Using iPad Pro as only photography editing tool

[Suspenders]

Hi all,

Has anyone replaced their computer with an iPad Pro to use exclusively as their editing set up for photography (and some videography)?

I picked up an iPad Pro 12.9" recently and used it from start to finish to edit a quarantine photoshoot (of my wife) and was very happy with my workflow / results.

This is what I did:

- Shot pictures on my Sony A7iii
- Connected a SD Card reader to USB C directly to my iPad Pro
- Created a new folder in the file management system and imported all of the photos
- Opened Lightroom for iPad
- Imported the raw files from the created folder into Lightroom and edited them
- Exported the final edits to another created folder within the file management system, then exported the ones I wanted to post / share directly to my photos
- Connected my external HD to my iPad Pro via USB C and moved the edited photos via file management system to the external HD and deleted it from my iPad

I also edited a video via Lumafusion doing something similar (imported video files directly from my SD card shot on A7iii).

I have a 2014 15" MBP which I used exclusively for photo & video editing, but I'm now considering doing all of my edits on the iPad Pro.

As for screen size, even though I edit at home, screen size hasn't been a huge factor for me and I found editing on the 12.9" to not be an issue. I also value portability... i.e. I don't like sitting in one location to edit.

I mainly shoot portrait, engagement & events.

Would definitely appreciate your feedback & experience.

Cheers.

 

[whiteonline]

That sounds like a reasonable workflow.
I have found *exclusive* iPad is just not there yet. But it pairs well in my workflow.

I am using the Adobe cloud for storage which allows me to bypass the file manager (import directly into LR). I have LR CC on my MacBook and set it store all the original files to an external USB for cloud backup. Where the iPad shines is for editing (many call culling). I do much of my retouch on iPad as well, but being able to sort and flag on the sofa is very convenient.

Sometimes I want to use Capture One, so I'll find the raw in my backup (or just export it from LR) and work it from there, and import the retouched tiff into LR and back into the cloud.

The only place this really falls down for exclusive iPad is printing. But again, since everything is in cloud, I can move to a connected machine and handle that without much effort.

 

[Suspenders]

Thanks for your input.

I agree that the iPad does shine with being able to flag and sort on the sofa. On my Macbook, I was using Lightroom (not CC), so the switch to Lightroom for iPad has been seamless (for me) to edit. I think the only thing I've noticed that I can't do (that I sometimes would do) is duplicating a photo if I wanted to edit it 2 different ways. I'm sure I can find a workaround for that.

Regarding printing, I have a Canon Pixma Pro 100 and am able to use their app to easily make prints from my iPad wirelessly. That being said, I don't know if I would have been able to setup this printer without a computer. Also, I don't think I am able to trigger any maintenance (i.e. nozzle cleaning) from my iPad.

Because of small quirks like that, if I do decide to sell my MBP and use my iPad Pro exclusively, luckily I do have an older PC laptop that could be used for situations like that (if they ever arise).

Still not sure on what I'll do, but interested to see if anyone else has done something similar.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I went through a time where an iPad was all I used, and edited RAW, no less. It works just fine if you are casual to maybe enthusiast. I wouldn’t want to do it as a pro, at least not to lean on full time. Supplemental it could work for sure.

 

[Suspenders]

I went through a time where an iPad was all I used, and edited RAW, no less. It works just fine if you are casual to maybe enthusiast. I wouldn’t want to do it as a pro, at least not to lean on full time. Supplemental it could work for sure.

Out of curiously, why do you think it wouldn’t be feasible to do as a pro?

Genuinely curious.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Out of curiously, why do you think it wouldn’t be feasible to do as a pro?

Genuinely curious.

Largely, there's the volume in which you would be working, and you'd probably want a nice big display to cut down on zooming and panning. Ergonomically, I wouldn't want to spend hours a day on the iPad doing this type of work--a nice comfortable workstation seems essential for your long term physical health. As it is now, neck and shoulder issues are more common, and a lot of that is due to how much time we spend hunched over our devices (so says a couple physical therapists I've talked to, anyway). It's just a hobby for me, so at most, I'm looking at a handful of shots daily, with the occasional burst of a few hundred photos on an outing. I have no deadlines, so editing can be at my own leisure. The iPad is an incredible device, but it's still largely a single-task-at-a-time device, and file management is still not as quick as on a desktop. It's getting there, as when I tried this experiment, you had no option to import photos anywhere but the Photos app. Made it more clunky.

 

[Suspenders]

Thank you. Appreciate your post.
One of the reasons I’ve considered an iPad Pro only approach is that for my day job, I use a 14” PC Laptop all day, and have no issue responding to emails, creating presentations, and working with spreadsheets.

I figured a 12.9” iPad Pro might be okay for me. But only time will tell.

 

[mofunk]

I haven't replaced my MBP and go solely iPad pro because I like using the 15in screen size. I'm on my 2nd iPad Pro10.5 which was a replacement cause of dead pixels. 2nd iPad ...dead pixels too. I'm not jumping yet...I want to see if the iPad Pro can last as long a MBP and will the processing speed slow down?

I'm not sold on it yet.

 

[cupcakes2000]

I’m a professional portrait photographer. I have largely replaced most of my edit workflow with my iPad Pro 12.9. It’s really a dream for it. I can’t replace my Mac completely yet, mainly due to lightroom classic ability to store and manage my massive photo library, which is stored on my NAS. I have a TB of adobe storage, but it’s not feasible to upload every RAW form every shoot to the cloud, just to be able to use lightroom CC as intended. If lightroom mobile could work in this way, then I believe the Mac replaceable.

To that end, I have a Mac MIni 2918 i7 32gb ram acting as a Lightroom ‘Server’ almost.This is connected to my DS 1618+ synology server which hold the raw Library. Both are controlled via my iPad.

I ingest via the mac, cull via my ipad in Classic using SideCar. Put the selects into a LR classic sync sync folder, then edit using my ipad in lightroom. I then export the edits via Classic.

It’s a bit clunkier than a mac only approach, for now at least - but this is vastly outweighed by being able to use an apple pencil and iPad Pro. Plus lightroom mobile is extremely fast when compared to classic. The only problems really are more advanced edits, using photoshop. There are good equivalents on the ipad, which are fine, but as you can only sync previews to edit via lightroom, I dont have immediate access to RAWS for use in external editors. It’s a huge limitation, which the only way of getting around for now is to use sidecar via the mac. this works fine, but obviously you need a mac.

If lightroom mobile could see and read from a library on my NAS, or via a direct attached external drive in the manner a mac could, then that would be a dream.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I’m a professional portrait photographer. I have largely replaced most of my edit workflow with my iPad Pro 12.9. It’s really a dream for it. I can’t replace my Mac completely yet, mainly due to lightroom classic ability to store and manage my massive photo library, which is stored on my NAS. I have a TB of adobe storage, but it’s not feasible to upload every RAW form every shoot to the cloud, just to be able to use lightroom CC as intended. If lightroom mobile could work in this way, then I believe the Mac replaceable.

To that end, I have a Mac MIni 2918 i7 32gb ram acting as a Lightroom ‘Server’ almost.This is connected to my DS 1618+ synology server which hold the raw Library. Both are controlled via my iPad.

I ingest via the mac, cull via my ipad in Classic using SideCar. Put the selects into a LR classic sync sync folder, then edit using my ipad in lightroom. I then export the edits via Classic.

It’s a bit clunkier than a mac only approach, for now at least - but this is vastly outweighed by being able to use an apple pencil and iPad Pro. Plus lightroom mobile is extremely fast when compared to classic. The only problems really are more advanced edits, using photoshop. There are good equivalents on the ipad, which are fine, but as you can only sync previews to edit via lightroom, I dont have immediate access to RAWS for use in external editors. It’s a huge limitation, which the only way of getting around for now is to use sidecar via the mac. this works fine, but obviously you need a mac.

If lightroom mobile could see and read from a library on my NAS, or via a direct attached external drive in the manner a mac could, then that would be a dream.

I believe On1 is attempting something like that. Not everything goes to the cloud, but everything is available across all devices. It just came out, so I haven't looked into it that closely.

 

[kenoh]

Can anyone comment on the import directly into LR piece please? I shoot jpg+RAW (dont know if I even need to do this anymore) and I tried an import direct into LR last week and it gave me the JPG and the RAWs separate. Has anyone resolved this? or do I have to just switch for RAW only capture? (jPG used to allow zooming in to check details on location)

 

[cupcakes2000]

I believe On1 is attempting something like that. Not everything goes to the cloud, but everything is available across all devices. It just came out, so I haven't looked into it that closely.

very very interesting-looks very cool. It’s first I have heard of this, thanks!

 

[satinsilverem2]

I would say I do about 90 percent of my editing on my iPad. The only time I really do any editing on my Mac is if I’m having to do batch edits or use Luminar. Althought since Catalina and Sidecar came to light I do use that with my Apple Pencil with affinity photo.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

This thread has inspired me to go back to editing primarily on the iPad. I’ve not been totally happy with my options on desktop, but I had some really good success in the past using Photos+Affinity Photo. Also, I like the ease of integrating with iCloud for easy sharing, and for having access to my entire photo library. iCloud + Windows just isn’t as clean, but there isn’t a Mac I’m really interested in paying for at the moment.

 

[Ledgem]

I don't do any editing on my iPad, because my computer screens are way larger and I'd imagine it makes image editing a lot faster. But these days I don't have much time to spend on the computer, and this makes me rethink whether I might be able to offload some tasks like image culling to my iPad or iPhone, to chip away at in short bursts. I don't think I can do it with Capture One, but this gets me thinking about other things I might be able to do to loop those devices in...

 

[stillcrazyman]

I use my iPad to occasionally edit using Photos, Polarr and Darkroom. I still prefer to use the desktop apps (ON1, Luminar, etc.)
I would like to see more 'serious' apps come to the iPad though.

 

[seadragon]

I‘m using my iPads to edit and manage my photos. Been doing so for a few years now. Also have the photography plan from Adobe. Very happy!