Entering metadata on a laptop/iPad/iPhone???

[jemostrom]

Hi,
I'm pretty new to Lightroom and I'm currently moving stuff into it.


My setup is that I have Lightroom installed on a desktop Mac with the photos on an external disk. Everything works nicely but I have a question: while it's nice to edit photos on the desktop with its large screen I find it a bit boring to sit at the desktop to fix the metadata. I would rather sit on the porch/sofa/café doing this.


My first thought was that I was going to be able to do that using Lightroom Mobile but people tell me (I'm using Lightroom 5 with a perpetual license) you can't edit metadata using Lightroom Mobile.


So I would like to ask if there is some reasonable way to edit metadata away from my desktop? My additional computers are a Mac Air, an iPad and an iPhone.


- jem

 

[Bruce J]

Take a look at the PhotoSmith app. I believe it will do exactly what you are looking for.

 

[johnbeardy]

Hi,
My first thought was that I was going to be able to do that using Lightroom Mobile but people tell me (I'm using Lightroom 5 with a perpetual license) you can't edit metadata using Lightroom Mobile.

That's right, but I confidently expect Adobe will add this feature before too long. A little while ago I accidentally discovered test code (?) that made it possible to edit captions in a browser using Lightroom Web. So I suspect it's coming soon-ish.

 

[jemostrom]

Thanks for the tip about PhotoSmith, it does look it's what I'm looking for ... the only worrisome thing is that the company haven't made much noise since first half of 2014.

I do hope that Adobe releases a version that includes metadata editing - to it feels strange that this isn't available already.

 

[ChuckTin]

The lack of sufficient and capable Metadata tools in PS, Bridge, and Lightroom has puzzled me from the first.
It may be that Adobe purposely limited LR and Bridge and this is part of the result.

Also I have a reference tome that lays out the Metadata standards for programmers and it is copyrighted 198ns so it's not that Adobe has to build tools from scratch. Rather strange.
At work we have a library going back to the 60s that is crying for that functionality. Pity that it wasn't available earlier, back filling is slways a slow and painful process.

 

[Tony Jay]

Hi Jem,

Another option to consider is to put your catalog on that external HD currently holding the images.
I do this for several reasons, not least the ease of creating back-ups.
However one other bonus is that I can unplug an EHD from one computer and plug it into any other machine that has Lightroom loaded and away one goes.
FWIW I do a lot of metadata acquisition work on my MBP comfortably ensconced in an easy chair!

Tony Jay

 

[rob211]

Look at PhotosInfoPro. I too have concerns about Photosmith, although I like it. PhotosInfoPro uses XMPs to pass info back and forth. That's a technique Mylio uses as well (which means issues for DNGs and Lr but they're aware of it); check it out cuz it works with Lr and is all about synching. For Mac OS make use of smart previews and a second copy of Lr.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Look at PhotosInfoPro. I too have concerns about Photosmith

PhotosInfoPro doesn't seem to have been active since 2013 - do we know if they're still alive?

 

[rob211]

PhotosInfoPro doesn't seem to have been active since 2013 - do we know if they're still alive?

Aaargh. Didn't notice that.

I hate paying for stuff that might be deprecated soon. But OTOH, it's a perpetual license, not a subscription.... :bluegrin:

Maybe Photo Shack then. It sort of made me nuts because he had versions on versions, but I think he's got it sorted to one now, Photo Shack 2. And although that means buying another version, it does demonstrate that he's still developing it. I think in that version you can edit metadata.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

I keep meaning to look at PhotoPhile too http://www.photophile.co.uk/ The guy who wrote it is still actively developing Lightroom plug-ins so he might be a good bet.

 

[rob211]

Photofile is a nice organizer, and syncs with Lr (and has EyeFi capability too) but although it can filter on exif/IPTC metadata, it can't do anything with it. You can rate, label and pick/reject though. But if you have Lr Mobile you probably would find its Lr features to be duplicative.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Thanks Rob. Any good for travel workflow? e.g. import onto the iPad, add keywords/metadata and then sync them back to the desktop on return? At a glance, it seems to be more focused on desktop to iPad, like LRM.

 

[rob211]

Thanks Rob. Any good for travel workflow? e.g. import onto the iPad, add keywords/metadata and then sync them back to the desktop on return? At a glance, it seems to be more focused on desktop to iPad, like LRM.

I used PhotosInfoPro for that, or Photosmith. The former allowed creation of XMPs, so you'd just transfer those, which is easy given their size. Then delete the photos from the iPad. I've done sorta the same thing with JPEG pairs too. But then I gave up on the iPad, since it was just too many workarounds to get anything done, although it's still nice for some editing of individual photos, or showing them.

I forgot to mention Mylio. It's killer at synching photos. You can do it selectively, and use thumbnails, previews, or originals. And it works with Lr; essentially both are referencing the same photos. Sorta like a watched folder concept. And you can synch with NASs, hard drives, all sorts of stuff. So you designate which photos to sync on your iPad; then they get sent to the desktop. You open Mylio, then do an "Edit in Lr" from within Mylio; Lr fires up and presents an import module, you import, keeping the same folder you had on the iPad and in Mylio, but now that's imported into Lr as well. If you edit the photo in Lr, those changes get reflected in Mylio, and then get sent back to the iPad. Cool.

http://mylio.com/supportcategory/other-apps/ Note if you follow the advice there it's best to do an "add" import, so the file stays in the same folder as Mylio uses. If you make some changes in Lr, you need to use the publish service, which essentially allows an export to be created, rather than non-destructive edits to the original.

I should probably do a little review of how it works with Lr somewhere here.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

That's been on my list to check out too, thanks Rob. I'm on an iPad-only vacation in a few weeks time and I'm debating the best app to handle the photos while I'm away.

 

[rob211]

That's been on my list to check out too, thanks Rob. I'm on an iPad-only vacation in a few weeks time and I'm debating the best app to handle the photos while I'm away.

I forgot to mention: don't use Mylio with DNGs until they update it. It has a problem with creation dates; long story, but Mylio uses XMP sidecars to pass info around, and it results in some problems with DNGs, which of course don't require sidecars.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Good to know, thanks Rob.

 

[boevermann]

I use Photosmith in my travel workflow with an iPad Mini 64gb. That allows me to load a full 32gb card of RAW files for review and keywording while still having room for other apps/media. I review and star the photos and create keywords and attach them to my photos, then export a .xmp sidecar to a dropbox folder. I can then remove the photos from the iPad in preparation for the next round of reviewing.

Random thoughts: Still using LR5 perpetual so don't know if this has changed at LR6, but LR doesn't seem to recognize the reject flag from the .xmp. So I simply use 1 star to indicate a reject. I quickly review those on the larger monitor after the trip just to verify before deleting them. I don't import my cards directly into LR. I off-load them to my hard drive, add the .xmp, then import the photos. LR reads the .xmp when it imports so I don't need to read the info in as an extra step. Photosmith is about the only game in town for how it deals with your hierarchical keyword structure. I love it! Yes, the company has been quiet lately, which worries me, too. Last update was after LR5 came out.

I previously used PhotosInfoPro but you must remember your keyword structure, which I can't! If it would sync keywords with LR it would be my "go to" app for my workflow. But the dev has been quiet as well. Maybe scared of LR Mobile?

Brian
www.brianoevermannphotography.com

 

[rob211]

I previously used PhotosInfoPro but you must remember your keyword structure, which I can't! If it would sync keywords with LR it would be my "go to" app for my workflow. But the dev has been quiet as well. Maybe scared of LR Mobile?

Brian
www.brianoevermannphotography.com

I wouldn't surprise me if both apps are disinclined to compete with it. Hard to compete with free, since both apps are targeted at Lr users, most of whom have Lr Mobile.

 

[Victoria Bampton]

I use Photosmith in my travel workflow with an iPad Mini 64gb. That allows me to load a full 32gb card of RAW files for review and keywording while still having room for other apps/media. I review and star the photos and create keywords and attach them to my photos, then export a .xmp sidecar to a dropbox folder. I can then remove the photos from the iPad in preparation for the next round of reviewing.

Great tip, thanks. I was wondering if I'd end up running out of space, even though I have a 128 GB iPad.

Random thoughts: Still using LR5 perpetual so don't know if this has changed at LR6, but LR doesn't seem to recognize the reject flag from the .xmp

That would still be true, flags aren't saved to / read from xmp. If you sync Photosmith, then they can be carried over through the SDK, but that's no help if you've removed the files.

 

[boevermann]

@Victoria, it's been a while, but I recall Photosmith writing a reject flag entry in the .xmp. I don't recall if LR was doing the same or not, but LR certainly wasn't reading the tag. Also, there seemed to be a reference tag in each for the .xmp version used and if I recall correctly they were slightly different. Unfortunate, as I would have preferred not to modify my star rating system. But it has all worked out beautifully for me and the way I choose to work.

You are correct that the SDK sync would handle things properly.

Brian
www.brianoevermannphotography.com