You can use Lightroom without importing images into a catalog and you don’t need to store images in the cloud

The trouble with Lightroom Classic is that you have to import images into its catalog, and the trouble with Lightroom (the web version) is that you need (or think you need) to store images in the cloud. What if there was a workaround that gave you simple ‘live’ folder browsing on your computer but still with all of Lightroom’s editing tools?

I use cataloguing software (Lightroom Classic and Capture One) but I have to admit there are times that I enjoy the simplicity of a simple folder browser which shows what’s on my computer from one moment to the next and doesn’t need synchronising every time I make a change outside my catalog.

Now you can’t do this in Lightroom Classic – you have to import images into a catalog and that’s that. But you CAN do it in Lightroom, because Lightroom now offers Local browsing on top of its regular cloud-based storage. This is a recent addition that may have slipped under a lot of folks’ radar. Now, in Lightroom, if you click on the Local tab top left, you can browse folders on your computer and look at images stored locally.

You do lose a lot of features, like albums and advanced search tools, but if you already have a folder-based filing system that works for you, then you might not care. If you like Adobe Bridge, then what you get in Lightroom’s Local view is like Adobe Bridge but with editing tools right there on tap in the same window, instead of having to use the ‘Edit in Camera Raw’ option.

So what about the cloud storage? Now you have a choice. You can browse all your photos in Local View as much as you like, but you also have the option to upload individual photos or entire folders to the cloud, on demand and selectively.

Check out the annotated screenshot at the top of this page and the descriptions below:

1: Local browsing

Cloud storage is still the default for Lightroom – see the Cloud button just to the left – but if you click the Local option you get a directory tree of your computer’s folders so you can browse your image folders directly. No importing needed – you see what’s there right now.

2: Folders

Just click on a folder to see its contents displayed as thumbnails, in grid view, or as a filmstrip as they’re shown here.

3: Thumbnails

If you want to view or edit an image, click on its thumbnail in the filmstrip, or double-click it in grid view. Over in the right sidebar you’ll see all the Lightroom editing tools. They are not limited or restricted in any way. You can use them how you like and the image will be modified non-destructively in just the same as if you were using Lightroom in the normal way.

4: Include subfolders

Does your filing system include folders within folders? No problem. With the Include subfolders option you can see all the images within a parent folder and all its ‘child’ folders.

5: Copy x photos to cloud

This is great. You can choose which photos are actually copied to your cloud storage, whether it’s the one you’re working on or a whole set of image selected in the filmstrip/grid view. Alternatively, if you right-click on a folder in the left sidebar, you can copy a whole folder of images to the cloud.

This is not a complete solution. You don’t get advanced cataloguing and search tools with Local browsing because these only work with images stored in the cloud. But it does feel as if Adobe has realised that not everyone wants to pay to have their entire photo library stored on its servers, and that not everyone needs complex database-driven image organisation.

Sometimes it is worth sacrificing advanced tools for simplicity. Try it. See if it works for you. (I just hope Adobe doesn’t suddenly figure that this is no way for it to make money.)