Hi,
Someone in the family passed this summer and left behind a large collection of photos that we want to save. He used Lightroom and we would like to move the photos out of there while preserving meta data. We feel that it is unnecessary to keep paying a subscription for it since we don’t really use it. Does anyone have advice about alternatives and/or how to handle the move?
Best regards,
Björn
It is not publicised by Adobe (for obvious reasons) but so long as you have a free Adobe account, you can continue to use the entire Library module of Lightroom Classic. Assuming they were using Classic (thanks, Adobe, for making it really easy to confuse the two products) you have the option to just keep their account but remove any payment methods.
Although I don’t currently, I operated Lightroom Classic in this way for several years. You do get some scary dialogue boxes that might imply you have to pay, but you can push past those and just use the Library module as normal. You can even update metadata and perform exports.
If photos are all jpg, most of the metadata should be embedded in the jpeg itself.
Lightroom has a setting to enable sidecar XMP files and a command to force all the photos to update the sidecar data.
For raw files, the sidecar is always enabled as raw format doesn’t allow embedding meta data.
XMP files are readable text files if you want to carefully poke around, and there are 3rd party EXIF utilities that can show the metadata in most jpg photos or equiv.
Lightroom stores all photos (or more accurately, accesses photos) in standard folders and files, but the Lighroom album structure (called “collections”) is proprietary and inside the SqlLite database (aka “catalog”) that is heart of Lightroom DAM.
Thanks 
Is there someway to export the entire library to some other program (preferably non-subscription based) and then use the library in the new program? can Affinity (or is it Canva now?) be such an alternative?
If all you need to do is put the photos into a repository where you can browse them, but don’t need to do any photo editing, you might want to consider Adobe Bridge, which is free. Bridge is Digital Asset Manager (DAM) software you use to view, organize, tag, and add metadata to creative assets, which includes photos.
Although Adobe designed Bridge to work with its other Creative Cloud applications, you absolutely do not need any other Adobe programs to use it if all you’re doing is browsing and organizing photos.
You also don’t need to export photos from Lightroom to Bridge. Bridge is a file browser—all you need to do is point it at the file folder(s) where the images are stored. When you cancel your LR subscription, those file folders aren’t going to go anywhere—they will still be on the drive where they’re stored. You won’t be able to use LR’s library file, which is where the program stores the information used to create LR collections as well as metadata, but the photos themselves won’t be lost.
If your family member stored their photos in labelled folders—e.g., all the photos from, say, their trip to the Grand Canyon are stored in a folder labelled “Grand Canyon Trip”—that level of organization will survive no matter what.
But here’s a slight complication: If your family member added tags (“keywords” in LR parlance), titles, captions, copyright info, etc. to their photos, I believe that that information can only be viewed in Bridge if the files are in JPG format. If the photos are in RAW format, you will need to export them to JPGs first to see them in Bridge (or any other program, for that matter). Exporting JPGs from LR isn’t particularly difficult, but you’ll need to make sure that you’ve told LR to export the files with all the metadata attached.
I think I’m making this sound more complicated than it is, but you’ll be able to find plenty of tutorials online to help. (Or, just ask a chatbot …)
Something I forgot to mention in my reply: Affinity doesn’t come with any catalogue management tools. But, once you’ve installed it, you should be able to right-click on a file in Bridge, choose “Open in” and then select Affinity.
Also, some clarification regarding terminology: your photos aren’t stored “in” LR. They live in Finder folders. When you import photos into LR, what you’re doing, in essence, is pointing LR at the folders where those photos live. LR then builds a catalogue (i.e., a database) on top of those folders. Some applications—e.g. Photo Sweeper or Excire Photo—can “open” the LR catalogue and allow you to browse and organize the files LR “sees.”
Does this also mean that the sidecar files are in the Finder? No files are lost by canceling the subscription?
To the best of my knowledge, LR doesn’t create sidecar files until you export the image to another directory. In addition, I believe that the only files that need sidecar files if you plan on using them in another app are RAW files. If you want to save your family member’s RAW files with any edits they might have made intact, you’ll need to export the original file to another directory.
Just want to clarify something that may be confusing if you aren’t already deep into Lightroom and Adobe.
There are THREE versions of Lightroom. Adobe officially calls them Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, and Lightroom Mobile.
Mobile is easy - that’s the smartphone version for iOS and Android.
The other two can be confusing - older names which some people still use is Light Room Desktop and Lightroom Cloud.
Further complicating things is that Adobe recently enhanced Lightroom (the ‘Cloud’ version) to also work with local files contained in folders on the system, not just photos stored in the Adobe proprietary cloud service.
All of these, regardless of name, are apps that run locally on the device. Yes, there is also an actual web based version of Lightroom, so I guess there are four versions.
I’m purposely not explaining all the differences and nuances unless that is needed. For most of the above discussion, especially about sidecar files and raw vs jpg photos, knowing which version of Lightroom is important.
I’ve been assuming the discussion is about Lightroom Classic, but that might be wrong?
I really liked, and mostly used, the Library module in Lightroom, and so I’m hoping that I can find some way to use it for free. I am downloading Bridge now, but, goddamn, Adobe makes me loathe it as a company. I have to update Creative Cloud first? Goddamn.
Bridge is decent, and handles more than just photos. But it lacks certain efficiencies that Lightroom Classic has.
Well, you kinda can continue to use it for free. However, you cannot make any changes to the library or the develop settings anymore. You can, to the best of my understanding, only search and navigate the existing catalog.
It would be nice if Adobe would release a version of Lightroom that is only a DAM (digital asset manager).
Bridge is ok, but it is more of a file manager alternative with better preview filters than a DAM.
Having said that, I would advise against trying to use anything from Adobe for free as it might be a false economy. Sooner or later you’ll run into challenges or frustration.
Not saying pay for Lightroom, but perhaps some other DAM-focused app that is one-time or more affordable?
Adobe isn’t cheap, but the one-app subscription photoplan that covers lightroom isn’t can’t-pay-the-mortgage pricing, so holding your nose about the philosophical issues with subscriptions, if Adobe. (or any, really) subscription software provides the value one seeks, sometimes the least friction is to keep paying for it.
Personally, I have eliminated a lot of subscription software for alternatives (replacing TextExpander with Keyboard Maestro, for example), but there are a few apps I continue to pay for and use (some subscription, some one-time, but I keep buying the feature upgrade releases.)
Agreed on all fronts. I’ll only add that my household is on a bit of subscription belt tightening exercise: it’s gotten out of hand, and we are looking to trim back our monthly commitments.
I’m totally up for a DAM, and I’ll pay decent to good money for it. It will be a shame to lose some of the data I’ve entered into Lightroom, but having a way to manage photos outside of that app or Photos would be most welcome.
Last time I tried it, which was a couple of years ago, everything in the Library module worked. Keywords, labels, picks, ratings, file management, and even exports.
Have you investigated Excire Foto? It’s a stand-alone, AI powered DAM designed for photos. It’s a one-time purchase, but it’s pricey.
I’ve been using the Lightroom plug-in version to help my cull my overgrown library, and it’s been pretty helpful, if not amazing.
Whoa… you’re right!
Even the Quick Develop option is active, where I can use all installed pre-sets, adjust white balance, tone control and fiddle with exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whitepoint, blackpoint, clarity and vibrance.
That was a nice discovery, thanks @zkarj !
My only real use for Lightroom is for the DAM stuff. Robust hierarchical keywords, and cataloging and file renaming of my image files. I periodically look for alternatives and I am again in the see if there is something better mode. Lat time I did this was about 2 years ago.
Two options I am currently investigating:
DigiKam
https://www.digikam.org/
Seems to be a DAM first and editor second which is what I want. Currently the one I am leaning towards.
DarkTable
Last time I looked Darktable was not full featured enough in the DAM area but it’s had some major upgrades in the last couple of years.
I also found this recent article which has a LOT more information and options that you might find helpful. I was using it to decide what to take a look at again.
Amen! Nothing else I’ve tried so far can touch it for not only capability but efficiency.
The 100% polar opposite to a “Mac-assed app”. I once suggested to someone that the reason it’s not used in NASA Mission Control is that they find it too complicated.
Plenty of people have told me “it has a learning curve”. Yup. So does rocket science. I’d rather work out orbital rendezvous on my fingers than try Darktable again.
If the darktable devs used AI to create a Lightroom-like front end for darktable, including AI-based masking, it would be my forever photo developing app.