Add photos to Lightroom.

Introduction

To get started editing and organizing in Lightroom, you need to import the photos you’d like to work on. Download the sample files to follow along.

Download sample files

Add photos from your computer

Add photos to Lightroom by selecting the plus symbol. If you had a camera or memory card connected to your computer, you would see a menu to add photos directly from that device. Otherwise, the plus symbol opens a finder window. From there, navigate to the folder that contains the photos you want to add.

Import the sample files

To add the sample files for this tutorial, navigate to the location where you downloaded them. Then, click Review for Import (Mac)/Add Folder (Win). The blue checkmarks show which photos will be added to Lightroom. If there’s a photo you don’t want, uncheck it. For this tutorial, we want all the files, so we’ll check Select All. If you see a gray overlay on a photo, that means a duplicate of that photo exists already in Lightroom.

Create an album

An album is a group that lets you see the selected photos all in one place. Let’s go ahead and make an album for the sample files. At the top of your workspace, click the dropdown net to Add to Album and select New. Name your album Tut 1, and then click Create. Finish your import by clicking the blue Add Photos button at the top right of your workspace.

Understanding your folders

The blue animation in the cloud icon indicates your photos are uploading to Adobe’s Cloud. In the My Photos panel, you’ll find recently added photos, albums (like our Tut 1 album), and the option to see all your photos. When you add photos to Lightroom, they are uploaded at full resolution and stored in the Adobe cloud. Even if you delete the photos stored on your computer or camera, your full-resolution originals will still be safe and backed up in the cloud.