Lightroom Classic: Are star ratings created from other programs read by Lightroom?

As long as the two apps write to the same EXIF tag that is doable.  Do you already have a NAS?  If so what make? Synology and QNAP both have an app called Photo Station where you can star rate.  However, you will need to read the tags from file in LR to pick up the ratings applied by your partner.  There is a risk of star wars. :)

Why don't you just use Lightroom mobile on an Android phone or tablet, by signing in you can rate photos

With LR Classic you can do this using Adobe Bridge, which is available for FREE:

http://prodesigntools.com/free-adobe-bridge-cc.html

EDIT NOTE: If your partner needs to see the files with your Develop edits the below Bridge workflow requires using DNG files. With any other file format (CR2, NEF, JPEG, etc.) your partner will need to use LR for this purpose. The benefit is that there is no need to share the LR catalog file.

There are a few caveats or potential for "star wars" as Paul mentioned. You'll need to apply the Develop settings and any Library metadata to the image files using 'Save Metadata to File' (CTRL/CMD +S) after completing your editing. This will create XMP files with that data when using raw files and write that data directly to DNG files. If using JPEGs, TIFF, PNG, or PSD files you'll need to check the 'Catalog Settings'  'Include Develop settings in metadata inside JPEGs, TIFF, PNG, and PSD files' option in the Metadata tab.

Your partner can than view the images in Bridge, which will appear with your Develop settings and any Library metadata applied. Star ratings can then be applied and will automatically be written to the file's XMP metadata. Once completed you'll need to use Library menu Metadata> 'Read metadata from file' to load his ratings into the LR catalog so they are visible to you. If you also want to use labels then you'll need to change LR's Library module menu Metadata> Color Label Set to 'Bridge Default.' If you need to run the files back to your partner after star ratings have been applied AND you've applied further edits then you'll need to use 'Save Metadata to File' (CTRL/CMD +S) for all shared files to add the updates in XMP metadata. Otherwise, the changes will not show in Bridge.

Once you understand the required XMP metadata "synchronization" it's pretty simple process. Just make sure you both don't edit the same files time at the same time.

Wow, thanks for these terrific responses!

Paul, I’ve invested in a Synology. Since you mentioned it, I gave photo rating in Photo Station a try, and then later syncing it with LR. It worked! But I’ve found the actual process of assigning a rating to an image pretty slow in this program. No simple pressing the number 0-5, it was buried in a menu. I’m thinking of suggesting that to be made easier from the folks at Synology, and could see how this could work in a mobile setting as well.

John Zerfas, I think this must be the app I had heard about but I couldn’t find. Probably because I’m currently running iOS exclusive right now. This would have likely been a great option for me. NUTS!

Todd Shaner, I had no idea that Bridge would run without a paid CC subscription. This is a revelation to me. I’ve been able to experiment with this process and it seems to work very well! Though this still must be done in front of a computer and not mobile, it definitely solves the problem of the photo library being locked to a single LR Catalog on one computer.

Thanks, everyone!

Paul, I learned early on that having a defined meaning for those star ratings is key For me,

0 = unrated or not really worth a second view.

1 = At least worth something 

2 = Best of a set of images, like if I snap eight images at the same time, three could be labeled “1,” and the best of those gets bumped up to a “2.”

3 = Best of the day

4 = I’m definitely printing this.

5 = Put this up on a wall somewhere.

EVERYONE has completely missed the easy answer: The Adobe Web interface! He can login via any browser to https://lightroom.adobe.com, sign in with your Adobe ID (or you sign him in on his device, and save the password so he doesn't have to know it), and then he can do that anywhere online!

Carlos, perhaps the "new" LR CC would work, but I'm sticking to Classic for now. Thanks!

Carlos' suggestion does work with LR Classic for remote image file access and applying Star ratings and Pick flags. You can also use LR CC Mobile on iOS or Android devices for this purpose. The primary limitation when using LR Classic is that the uploaded images are Smart Previews with 2560x1440 maximum resolution. In addition most mobile devices don't have calibrated screens so it's difficult to determine "finite" sharpening, tone and color rendering. For general composition evaluation it should work fine. More here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/help/lightroom-mobile-desktop-features.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/mobile-apps/help/lightroom-mobile-faq.html

I believe the Star Ratings from On1 Browse (if you want to use that to cull images and only import good images to Lr not all, like is required currently in Lr since its a catalog not an image browswer) will include your stars.

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Hi, I'm also wanting to collaboratively rate photos with another (hired) partner, preferably without sharing my login credentials. I've tested this using Photo Station and Moments on my Synology NAS, as suggested above, but it's fairly clunky and thumbnail generation is painfully slow. Has the last year revealed to the OP or anyone else which solution works best?