Upload and download projects with Lightroom Classic

  • Updated

Upload photos to edit

This section covers uploading photos from Lightroom Classic to Imagen to edit them. When you upload them, you start a new project and choose your AI Profile. The AI editing happens automatically after your photos are uploaded. 

If you don’t use Lightroom Classic, see Upload and download projects with Extended Adobe Compatibility.

  1. In Lightroom Classic, import the photos to edit into a catalog. For faster uploads, we recommend creating Smart Previews of your photos.

  2. Open Imagen. You need an Internet connection to upload photos to Imagen.

  3. Click Create a Project on the Home page or the Projects page.


  4. Click Edit.


  5. Choose the catalog from step 1. Click My Lightroom catalogs for a list of the last few catalogs you used. Or click Browse to find the catalog on your computer. You can also drag and drop folders or photos into the window.


    If you can’t find your catalog in Imagen, open the catalog in Lightroom Classic, and go to Edit →Catalog settings → General tab → Location.

  6. Choose the file type of your shoot and your photos for the project. In the Filters area, filter your photos by their attributes if you don't want to upload all the photos in a folder.


  7. Click Next.

  8. Name your project, and choose your AI Profile and the photography type.

    The AI tools in the Recommended list change depending on your photography type.

  9. (As needed) Click the + sign next to an AI tool to add it to your project.  Hover over it to see a GIF of how it works. If you don’t find the AI tool you want, scroll down for more tools in the Other AI tools list. The AI tools that you add to your project appear as chips at the top of the list.


    If you choose AI tools from the Other AI tools list, you might need to choose between an AI tool you’ve already chosen and the newer one from the list. For example, you can’t have Crop and Portrait Crop in the same project. You need to choose one or the other.


  10. Click Edit to upload your photos and start the editing process. If the upload stops unexpectedly, the next time you open Imagen, the upload will continue. 

Troubleshooting not seeing your photos before upload

If photos are missing, hover over the exclamation point icon in the Number of images column to see the number of excluded photos and get more details. To fix this issue, change your filters to include the photos you want.

2024-09-25_12-46-31.png

 

Here are some other reasons for not seeing your photos:

  • Lightroom can't find the photos.
    Also, Smart Previews were not built for them.
    This usually happens when the photos are moved from the original folder they were imported from, or they are on an external drive not connected to the computer.
    For more info, see Imagen won't show my Lightroom catalog images.

  • Imagen filters exclude images.
    To solve the issue, change the Imagen filters to remove the specific attributes that exclude the photos.
    • Metadata attributes: color labels, star ratings, and flags.
    • File types: AI Profiles for RAW photos will automatically exclude JPEG photos and vice versa.
    • Edited and Unedited filters.

  • Sometimes, Imagen has problems reading catalogs or images located on external drives. If that's the case, move the catalog or photos to a local drive and try again.

Download your project for review

  1. Download your edits to review:
    • On the Home page, your projects are in the Active Projects area. When the download is ready, click Download to review.

Or

  • On the Projects page, go to the Active tab for your projects that are in process. Find your project, and click Download to review.
  1. Click Download edits. Imagen downloads the edit metadata to the same location as your original photos. When your catalog is in its original location, Lightroom Classic opens with your edited images. If Imagen can't locate the relevant catalog, click Browse to find your catalog, and then click Download Edits.


  2. When the download is complete, click Open LR catalog. Lightroom Classic opens with your edits. If you don't see your edits, see How can I see my edits from Imagen in Adobe software?

Troubleshooting download issues

When will my download be ready for review?

Once you upload a project for editing, your photos are edited on our servers. Imagen's editing speed is fast, averaging around 0.33 seconds per photo. For example, a project of 1000 photos will typically take around 5 minutes to complete. The turnaround time may be slightly longer if you use additional AI tools, like subject masking, straightening, and cropping.

See the edits faster in Lightroom Classic

See this video from the Imagen Community that explains how to set up Lightroom Classic so that the edits appear more quickly.

My project download is not available

If you uploaded a project with up to 1,000 photos more than an hour ago, try these steps:

  • If you didn't get an email that your edits are ready, open the Imagen app, and check your project.
  • Open the Imagen app to check if you have any outstanding payments. If this is the case, there is a notification at the top of the screen that we deactivated your account until this issue is resolved.
  • Contact us if the project hasn't been edited or if you need help settling your payment for Imagen. 

How many times can I download my edits?

Your edited project downloads are unlimited and always accessible. To download an edited project again:

  1. Go to the Projects page. See <Project page explained>.
  2. Find the relevant project on either the Active or Archive tabs.
  3. Click on the three dots at the end of the row, and choose Download Edits.

How can I roll back the changes to my catalog?

Imagen backs up your catalog each time you download a project. For more information, see Catalog backups by Imagen.

Was this article helpful?

Have more questions? Submit a request