How Can I Recover Missing Photos in Lightroom?

Theo Lucia

Dec 16, 2024 • Filed to: Recover Files • Proven solutions

Do your lightroom app displaying the message ‘The File couldn't be found’ when you are trying to access the particular photos in the app. If this is right, then you surely are looking for ways to recover the missing photos in the lightroom. So, here we are going to provide you several different ways which you can literally use for recovering your lightroom missing images and also going to provide the reasons for missing photos in lightroom as well. 

Why Missing Photos in Lightroom?

There might be several different reasons due to which the lightroom images go missing and few of those reasons are mentioned below: 

• Firstly it could happen when you edit the name of the image or related folder saved in the files explorer. 
• Secondly when you might be moving the image file or relevant folder from its original location. 
• Thirdly you actually may have deleted the photo or linked folder from the file explorer. 
• And the other reason probably arrived when you were ejecting your external storage media device or making it offline as well. 

So, these might be a few reasons due to which your photos in lightroom went missing. And if your images have truly gone missing then you absolutely need to look for the following ways for the purpose of recovering your images in Lightroom. 

Ways to Recover Missing Photos in Lightroom

Way 1. Using Find Missing Folder option

This is the first way which you can adopt for recovering your data. For using this method, follow the given steps:

• Go to the search bar.
• Here search for the ‘File Explorer’.
• In the File Explorer window, choose the ‘View’ tab. 
• Then go for the hidden files and folders options.
• Finally choose the ‘show hidden files’ option. 

This way you will be able to see your missing folders. 

Way 2: Locate missing photos from Lightroom

The second way of recovering your missing lightroom photos is to locate them within the lightroom app. Now there might be two possibilities here. 
The first possibility is that your missing lightroom images could exist in the folder panel of the lightroom. And this folder may be showing to you with a question mark (?). If this is the case, then you can get back your missing folder from your storage drive and further be able to restore the links to the catalog as well. For doing this, follow the given steps:

• Firstly right click on the folder with the question mark (?) sign.
• One drop down menu will appear on the screen. Here choose the ‘Find Missing Folder’ option. 
• After this, simply navigate to the file path where you previously had saved your lightroom images in your storage device.
• Finally press the ‘Choose’ button. 

By doing this, your photos will be relocated in the lightroom. 

Further, as we already mentioned above, there might be a second possibility as well where your photos could be found in the grid view of the lightroom. Here you are going to find a folder with the exclamation sign (!). If this is the situation, then you again have the chance to recover your missing photos from your storage drive and further can restore the links to the catalog as well. For using this procedure, follow the given steps: 

• Firstly right click on the image icon having the exclamation sign (!).
• One dialogue box will appear on your screen. Here you only need to note down the last location name of your missing image. 
• Now simply tap on the windows key button and go to the search bar. 
• In the search bar, type ‘name of your missing photo’.
• Here if you find your missing photo in the search results appear in front of you, then simply note down its current location. 
• Further, when you tap on the image, a new dialogue box will appear. Here simply choose the ‘Locate’ option. 
• Now navigate to the last location path which you already have noted. 
• Press the ‘Select’ button. 

Lastly, cross check whether ‘Find nearby missing photos’ is selected or not. By doing this, you will be able to relocate your photos in the lightroom again. 

Way 3: Rename Photos as referenced by Lightroom

The third way which you can adopt for recovering your missing photos in the lightroom is to rename them. You only need to adopt this way if you already have changed the name of the related image in the File Explorer. This means you need to rename the photo with its original name as already given by the lightroom app. 
Now for doing this correctly, follow the given steps:

• Firstly go to the previous location of that photo which you think is missing in the lightroom. 
• Here note down the name of the photo and its original location as well. 
• Then navigate to the current location of the photo and rename it as its original ones. 

By doing this, you will be able to relocate your missing photos back in the lightroom. 

Way 4: Move Photos or Folders back to its correct location

Now this is the fourth way of recovering your missing photos in the lightroom. Here you are required to move back your photos and folders as well to its original location. 
If you don’t want to remove these photos from its current location then simply you can also place these photos alternatively at its original location as well. And for doing this successfully, you can follow the given steps:

• Firstly go to the last saved location of your missing photo which you choose from the lightroom. 
• Now go to the File Explorer.
• Here choose ‘This PC’.
• Then go to the ‘Search Bar’ and type the name of your photo or folder.

• From the appeared sear result, select your photo or folder.
• Now tap on the ‘Open File Location’.

• And finally move the photo or folder to its original location. And you can also keep a copy of this at its current location. 

This way, you will be able to recover your missing photos in the original location and can keep them at its current location as well. 

Way 5: Check deleted photos from your Recycle Bin

The next way of recovering missing photos in the lightroom is to check for the deleted photos from the recycle bin. This method can be adopted when you think you might accidentally delete a particular folder which contained the photos stored in the File Explorer. Now for following this method, checkout the below steps: 

• First of all double tap on the ‘Recycle bIn’ Icon.
• Here search for the folder name that you think you might have deleted. 
• If you find your required folder, then choose your desired items. 
• After this, press the ‘Restore’ button. 

Now if by chance, you have also deleted your recycle bin data then you can follow the system restore method. 

Way 6: Restore deleted photos by using the System Restore

Another way of recovering your lightroom missing photos is to adopt the procedure of system restore which you can do in following steps:

• Press the ‘Start’ button. 
• Here type ‘Control Panel’ in the search bar and select the option from the results. 
• Now search for the ‘Recovery’ option in the Control Panel. 
• Then choose ‘Open System Restore’.
• Press the ‘Next’ button. 
• After this, you need to select the restore point for the lightroom app.
• Then again press the ‘Next’ button.
• And finally click the ‘Finish’ and you will be able to get back your missing images in the restores windows system.

Way 7: Recover deleted photos by using a photo recovery software

Here if you didn’t find your photos in Lightroom even after adopting the above methods then you certainly need a software solution for solving your problem. 
So, here you can utilize the Wondershare Recoverit software for recovering your missing files. With the help of this software, you will be able to recover your lightroom images which were previously stored in your system but they might have been deleted now. 

Now it is very easy to use ‘Wondershare Recoverit’ software for which you only are required to follow the three quick steps:

Step 1 - Select Your Drive

First of all choose your drive from where you want to recover your data. 

Step 2 - Scan Your Drive

Now you need to scan the drive by simply clicking on the ‘Scan’ button. 

Step 3 - Recover Your Data

After completion of the scanning process, all you need to do is press the ‘Recover’ button for getting your photos back. 

This way you will be able to recover your all data in three easy steps. 

The Bottom Line

Here in the given content, we have mentioned a few different reasons due to which your lightroom images went missing. So you can check for your reason accordingly. Further, whatever be your reason, here we have also provided so many different ways which you can certainly use for recovering your missing photos in lightroom. All the ways which are provided in this given content are easy to adopt and result oriented as well. Hence, use these effective solutions and get your lightroom images back. 

People Also Ask

Can you recover deleted photos from Lightroom?

Yes, it is possible to recover the deleted photos in the lightroom. For doing this, you simply need to pick the images in the lightroom that you want to restore. Then press the ‘Restore’ icon. Apart from this, you can also do it in another way by directly landing on the lightroom desktop page and then use control-click (macOS) or right click and choose windows. Then pick the image that you want to restore. By doing this, you will be able to access the required photo along with other images which are already stored in ‘All Photos’ or in any other album created by you previously for your selected images. 

How do I recover lost photos from Lightroom preview?

For Recovering your photos from the lightroom preview, you can directly go to the ‘Edit’ Menu. Then choose ‘Preferences on Windows’. And if you are looking for your Mac system, then first you can choose ‘Lightroom’ and after choose the ‘Preferences on macOS’. Then go to the ‘Presets’ tab and finally press the ‘Show Lightroom Presets Folder’ button. With this, you will be able to access your lightroom folder either in the Windows Explorer or in Finder.  

Where are my previously imported photos in Lightroom?

Your previously imported photos in lightroom are by default stored in the library module. For accessing these files, you need to specifically go to the Folders Panel. Then open this panel and look for the folder name which you think contains your image files. Here one thing you certainly require to know is that whichever image you import to the lightroom, it's by default stored somewhere in the Folder Panel of the lightroom. Apart from that, these same folders also save on your desktop screen. 

Where are Lightroom Previews stored?

The lightroom previews files are by default saved in cache form as in [Catalog name] previews. Then, Irdata is also kept in the same folder as a catalog file which by default is named as [Catalog name]. Ircat. Now if you try to save the default catalog file separately from the cache file then lightroom is further required to regenerate the previews.