Today’s Question: I’m intrigued by the changes to Adobe Lightroom you’ve referenced. However, I’m wondering if Lightroom is still missing the Map module that is available in Lightroom Classic, as like you I do like to have my photos displayed on the map based on capture location.
Tim’s Quick Answer: While Lightroom (cloud) does not contain a Map module with the features found in Lightroom Classic, it does display a small map showing photo location for images with embedded GPS metadata, and you can click that map to open the applicable location in Google Maps in a web browser.
More Detail: Because the location where I capture my photos tends to be information that is meaningful and helpful to me, I very much appreciate the Map module in Lightroom Classic. In the Map module I can browse a map showing the location for all photos in the current storage location (including my entire catalog) with a pin on the map showing the location of all photos that have GPS coordinates in metadata.
In the cloud-focused version of Lightroom there isn’t a Map module, but there is a small map. When browsing metadata for a photo that includes GPS coordinates in metadata, you will see the coordinates reflected in the GPS field of metadata and a small map with a pushpin that shows the location of the photo.
While you don’t have the ability to navigate on that map shown on the Info panel in Lightroom, you can click on the map thumbnail to open a window in your default web browser showing the location of the photos in Google Maps.
So, while you’re not able to browse a map of all photos in Lightroom the way you can in Lightroom Classic, you can still review the location of photos with GPS metadata in the context of the map, and browse that specific location in Google Maps in a web browser by clicking on the map thumbnail in Lightroom.
My upcoming comprehensive course on the cloud-focused Lightroom desktop application (including coverage of GPS and other metadata) is currently in production and available at a discounted price until all lessons are published. You can get all the details on the GreyLearning website here:
https://www.greylearning.com/courses/mastering-adobe-lightroom-cloud-2024
