Today’s Question: I am behind on assigning keywords to my photos in Lightroom Classic, and I wondered if an AI-assisted version might be coming in a future version of Lightroom (similar to my iPhone’s ability to search the photos on my phone and find an image I’m hunting for). Alternately, is there an external solution for keywords that might be less labor-intensive?
Tim’s Quick Answer: Lightroom Classic doesn’t currently provide automatic keywording or search based on image analysis, but there are options available from other developers.
More Detail: The cloud-focused version of the Lightroom desktop application does include a search feature based on image analysis, which is a feature that has the potential to make keywording somewhat obsolete. The Organizer application for Photoshop Elements also includes a similar feature. Lightroom Classic does not include this feature, but it is reasonable to assume it could be added in the future since other Adobe applications include the feature.
There are also similar solutions from other developers, including tools for automatically adding keywords to images based on image analysis.
One such option is a plug-in for Lightroom Classic called Excire Search. I’ve tested this tool and found it to be helpful, with features for both searching for images based on image analysis and adding keywords based on the same analysis. If keywords are important to your workflow and you’d like a tool that helps automate the process of adding keywords, it is definitely worth taking a look at the free trial of Excire Search. You can learn more on the Excire website here:
https://excire.com/en/excire-search/
Another option is Peakto. I was given an in-depth demo by the company and was very impressed. However, I’ve not had the chance to spend much time with Peakto on my own. Peakto is unique in that it acts as a host for various sources of photos, including Lightroom Classic. This may be interesting to photographers who are managing various photos with different software, such as a combination of Apple Photos and Lightroom Classic. One of the top features is automatic keywording, which is a good reason to consider Peakto if keywords are an important part of your workflow. You can learn more about Peakto here:
https://cyme.io/products/peakto
