IPTC information is not showing correct

[LarsSmook]

Hi all,

For some reason the client server does not always show the photo descriptions. I can reproduce this issue with my own Synology NAS which contains the Synology Photos (image bank software).

My normal workflow (which give the described issue):
1. Ingesting images with Photo Mechanic -> Export to Adobe Lightroom -> Save to finals folder.
2. Open finals folder in Photo Mechanic, add IPTC information and upload to client FTP.

Alternative (which also give the described issue):
1. Ingesting images with Photo Mechanic -> Export to Adobe Photoshop -> Save to finals folder.
2. Open finals folder in Photo Mechanic, add IPTC information and upload to client FTP.

Workaround 1 (This don't give a issue):
1. Ingesting images with Photo Mechanic -> Export to Adobe Lightroom -> Add IPTC data -> Save to finals folder.
2. Open finals folder in Photo Mechanic, add IPTC information and upload to client FTP. 

Workaround 2 (This don't give a issue):
My normal workflow (which also give the described issue):
1. Ingesting images with Photo Mechanic -> Export to Adobe Lightroom -> Save to finals folder.
2. Open photo in Adobe Photoshop to add IPTC information, than save again and upload it with Photo Mechanic to client FTP.

Conlusion; there is a difference between adding/modifying IPTC information with Photo Mechanic and adding IPTC with an application like Lightroom. Could there be a setting in PM that is incorrect? Could it have something to do with EXIF? Suggestion of client...

Somebody have a clue?

Cheers,
Lars

[Bob Russell]

Hello Lars,

I am attaching my Merlin 2 test file to help identify which metadata section your clients application(s) are using to display the Caption and other IPTC fields. Each metadata section will have the field start with the 4 characters to identify that section. Eg, The Caption field could show Exif Description / Caption, if the application is reading the Exif Caption.  If the Caption is pulled from the IPTC section, then you will see IPTC Description / Caption. If the Caption is pulled from the XMP metadata section, then you will see XXMP Description / Caption.   Do not save any updates to this file else all of the metadata sections will be reset.   Send this file to your client to see which metadata section is used in their application(s).

Best regards,

--Bob

[LarsSmook]

Hey Bob,

I uploaded your file directly to the client server and my own server. On both servers it works correctly. Is the IPTC added with Photo Mechanic? I cannot reproduce it. If I upload my files the most fields stay empty.

[LarsSmook]

Also did an extra test, uploaded your file but added some IPTC information to the file (see screenshots). This didn't work out. It might be a setting in Photo Mechanic, which is not correct. Servers of other clients seems to work fine with my photos.

[Bob Russell]

Hi Lars,

Thank you for the quick updates and screen shots.  The Merlin file was not created by any photo processing application. I used a Hex Editor to modify the field info in each of the metadata sections. I see from the screen shots that some of the metadata is pulled from the XMP section while the remainder is pulled from the IPTC section.  I am suspecting that Photo Mechanic is not set to write IPTC metadata to the files.  You can check this setting by going to the IPTC/XMP preference page. Make sure the box is checked at the upper left to Add embedded IPTC (XMP will always be written).

Once any application updates the Merlin 2 Test file, then the Metadata sections will be reset or synced and the file will no longer be of any use to determine what metadata section is used for the displayed text. You can unZip the original attachment to get a fresh copy of the Merlin 2 Test file.

Best regards,

--Bob

[LarsSmook]

Hello Bob,

See here a screenshot of the Photo Mechanic settings. I think everything is set correctly. Could there be another setting? Really don't get it haha.

[Bob Russell]

Hi Lars,

Can you send a zipped copy of a problem file before it is uploaded to the server and a zipped copy of the same file downloaded from the server. I would like see if any of the metadata info is changed during the upload or download process. Can you also send a zipped copy of a Photoshop or Lightroom file that has all of the metadata present after uploading to the server?   Thank you for your help with this problem.

Best regards,

--Bob

[LarsSmook]

Hi Bob,

Just created the files you were asking for. I see the expecting behavior. Photoshop shows some information (the import description), Photo Mechanic doesn't show this information. I add all the files and some screenshots to a zip file and gave some details in the filename. Hopefully you can find out what is going wrong. Thanks in advantage.

Regards!
Lars

[Bob Russell]

Hi Lars,

Thank you for all of the testing and screen shots. Your screen shot, Scherm_afbeelding 2023-07-26 om 21.53.11.png, of the Merlin_2_Test file show the metadata coming from all 3 sections. The Artist or Photographer is coming from both the Exif and IPTC sections. The Description / Caption, Creator's Job Title and City are coming from the IPTC section and the remaining metadata is coming from the XMP section.

The file last updated by Photo Mechanic has all of the same IPTC and XMP metadata with the exception of the Exif Image Description and Copyright. I am not sure how these two Exif tags are affecting how the Server reads the rest of the metadata, since neither of these tags are used for the metadata source, when these Exif tags are present. What application is displaying the metadata info on your server?  There might be some preference option to determine the metadata location and the read priority.

Best regards,

--Bob

[LarsSmook]

Hi Bob,

I do understand what you’re saying, but do not fully understand why is photoshop than (partly) works? It handle the IPTC a little bit different I guess.

I asked my client what software they use and/or what language it is written. My contact didn’t know and told me they have to contact their IT department.

My own server is a Synology. This comes with a free to use application called Synology Photos. This is the application where I did some of tests with. Maybe this information helps a bit?

Synology says on their website this about IPTC support:
The metadata of a multimedia file may include the file size, image resolution, date and time taken, etc. Synology Photos supports the following metadata standards that allow you to manage photos across different metadata editors:
XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform)
Exif (Exchangeable image file format)
IPTC (IPTC-NAA Information Interchange Model)

Just wondering, the image isn't handle correct while 2 EXIF fields are blanc correct?
- the Exif Image Description and Copyright.

Is there a possibility to add these with Photo Mechanic. It might help!?

Thanks for all the testing so far!!

Regards,
Lars

[LarsSmook]

Any update on this?

regards,
Lars

[Bob Russell]

Hi Lars,

I'm in the process of updating my Synology NAS so I can install the Synology Photos app. I should be able to test your workflow this weekend and hopefully determine why not all of Photo Mechanic's metadata is available to the Synology Photos app.

Best regards,

--Bob

[LarsSmook]

Hello Bob,

Great that you gonna test the workflow! I'll be patient...

Regards,
Lars

[Bob Russell]

Hi Lars,

I was able to update my DS918+ NAS and install the Synology Photos app.  I am now able to recreate your problem on my machine. I have not been able to determine why Photo Mechanic's updates cause Synology Photos to ignore all of the metadata in the More option, even though Photo Mechanic's updates are available in many photo processing apps. I will continue to investigate this issue but in the mean time, I would use Photo Mechanic for the initial file updates and Photoshop or Lightroom for the final updates, if you need to have this metadata available in the Synology Photos app.

Best regards,

--Bob

[LarsSmook]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for your response! Good to hear that you can reproduce the issue. I'll be patient in the meanwhile. Hope you can tackle the issue.

Regards,
Lars