How I Manage My Photography Workflow on the Road (No Laptop Needed)

I just got back from a week exploring California's Central Coast, and this trip was a bit different from my usual photography outings. Instead of packing a full kit, I challenged myself to travel light—really light. I brought just one camera, the Fujifilm X100VI, and an iPad Pro. That's it.

Despite the minimal setup, I still followed my usual workflow for backing up and managing photos, all while staying mobile. If you’re looking to simplify your travel kit without sacrificing your process, here’s how I handled it.

What I Packed

Camera Gear:

• Fujifilm X100VI

• 512GB SanDisk SD card

• Two third-party spare batteries

• Filter adapter ring (not included with the camera)

• Maven magnetic filters: linear polarizer + 10-stop ND/CPL

Tech Gear:

• 12.9-inch iPad Pro (M4) with Magic Keyboard

• 4TB SanDisk SSD

• Cable Matters USB-C hub with UHS-II SD card reader and USB ports

My On-the-Road Workflow

My workflow has two main parts:

1. Photo Backup Process

I always maintain three copies of my images while traveling:

• Primary copy: The original RAW+JPEGs on the SD card.

• Secondary copy: Backed up nightly to the external SSD via the iPad Pro’s Files app.

• Tertiary copy: Synced to the Lightroom cloud when Wi-Fi is available.

If my laptop back home is on and Lightroom is open, it pulls down the originals from the cloud and stores local copies, giving me a bonus fourth backup.

Backup Walkthrough:

Using the Files app on the iPad:

• Connect the SD card and SSD to the iPad through the powered USB-C hub.

• Create a folder structure by date on the SSD (e.g., California Trip > 2025-07-04).

• Copy all files (RAW + JPEG) from the SD card’s DCIM folder to the SSD.

• Repeat daily. I never erase the SD card until I’m home and verified everything.

2. Importing into Lightroom Mobile

Once photos are backed up to the SSD, I import RAW files into Lightroom Mobile:

Steps:

1. Launch Lightroom Mobile and create a new album (e.g., 20250706 – California).

2. Tap the import icon and select Connected Camera/Card.

3. Filter by RAW only if you're shooting RAW+JPEG on a single card

4. Select the RAW files you want to import and tap Import.

5. Lightroom saves them locally on the iPad and, with Wi-Fi, uploads them to the cloud.

📌 Tip: Make sure your iPad has enough local storage to handle the import. Lightroom uploads originals to the cloud, but they first land on the iPad.

Why RAW+JPEG?

Fujifilm’s film simulations are baked into the JPEGs, not the RAWs (although you can apply camera matching profiles to the RAW files in Lightroom). Shooting RAW+JPEG lets me:

• Keep JPEGs for quick previews and film recipe references.

• Edit RAWs later with full flexibility.

I usually only import the RAW files into Lightroom since that’s where all my editing happens.

What I Learned Traveling Light

This setup proved you don’t need a lot of gear to maintain a professional-level workflow. With just one camera, an iPad, and a few essential accessories, I was able to:

• Keep multiple backups of my files

• Begin organizing and editing on the go

• Ensure everything synced to the cloud automatically

It’s a great reminder that good workflows don’t require heavy gear—they just need to be intentional.

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