Learn how to import your photos into Lightroom Classic for editing, organizing, and sharing.

An image showing a computer, several books and a camera on a desk. The computer screen displays a bright and colorful photo of a yellow and orange rose.

Start importing photos

Open Lightroom Classic on your computer. In the Library module, click the Import... button to open the Import window.

Note: If you've inserted a camera memory card into your computer, the Import window may open automatically.

The Library module of the Lightroom Classic interface with the Import button highlighted.

Choose import settings

You can import from your computer, an external hard drive, or a camera into your Lightroom Classic catalog.

Importing from a computer or hard drive:

  • On the left, select the hard drive and folder(s) of photos to import. If you don't see your photos, make sure Include Subfolders is checked.
  • In the middle of the Import window above the image thumbnails, click Add to import without moving the photos to a new location.
  • In the upper-left corner of the thumbnails, you can uncheck any photos you don't want to import.
  • In the right-hand panel, you can choose additional import options.
Lightroom Classic Import window with highlighted overlays indicating the two steps needed to import photos from a location on your hard drive.

Importing from a camera

  • On the left, select the camera memory card from which to import. Enable Eject after import to unmount the card from your computer when the import is finished.
  • At the top of the window above the thumbnails, click Copy (this may already be selected when you import from a memory card). The Add and Move options are not available when importing from a camera or a camera memory card.
  • Click the checkboxes on the thumbnails to uncheck photos you don't want to import.
  • Use the Destination panel to organize your imported photos (by date, into one selected folder, or by subfolders), and preview the import destination in your file structure. Set other import options in the right-hand panel.
Lightroom Classic Import window with highlights indicating how to import photos from a memory card and set the destination folder for imported photos.

Import your photos

Click the Import button in the bottom-right corner of the Import window to start the import process. Lightroom Classic automatically switches to the Library module, where the imported photos appear.

Lightroom Classic Import window with the Import button highlighted.

Edit and organize your photos

After your photos have been imported, they will appear in a Previous Import collection in the Catalog panel on the left side. You can also open the Folders panel to see the folder where the photos are stored on your hard drive.

Lightroom Classic Library module shows the Previous Import containing the imported photos.

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