In my frequent travels, I found the need to invest in a laptop for on-the-go work. However, I primarily rely on my desktop workstation at home for post-processing of my photos. This brought up the question of efficiently Synchronizing Lightroom Catalogs. While manual export and import options exist, I thought of an automated solution for an easy synchronisazion.
When considering the solution, I’m about to share, there are a few factors to keep in mind. Offline work requires some manual steps, and it’s important to note that the Lightroom catalog can only be accessed by one instance at a time. To establish my cloud setup, I use the following IT components:
- 1 Laptop with Lightroom installed
- 1 Desktop with Lightroom installed
- Cloud Environment (customizable based on storage requirements)
- NAS System with 12 TB capacity (also based on storage requirements)
To achieve synchronization, I chose a simple method. I transferred my Lightroom catalog to the cloud and redirected both the PC and laptop installations to the Cloud instance.
This configuration allows access to the catalog from both systems. Again, it’s to avoid simultaneous opening, as it may lead to data loss for one instance. (Last system that saves, overwrites the catalog)
In addition to the cloud setup, I rely on my NAS system to store my collection of photos, videos, and other assets related to my photography work. To ensure data redundancy, I’ve implemented a weekly backup routine, with backups stored in the any kind of cloud environment. While it’s technically possible to use any kind of cloud system and eliminate the need for a NAS system, I find the combination of both to be a robust solution.
By optimizing your setup with these strategies, you can streamline the synchronization of your Lightroom catalogs and enhance your photography workflow if you work on more than one Lightroom instance.
IT-Tip: Backup is essential
Backup is always useful to have outside of the regular IT environment. Regardless if you run a small business like my photography or if it is a large company. In case of a ransomware attack or an IT failure in my case, all the data is still available.
In case of the attack, the hacker needs to take an extra hurdle and in most of the cases, this is too much of effort…
