Learn to import photos directly into Lightroom from the device photos or attached photo storage devices on your iPhone/iPad.
Access your photo gallery
Starting from Lightroom for mobile (iOS) version 8.4, opening the Lightroom app will instantly give you access to edit your device's photos from the Device view. To view the Albums on your device, tap the dropdown menu and select an album to populate the corresponding files. You can tap on any photo to start editing. The edited photo will be imported to Lightroom and appear in the Lightroom view. An ( ) icon will appear on the upper left corner of the edited photo in the Device view.
Import multiple photos in Device view
Follow the steps to add multiple photos to Lightroom while on Device view.
- Tap the three-dot () icon at the upper right corner of the screen.
- From the pop-up menu, tap Batch import to Lightroom.
Tap Batch import to Lightroom
- Select Photos or Albums from the top panel and select the photos you want to import. You can also search for specific photos from the search bar.
- Tap Add to import it to the Lightroom / Edits view.
Import multiple photos in Edits / Lightroom view
Follow the steps to add multiple photos to Lightroom while on Edits / Lightroom view.
- Tap the three-dot () icon at the upper right corner of the screen or tap the import button on the bottom right corner of the screen.
- From the pop-up menu, tap Add photos and tap a source you want to import from.
Tap Add photosSelect a source of photos
- Tap three dot icon at the upper right corner to filter files. You can also select the size of thumbnails as per your convenience.
- Tap Add to import it to the Lightroom / Edits view.
If the blue import button at the lower right corner of the screen is missing, try from a different album or create a new album or follow the process with the three-dot menu as mentioned in step one.
Import photos from a connected camera memory card or camera
Directly access and import photos (including raw images) from your camera, camera memory card, or compatible USB media to Lightroom for mobile (iOS). For more information, see .
To import photos directly into Lightroom, follow these steps:
- Launch the Lightroom app, and navigate to All Photos or select an album. The Import button appears at the bottom-right corner of the screen.
- Connect your mobile device to the camera memory card, camera, or USB storage device. In the Device connected dialog box, tap Continue.
To access photos in your attached media, click Continue.
- Tap Import in the bottom panel.
- In the Direct Import screen, you can view the files in the attached media. Tap the Add To drop-down list for options - All Photos, Current Album, or Create a New Album to import the photos to. The default location for import is the current album you are in.
- Select the photos you want to import. You can also do the following:
- Tap <title of the camera card or storage device> to import all the photos from the card. If the card has no assigned title, tap Untitled.
- Tap a displayed date to import all the photos that were captured on that date.
Directly import photos of your choice to Lightroom.
- Tap the icon to see the available import options: Select All Selects all the images displayed in the import interface. This option is enabled once all the thumbnails of the images from the connected device are loaded. Deselect All Deselects all the selected images displayed in the import interface. Photos Displays JPG and PNG images only from the connected device. RAWs Displays raw images only from the connected device. Select the thumbnail size from Tiny, Small, Normal, or Large.
- Tap Import at the bottom of the screen. The selected photos are then copied from the attached camera or memory card to Lightroom.
- In the Copying complete dialog box, you can decide to keep the copied photos in the attached media or delete them. To keep the copied photos in the attached camera or SD card, tap Keep. To delete them, tap Delete.
Safely disconnect the attached media when you get the notification in the bottom of the screen. The imported photos and videos can be viewed in the assigned album, All Photos, or in Recently Added.
- If you are unable to connect your camera to your mobile device, try to import photos directly from your camera memory card.
- Your mobile device needs to run on iOS 13.3 or later to delete the copied photos from the attached camera or SD card.
Supported storage devices
If the attached photo storage media is compatible with the iOS device, it should work with Lightroom. The following types of storage devices are supported with Lightroom:
- SD camera memory card: Use the USB-C to SD Card Camera Reader or the Lightning to SD Card Reader, depending on your iOS device.
- Other types of camera memory cards, such as XQD or Compact Flash, that can be read by compatible third-party card readers.
- Camera via Apple's USB Camera Adapter.
Most cameras need to be plugged into Apple’s USB Camera Adapter and turned on. However, some cameras may need to be connected in PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) mode in camera settings. Please consult your camera user manual to learn more about USB connectivity.
- USB storage, such as thumb drives or external USB hard drives.
Photos must be placed in the DCIM folder and it is recommended that the storage media uses ExFAT or FAT32 file system.
Add photos from third-party photo apps
You can directly add photos to Lightroom from other apps such as Apple Photos or Google Photos. To do this, follow these steps: