Syncing to Lightroom Classic. Workflow pt.8

Pt 7 left us copying images from shuttersnitch via finder to the desktop machine which I mentioned, i just archive and do not store in my Lightroom library. I prefer to synchronise the images from the mobile platform to the library using the Adobe sync mechanism.

All of my images are synced to a single folder (on a drive that is backed up every 6 hours). I prefer not to use the date formatted sub folders as this leads to an awful lot of folders containing my iPhone images (as I use the Lightroom app on my phone to take selfies, snaps and stock images).

The images are synchronised in to collections that match the name of the album that was created on the iPad. I then use this collection as the name of a folder I create manually and move the images to that folder.

As you would expect from the earlier posts, with the synchronised images only containing the title field in the metadata, I always complete the rest of the information so I can locate any image in the future. I use two plugins in my lightroom to help me manage the metadata.

Although the latest version of Lightroom allows the display of the metadata panel to be customised, I still prefer to use the Metadata preset builder from Jeffrey Friedl. My custom view is shown below. the key is it allows easy creation of a view with larger fields so the whole caption can be read.

The first stage is to select all of the images in the collection. All of the following tasks are supplied to all the images. First I apply my copyright preset. Presets can be configured to only affect specific fields. See Below.

Only ticked fields are added to the image

Once the copyright is added. I ensure auto-sync is enabled (in grid view) and add the data into all of the fields in the panel (hence the custom view) except the caption. This is because the caption varies according to the title.

Now I use another plugin; J B Search and Replace . This plugin has a powerful Caption Builder that is very similar to the way Photomechanic works.

The key is to build up the caption using a combination of free text and other metadata fields from the image(s)

A basic preset which builds the caption from the title, event name, location and date.

With all the images selected the Write Caption Field button runs through each of the images building the relevant caption. Photomechanic without doubt is one of the fastest captioning tools on the desktop if setup correctly. Using this tool is very similar, helping to caption images in Lightroom post event.

The final metadata task is to add the Keywords . I use a combination of Structured Keywords for common items plus a set I have devised myself for the sort of events I photograph. I have created Keyword Sets to speed this up.

The next post (the final post of this workflow series) will cover how I manage to keep on top of which images I have not yet edited or captioned… (with yet another plugin)

I look forward to your comments on this post as there are probably quite a few lightroom users are unaware of help that plugins can provide to this already powerful system.

Until the next post…..

J x

Getting images out of ShutterSnitch (workflow pt. 7)

A very short post on how to get the images out of ShutterSnitch and on to a main PC. The app, when running offers two methods of connection: FTP or Webdav (accessible using Finder on a mac). The username and connection settings are shown in the main settings dialog for ShutterSnitch, it is this username plus the password configured when the ShutterSnitch was first set up that are used to connect.

ShutterSnitch only shares the current image collection (hence me putting into a single collection) so confirm the settings as above and then switch to the collection to transfer before attempting to connect.

Here I am using the Connect to Server tool from the Go menu in finder on my MacBook. Note the use of the webdav port listed above in conjunction of the IP address of the iPad setting on the WiFi network (the IP address for the iPad can be found by using the i icon in the network settings.

The image files are listed as expected and copy/paste etc can be used to copy them into the required folder. Once copied ok, I delete them.

This image shows the images in Photomechanic after copying.

I do not actually add the images I send vis ShutterSnitch into my Lightroom Library, the sent ones I keep just as an archive of images “just in case”. My main Library/Archive is maintained by synchronising Lightroom Mobile to my MacBook based main library before carrying out a minimum number of housekeeping steps before they are filed away.

The next post will detail these housekeeping steps before I move on to other tools use in my Workflow.

As ever,, any questions or thoughts? Get in Touch!

Putting it all together (Workflow pt. 6)

Camera, Images, Action !!

To paraphrase a well known saying. If you have followed these last few posts you will know that we are sending images from Lightroom Mobile to ShutterSnitch where we have configured Metadata & FTP locations to send the images to. Now lets tie it all together.

Accessing the gear icon for the actions.

The sliding arrow points to the action that will be applied to each image as it arrives in the application. So what does this particular action do?

That action on my system, changes the file name to suit the destination (I wont break this down – it should be self evident once you add this task to your action) then it applies one of the Metadata presets (as I showed a few posts back). Finally it exports to the FTP location.

The clever bit being that if the send to the location is a success , the action “Sent Alamy” is also run. What does that do?

It applies another Metadata Preset (one that only sets the rating and label).

Then it moves the image to another collection “ALL SENT”

This (hopefully) leaves the initial collection empty as all the images move out of it as they are sent. Any that do remain need re-sending.

The final 2 images of this post show Lightroom and ShutterSnitch sitting side by side on the iPad screen (use the 3 dots to set up split screen view) allowing editing to continue as ShutterSnitch sends.

This post ends the workflow as it is on the iPad itself. The next post will start to look at how I work on the desktop, moving the images off of the iPad, consolidating the images in the main library and other processes that have really advanced my workflow. (Beware – Lightroom plugin’s ahoy!)

Any comment or questions – get in touch!

Quick FTP Setup of ShutterSnitch (Workflow pt 4.5)

This post is just going to be a very quick How To configure sending images to an FTP server.,

I mentioned previously that the key to this app are the Actions and this is where we need to head to configure sending. Use the gear icon in the collection to access then click Edit.

Create a new task

Name it then click + at add a task

The only task we are going to add (at this stage) is to Export to a Location

Next the list of available locations are listed. (So we can define a number of locations – have listed a number of agencies, folders etc). Click Edit to create a new one and the green + next to FTP.

Enter the FTP details required (probably provided by the agency, client etc).

Note we can configure particular processes to happen as part of the sending task for example sending a re-sized version of the image or kicking off additional tasks if the send was successful.

The next post will put the metadata and sending posts into an action that handles the image as it arrives in ShutterSnitch.

I look forward to your comments.

Have You Meta data ? (iPad Workflow pt 4)

This post is a duplicate from one a few years ago but with some additional ideas for using collection names with a few more examples showing how flexible the system is.

From our last post we are at a point where we have exporting images from Lightroom to a collection of images in ShutterSnitch with key information (main image description) in the title field.

Note: I have totally skipped actions which ShutterSnitch may apply to arriving images at this point – if you have actions defined, for the sake of setting up the MetaData, ensure “Do Nothing” is selected. This will make sense later.

The first issue is, where do we start with our data? Can we start with Photomechanic? The answer to this is yes we can. I export the XMP from PM into Dropbox and then on the iPAD, export the file into ShutterSnitch.

Note: If starting from a Photomechanic template, the variables will need replacing as the syntax is different.

Select file in DropBox / Export / Copy to Shutter / Create a Preset

The i Icon on the top toolbar switches ShutterSnitch to the Metadata Editor.

As shown in the above images there are a number of options along the lower screen. The left-most tool is the Preset Editor

The choices are just to select a preset or use the Edit button to edit the presets available (the usual iOS left swipe to delete) or click to edit. Hold down to duplicate an existing preset.

First a basic preset of mine (from a Kermode 3D show) where the caption is automatically built from the Title (as added in Lightroom) and a number of other fields. For this show I know the location and all the other details. The only things that change are the subject/person. In the image (Title) and the Date.

The blue circle tick to the right indicates wether the field is applied in the preset, so as we are using the title field from Lightroom this is unticked next to the Title/Object. Notice the %%titleObject%% – this is a variable .

There are far fewer in ShutterSnitch. They may be accessed from the tool hi-lighted above. Below is a typical preset driven by the Title/Object Name field with the date automatically added also.

Headline, Caption, Keywords and other metadata in the preset.

And the next example is the template I used at Glastonbury this year. Note. That I have brought the %%colname%% variable into play (Collection name). This gave me the simple solution for ever changing locations (or events), multiple image collections, one for each stage or location, sending images from Lightroom direct into the correct collection building a complex caption.

Hint: As we are driving the Title / Object Name from Lightroom, all of the above preset(s) could be applied to all images when selected and a quick check as you flick through will reveal all of the fields set. Alternatively they could be applied through an action automatically as the image(s) arrive from Lightroom (hint!)

Once the preset is created, other tools are available in the editor. Quick select strings (which are field sensitive, so create them in the Title field if that is where you plan to insert them) may be created and selected.

This enables a list to be built, maybe copying and pasting from a website before the event

Use *Split* *Screen* on the iPAD to *Copy/Paste* into *Quick Select* Strings

The final options are Shortcodes.

Press and hold to edit the available lists. Creating new Sets and editing are fairly straightforward.

In use Shortcodes are slightly less usable than in Photomechanic as after entering the code (however many letters you use), the Icon (tee-shirt) needs a quick click for the software to expand the code to it’s full length. Shortcodes do, however save on spelling errors and incorrectly titled subjects.

Once the metadata is added the images can be sent (most likely using FTP ). The next post will look at configuring the FTP before we start putting it all together in an action that automates the whole process.

More Soon. As ever – let me know what you think.

iPad Workflow Part 3 : Exporting

This post is a much shorter post than the previous one, just looking at the options for getting the edited and titled images from part 2 out of Lightroom mobile and on to somewhere else.

Although commonly known as the share icon in iPad parlance this icon in the top right of the screen essentially provides the export functions of Lightroom (but with far more limited options).

Each of the 4 destinations I have hi-lighted above have pre-set settings that are independent from one another.

First lets look at my Export to Camera Roll settings, you can see i write a jpg with the size limited to 1500px on the longest edge. If you know Lightroom well you will know you rarely need to export images at 100% quality. The Camera Roll exports also include my text watermark (nothing fancy, settings shown below).

The thing about the watermark is that unlike the desktop version of the application, this watermark is shared across all of the export options in all of the cloud based applications. It can be disabled in some exports and enabled in others but when it is enabled, it will always point to the same single watermark.

The final set of options are as follows , providing the final set of expected controls for an exported image. In all exports I expect we would all include all metadata and as far as File Naming is concerned, I felt a combination of the date along with the original file name (that from the camera) is the safest option for a unique name.

My Exports to Camera Roll are only really used for my posts to social media. When sending images out to press or clients, the Share To option is the one is use with settings that corresponds to this use.

Obviously larger files and no watermark. (My Export to Files settings mimic these options just in case I which to use iCloud, Dropbox or my ZoHo WorkDrive to deliver images to a client, all of which are accessible from the iPad Files app).

Finally if editing in another application, the full image size and quality should be used.

Having set the options up, the best way to export a number of images in one go is to be in Grid View (as with the desktop app, use the G shortcut) and long select (press and hold) a single image. The app will switch to multi-select mode. Tap each image to send or, select all of the images by using the icon in the upper left (circled in red). Note in this mode, the Share (Export) icon has moved to the bottoms of the screen.

Selecting the Share To option following the export, the following options appear (on my iPad, your apps and settings may differ)

If your required option for the image is not listed (or is too far down the order), scroll to the bottom of the list and Edit Actions to control the standard list that always appears.

The key here for the next step is the Copy to ShutterSnitch as this is the action that sends a group of images as opposed to a single image to the tool I use to complete the caption/metadata and send on to the client/papers.

That however is the subject of the next post or two..

I hope you found this post on exporting images from Lightroom useful. please let me know your comments, thoughts or questions.

Until next time…

Mobile Workflow Overview

I mentioned in my last post that these writings would be more about my workflow, thoughts and practices and less about camera equipment reviews.

The next few posts will revisit my mobile workflow and the use of the iPad as a very serious tool (laptop replacement), starting with this very basic overview.

A very poor iPhone image of my iPad in its keyboard case

My mobile (travel) kit consists of;

IPad Pro M1
Gold and Cherry iPad keyboard case
Apple Pencil
Apple Magic Mouse (Series 2 preferred)
Lightroom Mobile (Adobe photography plan inc. Photoshop)
ShutterSnitch

Lightroom Mobile & ShutterSnitch running in a split screen

One of the key improvements over the last couple of years of using the iPad has been the multitasking (various split screens, slide over etc) and later posts will show how the applications can work together in a similar way to a full blown computer (mac or otherwise).

The workflow outline:

Create Collection in Lightroom for job
Import from memory cards direct into collection
Select and edit photos in lightroom
Add titles
Create a collection in ShutterSnitch for the job
Share images to ShutterSnitch collection which completes the captioning and sends via ftp
Archive the images

Lightroom during the image selection and editing process

The next post will start to detail the intricacies of using Lightroom efficiently and outline some possible pitfalls (there are a few!).

Until then.

ShutterSnitch Metadata Editor – A quick look

The last two posts on mobile workflow have raised a few questions from readers on how I deal with metadata. I thought I had dealt with it in previous posts (admittedly a long while back) but re-reading them it seems I had not covered everything.

Therefore this is just a quick overview. I am actually looking at running a course or two on this mobile workflow in the UK this year in conjunction with theBPPA. If you are interested, please let me know and I will send out booking information if and when…

A quick apology for the image I have used in this post – it was all I had on the iPad at the point I outlined this post.

From our last post we are at a point where there is a collection of images in ShutterSnitch either with or without metadata in the title field.

The i Icon on the top toolbar switches ShutterSnitch to the Metadata Editor.

As shown in the above images there are a number of options along the lower screen. The left-most tool is the Preset Editor

The choices are just to select a preset or use the Edit button to edit the presets available (the usual iOS left swipe to delete) or click to edit. Hold down to duplicate an existing preset.

The blue circle tick to the right indicates wether the field is applied in the preset, so if using the title field from Lightroom this would be unticked next to the Title/Object Name. Notice the %%titleObject%% – this is a variable, much the same as the Photomechanic variables although they are named differently.

If using Photomechanic , the variables will need replacing. There are far fewer in ShutterSnitch. They may be accessed from the tool hi-lighted above. Below is a typical preset driven by the Title/Object Name field with the date automatically added also.

Note: It does not seem possible to add variables into the keywords at the moment.

If driving the Title / Object Name from Lightroom, the above preset could be applied to all images when selected and a quick check as you flick through will reveal all of the fields set.

This enables a list to be built, maybe copying and pasting from a website before the event

The final options are Shortcodes.

Press and hold to edit the available lists. Creating new Sets and editing are fairly straightforward.

All that is left after adding the metadata is to send using FTP or other Actions which are well covered towards the end of this post.

There are many more options are settings but hopefully this will get you moving. As always, please ask any questions in the comments to that others can also learn.

Lightroom Mobile 5.1 Workflow & Exporting

Last week I wrote about importing photos into Lightroom directly from the camera/card. This week I will continue with the next stage of my workflow. Yes I have written so much about iPAD workflows, this is because unlike my Mac workflow, my iPAD workflow is continually evolving as the software and platform develops.

The result of last week’s post was a named album of images for a project. All with just the basic copyright metadata and no other information.

My iPAD Pro is fitted with the keyboard cover and I also use the pencil with it. These 2 additions make important improvements to the workflow.

The first step is to pause the syncing (in fact I do this before the import as it is safer if the images are on the iPad only). Next enable a filter – to show only unflagged photos.

Click on the first picture and switch to edit mode. If the image is to be rejected hit the X key (just as in the desktop version). Due to the filter, the image will be hidden and the next image displayed.

If the image is a keeper, adjust as required, switch to the metadata view (the i icon) and type the basic subject in the title. (this will be picked up later – if many are the same, use cmd-c to copy the text to be pasted into the next image). Switch back to edit and press p to select (tap in the image area). The image is flagged and the next image is displayed (due to the filter).

Repeat until no images remain.

What happens next depends on your requirements. Maybe switch the filter to rejected, select them all and delete before un-pausing the sync to upload the images to the cloud and desktop.

To transmit the images to the newspapers or agencies, switch the filter to display flagged images only. These are the keepers.

Note: As an aside, the fastest way I have found to select all the displayed images is to hold down on a single image until it is selected, then click the box in the upper left corner. It changes from a minus sign to a tick. The share button can now be clicked to export the images.

Each export option contains it’s own settings which are far more detailed than in previous releases. Use the More Options to expand the settings. As each has it’s own settings it is now possible (for example) to configure the Save to Camera Roll to save a smaller image with a watermark suitable for social media whilst the Share To… option exports an image suitable to newspapers

Another big step forward is the share to now enables a direct export to a shuttersnitch collection.

I will not go into detail into shuttersnitch again as I have covered it so many times in detail. However I will show that the Title we added in Lightroom Mobile has indeed transferred and if used carefully, the metadata presets can build a full caption.. I will go into the shuttersnitch metadata editor in the next post.

A preset without a title but with a caption built from the title and capture time….

Once captioned the image are sent using the relevant action(s). See here for exporting actions…

This workflow shows images coming direct from the camera into Lightroom, on to the end recipient without hitting the photos app once, make the whole process faster and easier to manage.

Let me know your thoughts, I would like to hear from you.

Julie

ShutterSnitch

Due to an overwhelming number of requests, here is more detailed guide of using ShutterSnitch with Fujifilm X-Series Cameras.

This is probably my most information-laden post to date. There is a lot of information here as it details configuration of the camera and software taking the image from the camera to the client via ShutterSnitch.

I am going to ignore SD card import as when use the SD Card I tend to move the images though Lightroom Mobile before transmitting via ShutterSnitch (so joining this workflow at the point of adding the metadata and transmitting).

Previously ShutterSnitch was heavily based on Actions (a series of actions carried out on an image either upon receipt of the image or by user action). With the addition of the Image Adjustment and Metadata Editing add-ons (accessible from the options menu), my use of the software has shifted slightly.

‘Snitch can connect to the x-Series cameras to receive images exactly the same way as the Fuji app, with both Push from Camera and Browse and Download both being available via the Camera WiFi button. In addition the app can also serve as a tether server, receiving images directly from the camera as they are shot. As I have covered the standard WiFi functionality in the past here, I will step through the tether setup quickly.

In ShutterSnitch, ensure support for Fujifilm WiFi is enabled, accepting only jpgs.

Whilst in the settings, it may also be a good time to look at your jpg compression settings (for resizing & sending).

Next to set up the camera. Tethering is where the iPad really works. Enable the hotspot and connect the camera to this hotspot through the connection settings. It is not the simplest and will probably require a couple of attempts (apologies for the poor images – they were taken with the phone whilst on a train):

Note in the image above how the Resize for SmartPhone 3M is turned off. This setting has been responsible for a great many queries on “my images are small” (I’ll be honest, I have also sent smaller than planned images to Picture Desks also).

To connect to the iPad you will need to use the Manual Setup option, waiting for the Camara to find the Wireless HotSpot.

Once setup it is easy to flip between the normal mode of saving images to the card (PC Shoot Mode – Off) , or tethered to the iPad (PC Shoot Mode – Wireless Fixed). Remember, the app will only connect to a camera when in a Collection. The small LED on the camera will indicate the state of the tether:

With the app in a collection and PC Shoot Mode set, the LED should flash red, then amber as it looked for the app, finally flashing Green when ready.

Note: The camera will switch to a single shot mode when tethering – CL & CH modes are not supported.

All of the information I have seen suggest that in Tethered mode all images are sent to the host application and none remain on the card. My findings point to that being true on an X-T2 with no battery grip. However (and this is a key feature for me), with a battery grip and the camera sent to record both RAW & JPG with Save Data Setup set to RAW / JPEG (ie. RAW images to slot 1 and JPG to slot 2), the JPG images are sent to the iPAD whilst the RAW images remain on card 1. This enables me to do a quick edit and send from the JPG’s on location, with the safety of being to go back over the RAW images when I have time for a more considered edit at the office.

Finally the images are on their way to ShutterSnitch but what now?

This is where Actions may first be applied. Before you enter your collection, from the Options menu, Select Actions and decide what the app will do with every image as it receives it.

My workflow here assigns basic Metadata for the images I’m shooting. I create my basic metadata in PhotoMechanic on my Mac, saving it to a transfer folder on Dropbox. Moving to Dropbox on the iPad, select the relevant file and then the Export option picking Copy to ShutterSnitch (you may need to enable that in the sharing … More )

And create an Update Metadata Action (note can also save as a Metadata Editor Preset for later):

Title the Action, double check the Metadata and back to Tasks to save.

Moving the pointer to this task will ensure it is run on every image as recieved.

As stated above, switch to a collection and the camera (in tether mode) should find the app. If using the traditional WiFi connection, Start the WiFi on the camera and connect the iPad to the camera’s hotspot before moving to the collection – as you move you will be prompted wether to Browse and Download or Push from Camera.

Images will appear, with Jump to New Images enabled (button at the right end of the filmstrip), the latest image will show. The description may or may not be displayed depending on a setting in the main options.

Once loaded the image may be edited with the Image Adjustments add-in, accessed from the top title bar.

Most of the adjustments are obvious- one interesting aspect is the crop/zoom at the top. The usual iOS interface of using 2 fingers to zoom and pan the image work here – if in zoom mode, it is the standard zooming in and out to check the image, in crop mode, the image is being cropped as displayed. The aspect ratio may be selected from the lower right.

A useful shortcut when cropping is the 2-finger double-tap – this will rotate the image back straight (well as straight as you took it), i.e. zero rotation, leaving the zoom as it is.

The Metadata add-in is also selected from the Titlebar.

Again, this is mostly self evident. The buttons under the image enable moving from image to image as well as filtering the images and tagging the current.

The buttons under the data are:

Apply Preset (either created earlier as discussed as above or from the current data)
Choose which fields should be displayed and in which order (move the most import data to the top).
Revert to original Metadata.
Copy MetaData
Paste Metadata

If I am working on a very urgent job, I send images individually as I edit them and I have a specific action for this. Otherwise I send in a batch, using Colour Tags and filters to display my selection for sending.

Pressing the standard iOS share button on the title bar enables the selection of images for the action.

One of my favorite features here is the select all following option, I select the 1st image of my set to send, then press the select all following to select the the rest.

Pressing the actions (cog) icon on the titlebar displays the available actions. The key here is just to press the action you need, DO NOT move the pointer as this will select the action to be run upon image import!

I have a number of export actions which work in different ways depending on the recipient.

They are all similar, renaming the file using the collection name and then sending to a particular outlet.

Note the Pre-Process option under the Export Location, this enables the resizing of images to suit the use (compression settings are in the main options as mentioned above).

As well as the image delivery action for clients, you will see I have archiveactions which copy the images to a folder in dropbox for me to add to my main Lightroom catalog back in the office.

While the editing and captioning tools are not as comprehensive as say the combination of PhotoMechanic and Lightroom/Photoshop , this workflow does provide a very workable and light-weight way to process and transmit images very quickly.

As ever, I hope it makes sense. Any question, please comment below 🙂

The next posts will feature my thoughts on the 27mm Pancake lens on both the X-T1 and X-T2 and long term thoughts on the 100-400 with the 1.4 converter.

J x