Today’s Question: Is there a way to move DNG files from [Lightroom mobile on an] iPhone [or Android smartphone] to Lightroom Classic on a MacBook, other than via Adobe Creative Cloud?
Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can use the option in the Lightroom mobile app to export photos in the original DNG capture format to the photos app on your smartphone. That, in turn, will enable you to import the original DNG files directly into Lightroom Classic on your computer.
More Detail: The Lightroom mobile app is really designed to synchronize images from the Lightroom or Lightroom Classic desktop applications. That means that when you capture photos using the Lightroom mobile app, the photos will appear automatically in your catalog in the Lightroom desktop application you’re using to manage your photos.
It is possible, however, to directly download the photos to your computer. You would just want to be sure you aren’t creating duplicate images by having the Lightroom mobile app synchronize to your Lightroom application on the desktop. This can be a bit tricky if you will otherwise be keeping your smartphone connected to the Internet.
That said, it is possible to export the DNG files. If you want to export multiple images, first browse your photos in the grid view display and tap the ellipsis icon (the three dots) at the top-right of the Lightroom mobile interface. From the popup menu that appears, choose Select. This will put you into select mode, so you can tap or tap and swipe) to select photos.
When you are finished selecting the photos you want to export, tap the Share button at the bottom of the screen. From the popup menu that appears, choose “Export as”. From the File Type popup choose “Original”, and then tap the checkmark icon at the top-right of the screen.
This will export the selected photos in their original capture format (such as Adobe DNG) to the photo app on your camera (meaning Photos on iPhone or Photo Gallery on Android). You can then connect your phone to your computer and use the Import command to import all images, including the DNG captures from the Lightroom mobile app.