iPad Workflow with the Fujis.

I travel around my local area mostly by scooter so the ability to cut the volume of my kit has been a huge bonus. To aid with this, where possible I also switch to an iPad from a Mac Book (Pro). I need to carry some form of editing platform because as a press photographer I need to be able to send images to the paper as fast as possible, mostly even as the news item (event) is ongoing.

When working with an iPad I have basically 2 different workflows depending on the situation.

Sending images live to an Editor in the office.

The key to this workflow is Shuttersnitch. In fact you will see shuttersnitch is key to both my workflows. The app can be set up very similarly to the Fuji Photo Receiver app. In the settings all that is required is to enable Fujifilm Wi-Fi.

Once this is enabled the next step is to configure Actions. These are carried out when the App receives an image.

One action I have called “IPTC AND SEND LIVE”  for live sending has a number of steps:

• Update Metadata (This is created from a XMP file and update Copyright, Caption, Byline etc). See Note.
• Change Filename (This renames the file to my job scheme which is taken from the collection name, date & count.
• Export to an FTP server (for distribution)
• Export to Dropbox (for a copy and importing into my Lightroom archive).

This results in every image I send to the iPad being captioned, renamed and distributed.

How does this happen?

• Shoot JPG and RAW (JPG’s are needed for the sending, RAW just in case).
• Start WiFi on the X-T1. Connect iPAD to X-T1 WiFi. (The iPad is already connected to 4G)
• Switch to Shuttersnitch
• Select the correct “job” Collection.
• Select Push from Camera when prompted.
• Scroll trough the images on the camera, selecting those to be sent.

Editing small batches and sending

This is essentially the same as above but with a couple of added stages.

• The Import Action updates the metadata but then saves the image to the iPAD camera roll
• I then use either Pixelmator or PhotoGene to edit the images – curves, levels and maybe a bit of clarity.. Not a lot needed with the Fuji files.
• (Note: If its just for Social Media i will probably use Snapseed).
• I then switch to the job collection and re-import the images with No Action
• This enables me to re-check captions before selecting all the images and running an action that renames and sends as above in a batch, without changing the metadata (hence the long list of possible actions).

Note on using XMP IPTC data: There is a little known shortcut in Shuttersnitch, if you email  an XMP IPTC metadata file (from say Photo-Mechanic or Lightroom) to your iPAD, you can use the open-in attachment option to open the XMP file in shuttersnitch which will then create an action using all of the IPTC data embedded, not just that which can be seen on the shuttersnitch screen. I use this to set all my use guidelines etc.

SO. What are the problems?

Don’t forget to ensure the X-T1 is sending full size images (unless for social media when resize to 3M should be enabled).

One of the biggest problems is in the selecting of images on the camera. The sending process is very stable, as is the connection BUT it’s the actual selection process. Once the camera is in WiFi Send Mode (as I call it) all of the normal image zooming functions seem to be disabled. The scroll wheels just move between the images.

This is a big disadvantage and is what drives quite a few points on My Fuji Wish-list.

We NEED to be able to zoom in and out to check that the images are sharp before sending them. At the moment all we can see is the composition and exposure, I’m not sure why the rear scroll wheel cannot zoom with the front wheel switching images as it does when just viewing.

The same is also true for the Protect function, we need to be able to zoom in & check, this is why I think a single custom button in Playback mode would be useful to allow us to protect images with a single press (as the DSLR’s do), maybe the AF-L or AE-L?

There are problems with how he iPAD handles images also, but maybe I’ll go into more detail on that in the future. The next post will defiantly go back to being more camera orientated. In the meantime – let me know your thoughts, what is your iPAD workflow? What Apps do you use? What do you think of how I do it?