# Lightroom Mobile to travel



## kim423 (Dec 2, 2016)

Hi everybody,

I just need a little advice here.

So I have started to take pictures few months ago and met a photographer who introduced me to Lightroom. Now I'm addicted to it ahaha

I'm planning to travel down to South America for few month, and of course I'm bringing my beloved camera !!

Now, I want my backpack to be as light as possible, so taking my huge and heavy MacbookPro is something I would want to avoid ... But it does seems important to me as well so I could correctly work on my pictures!

Anyways, I just discovered that Lightroom is available on iPad. Would that be a good thing to have to remplace the Lightroom I have on my computer?
Have you guys been using Lightroom on iPad? What do you think about it? Would it be good for travelers?


Thanks for your attention!!

Kim


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## Johan Elzenga (Dec 2, 2016)

There has been a long discussion about this. The general consensus is that using only an iPad is slow, and you need the biggest iPad you can get (256 GB) or you run into problems with storage capacity. You'd also need something like a wifi-enabled external drive, so you can backup the iPad. For a short trip it's fine, but for a trip of a few months I would not do rely on an iPad.


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## clee01l (Dec 2, 2016)

A 13" iPadPro weighs 1.6lb is limited to 256GB of RAM/Storage and can run LR Mobile which does not catalog images but does offer some limited editing capabilities.
A 13" MacBookAir weighs 2X that (3lb.) can be configured with up to 512GB of storage It runs a "real" operating system that can support the full LR app and a LR catalog.
A 13" MacBookPro also weighs 3lb.and can be configured with up to 1TB of storage it also runs a "real" operating system that can support the full LR app and a LR catalog.
A 12" MacBook weighs 2lb.and can be configured with up to 512GB of storage It runs a "real" operating system that can support the full LR app and a LR catalog.

The 12" MacBook is the best compromise.  However, I would use the replacement in real world situations before taking it on an extended trip to South America.  Keep in mind that you may be in places where charging power might be poor or unavailable and internet might be non existent.


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## Aleksander T. E. (Dec 11, 2016)

After new Lightroom update the iPhone/iPad should only keep the smart previews after syncing RAW images to cloud/desktop as far as I know. 

I'm looking in to this strategy myself:
0. Keep Photos sync off (iOS)
1. Import (Nikon) RAW files to roll.
2. Import ALL (Nikon) RAW and iPhone images to LR Mobile.
3. Make sure it is synced to cloud!!! I cannot stress this enough; TEST THIS ON OTHER FILES BEFORE YOU DELETE ANYTHING. Check LR icon, it will say if you are synced or not.
4. Delete all images from camera roll, including your camera RAW files. 
5. Now the previews of RAW files and iPhone images should take just 1 MB pr file max while your images THEORETICALLY should exist in the cloud waiting to sync to LR Desktop. 
6. DONT delete any files from Lightroom Mobile before you move files out of synced collection to a safe spot on desktop. 

I think this strategy work but I haven't tested enough. Please try and report back. I tried removing one file from my collection on LR Desktop and file was removed on LR Mobile (not iOS roll) - BUT the file was still on my drive on desktop.

Thanks


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## Johan Elzenga (Dec 11, 2016)

In my experience any strategy that involves synching lots of raw images to the cloud will fail when you travel. I travel a lot and I travel all over the world. I've found that wifi in hotels is often too slow for comfort, let alone for this kind of work. I know I'm a bit spoiled having 150 Gb at home, but in most hotels the speed is much closer to zero than to what I'm used to at home.


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## clee01l (Dec 11, 2016)

I agree with Johan.  When I travel, it is quite possible that I will not have internet (or cellular phone service) for several days.  There are large parts of the US that are immune to WiFi signals and wired internet is patchy or not existent. 
My most recent example was Big Bend National Park.   No cell phone service for miles  The main lodging facility had limited internet and this only low bandwidth WiFi.  Cellular service was also not present or sporadic.


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## Paul B (Dec 11, 2016)

As far as managing images whilst travelling goes (I've not used LR Mobile) ...

Depends how far off the beaten track you are in South America, but it you're not far from cities or 'touristy' areas then mains power is less likely to be an issue (but do not bank on it out in the sticks!). Do some research for the places you're going to. I agree with the posts above that the biggest (and most unreliable) factor will be internet connectivity. Whilst cloud back-up is ideal it cannot be relied upon. The larger the number and size (Mb) of the images the less likely it is to be practical. Ideally I would want two copies of images kept off-camera in separate locations (e.g. one copy with me and one in my accommodation / separate bag). One of those locations may be an iPad or Mac, for example (depending on how much space you think you'll need). Some cameras allow you to write to two cards at once ... handy for back-up!

Also a personal preference ... I know how much time I'd need in Lightroom, so unless I was blogging my way around or had other incentives to get my images out quickly I'd rather work on my images when I got back ... far too many other things to grab my attention whilst travelling 

South America is a beautiful and hugely varied continent ... enjoy your trip!


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## Aleksander T. E. (Dec 12, 2016)

Johan, yeah you have a point there. I remember going to Greece and Italy but even there the internet is very bad sometimes. I hope to find a good system before my next trip abroad.


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