Pixieset Lightroom Plugin: Honest Review and Better Editing Alternative

Part 1. The Real Story About Using Pixieset in Lightroom

At first, using the Lightroom Pixieset Plugin seems pretty straightforward. Setting it up is a breeze, and once you're connected, it creates a "Publish Service" inside Lightroom where you can upload selected photos straight to Pixieset galleries, which is great for delivering to clients. No more manual exports or browser uploads required.

But, in practice, things start to get a little frustrating.

In some cases, it can be very slow when uploading photos, particularly when dealing with large RAW files or weddings and events. At times, the plug-in simply crashes and even fails to provide a proper error message. And as well, as long as you are publishing several galleries simultaneously, Lightroom performance may suffer a serious blow, particularly when you are operating on a mid-range computer. It is not the doomsday, but it impedes your editing process.

Another thing that can be a real pain is reliability. The Pixieset Plugin For Lightroom sometimes fails to show you the latest edits to your photos unless you manually republish them, which can be a real pain if you're tweaking the colour grading after showing the client a preview. It just adds an extra step and makes it more likely you'll send them an old version by mistake.

Part 2. Real Problems Photographers Face

We've been talking to lots of photographers who've used the Pixieset Plugin Lightroom, and the same issues keep coming up time and time again:

• Publish errors that mean you have to restart Lightroom
• Upload queues are freezing without giving you any progress updates
• The plugin disconnects after you do an update to Lightroom or your OS
• Not getting any helpful troubleshooting feedback inside Lightroom
• Slow performance if you're working with a really big catalog

These problems don't happen all the time, but they are frequent enough to mess with your workflow, especially if you're on a deadline.

Part 3. Getting the Pixieset Plugin Up and Running

Installing the Pixieset Lightroom Plugin is as easy as following the official instructions.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Grab the plugin from Pixieset's help page
2. Open up Lightroom Classic

3. Head to File → Plug-In Manager

   

4. Click on Add and choose the Pixieset plugin folder

   

5. Enable the plugin and sign in to your Pixieset account

   

Once it's all set up, the Pixieset Plugin for Lightroom should be added under Publish Services.

This works whether you're setting it up on a new machine or reinstalling Lightroom.

Getting the Plug-in Set Up Properly

After installation, making sure it's all set up right makes a big difference.

To set up Pixieset Plugin for Lightroom properly:

• Create a new gallery inside Pixieset first

  
• Make a matching Publish Collection in Lightroom
• Make sure to set your resolution and watermark settings carefully
• Test it with a small group of photos before you start uploading everything

Don't skip these steps - it's way more likely that you'll create duplicate galleries or have upload problems.

How to Use Pixieset Lightroom Plugin in Daily Workflow

How to use Pixieset Lightroom plugin efficiently:

1. Go through your final images one last time to make sure they're the ones you want to share - no rejects, no duds.
2. Break up those big uploads into smaller batches for the sake of your sanity.
3. Try to avoid getting too distracted while waiting for large files to upload - it's a good idea to let it do its thing without multitasking.

Part 4. The Pixieset Lightroom Plugin Works Best As A Delivery Tool

The truth is - Pixieset works best when you treat it as a delivery tool, not a live syncing system. Think of it like sending a package - you want to make sure it gets there securely and on time, but you don't necessarily need to watch it be delivered in real time

Compatibility Notes

The Pixieset Lightroom CC Plugin only works with Lightroom Classic - and if you're using Cloud-only Lightroom, or are super reliant on mobile syncing, you might find the plugin a bit limiting.

Is Pixieset Worth Paying For?

If you're a photographer who mostly just needs a good client gallery hosting solution, then Pixieset is a great choice. But for a lot of users, they find themselves paying mostly for hosting and then having to put up with a plugin that's got its fair share of quirks.

For the record - if you're more into editing and less into syncing, you might want to look at some alternatives.

Part 5. HitPaw FotorPea: A Seriously Useful Alternative on Photoshop

For professional-grade retouching and layer-based editing, switch to our Photoshop extension. Your current settings will be preserved for a smooth transition.

HitPaw FotorPea is a lot more focused on image enhancement - it doesn't replace Pixieset's gallery hosting, but it can seriously improve image quality before you send it off.

Why You Should Consider HitPaw FotorPea Instead

For a start, HitPaw FotorPea is a lot better at image enhancement than the Pixieset Lightroom Plugin - it's got AI-powered photo enhancement, faster processing without all the lag, and advanced sharpening and color correction.

It's especially good for portraits, events, and low-light shots - basically anywhere where image quality is going to be a big deal.

Conclusion

The Pixieset Lightroom Plugin is a convenient solution, but it's far from perfect. It can save you time when it's working smoothly, but it can also introduce a whole heap of reliability and performance issues.

And if you're after a clean workflow and top-notch results, you might want to look at pairing or replacing parts of it with AI tools like HitPaw FotorPea.