# Lightroom Mobile copy, backup from iPad to external HDD



## Larry Fasncht (Jun 15, 2021)

I’m going to be traveling (finally!) and I will be taking an iPad as my only editing tool.  I would like to know how I can get those edited photo onto an external HDD connected to the iPad for backup purposes.  All without Wi-Fi, or cell connection.


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## clee01l (Jun 15, 2021)

The method that I use has nothing to do with Lightroom but involves  copying the image files from the internal storage of the iPad to external storage (EHD).   
My External storage is called iDiskk. It is a 1TB combination HDD and battery backup.   I first copy the camera card to the  iPadPro internal storage using a card reader attached to the single port using the Files app.  Then I connect the iDiskk to the  same single port. I then use the Files app to copy the image files from the internal storage location to a folder on the iDiskk.    
The iDiskk has an app that does backup BUT this only backs up the Camera Roll.  It does not see the Lightroom internal Storage.    If I want to backup any work done in Lightroom Mobile that is not getting sync's to the cloud because of a non existing internet connection, I can export to the folder on the iDiskk.   However,  I have never been on a trip that did  not have an internet connection at some point.  During those infrequent stays at a hotel,  I let Lightroom Mobile sync to the cloud so that  an original file and any Lightroom adjustments are copied to the cloud as well.   This way I have multiple copies of my master image files — with me locally on the iPadPro, and another with me on the iDiskk, and I keep the original unerased camera card just in case, If I am able to connect to the internet a copy in the cloud safe from any unexpected events that might happen to the iPadPro, the original camera card and the iDiskk.


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## Larry Fasncht (Jun 15, 2021)

clee01l said:


> The method that I use has nothing to do with Lightroom but involves  copying the image files from the internal storage of the iPad to external storage (EHD).
> My External storage is called iDiskk. It is a 1TB combination HDD and battery backup.   I first copy the camera card to the  iPadPro internal storage using a card reader attached to the single port using the Files app.  Then I connect the iDiskk to the  same single port. I then use the Files app to copy the image files from the internal storage location to a folder on the iDiskk.
> The iDiskk has an app that does backup BUT this only backs up the Camera Roll.  It does not see the Lightroom internal Storage.    If I want to backup any work done in Lightroom Mobile that is not getting sync's to the cloud because of a non existing internet connection, I can export to the folder on the iDiskk.   However,  I have never been on a trip that did  not have an internet connection at some point.  During those infrequent stays at a hotel,  I let Lightroom Mobile sync to the cloud so that  an original file and any Lightroom adjustments are copied to the cloud as well.   This way I have multiple copies of my master image files — with me locally on the iPadPro, and another with me on the iDiskk, and I keep the original unerased camera card just in case, If I am able to connect to the internet a copy in the cloud safe from any unexpected events that might happen to the iPadPro, the original camera card and the iDiskk.


Well I’m going on a cruse ship, so there is a kind of Wi-Fi on board, but if I want to connect to the cloud it’s expensive and very, very slow.  

Thank you very much for your response.  What I really would like to know is where on the iPad are the Lightroom photos stored.  I can’t find the directory. I don’t use the Camera Roll at all now that I can import directly to Lightroom from the card reader.

Maybe just having the photos on the card and not formatting, plus having them on the iPad would be enough.

So could you please tell me where the Lightroom photos are stored on the iPad’s internal storage?  That would help me a lot.


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## clee01l (Jun 15, 2021)

Larry Fasncht said:


> What I really would like to know is where on the iPad are the Lightroom photos stored. I can’t find the directory. I don’t use the Camera Roll at all now that I can import directly to Lightroom from the card reader.


iPadOS causes each app to work inside it own sandbox,  There is very little communication between apps.  Apple has exposed the camera roll to other apps but AFAIK, Apple does not permit other apps to expose their data.   Apple does not permit Lightroom Mobile's image storage (in the LR sandbox) to be seen by the Files app.  But id does let Lightroom see and read any files managed by the Files app.
If you look at the iPad storage, there is no RAM just storage  Each app is assigned storage space.  This contains the binary executable code and any data managed by the app including in Lightroom's case image files in cache.  Since iPadOS 13.x,   you can copy image files from the Photos cache to the File system or to an apps cache  like Lightroom but you can not share the image cache between applications.   This is why files get duplicated in the Photos app and the Lightroom app and take up twice the storage in the iPad.
You can only export or share images in Lightroom by creating a copy of the file in Lightroom Cache at some external destination.  You can not see or read the Lightroom image cache except by using Lightroom.


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## Larry Fasncht (Jun 15, 2021)

clee01l said:


> iPadOS causes each app to work inside it own sandbox,  There is very little communication between apps.  Apple has exposed the camera roll to other apps but AFAIK, Apple does not permit other apps to expose their data.   Apple does not permit Lightroom Mobile's image storage (in the LR sandbox) to be seen by the Files app.  But id does let Lightroom see and read any files managed by the Files app.
> If you look at the iPad storage, there is no RAM just storage  Each app is assigned storage space.  This contains the binary executable code and any data managed by the app including in Lightroom's case image files in cache.  Since iPadOS 13.x,   you can copy image files from the Photos cache to the File system or to an apps cache  like Lightroom but you can not share the image cache between applications.   This is why files get duplicated in the Photos app and the Lightroom app and take up twice the storage in the iPad.
> You can only export or share images in Lightroom by creating a copy of the file in Lightroom Cache at some external destination.  You can not see or read the Lightroom image cache except by using Lightroom.


So what I hear you saying is that I must "export" the files to the external drive?  I had already figured that option out and found it wanting.  It does not include the adjustments I made in Lightroom.  Only if I export the result and then it's a jpg.  

Thanks, you have confirmed my suspicion that I can't copy them straight from the iPad to an external drive.


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## clee01l (Jun 15, 2021)

Larry Fasncht said:


> So what I hear you saying is that I must "export" the files to the external drive? I had already figured that option out and found it wanting. It does not include the adjustments I made in Lightroom. Only if I export the result and then it's a jpg.
> 
> Thanks, you have confirmed my suspicion that I can't copy them straight from the iPad to an external drive.



Use the “Export As” option. There you can choose several different formats: Original (just a file copy, no Lr adjustments), JPG (same as Export to Files), TIFF (8 or 16 bit), and DNG.
Lightroom like Lightroom Classic has no “save” option. To get any edited file, you need to merge the adjustments with the original data and produce a derivative file.  This process is called “Export” as it has always been. Apple has this concept called “Share” and the default file format is an 8 bit lossy JPEG.  I don’t know if this is an iPadOS API limitation or  where it comes from, but Lightroom has expanded this concept to include the file types that I mentioned 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Larry Fasncht (Jun 15, 2021)

Got it thank you.


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