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Welcome Steve, you bring lots of skills to the group, we can help with the marketing and you can answer technical questions. Make sure you join our private facebook group as well as our monthly new member Q & A.
Hi Kimberlee, you have come to the right place, the need for these services is growing and your background is a perfect fit. Welcome and make sure you check the calendar for all the upcoming events including a New Member Live Q & A.
Hi Ana, What a perfect background. You have found ‘your tribe” for sure! Stay in engaged and welcome! Cathi
Welcome so glad you are here. Everyone feels a bit overwhelmed at first but we are here to support you every step of the way!
L. Weber
10/5/2018 at 11:51:38 PM GMT
Adam, do you “burn” the .mp4 files to a DVD using a particular piece of software or just do a straight copy of the .mp4 to DVD? I have Wondershare burning software but it only burns to the DVD playback option and not .mp4. Just trying to figure out a way to get both on the CD.A. Pratt
10/6/2018 at 4:05:16 AM GMT
I don’t burn anything to a DVD or CD. I deliver MP4 files on a hard drive to the client, and sometimes I upload videos to a web site such as SmugMug, Flickr, or Youtube for the client on an unlisted playlist. You need to discuss with your client how they expect to view the videos, and then use the appropriate delivery/playback technology to meet that expectation.D. DeMorrow
11/3/2018 at 8:53:33 PM GMT
Adam, thanks for your earlier posting. I’m considering getting the Elgato converter you linked to, but several of the reviews I saw mentioned that the playback ends up with muted colors and unsynced audio. Do you have any experience with this?Darla DeMorrow
HeartWork Organizing
856-905-3202, Darla@HeartWorkOrg.comA. Pratt
11/4/2018 at 7:02:38 AM GMT
Sorry, but I don’t have hands-on experience with either of those products. FWIW, I think analog-to-digital video conversion is a pain because of the time, equipment, and finicky nature of the process. If you’re the special person who does this work that’s great, but have you considered outsourcing to a specialist? That’s what I do? I do all my own digital video conversions, but I send out my VHS, VHS-C, HI-8, Beta, and Super8/16mm.B. Straus
11/10/2018 at 4:14:23 PM GMT
I just put together a very professional, high quality video transfer station. I am able to get finished products which look as though they were shot with modern video equipment, assuming the tape is an original recording and is not physically damaged. Video Equipment: 2 different high end SVHS decks, JVC HR-S9911U, & JVC SR-MV40, (with built in TBC) 1 pretty high end SVHS deck JVC SR-V101US (with built in TBC) (for possibly contaminated/dirty tapes) 1 average SVHS JVC HR-S3800U (no TBC) (for tape previewing) 1 Panasonic DMR-ES15 DVD recorder (for video stabilization, only to pass the signal through not to record), 1 DataVideo DVK-100 External TBC (for signal sync and stabilization), 1 Video Processor (for color and luminance adjustment and resolution boost), 1 Audio mixer (for audio level adjustment and EQ), Capture Equipment: I’m using a diamond VC500MAC USB capture device, Mac Laptop, ViewSonic IPS Monitor, Software: VideoGlide capture software, iMovie (for editing), WonderShare compression software. I also have a Sony Mini-DV camera for Mini-DV tape playback, and am looking for a Sony Hi-8 & D8 camcorder for 8mm cassette playback. For VHS-C I have a Panasonic motorized cassette adaptor. This is about 80% of what a studio would use for the conversion of professionally produced video productions. I may upgrade my capture equipment at some point. Initial capture is only slightly compressed. Results in about 10GB/hr of video. Final client video is delivered per clients choice. I recommend not creating authored DVD’s (playable in DVD players) since that process will add additional compression.
Attached Images:M. Macintyre
1/22/2019 at 11:05:22 PM GMT
I just happen to have a VCR / DVD combo that can record the VHS to DVD. I decided to try it with one of my own VHS tapes I created a DVD from the VHS, then used free Handbrake software to ‘rip’ the DVD and create an .mp4 file. It worked really well!Question 1: Can anyone tell me if doing the conversion in 2 steps (VHS to DVD, then DVD to .MP4) will reduce the quality of the final .MP4 compared to using something like Vidbox to convert VHS directly to .MP4?
I used Cyberlink Power Director (free, because it’s an older version of what they sell now) to edit the video – remove blank space. It was really easy once I figured it out (the instructions are lousy).
Question 2: Has anyone tried ‘upsampling’ software such as Fonepaw Video Converter? This article claims it can enhance video https://www.fonepaw.com/converter/enhance-videos-with-higher-resolution.html
Other software recommendations anyone?
L. Winningkoff
9/4/2018 at 1:59:47 PM GMT
Caren, on a PC I use Duplicate Cleaner Pro for de-duping. Here’s a link to it … https://www.digitalvolcano.co.uk/duplicatecleaner.htmlLisa Winningkoff
Professional Photo Organizer | Metairie, LAD. Davis
9/5/2018 at 12:55:54 AM GMT
I use Visipics (a free Windows based program) to dedup photos on PCs. You can download it at http://www.visipics.infoDarrell R Davis
Shoebox Photos
http://www.shoeboxphotosbcs.com
darrell.davis@shoeboxphotosbcs.comC. Osborne
9/5/2018 at 2:45:48 PM GMT
I have used a deduping software when all the photos are in the same folder but is there a way to do it if they are in different folders?Caren Osborne
A. Pratt
9/6/2018 at 4:31:06 PM GMT
@Caren: this will depend on the software you use. Does it work only on a single folder or can it work across multiple subfolders and nested folders? If you’re de-deuping across a large archive I would suggest it needs to do the latter.P. Pulido
2/18/2019 at 11:33:37 AM GMT
hi all, I haven’t decided what software to use for deduping.
Any software that you can recommend for duplicate videos files ? or all software have the options for video files and photos ?M. Macintyre
2/18/2019 at 5:34:09 PM GMT
I use Duplicate Cleaner Pro on my PC. One of the various setting is to indicate whether you want it to ‘Find Rotated’. Works well. You can set which folder you want it to compare contents of, and if you want to scan the folders against themselves or only compare contents to other folder. Also you can set a folder as the ‘master’ folder and compare folder contents against that. you should download the trial version.M. Macintyre
2/19/2019 at 5:44:20 PM GMT
M. Henderson…that depends. All that really matters is that the folder structure is sensible for the client. If the collection in general had enough photos to merit sub-folders by month, then I would not change that just for the odd month that had few photos. On the other hand, I’ve organized collections for clients that had a folder for various decades and no sub-folders by year as there were, for example, only 10 photos from the 1950’s. Use your best judgement – and if there was a situation with no single logical choice, ask the client.Meg Macintyre
Megabyte Memories
http://www.megabytememories.comM. Henderson
2/19/2019 at 7:27:45 PM GMT
Thanks Meg!A. Pratt
10/18/2018 at 5:54:41 AM GMT
Interesting development…I met this week at the Adobe MAX conference with the Product Manager for Adobe Bridge and there are important changes. The product team has released a new version and decided to make Bridge a free product. You need to visit Adobe.com, get an Adobe ID, and sign-up for a free Creative Cloud membership. This will give you a free license to Adobe Bridge with a few limitations (no Adobe Camera Raw, no preview of some video formats) but otherwise it’s an amazing app with lots of new features: https://helpx.adobe.com/bridge/using/whats-new.htmlS. Williams
10/19/2018 at 11:07:59 AM GMT
Great information (and news) – thanks for sharing. This could be a great option for our clients who want to use a native file structure but have a browser for viewing and manipulating their files.Sandra Williams
Infinity Photo Solutions
Vienna, VAA. Pratt
10/19/2018 at 1:24:07 PM GMT
Yes, I think this is a big deal and very generous of the Adobe Bridge team to give this away for free. If you’re not familiar with Adobe Bridge I think it can be a great tool for managing digital assets. I used it for years before I migrated my photo collection to Adobe Lightroom Classic. Bridge allows you to preview a TON of file formats, view all EXIF and XMP metadata, edit and batch change metadata, manage the core file structure, and rename files in batch using the same technology available in Lightroom. Overall it’s not nearly as fast as Lightroom when it comes to metadata management and searching, but it’s still a great app.K. Baldridge
11/8/2018 at 5:58:11 PM GMT
Well, that is great news. I’m back to Bridge for my DIYers. I find it very easy to use for tagging and sorting and it helps keep keywords manageable. Most people pick it up relatively easily.A. Alagna
2/20/2019 at 9:43:34 AM GMT
Am I wrong for thinking Bridge has facial recognition? Everything I found in articles said it does not. But here I am working on my personal photos from 2001, which was way earlier than I ever messed with metadata, yet it seems like the program started tagging people on it’s own about 15 folders in… and only one out of hundreds has been wrong. I know these photos were never tagged before so I’m kind of freaking out that all this stuff is already tagged including my pregnant belly being tagged with my daughters name.Thanks, Anne
S. Williams
2/20/2019 at 12:43:22 PM GMT
That is strange for sure. It would be awesome if Bridge had facial recognition but I’m pretty sure it does not. And I would not think any facial recognition program would be able to recognize your pregnant belly for a specific child! I think you were visited by the metadata fairy. Can you send her my way? ?Sandra Williams
Infinity Photo Solutions
Vienna, VAA. Alagna
2/20/2019 at 1:11:30 PM GMT
Now that I’ve thought about it a few hours, I’m wondering if my husband got into my pc while I was off caring for my father last year. That pregnant belly thing is his kind of joke. But usually he doesn’t have a way to get into my computer so I’m still a tad baffled. My only other thought is that I did it while I was on heavy pain meds after surgery a few years back and I just dont remember… but that still doesnt explain why the metadata wasn’t showing Sunday. I think that fairy you mentioned might have taken my mind and left me some metadata. Yikes.A. Pratt
2/20/2019 at 3:35:54 PM GMT
Adobe Bridge does not have any facial recognition features.A. Alagna
2/21/2019 at 12:12:54 AM GMT
Thanks Adam. I’ve obviously lost my mind. ? At least the tags were nearly all correct.A. Pratt
4/17/2019 at 4:24:03 AM GMT
Many of my clients end up maintaining their own photo archives with Lightroom Classic. I curate and organize everything for them, give them some coaching, and hand them off. I know some people thing Lightroom is too difficult to use or too expensive, but I don’t agree. Adobe has sold millions and millions of licenses of Lightroom and it’s only $10/month. Bridge is another good option because it’s free, cross-platform, and supports industry standards. One of the downsides, as you mention, is that there’s no facial recognition. It is possible to just assign keywords manually which is what I did for ~15 years before facial recognition was readily available. A third option is YOU. Have you considered offering maintenance plans where you regularly gather, cull, organize, and integrate new photos into the client’s collection and sync them to a cloud services so they can enjoy their photos anywhere?J. Gallen
4/17/2019 at 4:33:33 AM GMT
Yes, in reply to your final suggestion and that is looking promising. It’s those “in the middle” ones I’m concerned about.A. Pratt
12/12/2018 at 11:56:31 PM GMT
I agree with Paul’s advice. I almost never upgrade an OS and I’ve been working this way for almost 30 years. Instead, I backup the system, wipe the drive, install the latest OS fresh, and then install the apps and settings I need. After you’ve done this a few times and are comfortable with the process it doesn’t take that long. I’m also convinced it takes less time then the slowdowns and troubleshooting spend on stuff like this.J. Gerding
12/17/2018 at 12:49:48 AM GMT
I tend to agree with Adam that you have gotten a good long ride with your 2011. I find that even older MacbookPros sell well on sites like NextDoor or for trade in on many sites online. That should provide a nice down payment on a new machine.K. Mujica
12/4/2018 at 1:05:45 AM GMT
Thank you Adam – I’m dealing with my very first photo organizing client and I think I’m going to need to take a similar approach. I’m not that familiar with the apple ecosystem so I’m trying to figure out the best workflow. She has 18,000 photos in her iCloud photo library and I’ll be scanning 5000+ old photos. My plan is to integrate everything into one digital photo hub on an external device – so I’ll need to use those same tools (‘photos to disk’ and power sweeper). I’m going to use Adobe Bridge for renaming, tagging and basic metadata. My client wants to build her family archive on Forever so once everything is organized, most everything will be uploaded to Forever (metadata works on upload/downloads, however new updates made on the Forever platform aren’t retained – which is a bummer). My biggest obstacle is understanding how to approach maintenance – making sure that new photos are brought into the DPH correctly. I would love to ‘follow’ your project and see how you are going to handle the maintenance part.I’ve listened to Jenny & Paul’s breakout about using Mac Photos & iCloud Photo Library (Thank you Jenny & Paul….so very helpful!!!), but now I need a class that gives the steps for working with a client that doesn’t pass the 4-question assessment! Those currently in the apple ecosystem that want or need a different solution.
A. Pratt
12/4/2018 at 3:38:01 PM GMT
My advice about maintenance is that it’s just an extension of your organizing workflow. You might be adding new digital photos your clients takes in 2019 or integrating new scans from the 1950s your client discovered in an old show box, but it’s all the same process. I just integrate them into the chronological file structure, add all the metadata that I use, and then tidy up with consistent file and folder renaming. Then you can sync the difference into SmugMug, Forever, backups, etc. that you might be using. I cover all of that in my new Lightroom course if that interests you: https://www.photoorganizers.academy/courses/organizing-photos-with-adobe-lightroom-classic Also note that you can do everything you describe with Adobe Bridge, but it would be a much faster project with Lightroom Classic.J. Gerding
3/3/2019 at 5:04:44 AM GMT
DL Client’s iCPL onto EHD
I have followed the thread to download iCPL onto EHD to use that as the primary Photos Library, but did not see mention of whether the client has to temporarily disable uploads to iCPL while it is downloading. My client has about 95k of photos and I have been running into many interruptions and aborted attempts while trying to DL. Any help is appreciated! JeanA. Wagner
3/4/2019 at 4:57:09 AM GMT
Hi- I don’t believe they have to disable uploading. I am working with a client with 48k photos and have also had a tough time with the download. Connecting my computer directly to my modem helped. Have you checked the speed of your internet? This also can make or break a download. I ended up calling our provider and paying for the next level up.L. Tanis
2/9/2019 at 3:36:57 PM GMT
Thanks Meg. I am not a fan of Amazon Photos but it is what the client wants as they do have several thousand photos already there. From what I read Google Photos is disappearing this spring.Lisa Tanis
Beechwood Photo OrganizingK. Mujica
3/15/2019 at 6:06:49 PM GMT
My son works for Google (Youtube) so I wanted to clear up any confusion. Google+ (which is their social media network) is disappearing on April 2nd, not Google Photos. So they recommend that anyone that uses Google+ download any photos and content before then. This won’t affect anyone using Google Photos.P. Einarsen
3/25/2019 at 12:52:05 PM GMT
Adam – I don’t believe that’s true anymore. I get it that many people don’t embrace the “walled garden” user experience of the Photos ecosystem and prefer a free range folder environment. But that’s not the same thing as saying Apple does a terrible job of supporting industry-standard metadata. Apple honors everything. Photos even finds video creation dates that don’t appear in the OS. And thanks to improved export options and 3rd party apps like Photos-to-Disk, you CAN extract images from the library with no degradation and all their metadata intact. If you want to. The thing is that as professional photo organizers, I think we need to understand where there are true technical issues and where software choice is just a matter of preferred user experience. Sorry for the pushback, Adam, but I think the Photos debate is all about user experience (for organizer and client) and leftover scars from the iPhoto years. Not for technical reasons.A. Pratt
3/25/2019 at 6:29:07 PM GMT
Paul, I don’t mind the pushback at all. 🙂 I’m sure we can all learn new things and better ways of working from this thread. I’ve done these tests many times in the past, but I just performed them again with Photos 4 (3421.5.230) on a brand new MacBook Pro running Mojave (10.14.3) and here’s what I’m seeing: 1. Apple Photos and the Mac OS will retain IPTC/XMP metadata embedded by other software. I’ve never seen an exception to this. 2. Apple Photos can write/edit very few IPTC fields. It seems to only support keywords, description, title, and GPS. You can type whatever you want in the location field, but as far as I can tell the only location data saved is GPS coordinates. This means that address/sublocation, city, state, and country are ignored. There are hundreds of possible IPTC fields, but most of aren’t used by most folks. Two notable omissions are the creator and copyright fields. 3. If I want to embed metadata assigned with Apple Photos I must export and recompress the images. On average, this is bloating my files 45-55%. 4. If I export with XMP sidecar files I can’t find any software that will merge those files so that the metadata is viewable, searchable, or embedded in the images. I’ve tried with Lightroom Classic and Bridge and can’t get either of them to read and merge the XMP sidecar files. This thread matches my experience: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8016541 Do you know another way? 5. If I use Photos to Disk and customize the Metadata preference to embed metadata then all the metadata is embedded losslessly into the export images, EXCEPT none of the recognized people/faces tags are retained as keywords or any other metadata field. ADAM’S CONCLUSION: It’s not possible to embed industry-standard metadata into images with Apple Photos without recompressing and bloating my files. I can achieve a workaround with third-party software (Photos to Disk), but I still lose what I consider to be the most important subject: the people. These are the technical reasons I don’t think the metadata support in Apple Photos is sufficient. QUESTION: Are you seeing a different result on my points above or know an answer to my question in #4?P. Einarsen
4/17/2017 at 7:30:18 PM GMT
You are on the right track. So one way or another, you need to purge the client iCPL and devices so you can replace all of them with your new, improved, edited version. You can either do that in your client user account or on the MacBook Pro. It kind of comes down to where you want to spend your time.J. Kessler
4/17/2017 at 10:27:01 PM GMT
Thanks for answering all these questions. To purge from photos that are in a library and on a phone, would I just select all from the live library and delete from there? Then switch to the organized library and let iCloud Photo Library take over and sync it to her account?J. Kessler
4/19/2017 at 9:14:25 PM GMT
So we tried this on my library (since it’s just a test one). Purged photos from the library on my iMac and all the photos on other synced devices eventually disappeared (iMac, Macbook Pro, iPhone and iPad). We did need to also purge all the albums as a separate step. I agree with Paul that this is definitely not optimum because it just feels weird (and scary) to watch a library go from being populated to empty! Then opened the organized test library from my Macbook Pro, made sure iCloud knew it was the System Library and let everything populate to/from iCloud. It took about an hour to repopulate – also a good reason to work from the live account whenever possible. I did learn that I needed to keep the empty library on the iMac so iCloud would recognize it as a library on my account. Otherwise it considered any other library as an outsider and didn’t allow me to sync it with my account. Given this experience, I’ve decided to re-organize the clients live library (even though I’d already done this with her copy). Just feels like the safest option. This will sync with her iPhone as we work which she is fine with. Then when I meet with her next, I’ll purge the contents of her Macbook Pro library (a smaller library) and then sync it with iCloud. Hopefully her account will recognize it as being a device in her account. In order to continue maintaining her library, is there any reason why I need to make the library on her Macbook Pro the System Library?A. Henley
3/30/2019 at 4:12:29 PM GMT
Julie, wondering if you have any follow up regarding this process – I am going through the SAME thing with a client.
Obviously I shall try to summon Paul on this as well 😉I Exported and organized her Photos library into folder structure and she’s contemplating moving back into Photos App so I’m wondering the process….her iPhone is synced with iCPL, her MacBook Air is NOT, and I think her iPad is still. I don’t need to preserve anything from her MacBook Air Photos library.
What would be best workflow to introduce a new organized Photos Library? Not sure what you meant by ‘purge the iCPl’ so I’m wondering if it’s best to just ask for your general workflow?
Thanks for letting me piggyback onto this thread 😉
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