Lightroom Classic to Photoshop: Lightroom Classic Import and AI Culling

Lightroom Classic to Photoshop: Lightroom Classic Import and AI Culling. This is the second video in my workflow using Adobe Lightroom Classic to Adobe Photoshop. In this episode we cover how to import from a memory card to an external hard drive. Next, I show you how quickly cull your images with both traditional and the new AI culling in Adobe Lightroom Classic.

Importing photos from an SD card to an external hard drive using Adobe Lightroom Classic is a straightforward process. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you through it:

Mastering Photo Imports in Adobe Lightroom Classic.

Step 1: Connect Your Devices

1. Insert the SD card into your computer or use a card reader.
2. Connect your external hard drive to your computer and ensure it’s recognized.

Step 2: Open Adobe Lightroom Classic

1. Launch Adobe Lightroom Classic on your computer.

Step 3: Open the Import Dialog

1. In Lightroom, click on the “Import” button located in the bottom-left corner of the Library module.

Step 4: Select the SD Card as the Source

1. On the left panel of the import window, you’ll see a list of devices under “Source.”
2. Locate and click on your SD card from the list. This will display all the images stored on the card.

Step 5: Choose the External Hard Drive as the Destination

1. On the right-hand side, under the “Destination” panel, click on the “To” section, which is where you choose where to save the photos.
2. Navigate through the folders to select your external hard drive.
3. Within the external hard drive, you can create a specific folder for the photos or choose an existing folder. If you want to organize the photos by date, you can select the “Organize: By Date” option, but would recommend “Into One Folder.”

Step 6: Set File Handling and Options

1. In the middle panel of the import window, under “File Handling,” you can choose how to import the files.

• Copy as DNG: Converts your photos to DNG format (a universal raw format).
• Copy: Copies the original files from the SD card to your external hard drive without conversion.

1. Under “File Renaming,” you can choose to rename the files during import if you prefer.
2. Under “Apply During Import,” you can select a preset (such as a color profile or metadata) to be automatically applied to the imported images.

Step 7: Import the Photos

1. Once you’ve set the source, destination, and options, click the “Import” button at the bottom-right of the window.

Step 8: Eject the Devices

After the import is complete:

1. Safely eject the SD card and the external hard drive from your computer.

Your photos will now be stored on your external hard drive and available in Lightroom for editing and organizing!

How to Use AI-Assisted Culling in Adobe Lightroom Classic

Adobe Lightroom Classic now includes AI-Assisted Culling, a tool designed to speed up the image selection process by analyzing photos for technical quality. It helps photographers quickly identify sharper images, better subject focus, and obvious misfires, making it ideal for large shoots such as events, portraits, or burst sequences.

What AI-Assisted Culling Does

AI-Assisted Culling uses machine learning to analyze your photos and evaluate factors such as:

• Subject sharpness
• Eye focus (when faces are detected)
• Eyes open vs. closed
• Overall technical quality

The tool does not delete images automatically. It provides recommendations that you can accept, modify, or ignore.

Enabling AI-Assisted Culling

1. Open Lightroom Classic.
2. Go to Edit (Windows) or Lightroom Classic (Mac) → Catalog Settings.
3. Open the Metadata tab.
4. Enable Assisted Culling or Auto Analysis.

Once enabled, Lightroom will begin analyzing images automatically after import or when selected in the Library module.

Using AI-Assisted Culling During Import

This is the most efficient way to use the feature.

1. Choose File → Import Photos and Video.
2. Select your source and destination as usual.
3. In the Import dialog, enable Assisted Culling.
4. Import your images.

Lightroom analyzes the photos in the background while they are added to the catalog.

After analysis, you can filter images based on criteria such as subject focus, eye focus, and eyes open.

Using AI-Assisted Culling on Existing Photos

If images are already in your catalog:

1. Go to the Library module.
2. Select a folder or collection.
3. Allow Lightroom time to complete the background analysis.
4. Open the Assisted Culling panel on the right.

You can now view AI-suggested selects and rejects and adjust the sensitivity to be more or less strict.

Reviewing the Results

The Assisted Culling panel typically separates images into:

• Selects – Images that meet your chosen quality criteria
• Rejects – Images likely to be out of focus or technically weak
• All – The full set for manual review

You can adjust sliders to control how aggressive the AI is when making recommendations.

Applying Flags and Ratings

After reviewing the results, you can:

• Flag images as Picks or Rejects
• Assign star ratings
• Apply color labels
• Move or delete rejected images later

All actions are non-destructive and can be changed at any time.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Manual Review

Even with AI assistance, manual review is still important:

• P – Flag as Pick
• X – Flag as Reject
• U – Remove flag
• 1–5 – Star ratings
• 6–9 – Color labels

These shortcuts integrate seamlessly with AI-Assisted Culling.

Best Practices

• Use AI-Assisted Culling as a first pass, not a final decision maker.
• Always review suggested rejects before deleting.
• Results are strongest for portraits and people photography.
• Landscape, wildlife, and abstract images may require more manual judgment.

Related Workflow Tip

AI-Assisted Culling works especially well when combined with Auto Stacking, which groups similar images from burst sequences, making it easier to choose the best frame before editing.