You can type ‘sunset’ into the search box, for example, and it will find sunset shots in your catalog without the need for manual keywords (though you can use those too). Because all your images are stored on Adobe’s servers, it can use Sensei AI to identify subjects in your photos. One of these is Adobe Sensei search technology. Unfortunately, the streamlining has taken out some things that Lightroom Classic owners might have come to rely on, including Smart Collections and Virtual Copies, but otherwise the editing tools are nearly all there and Lightroom CC has a couple of other tricks up its sleeve. You lose some of the tools in Lightroom Classic but gain the ability to view, organise and edit your images anywhere, on any device. Lightroom CC’s albums and edits don’t exist only on your computer, but also in the cloud and on your mobile devices. The key difference between Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic is that Lightroom CC stores all your images in the cloud. Imagine Lightroom Classic streamlined, simplified and modernised and you’ve got Lightroom CC. This is the ‘new’ version of Lightroom that’s offered alongside the regular Lightroom Classic in the Adobe Photography Plan. So let’s get straight in with the individual components of this system, why you need them and how they work. Nevertheless, it’s the closest thing we have yet to a cloud-based photography ecosystem. There are lots of limitations, costs and drawbacks to the Lightroom cloud experience and we’ll soon see what they are. This is not an advertorial or a sponsored post. This article is about Lightroom CC, Lightroom mobile and Lightroom web, and how they all work together to offer that perfect outcome for any photographer: all your images viewable, editable and organisable (is that even a word?) – everywhere. You can use Lightroom Classic to synchronise with Lightroom web and Lightroom mobile, but it’s not really what it was designed for and you don’t get the full ‘cloud’ experience and benefit.
You can find out more in this Lightroom Classic vs Lightroom CC article. These are two very different ways of working.
How to get Lightroom/Adobe Photography Plans.Lightroom CC is the new, ‘web first’ version of Lightroom, where your images are stored in the cloud (but are cached on your computer for speed) and are available to view, edit and organise on your mobile device via the Lightroom app, or indeed in any web browser (‘Lightroom web’). Lightroom Classic is the traditional ‘desktop’ Lightroom, where your images are stored locally on your own computer and you have the full range of Lightroom tools and adjustments to work with. When Adobe split Lightroom into two separate products, it created two separate ecosystems too.