Today’s Question: I was looking at the Web module in Lightroom [Classic CC] for possible use sharing photos with clients, but then learned that you can only share these galleries if you have your own website. Is there an easier way to share images online with clients using Lightroom?
Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can easily share a gallery of images by synchronizing a collection of images using the Creative Cloud, and then sharing that gallery via a link you can email to clients.
More Detail: The option to synchronize photos to the Creative Cloud is only available with the Creative Cloud version of Lightroom, and in this context specifically Lightroom Classic CC. In other words, this feature is not available for the “perpetual” license version of Lightroom, which has now been discontinued by Adobe.
The first step in sharing a gallery in this way is to synchronize a collection from Lightroom on your computer. You can create a new collection, add photos to the collection, and then make sure you’re signed in (this option is available by clicking on the Identity Plate at the far left of the top panel). Next, turn on the checkbox to the left of the collection name, and a “sync” icon will appear that looks something like a horizontal lightning bolt.
Once the photos have synchronized to the Creative Cloud, you can view those photos by pointing your web browser to https://lightroom.adobe.com and signing in to your Adobe Creative Cloud account. Navigate to the collection (album) in your browser, and then click the Share button shown above the thumbnail display of the images in the album.
In the popup that appears, click the “Share This Album” link. Then, on the Share tab, click the “Share this Album” button to confirm you want to share the images. On the next page you can set additional options, and copy the link provided. Click “Done” to finalize the share.
You can then send the link you copied to anyone you want to be able to view the images in your synchronized collection. Note that those you share the album with can “like” and comment on the photos as well, provided they too sign in with an Adobe Creative Cloud account.