I used Photo Mechanic Standard with Capture One for 5 years in a one-way workflow: cull → import to C1 → edit → keep in the catalog. This worked fine until I realized Capture One doesn’t index JPEGs, which made finding photos unreliable. I’ve since moved to Photo Mechanic Plus.
I keep my photos, Most of them are mine as a hobbyist and photojournalist so I want to access them and export differently from time to time.
The edits needs to be kept - I don't know if sessions actually keep the edits.
My folder structure is:
1. External drive with a “Photos” master folder
2. Inside it, subject folders (e.g. “Family”)
3. Under each subject, subfolders for individual shoots (e.g. “Visiting my nieces – April 15, 2022”)
4. Each shoot folder contains the RAWs plus an “Edited” subfolder for JPEG exports
The problem: when I open old RAWs from PM+ in Capture One, it either creates duplicates or, if I select “Do not import duplicates”, nothing happens — it doesn’t jump to the existing file in the catalog. With Sessions, it does jump correctly, but I’m not sure Sessions are practical for managing my whole library, and I don’t like how deleted files go into “Trash.”
What I really want is a clean round-trip: Edit → show the existing photo in C1 (or LR) → export → close the editor → return to PM+ to keep managing everything.
