Lightroom not seeing PM entered IPTC data.

[Whistlingmike]

I always enter a certain amount of IPTC data on importing from CF cards and then add a bit more before importing the images into Lightroom. For some reason, with my latest import, some of the images are not showing this data. I removed the images from the catalog, removed the folder from the catalog, and quit Lightroom. I opened the folder of images again in PM and there was the IPTC data, just as I had believed was there, in fields such as Keywords, Description/Caption, Creator/Photographer, Copyright, Credit,... and many more.  I tried this one more time, reopening - importing in Lightroom, and they still don't appear. Any suggestions?  Michael Lichter  (I am using a MacBook Pro Retina with a 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 using 16 GB of memory and 750 Gb of solid state drives [APPLE SSD SM768E]). 

[Kirk Baker]

I always enter a certain amount of IPTC data on importing from CF cards and then add a bit more before importing the images into Lightroom. For some reason, with my latest import, some of the images are not showing this data. I removed the images from the catalog, removed the folder from the catalog, and quit Lightroom. I opened the folder of images again in PM and there was the IPTC data, just as I had believed was there, in fields such as Keywords, Description/Caption, Creator/Photographer, Copyright, Credit,... and many more.  I tried this one more time, reopening - importing in Lightroom, and they still don't appear. Any suggestions?  Michael Lichter  (I am using a MacBook Pro Retina with a 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 using 16 GB of memory and 750 Gb of solid state drives [APPLE SSD SM768E]).

What image file types are you working with?

Please post a screenshot of your IPTC/XMP settings in the Photo Mechanic Preferences dialog.  Use the 'Attachments and other options' link when you're composing your reply to this message and there you'll be able to upload your JPEG format screenshot.

Thanks,

-Kirk

[Whistlingmike]

Here is the screen capture.  I have a couple of other questions that I might as well ask at the same time as they may be related -
1. After I save a folder of images as DNG's (converting from RAW to DNG in Lightroom) and open it in Photo Mechanic, when I zoom in to 100%, the image size for the entire image is just 1024 x 681, so I can't view critical details. What am I doing wrong here.
2. My second question is more open ended so I should probably address this after the other questions are answered, but to just get the dialogue started, in my normal work flow, I do most of my editing in PM and then bring the images into Lightroom for additional editing, basic color work and then to make web galleries. When I do this, it seems I can never go back to PM with the images as it has created conflicts in the files.  Is there anyway to safely go back and forth between the programs other than converting to DNG's, which is what I was trying when my #2 problem above manifested itself.
Thanks for your help, Michael Lichter - www.lichterphoto.com

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[Kirk Baker]

Michael,

Here is the screen capture.  I have a couple of other questions that I might as well ask at the same time as they may be related -
1. After I save a folder of images as DNG's (converting from RAW to DNG in Lightroom) and open it in Photo Mechanic, when I zoom in to 100%, the image size for the entire image is just 1024 x 681, so I can't view critical details. What am I doing wrong here.

You need to choose a higher quality preview setting in your DNG conversion.

2. My second question is more open ended so I should probably address this after the other questions are answered, but to just get the dialogue started, in my normal work flow, I do most of my editing in PM and then bring the images into Lightroom for additional editing, basic color work and then to make web galleries. When I do this, it seems I can never go back to PM with the images as it has created conflicts in the files.  Is there anyway to safely go back and forth between the programs other than converting to DNG's, which is what I was trying when my #2 problem above manifested itself.

Make sure you never embed XMP in your RAW files when using Adobe products.  If you must embed any metadata in your RAW files, then only embed IPTC.  Our recommendation is to only use XMP sidecar files for RAW files intended for use with Adobe products.  Set PM to also read XMP sidecar files first, and then embedded IPTC and lastly embedded XMP.

If you embed XMP you will have problems with Adobe's products.  XMP sidecar files are the way to go.

You'll have to force Lightroom to always update the XMP sidecar files when you make changes in Lightroom (otherwise it only updates its internal database) and you'll also have to use the Metadata menu to force Lightroom to read the updated XMP sidecar files when you return from making changes in Photo Mechanic.

HTH,

-Kirk

[Whistlingmike]

Hello Kirk.  Thank you for your reply and all the information. This will take a bit for me to digest, but I wonder if I shouldn't mostly stick with my workflow plan that once I finish with PM and take files into Lightroom, I don't go back to PM?  Another possibility that I have been thinking about is creating DNG's of my final edited images, in which case, could I go back and forth with DNG's between Lightroom and PM without having all these problems (and without having to be so careful about where IPTC data is written to) or is it the same whether it is RAW or DNG? By the way, I should have mentioned that I shoot Nikon - NEF RAW files, should that make any difference.

[Kirk Baker]

Mike,

This will take a bit for me to digest, but I wonder if I shouldn't mostly stick with my workflow plan that once I finish with PM and take files into Lightroom, I don't go back to PM?

That's for you to decide where your comfort zone is.  I can tell you that there a large number of people who use PM and LR together quite nicely and switch between the two applications at will with no issues.  It just takes a methodical approach to workaround LR's desire to be an all-in-one application.  Mostly it is just a matter of making changes made in LR reflected in the XMP sidecar files on the way out, and getting LR to read the XMP sidecar files on the way back in.

Converting to DNG is completely unnecessary unless you want to see your LR adjustments reflected in other applications like PM.

-Kirk

[Whistlingmike]

I understand converting to DNG may not be necessary and at there are some out there that are proponents of the conversion for other reasons. If I were to convert to DNG, am I correct in thinking you could go back and forth seamlessly, making changes in LR that get seen in PM, and changes in PM that get seen in LR?  Thanks, Michael

[Kirk Baker]

Michael,

I understand converting to DNG may not be necessary and at there are some out there that are proponents of the conversion for other reasons. If I were to convert to DNG, am I correct in thinking you could go back and forth seamlessly, making changes in LR that get seen in PM, and changes in PM that get seen in LR?  Thanks, Michael

As long as LR always updates the DNG when you make changes and updates its internal state from the DNG when you return to it, yes.

-Kirk