Importing Photos
for the First Time
Before editing and improving your photos with Lightroom Classic
CC, you need to import them into the program’s database.
Depending on the size of your collection this could take a while, so
it’s best to set aside some time.
1 The first step after installing Lightroom Classic CC for
the first time is to import your photos into the program’s
catalogue. Lightroom uses this catalogue to organise your photo
collection and to help you find them by applying keywords and
other search criteria. By keeping a separate database it means
that the files on your hard drive are not affected.3 On the next screen, you’ll see a message saying ‘Please
select a source’. In the upper left you’ll see a list of the
storage devices attached to your system. If you want to import
photos from some other source, such as a USB flash drive, you
need to plug it in now. Lightroom will add it to the drive list as
soon as it’s detected.2 When you open Lightroom for the first time, you’ll see a
blank screen with the words ‘No photo source selected’ in
the middle. To get started with importing your photos, take a
look in the bottom left corner. You should see a button labelled
Import. Click on this and you’ll be taken to a new screen to begin
the import process.4 Click on the drive that contains the folder from which you
wish to import your images and you should see all the
folders on that drive displayed in the file-tree on the left of the
screen. Navigate to the correct folder and click on it. Lightroom
will immediately begin searching that folder for image files,
including any sub-folders.36 BDM’s Made Easy Series | Volume 22
GET STARTED WITH LIGHTROOM CLASSIC CC