Lightroom library publishing - help!

[jsuttonkc]

I was a long time user of the mobile app Mosaic which then became Photo Via for publishing my Lightroom library to be available for viewing on my iPhone. The images were stored on Google Drive. I've had tremendous trouble with this service recently and it will no long be supported the way I have been using it. Publishing has to occur through the On1 Browse Module which I don't fully understand.

I loved that with Photo Via, my Lightroom library folder hierarchy structure stayed in tact and I'd love recommendations for a suitable replacement service. I've installed Jeffrey Freiedl's plug-in for Google Drive, but I cannot get it to publish folders of photos. I have 70,000 images so I'd like to keep my photos by year and event. Would love advice on this topic.

This avenue appeals to me as a means of an online back-up. But maybe there are other alternatives!

Thank you so much!

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Hi jsuttonkc, welcome to the forum!

So let's just make sure we're on the same page

• You want to match your existing folder hierarchy
• You need to be able to access the photos on your iPhone
  
• When you mention online backup, should the photos be originals or edited JPEGs?
• Do you need to be able to share them with anyone else?

 

[jsuttonkc]

Hi Victoria,

Here are my responses to your clarification points:

• You want to match your existing folder hierarchy - Yes, I have 70,000 photos arranged by year and then date/event. So it would help to keep the hierarchy for accessibility when looking up a photo or group of photos.
• You need to be able to access the photos on your iPhone - Not a need, but something I've been able to do in the past with an old app/service, and would love this convenience again! I would be fine if the photos were a smaller resolution suffice for digital sharing.
  
• When you mention online backup, should the photos be originals or edited JPEGs? - I would like to have access to the edited files. I may invest in an online back-up servicelike Carbonate or Back Blaze for the originals. I currently rotate back up hard drives in my fire-proof safe to be able to restore my computer with all files in the event of a disaster.
• Do you need to be able to share them with anyone else? - This would be nice. Previously, I could save the viewable image to my phone and text/post/email the photo.

Since posting my questions, I have installed the Lightroom Photo Upload for Google Drive plug-in and using Tree-Mirror, I can see that it looks like I can publish my photos to a folder on my Google Drive and retain the same hierarchy in my Lightroom library. I haven't yet done this with all 70,000! My hope is that I could do this and any updates to the files would be reflected on Google Drive as a back-up source. My issue with this in meeting my desire to view images on my phone/iPad is that they due to resolution, the Google Drive app can not see to display the images for quick scrolling. I think they also appear in Google photos, however with other photos of mine appearing in Google photos (blog, etc.), and Google Photos lack of folder structure, the photos appear all jumbled and out of order.

I looked into Lightroom Mobile but learned it only syncs Lightroom collections and not Lightroom folders. It would be tedious to make collection for every folder I have so I will not do this retroactively.

I just have to think there is a solution out there but I haven't been able to discover it thus far.

Thank you for any input or clarification around any of this you can provide!

Sincerely,
Jackie

 

[Victoria Bampton]

I looked into Lightroom Mobile but learned it only syncs Lightroom collections and not Lightroom folders. It would be tedious to make collection for every folder I have so I will not do this retroactively.

Lightroom mobile could be a good solution for you. Although it doesn't work off folders, it divides the grid up by days in Segmented view, or you can drag folders down to the collections panel to automatically make collections out of them. That might be a solution if you don't go back and change folder contents frequently.

You could also look at Folder Publisher, which can publish your folder structure to any computer folder (like one that's synced by Dropbox, OneDrive, perhaps even Google Drive). Tree-Mirror may do the same thing. These could be lower resolution jpegs if you have another system in place for backing up the originals and catalog offsite, which might solve your slow loading problem.