Why are my photos missing in Lightroom?

Most of the time though it will be missing from the Lightroom catalogue because you have moved the file or folder to another location. The common cause is when you back-up files to an external hard drive or you rename a folder.

How do I restore a folder in Lightroom?

Restore a backup catalog

1. Choose File > Open Catalog.
2. Navigate to the location of your backed up catalog file.
3. Select the backed up . lrcat file and click Open.
4. (Optional) Copy the backed up catalog to the location of the original catalog to replace it.

How do I find a missing folder?

Open File Explorer by clicking the File Explorer icon on your taskbar. In the upper right of the Explorer Window, there is a Search box. The search will look in all the folders and sub folders in the current location. Try searching for the exact name of your lost file.

How to find missing photos and folders in Lightroom?

To do this, right-click on the Lightroom folder with the question mark and choose “Find Missing Folder…” This will open up a window that will allow you to manually navigate to where the files are now located. If the folder has just been renamed, it will rename the folder in Lightroom and the relationship will now be fixed!

How do I get my photos back to Lightroom?

Manually navigate to the new location of that folder and select it. Click OK (Choose on a Mac). Lightroom will then update its catalog with this new location and reconnect to that folder and all the folders and photos contained within it. The key here is that you have to know where that folder is now located.

What to do when a folder is disconnected from Lightroom?

If the folder has just been renamed, it will rename the folder in Lightroom and the relationship will now be fixed! If your folder was disconnected because your external hard drive was turned off, just turn it back on. Lightroom will now detect these files and the question marks will disappear.

Where are the catalog files stored in Lightroom?

Due to the fact that Lightroom stores all the data about your photos in that catalog file and keeps a special folder (called a cache) full of previews of your photos alongside the catalog file, it is possible to open Lightroom and work with your photos (to a limited extent) when the actual photos are stored on an offline drive.