How do I choose the five-star photos?
Start with the LR to Photos setup completed. In Lightroom Classic’s Library module, find the service under Publish Services. Create the rule there so it belongs to the plugin’s publishing workflow.
- Control-click the LR to Photos service and choose Create Published Smart Collection….
- Name it something clear, such as Five-star favourites.
- Add a Rating rule that matches five stars. Review the matching photos before continuing.
- If five stars includes more than you want on your phone, add another criterion, such as a keyword you use for finished pictures. Set the rules to match all your chosen conditions.
- Save the collection, select it and click Publish.
Adobe documents Smart Collection criteria, including ratings and keywords. The rule should describe the photos you actually want to share; a five-star rating alone does not mean an edit is finished.
Do newly rated photos appear on my phone automatically?
A newly qualifying photo joins the Lightroom selection automatically. You still click Publish to send it to Photos. That gives you a chance to check the selection and finish the edits before they leave Classic.
Think of it as three steps: the rule gathers the photos, Publish sends the copies to Photos on Mac, and iCloud Photos makes those copies available on iPhone. The plugin is not continuously watching your catalogue and sending every rating change.
You can make publishing a simple last step after editing: open the collection, review what is ready, then Publish.
Will the collection become a named Photos album?
Yes. In the service settings, enable Use Album and select Use collection name as album. A published collection named Five-star favourites then uses an album with that name in Photos.
The receiving album is an ordinary Photos album. The selection rule stays in Lightroom; it does not become an Apple Photos Smart Album. Use your iCloud-enabled System Photo Library to make that album available on your phone. The iPhone guide covers that setup.
Can I choose the pictures by hand instead?
Yes. Choose Create Published Collection… under the same service, then drag in your chosen pictures. This works well for a holiday album, a small portfolio or a set you want to share with family.
Use the ordinary published collection when you want to decide picture by picture. Use the Published Smart Collection when you already have a rating or keyword rule that expresses your selection. Both require Publish.
Can I put the albums inside a folder?
Set an explicit Root Folder for Albums in the service settings. For example, /Travel/2026 places a collection named Italy inside Travel → 2026 in Photos. Check the destination preview before saving.
Photos folders come from the path you enter. Lightroom collection-set nesting is not automatically recreated. Start with one clear destination for each selection; adding the same previously published photo to another destination is not a guaranteed way to populate a second album.
What if I lower a rating or remove a picture?
A photo that no longer matches leaves the Smart Collection’s selection in Lightroom. Removing a photo from a published collection does not delete its Photos copy or automatically clear it from the receiving album.
Review the album in Photos if you want to tidy previously published pictures. For changes to the image itself, follow publishing later edits and reviewing older copies. The album can contain pictures published earlier as well as the current Lightroom selection.