Uploading to SmugMug from LightRoom, can it do what I need it to do?

BillCKM · December 22, 2016

I'm a long-time pro photographer but new to LightRoom. I have the SmugMug plug-in for LightRoom. Here's what I want to do:

I'm working in LightRoom. I've got a screen with several hundred four- and five-star picks that have been corrected for color and exposure and cropped, in LightRoom. I want to upload these images to a new gallery in SmugMug, keeping the corrections and crops intact. I can see ways to modify galleries AFTER I have uploaded images, or synchronize galleries, but if there are clear and understandable instructions on how to do what I just described, I haven't been able to find them.

Is there a way to do this without first outputting the images from LightRoom into a file on my computer, and then uploading that to SmugMug?

Many thanks for all help.

leftquark · December 22, 2016

Yep! That's exactly what the lightroom plugin does. After you've finished editing and cropping your photos, pop back into the "Library" module in Lightroom (not Develop) and at the bottom left, you'll see a Publish Service for your SmugMug account. You should see a list of all of your folders and galleries. You can use the plugin to create a new gallery if you'd like (right click on the Folder and choose "Create Gallery"). All you need to do is then drag your photos from your Lightroom library into the proper gallery in the SmugMug Publish Service, and then click the "Publish" button (either in the lower left or upper right). The photos will get uploaded to SmugMug without you first having to export them (it temporarily creates an export on your computer, uploads the JPG, then deletes the temporary file). I love doing it this way because it means I don't need to store JPG's on my computer -- saving my HD lots of space!

The Lightroom Plugin keeps track of whether or not a photo has been edited after its been uploaded to SmugMug. If you re-edit a photo that's already sync'd to SmugMug, the LR Publish Service will mark it as "Items To Be Re-Published" and you just need to hit "Publish" again to get the latest version on SM!

BillCKM · December 23, 2016

Leftquark-- Many thanks. The problem is that I do not see a list of folders and galleries, which means there is probably a sync setting that I have to put into place first. Also, it looks like I will need to go into SmugMug and create a new folder if I want to keep events separated. Is that correct, or can I create new folders in LR?

pilotdave · December 24, 2016

In the library module of lightroom, find smugmug under publish services and right click on it. Under Publishing and Syncing, check the Sync Folders and Galleries checkbox and then hit the Sync Now button. When it finishes, you'll see all your folders and galleries in the publish service area. You can create folders and galleries in lightroom.

leftquark · December 25, 2016

@pilotdave beat me to it -- just make sure to "Sync Folders and Galleries", and also "Sync Photos" and it should do all the behind-the-scenes stuff!

Uploading to SmugMug from LightRoom, can it do what I need it to do?

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