p.1 #1 · Photo Mechanic Workflow with Multiple Uploads
Looking for some help with a workflow scenario using Photo Mechanic. Here's the context...
A. Background
I'm shooting for a volleyball team that wants photos uploaded 3x during the event to get up on web / social, then the full album 48 hours later.
B. The Flow
1. I shoot for ~30 minutes, locking my Selects in camera along the way.
2. I then do Upload #1 with Photo Mechanic to ingest just the Selects (Copy Locked Photos Only + Incremental Ingest turned on by default), perform a quick edit, and submit to the client.
3. Back to shooting for 30 minutes, locking new Selects.
4. Then Uploads #2 + #3 with the same flow (Shoot for 30 min., incremental ingest, newly locked/selects only, edit, submit).
5. Back to shooting the rest of the event.
C. The Problem
When I get home, I already have a handful of photos that are 100% done (i.e., 3 rounds of in-game Selects). But then I have all of the additional photos that were never uploaded in the first place (incl. the ones taken in-between Uploads 1, 2, and 3; PLUS the ones taken after Upload #3 through the end of the game).
D. The Question + Goal
I realize I could set Photo Mechanic to "Copy Unlocked Photos Only" to ingest all remaining photos. However, since I haven't culled through them yet, there will be a lot of photos I don't want that will take upload time and hard drive storage.
Instead, is there a way to use Photo Mechanic to cull through all the additional photos that were never uploaded, mark the ones I want as the last round of 'Final Selects,' and only upload only those Final Selects without including the in-game selects from earlier?
p.1 #2 · Photo Mechanic Workflow with Multiple Uploads
This isn't 100% analogous to your situation, but I sometimes color code images that have been finalized.
You can tag selects or rate them with the Star system -- which you can do in-camera in many systems -- but as far as I know the color coding is unique to photo selection apps, such as Photo Mechanic.
Another technique that I don't personally use often, but I've shot with people that do -- create multiple sub folders and combine later.
Folder 1: Anything related to Edit 1
Folder 2: Anything related to Edit 2
Folder 3: Anything related to Edit 3
Folder 4: Anything not related to those first three edits.
I don't think that solves your issue though.
That leads me back to color coding.
Say you take 500 photos prior to Edit 1 (we'll say this is the entire first set), so that everything after that is from the second set or later. Now you have 5-10 photos (or whatever) that you edited and sent to the client. Tag these as Color 1. (You could also tag the rest of the images that are in PM Color 2.)
Now for the second 30 minutes, repeat the process: edited/sent photos are Color 3 and unsent Color 4.
Now for the next 30 minutes, Color 5 and Color 6.
That means that everything that has been included in Edits 1, 2, or 3 are not colored.
I hope I understand what you meant.
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I use a process similar process when I edit photos in PM for marketing/headshots for a client, but not with the sending and uploading requirements you have. I color code all the images I want to edit as Color 1. I edit them. I send them to my client. After that, I change them to Color 5. Then, when I come back later, I know that Color 5 photos are sent to the client. Color 1s need editing in Adobe, Color 5s have been sent, and then uncolored photos have not been selected as keepers, or not reviewed at all.
For games, I have tagged Color 1 for Team A, and Color 2 for Team B.
I also know a photographer that tags 5 Stars in-camera for the home team, and 4 Stars in-camera for the away camera. Presumably he removes those tags if he ends up not keeping the shot as a select. THen any images that are 5 or 4 Stars need to be reviewed again.
p.1 #3 · Photo Mechanic Workflow with Multiple Uploads
Terminology: ingesting is getting photos from a card into PM; upload usually refers to sending PM ingested photos to an editor like LR. With that, here is what I do pitch side for soccer matches where we are required to provide 2 feeds, at the half and again at the end.
Tag potentials in camera.
Right before the half pull the card, place in a reader and using PM ingest only the tagged raw files.
In PM mark all ingested with 1 star (ie = first ingest)
In PM crop those I pick out for submittal and change color to red.
Upload only the red to LR for processing and submittal.
Back in PM turn off visibility to 1 star photos (uncheck in the top right corner of the window)
Repeat the above for 2nd half only using 2 star and green for color
The above satisfies the league's requirement of x amount day of match. We are required within 24 hours to provide a total amount as well. When back home the next morning, I spend time reviewing in cameras for any additional potentials marking them. When done I use the above process again but this time using 3 star and blue for color. So in PM there are three levels of photos 1,2 & 3 stars with their respect colors.
In your case you could do this:
At home in PM turn off visibility for stars 1,2 & 3.
Ingest all remaining untagged photos. Only those will will showing in the PM window. Go thru them, tag the ones you want then do an inverse select for the non-tagged ones and hit delete. What's left is your 4th and final pull. Star all of them with 4 and use a 4th color. Since the first three starred photo batches are not visible you are strictly working with 4 star photos. You can alway turn on visibility of the others by checking them in the top right corner of the window.
NOTE: if there were 1 or 2 stars that did not get color tagged that means I chose not to submit them. You can set visibility to all stars then turn off colors for 1 ,2 & 3 in the top right corner of the PM window. What will be left are those which you can re-evaluate.
p.1 #5 · Photo Mechanic Workflow with Multiple Uploads
Caleb is thinking along the lines of my first thought...are you utilizing the color coding feature in PM? That is as valuable as about anything, IME. When I ingest--whether it's all images or just those I've tagged--I color code. Here's what works for me:
Red: Deletes (press the 4 key)
Yellow: Look at these for possible use (press the 3 key)
Green: I've selected these to process and send (press the 2 key)
Purple: Images I've sent (press the 1 key)
With this system, I can click on any of the colors in the top right to display them or not at any time. When all is said and done, I will delete anything that was tagged red, and I can always find images I've submitted (shooting for a wire service) or sent to a client by looking for those colored purple.
For what you're doing, you might c9onsider how I ingest and deal with marching band photos. As the photographer for a college marching band, I cover game day practice, pre-game and halftime. When I ingest and do something with all the pregame images, for example, I will color code all those images with something like a blue which I've set up as key 6. Then for halftime I will color code those as tan, and so on.
p.1 #7 · Photo Mechanic Workflow with Multiple Uploads
If you are using PhotoMechanic to browse the card, you can use a color to tag those images you want to upload. I use the color that hitting the "1" gives me. When done making the selections, go to the top right of the contact sheet window and click the far right square in the color bar. Only those image will show. Select all of them and upload. Click the far right square again will show all the images.
