#Photo mechanic plus how to#
#Photo mechanic plus full#

Press Command-5 to add a purple color label.Press Command-4 to add a blue color label.Press Command-3 to add a green color label.Press Command-2 to add a yellow color label.Press Command-1 to add a red color label.

Press the 0 number key to remove a star rating.Press any number key 1 through 5 with an image to selected to give it a corresponding number of stars.Here's a list of shortcuts to tag images with color labels and star ratings in Photo Mechanic: With this option enabled, the keyboard shortcuts become easier to use. On the Preferences > Accessibility panel, change the 'Single Key Shortcuts' option to '0-5 sets rating.' These keyboard shortcuts seem much more natural for setting ratings and Find the section that's labeled Single Key Shortcuts and change the option to 0-5 sets Rating. Next, let's make the keyboard shortcuts easier to use. On the Preferences > General option panel, click the lightning bolt and choose 'Adobe Lightroom' to change the color labels to the same ones used by Lightroom. In the Color Classes section of the pane, click the lightning bolt dropdown and choose Adobe Lightroom to replace the default color labels. On the Preferences panel, switch to the General tab. Let's adjust the color labels to match the ones in Adobe Lightroom.

There are two tweaks that I like to make before I begin using Photo Mechanic.

#Photo mechanic plus how to#

Let's look at how to apply them to images in Photo Mechanic and then carry them through to Lightroom. Star ratings and color labels are two pieces of metadata that work with both apps. Set Up Photo Mechanic to Work With Lightroom

You get into heavy image processing with another app, like Adobe The best way to use Photo Mechanic is as a lightweightĪpplication to help you get the files off your card and sorted before You browse to a folder of images and just get to reviewing your latest shoot. Photo Mechanic works directly with the file system. On the other hand, with Photo Mechanic there's no complex Library to build, no previews to create and slow you down. This means the program doesn't have every tool you might need. It doesn't store images in a catalog or database.

#Photo mechanic plus full#

Photo Mechanic is a photo organizer, not a full editing suite. Now let's look at how to use Photo Mechanic to do what it does best: Use Photo Mechanic for Offload and Ingest We've established that Photo Mechanic is a great fit for the offloading stage. It makes good sense to use Photo Mechanic to review and cull images, and then hand off a limited set to Lightroom. Lightroom is powerful and where my images will live long-term, but the speed issues can be a concern. My ideal workflow combines Photo Mechanic with Adobe Lightroom. Photo Mechanic has long been a popular choice for sports photographers and photojournalists, but it's extremely useful for any photographer who wants to spend less time in the review stage, no matter the subject. Photo Mechanic is a tool favored by photographers with many images to work through. Keyboard shortcuts switch between photos with no delay, and tagging an image with a rating or label is rapid. This killer speed makes it a great choice for importing and managing images. Photo Mechanic is fast, much faster than Lightroom, for reviewing images. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to use Lightroom and Photo Mechanic in tandem for a fast, full-featured workflow. When every second counts, the speed and efficiency of Photo Mechanic is a big advantage. For high-volume photographers, Photo Mechanic is the tool of choice for reviewing images. While Adobe Lightroom has the capability to import and cull images, it's not necessarily the best tool for the job.