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I am using Photo Mechanic v4.6.9 and Lightroom Classic v11 on a PC with Windows 10 for the first time. In the past I'd used Photo Mechanic and Lightroom 4 on a PC with Windows 7; at that time I would cull, rotate some RAW images (to portrait orientation) and give a star rating to each of the RAW images, then import them into LR4. The image orientations and star ratings from PM at that time always imported correctly with the images into LR4 and were displayed correctly on the LR "Import" (I'll call it 'preview) screen when the folder was selected. This is the first time I am using Photo Mechanic v4.6.9 and importing the 'star-rated and rotated/nonrotated' RAW images into LR Classic v11. On the Import 'preview' screen in LR (where you open the desired image file folder and LR asks that I "check the box" of those images I wish to import), the images are not rotated and none of them have a star rating displayed.
I have not tried actually importing the images into LR to see if the relevant images are rotated and if all images have star ratings at this time, preferring to know if there is something else I can proactively do to ensure the rotations/ratings are on the images when imported in LR, if in fact they are not (as displayed in the Import 'preview' screen).
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Version 4.6.9 is very old, and I can't find its manual at camerabits.com. You want to ensure that Photo Mechanic is actually writing the rotation and star ratings to an accompanying .xmp sidecar -- check in File Explorer -- do you see the .xmp sidecars after rotating and rating in PM? If you don't, then you'll have to figure out which setting in PM to use. If you do see the .xmp sidecars, attach one of them here and I'll take a look to make sure it's compatible with LR 11. (If the forum balks at attaching a .xmp file, change it's extension .txt.)
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Thanks John - will check and get back to you shortly.
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Photo Mechanic did NOT create XMP files. The earlier version that I used along with LR4 always created the XMP files. Please see attached screenshots that show current settings in Photo Mechanic 4.6.9 under the 'Files' and 'IPTC/XMP' tabs. Is there anything obvious there that I should change in order to get XMP files created? [As stated, an older version of Photo Mechanic worked fine and I'd prefer not to have to spend $139 for an upgrade that I will rarely use in the future, so hoping there is a setting in this 'newer' version than I previously used that creates the XMP files.]
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I'm not that knowledgeable abo0ut Photo Mechanic -- my knowledge comes from reading their web site and helping others here. Maybe someone else here who knows will chime in. Do you have the manual for your version? I think I saw a version 5 manual on their web site.
In your screenshots, the two things that look suspicious:
- (Currently checked) Allow raw files (non DNG) to be modified for metadata
- (Unchecked) Add embedded IPTC4XMP.
You might carefully experiment with each one individually.
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Thanks very much John. I've sent a request for help to CameraBits (sell Photo Mechanic) with a screenshot. Will see what they have to say. Really appreciate your attempt to help, even when have nothing to do with PM software.
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OK John - I'm back. I recalled still having a copy of PM 4.6.9 on my old computer. Comparing the settings for PM on the old vs new computers, I found differences in the "Files" and "IPTC/XMP" tabs; when I changed them on the new computer to match, then went back through the RAW images on PM, redoing the ratings and the orientations, I saw that XMP files were now in the folder with the RAW files. I then began the process of importing those images into LR Classic v11. The previews still showed no orientation change and no ratings. Again, I did not complete the import, because I did not see the desired changes in the previews. Can that be due to a 'holdover' of my initial attempt to begin importing the files BEFORE XMP files existed? Or what else may be going on?
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Attach one of the .xmp files created by PM to your reply here, and I'll take a look.
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I renamed a .nef file to have the same name as your sample .xmp and imported it into my LR 11.3.1, and the Rating, Title Artist, Keywords and other fields in the .xmp were imported. (No rotation was recorded in that .xmp.)
Note that the Import window will display any rotation recorded in the .xmp but not star ratings -- to see star ratings, you'll have to finish the import and view the photo in Library.
So complete the import for the photo associated with that .xmp -- do you see the rating, keywords, and other fields recorded in the .xmp?
(Also, note that you can edit the .xmp in a text editor to see what's recorded there.)
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Will do. Sending pics of my computer screen showing this photo in PM and then in LR when initiating import.
From PM
From LR.
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I do see the keywords and the rating after importing. But not portrait orientation.
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So I need to re-contact CameraBits for their input.
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Attach a .xmp file for a photo you're sure you have rotated in PM and I'll take a look.
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None of those .xmp files have an orientation field in them, which accounts for why LR isn't rotating them on import.
If this used to work with your version of PM, there must be some option that isn't currently getting set. Looking at your screenshots, I don't see an option whose name suggests it would include rotation. (The IPTC standards don't include rotation, so the options concerning IPTC shouldn't be relevant, but who knows.)
So I think asking Camerabits is your best option.
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Thanks for looking John. I have contacted Camerbits.
If you don't mind, would you please look at this .XMP. It is from a prior shoot which I culled-and-rotated-and-rated with this same version of PM, but on my old computer. It has portrait orientation and displays that in LR Classic. I realize the computer itself shouldn't matter; would just appreciate you humoring me. Thanks in advance. And I will take a look at the contents of all the tabs in the Photo Mechanic preferences to see if I'm missing a mismatch there.
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There's no orientation field in that .xmp either. This suggests that the PM on the other computer was writing the orientation directly into the raw file. But your screenshot above has the option Allow Raw files (non DNG) To Be Modified For Metadata And Image Preference Updates, which might be controlling that behavior (just a guess).
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Can't thank you enough for your efforts, John. Camerabits wanted to see the RAW file too (suggesting you're right about PM writing the orientation directly into the RAW file). I have not heard back from them yet. Will follow up FYI when I do.
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Looking at the main screen of each tab in PM preferences, I do not see any differences between PM on my old vs new computer.