iOS version of Photo Mechanic

[Marziah]

Marziah Karch created topic
2 years ago on Fri, Sep 20, 2019 at 10:58 AM
A number of people have requested an iOS version of Photo Mechanic for use on iPads, particularly the iPad Pro. We may consider this for future development, but we are not making any announcements at this time.

However, we'd still like to hear from you. How would an iPad workflow look to you? Would you want a lightweight version that only has a few features or is this something you want to replace desktop use?

To show your interest in this please upvote by liking this post or leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you. Thanks!

42 people upvoted this

[jose]

Ideally, broadly speaking, my ideal work in the field would be very similar to the current workflow with the desktop PhotoMechanic:
- ingest the photos;
- view and select;
- fill in the necessary fields (with the advantages of variables, etc.);
- rename;
- transmit the images;

after this quick processing, finish selecting and archiving with PM+ on the desktop computer.

[russ@giffordweb.net]

I would like to replace my laptop with my iPad for times when I have to process and submit pictures at a game I'm covering.  I would like to ingest (with all the appropriate naming/tagging that I can do in PM) only my potential submissions (locked photos). I can't just show my locked pictures in a Lightroom import, I have to scroll through my disk and find/select the subset of pictures I want to import. I also can't do the shoot setup ahead of time like I can in PM and of course LR doesn't do the shortcuts for captions that PM does.

I can take that small subset of pictures into LR from PM very easily and make all the edits and adjustments that I need to make there.

This would reduce the amount of stuff (or at least the weight) that I have to carry to a game.

[flotoPM]

For me the PM-App could be have less functions

My workflow would be:

- ingest the photos with renaming of the files and apply iptc from Template (copyrights, contact, google, etc prepared at home before the shooting)
- view and select with stars
- fill in Caption, Headline, Keyword (all other fields would have been filled before with templates during the ingest) - no need of variable


Then moved the Raws and xmp to capture one on pc, or soon on their upcoming iPad/iPhone-App


transmit the images could be done with any other ftp-Freeware

Ideally, broadly speaking, my ideal work in the field would be very similar to the current workflow with the desktop PhotoMechanic:
- ingest the photos;
- view and select;
- fill in the necessary fields (with the advantages of variables, etc.);
- rename;
- transmit the images;

after this quick processing, finish selecting and archiving with PM+ on the desktop computer.

[PhiK]

I switched from Ipad to Samsung Galaxy Tab S7. An Android version would be very useful for me, no need anymore for an ios one...

[Wendyl]

iOS version please!
Copying José’s suggested needs/use: Ideally, broadly speaking, my ideal work in the field would be very similar to the current workflow with the desktop PhotoMechanic:
- ingest the photos;
- view and select;
- fill in the necessary fields (with the advantages of variables, etc.);
- rename;
- transmit the images;

after this quick processing, finish selecting and archiving with PM+ on the desktop computer.

[flyfifer]

My process flow would be very similar to Russ's. I suspect because it sounds like we are both sports photographers trying to get something out quickly after the game.

My desire for an iPad version of PM is purely for what I do at an event. As a result, I don't need the iPad version to allow me to edit a large number of images. I don't even really need it to be a part of my culling process. While I would find use for those two features at a large multi-day competition, I mainly need it to be a way of quickly identifying the images that I have highlighted in camera as being the main contenders to go out in the initial push to media.

Once I've done that, I'm happy to leave the venue and then use the desktop version of PM to do a broader cull and identify any other images that I should have considered but didn't recognise at the time and want to include in any less time-critical submissions or have as part of my archive.

With that in mind:

1. Set up my shoot variables in PM on my iPad ahead of the game so that they are automatically applied when I import into PM.
2. Flag key candidate photos in camera.
2. Open PM on my iPad and filter the import view to only show those flagged photos.
3. Select a subset of flagged photos that I want to process.

3a. In an ideal world, have some quick way to add variables to individual images such as players and teams shown in the image. But I could live without this step given I'm unlikely to be processing a significant number of images at this stage.

4. Allow those photos to be imported into Lightroom on my iPad so that I can apply my develop presets, edit and share before I leave the venue.
5. When I get home, use PM on my desktop to do a deeper dive into what I've shot. Fill in the necessary fields for the broader keep list and import into Lightroom.
6. Apply my presets in Lightroom. Allow them to be synched up to Adobe cloud.
7. Synch them into Lightroom Classic (annoys me that it has to be this way to get the full sized version into the cloud) for any deeper post-processing that I want to carry out and so that I can store a local copy of the file on my NAS.

Graham.

[mcldagaz]

Would love to see PM native on my iPad. I just got myself a 6th gen mini with the goal in mind to avoid carrying my laptop.

I tested a SD card copy using a Caldigit USB-C SOHO hub with a Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD. It worked perfectly. Both drives were mounted and the copy worked seamlessly through the Files app.

What I am missing is PM. My standard IPCC template and so on… and essentially the workflow outlined above.

Fingers crossed we see iDevice support in the near future.

[MacUnix]

I would like the following options for my mobile workfow  :
1 - open folder with the photos, select from a folder on iPad or external disk (attached GnarBox via USB-C for example)
2 - select te keepers
3 - apply IPTC template using variables (much like the desktop version, including imported controlled vocabulary for keywords)
4 - rename files with index counter
5 - export results if modifying originals files on external device or folder on iPad is not possible

Basic editing is not needed, transferring files to my NAS via SMB is done via de iPadOS Files app using a VPN.
I can currently do the steps using ShutteSnitch, but the IPTC for the RAW files is written to a XMP sidecar files (shuttersnitch seems only able to add IPTC to exported jpeg files), which is not what I want as I would like to have the IPTC in my original RAW files and not only in the edited jpeg files.

Hope you will finally decide to create an iPad version, so I do not need multiple tools like iSH with Exiftools installed to add IPTC to my RAW files using commandline scripts.

[mikemyers]

Same as MacUnix...

I would like the following options for my mobile workfow  :
1 - open folder with the photos, select from a folder on iPad or external disk (attached GnarBox via USB-C for example)
2 - select te keepers
3 - apply IPTC template using variables (much like the desktop version, including imported controlled vocabulary for keywords)
4 - rename files with index counter
5 - export results if modifying originals files on external device or folder on iPad is not possible


If I travel with my iPad, and without my MacBook Pro laptop, I already have a card reader that plugs into the iPad.  I would like to do the same basic things for which I use PhotoMechanic.

Is there a "beta version" that I can try?

[Kirk Baker]

Mike,

If I travel with my iPad, and without my MacBook Pro laptop, I already have a card reader that plugs into the iPad.  I would like to do the same basic things for which I use PhotoMechanic.

What apps are capable of accessing the card on the card reader when you plug it into your iPad?

Is there a "beta version" that I can try?

No.

-Kirk

[MacUnix]

What apps are capable of accessing the card on the card reader when you plug it into your iPad?

Basically, any app can access the files on the card in the card reader or on an external disk. Using the file picker a user can navigate the iPad storage and any attached storage from SD Card to NAS.
In ShutterSnitch, I use ‘tool menu->import images->files’ to import photos from a SD Card into ShutterSnitch.
Cascable, only provides an option to link to existing folders on the iPad, so I copy the files there first.
Pixelmator Photo, lets you toggle the sidebar for browsing your Photos Library or the iPad’s storage and connected devices.


PhotoMechanic for iPad does not need to have all the bells and whistles from the desktop version, I do not use most of them :
- view the files in selected folders, I group them beforehand
- select the keepers
- apply IPTC template
- batch rename files

 

[Stefan_E]

I'm reaching the end of my trial period on PM and I'm still un-decided whether I'll continue. Why?

• my workflow involved culling on LM-Mobile; on my old iPad Pro (original), that broke when I switched from a Canon EOS 7D to an R5. I guess a state-of-the-art iPad would fix that, so at the moment I'm hoping for the next Apple event ...
• what I never liked in this flow is that LM wants to cloud-sync to my desktop. That works fine in the Hilton SFO Airport, but less so in a remote street side model ...
• so, it would be nice to do the culling with iOS Files as storage location (through PM) and only move the (best) keepers to LM-Mobile. They'd then still be cloud-synced eventually. The vast amount of non-keepers would be deleted immediately and the duplicates which require a big monitor for selecting the best would stay in PM until back home, get copied over, culled in PM Desktop, then moved to LR.

I know that this is a late answer to an old thread - but seriously: No mobile workflow? 

Stefan

[tinyshocks]

Also a late reply to an old thread but I’d love a version for my iPad Pro; I’m getting older and carrying that verses a laptop is a huge difference. I’m a documentary photographer rep’d by ZUMA Press and I am working to travel as light as possible; even on local stuff. I can’t imagine others, even younger folks, would pass the chance to ditch traveling with a laptop in favor of an iPad. To be able to easily enter IPTC data on an iPad would be a dream. Please?!

Thanks in advance, it would be a great New Year surprise!
J. Matt

[tempusrob]

Adding my interest here for an iOS version as well.  I've only had an ipad for a couple days now, so I'm probably missing some workflow optimizations, but my immediate reaction to manually copying a card to an ipad was that PM would be so much better here.

Pain points PM could solve:

• Ingest on an ipad via the Files app is ... not fun. And importing everything into LRCC is not ideal. Even a PM app that only did ingest and nothing else would still be valuable, to me.
• Basic EXIF / IPTC templating and editing. I know some folks can't survive without code replacements and stuff, but even text-only apply-on-ingest templates would be valuable.
• Basic flag / rating filters and a "Share" button to push photos to other apps, whether that's dropbox or lightroom or whatever.

That, to me, would constitute a pretty well-rounded PM mobile app.