off, Richard. I haven’t done a lot of panoramas since this was introduced, but it did a good job on those I tried.
Has Adobe abandoned the Lightroom stand alone series? I own LR5 but have not upgraded to 6 because the improvements aren’t enough for me to do it.
Will there be a LR7?
Hi Ferguson, sorry for the delay. Adobe hasn’t issued a statement on this at this point.
I have LR 4.4 and PS 5 I just purchased a new IMac to replace my 7 yr old one.I have been using the DNG converter from Adobe in order to edit my raw pics.
1) How do I get my LR and PS(with all the edited pics) onto my new computer?
2) I’m so unsure if just updating my older versions would be better then the cc as I am just an amateur photographer and having the very “latest” version of software and having ability to access it on another computer is really not a need for me.
So appreciative of any advice you can give me. Thank you
Hi Erin,
Here’s an article from Victoria Bampton on moving to a new computer.
I tried Lightroom 5 or 6 on a free 30 day offer, and dropped it. Too complicated, and the tutorials were not helpful. They feature techies talking to other techies. I am not that way, and suspect a lot of other picture takers aren’t either.
User forums like this one aren’t that helpful either. You scroll down through an endless list of questions and comments that aren’t pertinent to your needs.
I previously used Picasa, but that is no longer supported. It wasn’t that great, but it was better than the alternatives.
One problem with Lightroom is that there are a lot of bells and whistles on the screen, and no way to figure out what they do and how to work them. Why isn’t there a feature that if you right click on a screen icon, button, etc. you can access a print and picture explanation?
Another problem is the lack of a print manual. When you buy a camera, you get a comprehensive print manual that tells you all you need to know about how to use the camera. With illustrations. Why doesn’t Adobe do this for its programs?
Hi Terry,
I’m sorry to hear that you’re having difficulties with Lightroom. No question it has a learning curve. I’m not going to defend it, as I don’t work for Adobe – I just teach photographers how to use the program, and as a photographer myself, I find that it meets my needs. The benefit for climbing that learning curve is that you’ll learn to use one of the best photo management and editing programs out there.
While I haven’t had anyone tell me that I sound like a techie talking to techies, either in the free video tutorials that are available on my blog or in my comprehensive Lightroom CC/6 and 5: The Fundamentals & Beyond and and other workshops on video, I’m sorry to hear you feel that way – it just proves that no one instructor can be right for everyone.
My personal favorite Lightroom user forum is lightroomforums.net. This is not a user forum – it is a blog. This article compares Lightroom CC to Lightroom 6, so comments here relate to that (or they should anyway).
You’ll also find many free video tutorials on Adobe.com – while they aren’t in depth enough or comprehensive enough in my personal opinion, you can think of them as Adobe’s manual, along with the knowledgebase.
For what it’s worth, I find that most photographers who invest in training up front so that they avoid the sometimes painful mistakes that newer users often make, and who stick with Lightroom through the awkward phase, do come to love it. I hope you do as well, but if not, I hope you find a program that is a good fit, and I wish you the best with your photography. Of course no one gets into photography to struggle with software, they do so because the love taking photos and making the best of them!
We have two identical Macbook Pro computers for our LR CC 2015 work running maOS Sierra ver 10.12.1, 2.8 GZ, 16 GB Memory–primarily used for LR, email, some Photoshop, and Microsoft Word and Excel.On both computers we have been having trouble with LR suddenly graying out all of the folders (folders by year from 1942 through present). They can be relinked, but it’s tedious and we seem to lose the adjustments, notes, keyword tag, etc. when this happens.
Is there some way to figure out how to ‘fix’ this problem? The computers have plenty of memory–the one add-on is a WD Passport Ultra 3TB drive, linked by cable to the MAC, where the actual photo folders and files + adjustments are kept.
The photo files with edits are fine until the computer is shut down, but, when the laptop is restarted, lose the keyword tags, adjustments/edits when the computer and LR are restarted.
Any ideas on what we might be doing wrong and how to fix this problem? Thanks, Ed
Hi Ed,
I apologize for my delay in responding. I’m afraid that this is article isn’t the place to work this out. I’d recommend posting on lightroomforums.net or on the Adobe Lightroom forum, where you can have a back-and-forth discussion.
I recently upgraded from Lightroom 5 to 6 so I could use “merge” feature .I use laptop with 2 GB left on my C drive. After I clicked “merge,” three exposures of identical image did not merge to come up with one file of .HDR.dng. What could be the reasons? What should I do?
Arun
Hi Arun, I don’t mean to single you out, but I’m afraid that this article isn’t the place for a question on another topic. I’d recommend the Adobe Lightroom forum or lightroomforums.net (or if you have purchased my Lightroom CC/6 and 5: The Fundamentals & Beyond or Lightroom CC/6 and 5: Producing Great Output video series, you can contact us for an invitation to join my private Facebook group.)
I purchased a Lightroom 6 license and downloaded LR6 from the web site. I installed it and input my license number. I then did a check for updates. There was a LR update and I selected it and I see it installed LR CC 2015. Is this normal or is it trying to get me to subscribe to CC and will shut down after 30 days? I checked my Adobe account and LR 6 does not show up.
I’m afraid I don’t know what’s up with this, Gordon. I’d suggest posting in the Adobe Lightroom forum or on lightroomforums.net.
OK thanks for getting back to me
So would the following dodges work:
* Subscribe to lightroom.
* Install
* Unsubscribe.
Just use LR as a photo management tool.
* Subscribe to lightroom/photoshop
* Install
* Download and install LR6 and PS6
* Unsubscribe
Do LR6 and PS6 remain functional?
Beyond what I said about being able to continue to use much of LR, sgb, you’ll need to test this yourself, as I maintain a valid subscription.
Laura,
I am moving off of the Apple Photos world and am looking for a good photo manager and over time, more editing capabilities – but the photo management is the key. Doing research on options (which brought me to your site) it seems that LR seems to be the best option, but i have a few questions:
– the learning curve still concerns me as I am not a professional photographer (just managing 50,000 personal pics). Is the learning curve worth it for a family photographer?
– I need to ensure my wife (still on a Mac) has access to the photo collection, but just to download photos from it (not manage/edit). Does either LR CC or LR6 allow others to access the photos?
– as someone who is just learning more editing, but mainly interested for next few years to mostly manage the photos – organize, basic editing, develop collections – it feels like the stand alone version makes more sense -thoughts?
Kim
Hi Kim,
Most people who have lots of photos to manage, as you do, find the learning curve worth it. Lightroom does not allow access from a second computer (unless you put the catalog in Dropbox, and that is highly risky when there are two users.) You can export JPEG copies of your photos from Lightroom for her to use.
Consider CC if you want to be able to view and/or edit your photos on your mobile devices, or if you want access to new features without having to purchase the next standalone version (if there is a next standalone version – it’s possible that when the next version comes out it will only be available by subscription).
If you do go with Lightroom, I’d recommend learning with my Lightroom CC/6 and 5: The Fundamentals & Beyond video series. New users often make painful mistakes that make them want to quit. This can be avoided by investing a little time and money up front. (The most common feedback I get from customers is, “I wish I had found your training sooner.”)
In any case, best wishes with your decision and photography!
Thanks for such a prompt reply! I am still deciding between LR6 and CC, but will definitely purchase one of your video series so I start off on the right foot. The one outstanding issue is my wife’s access to the photos. I do the photo management, sorting, editing, etc., but she needs access to post and send to friends. LR will be on my laptop, and the photos on an external hard drive. At a minimum I need to easily allow her access by via the cloud, network or maybe simply grabbing the external drive. She will not need to edit in LR – just viewing and downloading so she can share. I was thinking she could even use a file explorer or finder to view and grab photos as long as LR allows this. Any thoughts?
Thanks again for such a prompt response, and for the advice.
Kim
If she doesn’t need to edit, then she should download a trial of LR6 and let it expire. AFAIK all of the search, tag, and output features are enabled, only the developer module is disabled after the trial expires.
As to buy vs rent: As an option consider LR +Affinity + Nik as an alternative to LR +PS
With rental, you have no surety that Adobe won’t jack up the rent next Tuesday.
That is a good point, Sherwood – if Kim really didn’t plan to edit, then the expired Lightroom CC trial could meet his needs indefinitely. (As you say, one is locked out of doing any more editing once it expires.)
True, the subscription price could increase, but only on the annual renewal. So far there have been no increases, at least in the U.S.
Adobe does not have my interests at heart.
I phoned them, asking about upgrade paths. I had Acrobat X Pro, and wanted to convert a PDF to editable text. Person tried very hard to get me to subscribe to Acrobat DC. I asked if there was an alrternative to a subscription. Yes there was a purchase option.
But they didn’t tell me that Acrobat X had this capability already, but it was a bit obscure, as it was a ‘translate to Microsoft Doc format’
***
When Adobe bought FrameMaker they essentially stopped development on it. (Scuttlebutt was that the code was a rats nest and would require major rewriting. Adobe will still take your money for FM on windows, but they haven’t put any effort into it for more than a decade. I now have frame maker files on 3 operating systems that are unavailable to me. (NextStep, Mac, and Linux.) Adobe has provided no transparent conversion path from FM to Indesign.
Adobe has a rep for buggy software. I’ve found resports of bugs that have been in consecutive major releases of Lightroom. And the number of security problems in Flash, and Acrobat is unreal.
I’ve been corresponding with a gentleman who has an Aperture plugin, suggesting that he port it to Lightroom. His line, “At this time the Lightroom plugin marketplace is a mess of hurt that we don’t want to be involved in.”
I don’t trust Adobe.
You’re welcome, Kim. Your wife could copy photos from your external drive using Explorer or Finder – just make sure that she doesn’t move, rename or delete any of them. The downside though is that the files won’t have any editing applied – your Lightroom editing doesn’t get baked into the originals, it is stored independently in Lightroom’s catalog. (You can think of this editing kind of hovering over the original when you view it in Lightroom.) The only way to get the editing work baked in is to export copies (JPEGs). It might make sense for you to export JPEGs after you edit each shoot, and store them in Dropbox or on your network so that she can access them.
Biting the bullet, and plan to load and learn Lightroom! Last night…I did the free trial download. Took 90 minutes….only to get a ‘user permission issue’. I jumped through every hoop on the forum helps. No-go. Tried chat support which was TOTALLY useless! I deleted the program, and think I will go with the stand alone hard copy DVD. I don’t think I am a good candidate for the cloud. Will the DVD give me the same ‘user’ issues? Or should it install without glitches? I am feeling quite frustrated tonight. Will call Adobe in the morning….but thought I would ask here too. Found your helpful page!!! Thanks!
Congrats on moving to Lightroom, Nina! I’m afraid that I don’t have expertise in troubleshooting installation errors – the forums or customer service are your best bet. I wouldn’t assume e that the DVD would not give you the same issues.
I do recommend that most people get training from the start with Lightroom, as how it works with a catalog and your files is not intuitive, and not understanding this can lead to headaches and frustration that can otherwise be avoided. If you enjoy video training (rather than books) I’d suggest checking out my Lightroom CC/6 and 5: The Fundamentals & Beyond video series – I guarantee that you’ll love it or your money back.
Hi Laura,
I recently had to buy a new laptop. My previous one had Wndows7 and LR3 installed and it worked fine. Now my new laptop runs on Windows 10 and certain things are not working as they should. For example: if I want to reduce the image from Raw file to email size, it is not reliable and won’t reduce certain images.
Can you recommend an LR that works on Windows 10. Is there an LR that works on Windows 10. I am a retiree and Computers are not my forte ! My wife is a great help but can not advise me on this.Thank you in advance for reply.
Hi Paul, I don’t know about issues exporting files being related to Windows 10, but for sure Lightroom CC and 6 are fully compatible with 10. I’d suggest posting questions about the issues you are having on lightroomforums.net or on the Adobe Lightroom forum before you conclude that you need to upgrade.
Frustrated with the poor performance of Lightroom in iMAC 5K I am thinking to move to Capture One is Adobe don’t release a new mayor version of Lightroom (More than 2 years old)
Do you know when the the CC 2017 will be released?
At this point I am thinking to upgrade my Lightroom 5 to 6 and move to Capture One. Then I can still managing and working if needed with the old catalogs. Is this possible or I will lose some of my editing work?
Thanks in advance!!
If I knew when the next version of Lightroom CC will be out I couldn’t say, Emilio. Adobe is working to improve performance. Here’s a statement from Tom Hogarty, Sr. Product Manager about their efforts to do so, including an appeal for feedback from users.
Why would you upgrade from 5 to 6 if you’re going to move to Capture One?
I have LR5 standalone. I have a mess! I want to upgrade because I will be getting a new camera (new for me, Nikon D7200) that does not seem supported in LR5 in the very near future. If I upgrade or do the online for $9.99/mom (if that is still the rate), can I start from scratch (after I watch your videos on how to clean up my mess? I should probably clean up my mess before I upgrade? Any thoughts/comments/questions/recommendations would be appreciated.
I believe I answered this by email, Barb.
Hi!
I’m new to photography actually, but I really enjoy it, and I’m trying to learn as much as I can. :-) I wanted to buy the stand-alone LR6, but with what looks like little future support/updates for it I’m having second thoughts about it. I’m in the middle of a trial version of the CC. Can one stop and start the CC subscription on a month to month basis? Say I know I won’t have time to do any edits in August, can I stop my subscription for August and then start again in September?
As I understand it you’re actually purchasing an annual plan, Mari, so it can’t be stopped and started as you describe.
Best wishes with your photography!
Hi Laura. What a wonderful site which I have only discovered. You seem to be the real authority on Lightroom and as such I hope you can help me. I am a Lightroom user (stared with version 4, then progressed to version 5 and now use the full version 6. My problem is that I have created a 70 page photo book using the BOOK module (using version 6). However, it will not upload the project to blurb (telling me midway that “some photos and text will not upload”. Lightroom will not even allow me create a PDF of the book for sending to Blurb. I am at a loss to know what to do (If I load my Lightroom disk again might I loose my photos?). What about renting Lightoom CC (to make sure I have all commands. I would really appreciate your advice.
I’m glad you’re enjoying my site, Michael. I don’t know offhand why it wouldn’t have, but there are several forum post out there, including this one. You’ll have to do some detective work to figure out why – start by making sure that your book doesn’t contain any missing files. I don’t believe that reinstalling LR will help, and moving to CC shouldn’t either.
Thanks for your help Laura. I checked your site and found a number of people have had this problem and come with some recommendations. I will try them and if I succeed I will be recommending Laura for President in 2020.
,
You’re welcome, Michael. LOL on president!
Hi!
I am planning to purchase LR 6. I have been an ACR user and am making the switch to LR. I saw that you said LR 6 doesn’t have the radial and graduated filters option? I thought it did have both of those and is one of the reasons I want to switch over. Is this true? I’m bummed that LR6 doesnt have the dehaze tool but I am not ready to do a subscription to CC.
thanks in advance for your input!!
-Dawn
Hi Dawn, Lightroom 6 has the radial and graduated filters – just no dehaze, blacks and whites within them.
Thank you so much for the reply! Glad to hear there is the radial and graduated filter! By blacks and whites are you referring to the blacks and whites on the basic panel? Is that missing in 6? Isnitbjist highlights and shadows?
I’m referring to Blacks and Whites sliders in the local adjustment tools only. These are not in Lightroom 6.
Hi Laura
I have LR6 and, while checking that I had the latest version of LR6, I selected upgrade. I ended up in LR Classic version 7.0 Licence Trial. Now the problem is that I do not want to move from the stand alone version. How do I revert to the stand alone LR6? If I do not pay for the version 7 at the end of the trial period, will my system revert to LR6 with all my photos intact?
Hi Martin, your story is not at all unusual. Do a Google search for “Lightroom 6 download” to find the Adobe site – you’ll download 6.0 and then the 6.12 patch. That said, your LR 7 catalog won’t be backwards compatible – if you do any work there, select those files and save to XMP (Cmd/ctl-S). Then in your LR 6 catalog, if those files aren’t there, import them and you’ll get all of the work that’s compatible with 6 (not range mask, for example). If the files are already in 6, then select them and go to Metadata>Read from Files to pick up that work. (Collections, virtual copies, pick and reject flags, step-by-step history are not saved to XMP so any of this done in LR 7 will be lost.)