How can I import my Flickr photos and metadata into Lightroom?
Asked 8/11/2010
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I have many photos already uploaded to Flickr with tags, and I want to bring those photos into my Lightroom catalog along with their metadata. Ideally, sets/albums would come across too. A one-time import is fine, though two-way syncing between Flickr and Lightroom would be a bonus if possible. What tools or workflow can do this reliably?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
16y ago
2 Answers
5
http://www.flickr.com/services/apps/72157622874451890/
I can't vouch for it personally, it's just the best-seeming result for a search for "download" on the Flickr App Garden. It seems to hit all the right points:
- adds tags to EXIF
- folders for sets
- respects privacy settings (which you didn't ask for, but is worth mentioning)
This seems like enough to do a one-time import to Lightroom, and them use Lightroom as your primary sorting/tagging system going forward.
I'm not aware of any two-way syncing to Lightroom, and I'm not entirely sure it's possible. I haven't looked at the Lightroom API in a while, but I don't believe there's any possibility to automate additions or changes to the library.
Originally by user496. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user496
16y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—this is possible, but usually via third-party tools rather than Lightroom alone. Community recommendations mention:
- a Flickr downloader/import tool that can download your images, write tags into EXIF/metadata, and organize folders by Flickr sets/albums
- Jeffrey Friedl’s Flickr Lightroom plug-in, which is worth investigating for Lightroom integration
- FlickrMetadataSynchr, which users report can sync Flickr metadata with local originals and even download missing files
For a one-time migration, the simplest workflow is: download/export from Flickr with a tool that preserves tags/metadata, then import those files into Lightroom so Lightroom reads the embedded metadata. Some tools may also recreate Flickr sets as folders.
Two-way syncing is less certain. One answer specifically notes they are not aware of reliable Lightroom two-way library syncing, so it’s safest to treat Lightroom as your primary catalog after the import and maintain changes manually going forward.
If you try a metadata sync utility, avoid having Lightroom open at the same time while metadata is being changed externally, then reload/read metadata in Lightroom afterward.
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