A Look at Photo Mechanic Plus: An Excellent Image Catalog and Photo Management Software Solution

[@tnsamath]

As soon as I saw your email I upgraded from version 6 to Plus. The new version is awesome. Thank you for this tutorial and for the information about the new version. Thank you so much....

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Tuan, you're most welcome, PM+ is awesome indeed. I'm so excited that they finally came out with this upgrade. From the moment I downloaded the new version, my photography life instantly became better and way more organized. 👍

[@noelbutcher906]

Thanks for the video on Photo Mechanic Plus, very instructive. As it happens, I have been trialling it for about two weeks now and was seriously thinking about buying it but you have convinced me. I was a Lightroom user, now using Capture One for my Fuji files. As good as C1 is for processing files, the catalog system interface is a bit clunky so I was planning on keeping the LR catalogs going. But not any more!

[@tommorris3081]

I am doing the same. The support people are great. They even have a phone number.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Noel, thanks for the comment. That's the same experience that I've had. I've long been impressed with the processing performance of Capture One, but it's definitely clunky when trying to run a catalog, especially one with over a hundred thousand images. I think it's much better optimized for sessions. Using Photo Mechanic in conjunction with Capture One can work well. You can do all of your photo management with PM+ and use C1 as your designated editor, sending only what photos you need to process over to that program.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Tom, the PM people are great indeed, and they have a helpful support forum and a compressive Wiki manual for Photo Mechanic that clearly explains everyone about the program. wiki.camerabits.com/en/index.php/User_Manual_Flat_View

[@phoozchic]

I recently have come over to the Mac side and have been very frustrated with photo viewing in my folders. I lost all my windows keywords when I changed over. I file chronologically and keep camera file numbers as the file names so without keywords or fast thumbnails I am lost and wasting time looking for images. This is definitely what I have been looking for. Oh and trying to search a backup portable hard drive has been even worse. No thumbnails. Just the generic icons. You have no idea how good this sounds right about now! Thank you, Dan.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

I think you'l be happy with Photo Mechanic. It's going to give you so much more control and piece of mind with your organization and being able to find/sort/browse/manage your images that what it sounds like you have right now.

[@rjyanal]

I’m so frustrated with the LR catalog system. I get constant sync errors, photos become “missing”, and LR is SLOW. I will definitely look at Photo Mechanic. Thanks very much for this vid.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Robert, you're welcome. I think you'll be impressed at how fast and comprehensive Photo Mechanic is. I can't imagine my photograph life without it.

[@tommorris3081]

Dan thanks for the email update. You even addressed a question I was going to call photomechanical about during my trial period. After your video I know the answer.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Awesome. Glad I was able to give you the information you need, Tom! I hope you enjoy using the program. Make sure you check out the free PM Wiki manual: wiki.camerabits.com/en/index.php/User_Manual_Flat_View

[@jefflambert7513]

Thanks for the video. I have version 5 and I just love it, gonna be upgrading to 6+ because 5 won't run on Catalina. The database management feature is an welcomed upgrade. Thanks for the tour !!!

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Thanks for the comment, Jeff. Yes, v6 is needed for Catalina, and it does have some new features and performance enhancements. And the new catalog feature is definitely a welcome addition!

[@maripatvoellmecke7572]

Thanks for such an informative video! Did you create the second video that you were hoping to make detailing your workflow?

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Yes, I did a two-part tutorial. You can find the lessons here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2GUon9up8eJiZY and here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2GUon9up8eJiZY What style of photography do you like to shoot? Also, what are you currently using for your photo management system?

[@smalltalk.productions9977]

Dan-as always, thanks for the effort and sharing. I am still examining whether to commit to PM Plus. Presently, I am relying on Apple's Finder which is NOT very useful with 30k images! My question is whether I can cull images on the SD card WITHOUT ingesting all the images that I do not like? It seems that first you load the images and then go through them. Is there anyway NOT to load the images onto my external hard drives but just review them before ingest. Thanks in advance. Thumbs up

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Thanks for your comment. Yes, you can indeed cull your images straight from the memory card before they're loaded. The easiest way to do this is go to the Finder and navigate to the folder on your SD card that actually contains the images. Then simple drag that folder onto the PM icon in your dock, or use the PM command "FILE - Open Contact Sheet..." or Command O, to open the folder. Then, do your edits/sorting/metadata, etc... right from that window. Any changes you make or images you move/delete will show up normally. Hope that helps.

[@KarriePorterBond]

Quick question (and great video!). Do you have to manually keyword all the images for content (ie, "dog", "rock", "sunset" etc) or does the software have AI built in to do this automatically (similar to how the iPhone can find images automatically without any work on the user side)? My use case: I shoot a lot of social media content for tourism-related brands, so sometimes I'll get a request for "a couple walking down Higgs Beach at sunset". Or, because I'm in a destination market, sometimes my couples will ask me "do you have any examples from such-and-such location at the same time we'd be shooting?". Right now I have to rely on memory to think which shoot I've done recently that would have an image with that requirement. The built-in parameters (file type, file size, capture time, camera serial number, rating, color label, etc) all make sense, but for more of a "content search" (which is REALLY what I need), I don't have the time to go back and manually keyword thousands of images from years gone by, so not sure if the upgrade would be worth it. I know Google Images can do this search feature too, so it's not unique to Apple, but not sure if PhotoMechanic Plus has it built in automatically....if not, do you know of any other DAM's that might?

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Hi Karrie, thanks for your feedback. 👍 At this point, Photo Mechanic doesn't have any kind of automatic keyword AI built in, so yes, you have to manually enter keywords. However, PM's IPTC Metadata Template, makes it really easy to add/edit keywords and metadata to large numbers of images, so even though you would have to go back and add some of that data, PM enables you to do it with a lot of efficiency. You might check out the Wordroom AI keyword plugin for Lightroom. That might be what you're looking for: imagga.com/blog/automatic-image-tagging-for-lightroom-is-here-meet-wordroom/

[@rfssport]

Whew, what are you going to do with all those photos. With my new Sony a1 I suspect l will generate many photos that I will need to cull. Ive been using mac photos to cull so that I can pick for printing (Canon 1000) after fine tuning in LR classic. Mac photos is the last to accept new cameras including the Sony and Nikon d6. Can you print from PM after transferring process photo back? think you have answered all my questions.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Haha!! Good question! Regarding your question about printing, Photo Mechanic is setup to do contact sheets and proofs, but it's not really designed to do high quality final prints. You'd want to use another program for that. Read here: docs.camerabits.com/support/solutions/articles/48001140998-printing-from-photo-mechanic

[@stevenwaldstein2249]

Long time Photo Mechanic user who today downloaded the Plus version. So once you have a catalog is there a straight forward way to hook it into an editing program? Also if I were to use ACR now instead of Lightroom how will I be able to view any edits I make in PhotoMechanics?

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Steven - Yes, you can assign an external editing program and send images straight from PM to your editor. And yes, there is an option to view your Adobe edits, by using the built-in Convert to DNG command, which works with the Adobe DNG Converter app. You can more about his works here: docs.camerabits.com/support/solutions/articles/48000361383-rendering-raw-files-on-photo-mechanic-with-adobe-dng-converter

[@matrixphotodesign]

Hi Dan , Great Video and Nice Images , I do have a some question , My only reference is LR , Does photo Mechanic Plus create a cenralized Catalog ? Does it slow down the software as the catalog get bigger , Does it still save exif info on separate files can you still carry info to other software , can you add keywords , Lastly what happens if catalog becomes corrupted

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Thanks for your comment. Yes, Photo Mechanic Plus creates a single catalog for your library, although you can create as many catalogs as you wish to better organize your files. In addition, you can search/manage one, some or all of them in a single Photo Mechanic window. And yes, you keywords and other metadata are embedded in the files, so they should transfer to other programs as well. With regards to performance and speed with a very large catalog, there could be some slowdowns, as the catalog re-scans for changes whenever you open or re-open a folder. Keep in mind, that you can always view your images in folder mode, which is always extremely fast. Searching in catalog mode will always be slower than simply browsing in folder mode. That said, with almost 200K image catalog, it's pretty fast, but it still uses CPU/RAM resources, so if you have other programs running or a lot of windows open, that will affect the speed. As for corrupted catalogs, I don't know how much of an issue that is. There are ways to fix specific files that get corrupted, but given Photo Mechanic's history, this is very rare, and if it happens, they have an excellent support team to help walk you through any kind of problem like this.

[@johnzimmerman9624]

Dan, thank you for pointing out the catalog feature. I have been using Phase One Media Pro Catalog until recently when I upgraded my Mac computer that doesn't recognize this software. I was able to search my catalogs without my hard drive being attached. I could choose an image and it would tell me on what external drive I could find the image. Is that possible with the Photo Mechanic system.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

To answer your question, John, yes. Just as Media Pro does/did, you can view, search and manage your images in the catalog using Photo Mechanic, even if they're currently offline, it just notates offline images with a yellow dot instead of a green dot. I actually used to use Media Pro in conjunction with Photo Mechanic when I first went digital. In those days, iView Media Pro was the best catalog solution around. And then, Microsoft bought it, and pretty much wrecked it, until Phase One bought it, brought it back and implemented it into Capture One a few years ago. For a brief period, you could purchase just the standalone Media Pro app from Phase One, and I serious considered moving everything back to that system. Glad I didn't. It's now unavailable as a standalone program, and while catalog performance in Capture One has the same general layout as Media Pro, the performance is considerably more clunky and slow than what I had with the original program, especially with a huge library.

[@bcarlsonimages]

@@DanBaileyPhoto Oh man, Media Pro was the best. It's the first thing that helped me get organized and catalog my stuff. I'm about to switch to PM+ because of the same reasons (Capture One being bad at cataloging). Thanks for the video.

[@janthoma7262]

@Dan Bailey when you use PhotoMechanic, how do you do your edits? Do you open photos in Photoshop and then create an edited copy of the original? How do you do smaller edits like exposure or color correction or that quick spot removal in conjunction with PhotoMechanic? I currently use Lightroom but I am not really happy with it's speed and it looks like with the new catalog feature PhotoMechanic could do anything but the editing a lot faster. But I don't really understand how you do edits in conjunction with PhotoMechanic without creating a ton of duplicate images (one original and one with the edits). This is where Lightroom is really great as your edits are in the catalog and you don't need duplicate images. How did you solve this?

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Jan, thanks for your comment. When a Photo Mechanic workflow, you need to assign an external editing program where PM can send your selected photos for editing. For me, I usually use Luminar as my default editor, but sometimes I use Photoshop. Unfortunately, since PM is not an editor, there is no way to do any kind of spot removal or quick retouching right in that program. So, I would send my selects to one of those two programs and then save the finished edited copy back to my original folder, or else a folder of "Edited Selects." You're right. Lightroom does have the editing, but Photo Mechanic is way faster for browsing. I'll admit, trying to use both can be a little complicated, but here's the basic PM-Lightroom workflow I've used for years: 1. Import new photos into PM, into a "New Images Folder" and do all my initial culling, rating, tagging and adding captions and keywords. Delete the rejects, then rename files as desired. This is where PM excels. 2. Move the finished batch of photos to the folder(s) where they will live in your archive, then sync or import that folder into Lightroom, where you can do your non destructive edits and store your catalog. In this case, you would use the regular version of Photo Mechanic, and not the new Plus version, since you would not need the catalog. However, you'd still gain the benefits of MUCH faster browsing, culling and adding metadata to large batches of new images.

[@janthoma7262]

@@DanBaileyPhoto thank you for taking the time to outline your workflow. I am not sure if that will work for me but at least I have a better idea of how this will work now. Thanks again!

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Jan, I just posted a basic Photo Mechanic tutorial here: Photo Mechanic Basic Tutorial Part 1 - Importing, Browsing, Sorting, Adding Captions & Keywords, kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2GUon9up8eJiZY

[@janthoma7262]

@@DanBaileyPhoto Yep, already watched it. Your workflow differs quite a lot from mine. You seem to be doing very little editing in which case using photo mechanic totally makes sense. However my photography-foo is not the best so I need to edit almost every photo I make. Since this would lead to a lot of duplicate photos with the photo mechanic approach, I guess I will stick with Lightroom Classic for now. I found it very interesting how much Metadata you add to your photos, I never do that (then again I do this as a hobby, so I probably have a lot less photos to look through). In any case it was insightful to see your workflow in action, so thank you very much for taking the time to make a video and explaining it all.

[@mikearst2940]

Excellent video, thanks for making it. I'm mulling over getting PM+ for organizing my terribly disorganized photo collection. I'm now copying thousands of image files from cards to subdirectories whose names match the capture year date of the photos. (For example "2019-03-15". The copying and directory creation are easy enough, fully automated via shell script.) And then what? I don't much like Capture One catalogues and strongly prefer C1 sessions. But I wonder if committing myself to a PM+ catalogue doesn't also lock me into using C1 catalogues, for purely practical reasons. If in PM+ you right-click an image and tell PM to send it to C1, where exactly does PM "place" the file? (In the conventional session setup, by default C1 expects the file to be in the session's Capture subdirectory.)

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Mike, PM is simply a browser. It doesn't place the file anywhere, it just references wherever it is that YOU put it. Whether you use PM+ for its catalog function or as a browser, you can store your images anywhere you want. If you create a catalog, them PM will store the location information inside its database, but the images can still live anywhere, even on separate hard drives.

[@mikearst2940]

@@DanBaileyPhoto I will get the demo and experiment. In the past, PM and Capture One had some disagreements, as it were, about keywords entered into XMP files by PM. Each company's tech support said to me that the other was at fault. So I also need to evaluate whether Capture One still has a problem with keywords created within PM.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Mike, that's kind of been a problem with a lot of photo software over the years. There's no standard for metadata. For example, Lightroom uses picks and flags, which PM does not, while PM uses checkmarks (ticks), which can't be read in LR. I don't remember how C1 compares with PM in this way, it's been awhile since I've used C1. I usually get around this with color tags, which seem to be able to read across the different programs. Keyboarding, is a different story. Those should be read across all programs.

[@mikearst2940]

@@DanBaileyPhoto Yes, color tags and numeric readings should work ok across applications. The problem I encountered: I had an existing "keyworded" XMP file to which I added some new keywords via PM 5. Later in C1, the old keywords were present but the new ones were gone. I knew PM had added them successfully because I'd inspected the XMP file manually before going back to C1. Clearly, C1 _removed_ the new ones. And I could replicate this... sometimes. PM's tech support said they were aware of the problem and felt Capture One wasn't writing its XMP correctly. (But considering how sloppy "standards" tend to be, "correct" is probably just a matter of opinion.) I will test with PM+ to see if the problem still exists. It's a bloody annoying one. Some cynic remarked that the wonderful thing about standards is, you can invent as many of 'em as you want. How true.

[@mikearst2940]

@@DanBaileyPhoto I have done a little testing now and it looks to me as if Photo Mechanic Plus writes to XMP in a way that Capture One is happy with, as it were. The past problem of Capture One sometimes actually removing keywords that had been written in PM seems to be gone now. That's a relief.

[@spoungepanda5339]

nice video, but the 1080 resolution means that most things are not very clear - entries you click on and dropdown menus etc...

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Thanks for the feedback. What kind of device or monitor are you viewing these videos on?

[@bobc.6419]

In this new version, is there a way to increase the size of UI fonts and other elements? A lot of the Photo Mechanic 6 interface is almost unreadable on my 27-inch iMac when the display is set to the standard resolution. It's exasperating to have a program you'd like to use but struggle to use because the UI is presented in minuscule fonts and icons.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Bob, as of right now, there is no way to change the font size for the text labels in Photo Mechanic. However, you're not the only person to ask this. A number of people have asked for this option in the Camera Bits forum, and their head software engineer seems to be open to this idea. So, perhaps we'll see this feature added in a future update. One thing you can do is increase the size of your contact sheet thumbnails, which will scale up the font size a bit. Also, in the Accessibility tab in the Preferences menu, you can scale up the text size in the caption box inside the IPTC template.

[@garethcallan8335]

Hi Dan. The big problem i see with this approach is that if you use a non-destructive catalogue-based RAW editior like LR or C1, your PM+ catalogue will not see (1) any edits you apply to the RAW image (unless you export back to the PM+ catalogue which doesn't seem resource-efficient in terms of storage and is an additional, forgettable step) and (2) you can't search any virtual copies / variants because the'yre only visible within the RAW editor catalogue. So again - to make them visible you end up cranking out a load of export TIFFs just to acheive visibility in PM+. Am I missing something here? Is the PM+ Catalogue capable of updating itself to reflect edits or variants created in editing software? If it can't, I'm struggling to see how an additional catalogue adds value.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Gareth, thanks for your comment and your insight. Most RAW editing software has proprietary processing code, that other software is unable to read. So, PM+ cannot see what you do in C1 or LR. So yes, that does complicate things. The reality, which has been a factor in my own workflow for years, is that using an external catalog like PM+ with another catalog program, again, like LR and C1, is that it does add an unnecessary layer to your workflow. It can be done, I have managed for years, but it may not be ideal for most people. PM+ does include an option that allows you to view your Adobe LR/PS adjustments within the PM catalog. Both C1 and LR do off full featured catalog solutions, so if you’re happy with your current workflow, then there’s no need to complicate it. However, for people who wish to move away from LR/C1, or who want to use a standalone processor like PS, Luminar, Affinity Photo, etc..., or who simply want a faster browser/ image management system, PM+ can offer some very powerful benefits and speed, with a few simple workarounds.

[@MX4551]

13:45 What happens with the pictures on my PC or storage devices, if we create in catalogue > a new collection. Will PM+ move them from their actual storage path or is that all just virtually? Thanks a lot for the video!

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Thanks, Max! The beauty of PM is that your pictures stay wherever you put them, in whatever folder/drive that you choose, and the metadata and keyword info is actually embedded within the image file. The catalog merely stores location and reference information and allows for more comprehensive search/browsing. It don't do anything with your originals, though.

[@MX4551]

@@DanBaileyPhoto Thanks a lot Dan. So everything stays where it is, and only the collection in PM can be different from the actual folder structure on your HDD folders.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Yes, that is correct.

[@peterjones4935]

I gotta check this out! Not sure why I haven’t heard of this before...

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Peter, Despite often being overshadowed by the bigger software companies, Photo Mechanic is, and always has been an incredibly powerful workflow solution. It's definitely worth a look.

[@robinbowen6363]

Hi Dan. What do you think of the new subscription plans, due to take effect on the 8th July 2024. I think that it is too expensive for a photo management software. Many people dumped adobe photoshop due to their subscription plans and the the cost is cheaper than photo mechanic plus. Adobe bridge, a photo management software is free. The perpetual licence for photo mechanic plus is US 286.35/year. Are you still going to use this software.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Hi Robin, I had actually not heard of the new Photo Mechanic pricing plan, so thanks for bringing this to my attention. I've spent a bit of time since yesterday giving this some thought and looking through their forums, and so here's my response. Yes, absolutely. I will still continue to use their software. Having used PM for 18 years now, since the day I went digital, I have found it to be an absolutely excellent and essential program. I simply cannot imagine using anything else for editing, culling, sorting and adding metadata to large batches of images. Like many people these days, I am not a huge lover of software subscriptions. We all have too many subscriptions in our lives these days, but we can hold our noses all we want - they're not going away. While I agree that the new PM pricing seems expensive, I will likely go the perpetual route; I just think that's more cost effective in the long run, and here's why: The program is so simple and stable, which means that like many PM longtime users, I have only found the need to upgrade a few times over the course of those 18 years, even though numerous Mac OS upgrades. I certainly have not upgraded every year. In fact, looking through my purchase history, it appears that I've only upgraded about every four or five years, with my last upgrade to PM v.6 back in 2020. So, in 18 years, with new licenses and upgrades, I've only paid them around $480, which is an absolute bargain, and a ridiculously low amount for such an amazing program. Reading through their forums, I'm not the only one who's followed this trend. Compared to Adobe, Camera Bits is a tiny company with a small, but dedicated staff of 11 people. (Adobe Inc has 29,945 employees and a market cap of $234 billion). Most of those 11 people have been with the company for at least 10 years, some for over 20 years. They pay their employees fairly, and provide generous benefits, including 100% medical, PTO and retirement. I'm a firm believer in supporting companies like Camera Bits. I trust them to make excellent software, and I also trust them to make the best financial decision for their company. If this is what they decide will allow them to remain competitive and innovative, then they have my support. So, while the perpetual license does seem expensive, the reality is that there is almost no need to upgrade every year. Figuring that you could easily get by with 3+ years on a PM+ perpetual license before you would need to upgrade, this brings the amortized annual cost much closer to Adobe, if not considerably less. If you went for the regular version of PM for simple photo management,, it would be even lower. Hope that helps. I welcome your response. Are you currently a PM user and if so, how long have you use the program?

[@fauland_photography]

Hi Dan, Today is a GREAT DAY - Thanks to your very informative little video here. I run PM since version 1. And now is the time to be looking into 'cataloging' again (Cumulus on a Windows machine a hundred years back was my last not so nice experience with this kind of animal :-) Question1: How does it handle OFFLINE /OFFSITE storage (Let's say a bunch of older hard drives, that are not permanently connected to my "Mac Pro / MacBooks / Local Server"-environment? Question2: How does it look like in terms of space required? Let's say you have 1 TB of image files somewhere and you catalog them all via PM+ - How much "data overhead" does the catalog add? Looking very much forward hearing your thoughts ... :-) Thanks in advance !

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Peter, it is a great day indeed!! To answer your questions: 1. It does fine with offline images, they're just notated with a yellow dot instead of a green dot to indicate that they're currently not connected. You can still do general management tasks to offline images. 2. My current catalog is close to 200,000 images, about 4.5TB and my PM catalog folder is 27 GB. So big, but not at all unmanageable.

[@fauland_photography]

@@DanBaileyPhoto GREAT NEWS .... So my 16 TB archive will need around 100GB of catalog - Love it ! I am installing right now and will report about my findings ..... :-) Thanks again ...

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Awesome. Good luck with your import! With a 16 TB catalog, it will probably take a few days, but it will run in the background on your computer and you should not have any problems.

[@bodelange]

Thanks for the video. You mention your catalog to be 200K+ images. What preview size have you set and how big does that make the catalog?

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Thanks for your comment, Bo. Photo Mechanic is unique in that it doesn't use the traditional "preview" size architecture that a program like Lightroom uses. It essentially builds the previews every time you open a folder in the browser, or in a catalog tab. It's very fast, and using a large disk cache helps increase speed. You can change the size of the thumbnails with a simple slider. So, for my 200K image catalog, the actual file size for that particular database is just over 3GB, so not very big. What system are you using right now for your image catalog?

[@bodelange]

@@DanBaileyPhoto I've been switching systems too often, I'm afraid. As an Apple user, I started off in iPhoto, then moved to and really liked Aperture. When that was about to be discontinued I migrated to Lightroom. I briefly experimented with a return to Apple Photos, but decided I no longer wanted the storage of my valuable images to be managed by proprietary software that was not guaranteed for the next 40 odd years (what is, in life?). I also decided to definitively move away from Adobe, due to their subscription only policy. I use Capture One for Fujifilm, but only to convert my RAW files. I found C1's file management and metadata management inadequate or cumbersome. So I settled on managing my own folder structure. Inspired by Carl Seibert, I started taking metadata seriously: first using the free but slightly buggy XnView and then by getting Photo Mechanic (version 5, now 6). I use that for ingestion, renaming, all metadata including keywording, GPS tagging and moving files around on my disks. As a DAM I've now used NeoFinder for a while. That probably rivals PM Plus for speed and catalog size. Its Smart Folders are very much like saved searches in PM Plus (in a friendly GUI) and its Albums are very much like collections in PM Plus (with the huge added bonus that you can drag and drop both images and folders of images to an album/collection). Where PM Plus shines is its more elaborate search possibilities and especially filtering possibilities. So do I stick to what I have (yes, it works fine for 95% of my needs) or do I upgrade PM6 to PM6 Plus? Do I spend the $90 upgrade to concentrate my workflow around 2 instead of 3 programs, or will I end up updating both the NeoFinder and PM catalogs, since each has their own pros and cons.....?

[@bodelange]

One more question: when you run both PM 6 and PM 6 Plus, like you are, do both draw from the same Master Keyword lists and Snapshots?

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

That’s a tough question. Since no program seems to do everything perfectly, it can sometimes be desirable to base your workflow on two or more apps. Of course, this can be a little cumbersome and even a little bit convoluted, but if you figure out a system that works for you, that’s what matters. That’s how I’ve operated for years. It may not be the most efficient way to do things, but I tend to draw from the best features in each program. PM is great, because you can keep your own file structure; PM simple reads from whatever folders you point it to, so it’s very unobtrusive that way. I haven’t tried NeoFinder, but if you love a particular program, it’s hard to break away from it. That’s me with PM, although PM is pretty comprehensive.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

PM6 and PM+ are identical. They both use the exact same engine and toolset, it’s just that PM+ has the database feature. At this point, I only run PM+, and if I simple want to view images, then I use the browser tab, which is essentially the “regular” version of PM. It’s a faster way to browse and do all the metadata functions.

[@coporofrito]

Question: if I have a sd card with raws + jpeg files, how can i select the raw and the same photo on jpeg to be exported to the photo editor ( capture one).? do I have to select file per file? Photo mechanic is able to recognize the raw and jpeg version of the same photo?

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Yes, Photo Mechanic will automatically recognize a RAW+JPEG image and ingest both the RAW and the JPEG together with the same filename. In the browser window, you can choose to view either the pair as a single file, or as two separate files, by simply hitting "command J." (Might be "control J" on PC) You can also specify whether you want the RAW or the JPEG to be sent to whatever external editor you set up in the preferences. If you want both, you might have to do that manually.

[@roryonabike5863]

Hi. I use Capture One and I'm considering Photo Mechanic. Am I right that the result of using Photo Mechanic Plus is that I end up with two overlapping catalogues, one in Capture One and one in Photo Mechanic?

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Technically, yes, but here's a possible workaround. First, you would import your entire image catalog to Photo Mechanic Plus, and switch to using that as your main image library. Then you would set the PM preferences to make Capture One your default external editor, so that when you send an image for edit from PM, it would open in your C1 import dialog. This is where it gets a little more detailed. First, create a new catalog. Then, in the import box, you would specify that C1 leave the image at its current location, so that C1 doesn't move the file. It will them import the image into the C1 catalog, or session (whichever you have set), and then you edit the image to your liking. You could then leave it here it was, or export the finished file back to your original folder so that PM can identify the new image. With this method, you would essentially be using your C1 catalog/session as an "master editing catalog" that would contain only images that you want to process, instead of having it store and manage everything. You'd use PM for that, and that would leave C1 with a much smaller, focused catalog. Does that make sense? Another solution would be to use regular PM as a browser for import, culling, editing, caption/keywords, viewing images and managing images, and then import your keepers to C1. This kinds of adds more redundancy, though. Given that PM excels at photo management, and C1 excels at photo processing, my first solution takes advantage of each program's specialty in the most efficient manner.

[@tommorris3081]

@@DanBaileyPhoto thanks for the information. I am in the process of working with both. Capture one just came out with a KZbin video on photo mechanic.

[@romiemiller7876]

I just downloaded the 30 day trial. I have thousands of photos that are not all in the same folders. I need to see if I can find all of the same name or subject & build files or contact sheet or whatever. I'm thinking that contact sheets would be a good way to present photos to clients for ordering.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Yes, you could sort and place images in specific folders, then open each folder in its own contact sheet, by simply dragging the folder onto the Photo Mechanic Icon in the dock. Or by opening them in the File menu. Either way, you'll find that Photo Mechanic offers a very fast way to browse, sort, tag and add captions and other metadata to images. Let me know if you have any more questions. Here's the manual for Photo Mechanic 6: docs.camerabits.com/support/home

[@romiemiller7876]

@@DanBaileyPhoto OK, thanks. I'll work on figuring it out.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

👍

[@rssrssnewsmaster]

I'm a Mac user switching from LR. Is the path forward to Photo Mechanic Plus or Fotostation PRO? Both seem functionally similar from the documentation.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Ray, I've never used Fotostation PRO, so I don't have basis for comparison. I have 15 years worth of Photo Mechanic Experience, and I can attest that it's a highly capable program that's been around for a very long time. And it looks like PM costs quite a bit less than Fotostation

[@rssrssnewsmaster]

@@DanBaileyPhoto I've spent the afternoon enthralled by your PM tutorials. You are a great teacher and I love the real world examples you use. I haven't been able to find anything comparable for Fotostation Pro. The Fotoware support team has been very helpful, but there doesn't seem to be a community of individual users as you find with Lightroom and PM. PM+ looks to do everything I'm looking for. That said, I have them both open on my computer now and they seem comparable. PM+ is definitely faster and at first glance seems to have the edge in sharing, uploading, and exporting capabilities. I've already purchased Fotostation Pro so it makes sense for me go in that direction, but I don't want to invest lots of efforts in metadata cataloging if the metadata potentially cannot be migrated to future systems. I started off with iView Media Pro years and years ago and ended up with lost efforts. I'm impressed that PM has a long history and, unlike Adobe and Fotoware, CameraBits strikes me as being committed to users like myself who want a perpetual standalone license rather than a SaaS product with annual hosting/licensing. I'm impressed as well that you were able to migrate your photos and their metadata from preexisting systems into PM+ without difficulty. That assurance is comforting. Thank you!

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Ray, you're right about Camera Bits, PM has been around for years and they've always had standalone pricing. There have been times where I haven't upgraded for a few years, and was still using the older versions with no problems at all. I also began my digital life with iView, I actually used those two programs in conjunction: PM for browsing, culling, and adding captions/keywords/metadat, and iView Media Pro for the catalog. Regardless of what program you use to apply metadata to your images, as long as the metadata is actually embedded in the image files, then PM will be able to read the info. And as I said in my video, PM has been my #1 go-to program for years. I think you'll find it to be a very worthwhile investment if you decide to migrate from Fotostation. And thanks for your feedback, I'm glad you're finding my tutorials to be so helpful. 👍

[@dirk.4711]

How can I import my LR6 images with star rating, colour rating and keywords into PM+? I do not need the mage editing information. Only the ratings and the keywords. I just tried it with a testfolder by using in the PM+ menu catalogue/scan catalogues and then pick the testfolder. Images show up, but the star ratings are not visible anymore in PM+.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Dirk, PM+ will indeed see any color and star ratings you apply in LR, but you need to save that metadata to the actual files inside Lightroom. If you don't do this, LR only keeps that info inside its own catalog, and it's not attached to the actual images. This is simply done by selecting your images and hitting command-save, or finding that item in LR's Metadata menu. PM+ won't see LR's "Picks/Flags", but I've gotten around this by simply selecting all of my flagged images inside LR and adding the keyword "pick" to them. Then, I can filter by keyword "pick" inside PM to find them all. From there, you could then batch add a specific color/star/keyword to make them stand out in your catalog.

[@markkempton4579]

It took me a few weeks with PM to realize that LR was not adding this info to the file itself (makes sense since it's designed to be "non-destructive", but I didn't catch on and overwrote my star ratings while editing game photos and going back to PM to add captions to my keepers.) As Dan says, highlight the photos in LR that you want to update then right click and choose Metadata - Save metadata to file or simply use CTRL+S. Photo Mechanic immediately reads all metadata changes, btw. No need to re-read them like with LR.

[@pascoyearbook9402]

@@markkempton4579 It might be best to use PM6+ before you use LR. In PM, ingest, add ratings, add captions using Code Replacement then filter to send to LR for edits.

[@markkempton4579]

@@pascoyearbook9402 I do that. But I pull in a couple hundred from PM. I am not captioning all those. I use LR to further reduce those as I start editing and then only caption my keepers (usually 30-60). I caption in PM because I use code replacements. I just had to remember to save the LR metadata to file before going back to PM and filtering and captioning. Just takes a few seconds.

[@ckeilah]

I have several “broken” Aperture, iPhoto, and Photos libraries. Will this suck in EVERYTHING and help me cull the duplicates which lost their exif data, and then sort everything from 50 years of shooting into one organized space?

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

You can certainly migrate your Aperture and Apple Photos/iPhoto libraries to a Photo Mechanic catalog, but you must first remove your photos from Aperture’s proprietary library format. You do this by selecting all of your images and doing the command: “File>Relocate Originals...” This lets you put them into a regular folder hierarchy, which you can then import into Photo Mechanic. This artice describes the prep you need to do before migrating: www.macworld.com/article/2452232/life-after-aperture-and-iphoto-what-to-do-with-your-image-library.html To remove your photos from iPhoto/Photos libraries, follow the steps in this article: www.organizepictures.com/2016/01/move-away-from-photos Once you've extracted all of your photos, you can start browsing through them to cull/edit/tag/rate and move them to whatever new folder hierarchy you wish and import them into a new PM catalog(s). It may take awhile, but Photo Mechanic will be the fastest way to browse through all of your old images. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[@johnmartin7938]

Very interesting, thanks for the video. As far as I can tell, Capture One Pro 20, which I use, has pretty much all of the same fantastic cataloguing and management features plus has excellent editing tools right in the program. What am I missing?

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

John, thanks for the comment. You are correct, Capture One 20 has a catalog system that's based on the original iView Media Pro software, which was an excellent photo library and management tool. That's what I used for my catalog 15 years ago, and it's definitely comparable to Photo Mechanic Plus. In my experience, though, when you have a very large catalog in Capture One, things can start to get pretty clunky. If you're happy with what you have in C1, then I'd stick with that.

[@johnmartin7938]

@@DanBaileyPhoto Interesting, thanks. I went to Capture One after Aperture shut down. I'm just an amateur, but I have about 100,000 photos in Capture One catalogs with no problems accessing and scrolling/editing through photos fast. Capture One creates previews (of size controlled by the user) when the photos are first uploaded and stores them for future use, so that requires some extra storage space. I got the impression from your video that Photo Mechanic creates the preview each time you access the photo? (I have your nice "X Series Unlimited" book, by the way)

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Yes, Photo Mechanic creates previews on the fly, it doesn't store them in a huge master "preview" file. I'm glad to hear that you're having no issues. I've tried to migrate my catalog to Capture One a few times, and was never able to get it done without numerous crashes and freezes, and then very slow, clunky scrolling when I finally got the all loaded. Perhaps I would see better performance on my new computer. At any rate, I think that C1 is an excellent program. And thanks for your support, I hope you're enjoying my book!

[@MaineAcademy]

@@johnmartin7938 John, Try clicking on the "all images" view in Capture One, I have a high end machine and it will bring it to a crawl (I have 80k images in one catalog and 60k in another). I've been on C1 since version 7 and I still consider the catalog it's weak link, but I stick with it because the editing excels. The real question, for me, is how Photomechanic Plus would work with C1? A big challenge there.

[@steveramsay5941]

Is it possible to migrate an Aperture library to Photo Mechanic Plus.... it’s a pity it doesn’t edit as well.... I’ve been looking for a replacement since the demise of Aperture.... it was a brilliant system.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Steve- Yes, you can migrate your Aperture library to Photo Mechanic, but you need to remove your photos from Aperture’s proprietary library format. You do this by selecting all of your images and doing the command: “File>Relocate Originals...” This lets you put them into a regular folder hierarchy, which you can then import into Photo Mechanic. I’m not an Aperture expert, but this post describes the prep you need to do before migrating: www.macworld.com/article/2452232/life-after-aperture-and-iphoto-what-to-do-with-your-image-library.html

[@steveramsay5941]

Thanks Dan.... will give it a go.... what editing software would you advise.... tried Capture One but don’t really like it or Lightroom. Cheers Steve

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Steve, If you want a full-fledged "Photoshop" type editing solution, I'd recommend trying Affinity Photo. I really like Luminar, and have been using it for a few years now. It has a very simple interface, and offers "fast creativity" with lots of great looking presets, while still containing a host of powerful editing tools if you want to go deeper. Here are some of my Luminar tutorials, so you can see what the program is like: danbaileyphoto.com/blog/a-trio-of-luminar-4-tutorials-how-i-use-the-program/

[@steveramsay5941]

Dan Bailey thanks again.... will go have a look and see if it suits my needs... love your site and info... cheers Steve

[@HudsonTaylorToronto]

Does anyone know if I can import and export an XML using Photo Mechanic Plus.... ? I currently use Media Pro but it won't work on Catalina

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Hudson, yes Photo Mechanic does support XML. See here: wiki.camerabits.com/en/index.php/Web_Galleries_and_Export#Export_XML Regarding XML import: XML is simply metadata, right? Photo Mechanic will read the attached metadata from any image it imports.

[@kirk0831]

so can you make a collection that works as "smart" collection in which you can set rules and can automatically update photos in it?

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

You can create collections and any kind of sub-collection hierarchy you wish. At this point, PM+ doesn't have Smart Collections, but according to their Senior Software Engineer, they do plan to add them into the program at some point. In the meantime, you can create a search and save it as a snapshot, and then use the snapshot to find image that match specific parameters. You can do the same thing in the filter section by creating a specific filter set and saving that as a snapshot for quick recall.

[@NikCan66]

Brilliant video thanks for the Update

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Thanks, I'm glad you found this video helpful. 👍

[@hudsonhtaylor]

/ Thanks for your reply, and I know it can export but can it import the XML file and display it in a gallery

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

If you browse a folder that contains XML files, PM will include the file in the gallery page, but it will only show an icon, it won't display the actual XML info. I would advise that you check out the official Photo Mechanic Forum, where you can search for more detailed help/info about this topic. forums.camerabits.com

[@donjjcarroll2263]

.Sunday, July 02, 2023, 3:25 PM Photo Mechanic Plus Questions for Dan 1. My photo storage setup currently • I do not have my thousands of images either on one hard drive nor in one folder • I currently have 10 + external HD’s of various age and size that house my photos • My photos for the most part are on these drives in folders categorized by year. • Within each Year folder I have subfolders by month • Then within each month folder I have subfolder of RAW images and a separate folder of JPG images • Question-01 1. How do I create a PM Plus catalogue with my images stored the way they are now? 2. Do I have to copy all these images from the multiple hard drives I have to one hard drive and then placed these images in one only top level folder and then the last stage would be to import all these images from that location into one main PM Plus catalog? 3. How does one create other secondary catalogs, do you select specific images that are in the main PM Plus catalog? 4. Perhaps Dan you have found a particular information resource that goes into details related the the questions I posed above.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

HI Don, here is the link to the official Photo Mechanic Plus user guide. Hopefully it will thoroughly answer your questions better than I can here. If you have more questions after you reach/watch these, feel free to reach out again. And no, you don't have to copy all of your images to another hard drive. PM will reference whatever folder(s) and locations you direct it to look at. docs.camerabits.com/support/solutions/48000450977

[@fidoalca9]

Thanks!

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

You're welcome! I take it that you found my PM videos to be helpful.

[@TomGibson7777TG]

Looks great but still need a good RAW editor. You like Luminar as others do but AI is ruining editing skills and presets take away from the real image so often. Put a new sky in, what is real. LR does fine with Fuji just remove sharpening and edit in PS. When Affinity developed content aware I might move over.I do not like the subscription but that is the way many software are going and or paying for updates

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Tom, thanks for the comment. I too am a little curious about the direction that Luminar is taking with their software. Even though they're marketing heavily towards the AI route, the program still has an array of powerful tools and good looking presets. That said, Photo Mechanic and Photoshop works as an ideal combination for full image management and powerful processing.

[@TomGibson7777TG]

@@DanBaileyPhoto Thanks Dan....I have always heard a great dealof good about PM, but if I still need to use PS (Affinity/ Capture one /On1 do not have Content aware and liquidfy?), why move out of LR (for me). I edit to what I "see" unless images which for stories, photo book of the Africa trip, etc then I need to remove and never add unless text to an image. I never use presets, I make my own vignettes, and I want total control. I do use Topaz AI DeNoise, so AI is great in some situations but not to edit for me. Thanks for continued education...

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

To answer your question, why move out of LR? If you're happy with your current workflow, then there is no reason to move away from LR. Photo Mechanic does offer great performance, but in terms of functionality, it doesn't do anything that you can't already accomplish. All of this is about finding the right balance of performance and usability, and once you've settled on a system that works for you, then there's no need to change, unless you experience specific frustrations with certain aspects of your workflow.

[@bobdrawbaugh4207]

It reminds me a lot of Aperture.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Bob, it definitely has some similarities. Most catalog programs share a few common features.

[@mtminded4498]

What is your Photo Mechanic Plus workflow when you want to make non-destructive edits in Lightroom? How do you reconcile the two different catalogs?

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Thanks for your comment. With PM & LR, I think the best way to combine the two programs is to import and do all of your initial culling, rating and adding caption and keywords and file names/numbers inside PM, then when you have your selects all pared down, with all the appropriate metadata added, you import that batch into LR. I know a lot of people have used this kind of workflow, and that’s what I’ve done for years. It does get trickier if you’re trying to run them as two different catalogs. I guess my recommendation would be to either run the LR catalog and use PM as your main pre-catalog photo management system, but with using the catalog feature, or to use PM+ as your main catalog, and management system, and use LR as a mini editing catalog that’s only for images that process. And, by using Adobe’s DNG converter inside PM, you can see the results of your LR edits inside the PM catalog. Does that make sense? You can always tweak this kind of approach to your liking. Hope that helps.

[@mtminded4498]

@@DanBaileyPhoto Yea, I think this does make sense. I didn't know about the DNG converter, I assume it retains non-destructive edits? Regarding the separate catalogs, I could see storing mini LR catalogs in an adjacent folder with the originals that are manged by PM or have one master LR catalog for everything that needs manipulation. I'll experiment to see what works best for me. I was trying to think it through it before upgrading to PM+. Thanks for you insights.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

Yes, the DNG converter will allow PM to preview the edits you make to your RAW images inside Adobe programs. It doesn’t let you change anything in side PM, but you can at least see hose edits inside your PM catalog. However, it is a little clunky, so unless you REALLY need to see these edits in your PM catalog, it might be best to leave it off and instead bring in edited JPEG copies of those processed images, which will preview/load much faster. Regarding separated LR catalogs, yes, it’s worth experimenting, or at least giving some though as to how you might sort/store these processed selects. You want to make sure you’re not complicating your workflow too much, but you can certainly take advantage of what LR has to offer when used in conjunction. With a few exceptions, I think that a lot of photographers’ workflows revolve around making the most of two different software programs. Good luck!

[@Deep-Travel]

PM is a program that lived out it usefulness. Ridiculously expensive.

[@DanBaileyPhoto]

David, thanks for the comment. I hardly think that Photo Mechanic has lived out its usefulness, as I still use it every single day. Few programs, if any, can match the speed with which PM can browse through large folders of images and add/edit metadata. And I wouldn't say that $139 or $89 for an upgrade that will last a few years is ridiculously expensive. However, that's just my opinion. There are a lot of photo programs out there, which means lots of choices for everyone. What photo software do you prefer?