The complete workflow
From Photo Day to Lightroom.
GeoSidecar makes each handoff explicit, so you can confirm the route, camera clock, match confidence, Lightroom connection, and final catalog updates.
On iPhone
Start a Photo Day—or a Photo Trip.
Open GeoSidecar before the first photograph and tap Start Photo Day. For longer travel, create a two-to-fourteen-day Photo Trip; GeoSidecar keeps the trip together while starting a fresh Photo Day at each local midnight. Recording continues while the phone is locked, with pause, resume, and GPS-health status available when needed.
Record where you photograph.
Your iPhone will keep the route while the screen is locked.
Camera-clock calibration
Mark a reference photograph.
For the most dependable alignment, take a reference photograph and immediately tap I Just Took the Reference Photo. On Mac, pair that marker with its Hasselblad RAW file. GeoSidecar calculates the camera-clock offset rather than guessing.
Select the RAW photograph showing this iPhone clock.
Private synchronization
Finish and verify iCloud.
Tap End Photo Day when the shoot is complete. Wait for the green iCloud status before leaving the track behind. The completed route then appears in GeoSidecar on your Mac through your private iCloud account. After a trip, completed Photo Days can be selected in bulk on Mac for confirmed, synchronized cleanup.
First, in Lightroom
Import the photographs.
Import the shoot into Lightroom Classic before applying location. GeoSidecar updates the photographs that already exist in the active catalog; it does not add photographs to Lightroom for you.
On Mac
Match and review.
Select the completed Photo Day, confirm calibration, choose the folder containing your .3FR photographs, and click Preview Matches. GeoSidecar shows exact points in green, interpolated positions in blue, and anything needing review in orange. Low-confidence results are held back until you decide what to do.
Guided setup
Connect Lightroom Classic.
GeoSidecar checks for its Lightroom plugin and guides you through installation when needed. Open Lightroom Classic with the catalog containing the imported photographs, enable the plugin, and return to GeoSidecar when the connection is ready.
Lightroom plugin ready
GeoSidecar can now send reviewed GPS updates to the active Lightroom Classic catalog.
Confirmed catalog update
Apply GPS and verify completion.
Approve the preview and send the reviewed locations to Lightroom Classic. GeoSidecar preserves photographs that already have GPS, retries any deferred or failed updates, and reports exactly what was completed and what still needs attention.
Safety by design: GeoSidecar updates GPS in the Lightroom Classic catalog and never rewrites your original RAW photographs.
42 catalog updates confirmed
GPS is now applied to the matched photographs in Lightroom Classic.
Ready for the field?
Keep this guide handy, or visit support for permissions, synchronization, matching, plugin setup, and catalog-update help.