How to geotag photos in Lightroom Classic with a GPX tracklog
Lightroom Classic can geotag photos from a GPS track on its own, in the Map module. If you shoot a handful of outings a year and already live in Lightroom, that may be all you need. This page walks through it, then covers the cases where tagging the files before import is simpler.
Geotagging inside Lightroom Classic
- Get a GPX file. Export the outing from your GPS watch, handheld or tracking app as GPX, or record one on your phone.
- Load the tracklog. In the Map module, click the tracklog button (the zig-zag icon) in the toolbar under the map and choose Load Tracklog, then pick the GPX file.
- Line up the times. If the camera clock was wrong, or you shot in another timezone, choose Map ▸ Tracklog ▸ Set Tracklog Time Offset… (called Set Time Zone Offset before Lightroom Classic 12.2). The dialog shows the capture times of the selected photos next to the times in the tracklog; move the offset until they overlap.
- Tag. Select the photos in the filmstrip and choose Map ▸ Tracklog ▸ Auto-Tag Selected Photos.
Things to know
- It lives in the catalog. Lightroom stores the new GPS in its catalog. It reaches the files — or their XMP sidecars, for RAW — only when metadata is saved to disk, either with Metadata ▸ Save Metadata to Files or with automatic XMP writing turned on in Catalog Settings. Other apps will not see the location until then.
- The offset is in hours and minutes. Seconds of camera drift cannot be entered there, and you have to know the drift to begin with. Photographing a clock and comparing it with the capture time is the reliable way to find it — see why geotags come out wrong.
- You need a track. Lightroom does not record one. If you do not carry a GPS device, something has to log your position while you shoot.
When it is easier to geotag before import
Some photographers prefer the location to be in the files before Lightroom ever sees them — so every app, backup and client copy has it, with nothing to remember to save. That is the workflow EasyGeotag is built for:
- Record the track on your iPhone while you shoot, or use a GPX from any logger.
- Geotag the card's folder on your Mac or iPad. Each photo shows how closely it matched the track. Correct the camera clock to the second, or from one photo of a clock.
- Import into Lightroom. GPS, altitude, and the city, region and country in IPTC fields are already there, and the Map module shows every photo in place.
If the photos are already in your catalog, geotag the originals and then select them in Lightroom and choose Metadata ▸ Read Metadata from Files. For RAW specifics, see geotagging RAW photos.
Recording is free; geotag five photos free. Requires macOS 15, iPadOS 18 or iOS 18. Lightroom is a trademark of Adobe; EasyGeotag is not affiliated with Adobe.