Today’s Question: I was hoping I could find a way to back up the Lightroom Classic catalog but to also include the original photo files too. Is that doable?
Tim’s Quick Answer: Yes, you can back up both the Lightroom Classic catalog and all photos by using the “Export as Catalog” command.
More Detail: Lightroom Classic includes an option to back up the catalog that contains the information about your photos but doesn’t include a feature for backing up your actual photos. You will therefore need to use a separate workflow for backing up your photos.
However, there is a way to back up your Lightroom Classic catalog along with all the source photos referenced in that catalog using the “Export as Catalog” command. The caveat of this approach is that there isn’t an incremental option available. In other words, if you wanted to update an existing backup your only option would be to run through the (very) time-consuming process again.
That said, this can be a very effective way of creating a complete backup of all your photos and information contained in the Lightroom Classic catalog.
To get started, navigate to the “All Photographs” collection in the Catalog section of the left panel in the Library module. Make sure the Library Filter bar above the grid view display is set to “None”, so that all images are displayed. Then go to the menu and choose Select > None so that none of the photos are selected. This will ensure that all photos get exported, even though you haven’t selected any.
Next, go to the menu and choose File > Export as Catalog. In the dialog that appears, navigate to a location (such as an external hard drive) that contains enough storage space for your catalog and all photos. Enter a meaningful name in the “Save As” field, and make absolutely sure that the “Export negative files” checkbox is turned on. This will cause the source files to be copied, along with a copy of the catalog. You can also turn on the “Include available previews” checkbox if you want the previews included so they don’t need to be generated later.
With the settings configured, click the Export Catalog button. This will initiate the process of creating a duplicate copy of the current catalog, and copying all photos to the designated location as well. Note that your existing folder structure will be maintained with the backup copy you are exporting.
Note that “Backing Up Your Photos” is the subject of one of the classes I’ll be teaching at next week’s Lightroom Virtual Summit 2025. You can sign up for a free pass (and learn about the benefits of upgrading to a VIP Pass) here:
https://timgrey.krtra.com/t/WBNmS5VZolXc
