Export IPCT or XMP before import to LR

Question

Export IPCT or XMP before import to LR

I just subscribed to Adobe Lightroom CC and would like to create a workflow on my Mac to import all image (new and existing images dating back to 1998) into Lightroom.

Two workflows I've thought about are:

Create an alias of the Master folder inside my Photos > Library.photoslibrary package, and
Create a new folder (I'd call it "Imports-Lightroom") in my user Pictures folder and have Lightroom import from it.

I prefer #2 because--as I understand it--Lightroom can delete or modify locations of things within a folder on the Mac (the folder that actually stores the images). Messing with the Photos > Library.photoslibrary is not a good option.

Question: when I export from Photos to a new folder I created, and choose to Export IPCT or XMP, is the XMP file of use to Lightroom or any other photo management software? (I don't want to export 17,000 XMP files and store them if they're of no use to Lightroom.)

Mac mini, OS X Yosemite (10.10), 16 GB RAM, Fusion Drive

Posted on Feb 1, 2017 7:36 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 2, 2017 7:51 AM in response to léonie

Leonie, thank you for your reply.

I tested this after posting the question by exporting files from Apple Photos with and without the IPCT-to-XMP exports.

In both cases, Lightroom read all of the GPS information, including elevation and view direction. I could see this information by choosing the Metadata > EXIF setting in the Library module of Lightroom.

So for exporting out keywords and face-identification notes from Apple Photos, neither the XMP or non-XMP images transferred that information when imported into Lightroom.

In my case, I wanted to recreate ratings, face-identification, keywords, albums (called "collections" in Lightroom) from scratch to that I had a folder of all photos that would be manageable whether it resides on a Mac or a PC.

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

200,467 points

Feb 2, 2017 11:09 AM in response to Steven Gordon

If you export the edited versions from Photos instead of the originals, the keywords and other metadata can be directly embedded in the photos.

If Lightroom cannot read the XMP sidecar files like Aperture can, you could try this way of exporting the metadata:

But be sure to select a high quality and the full size, if you do not export the originals as well.

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

200,467 points

Feb 2, 2017 7:01 AM in response to Steven Gordon

The XMP sidecar file will store the metadata you signed in Photos - GPS longitude and latitude, the keywords, tile, caption. I cannot test if Lightroom will be able to read these files, but if I export an original photo with the XMP file and import it to Aperture or back to Photos, both applications will apply the metadata to the imported photo, if the sidecar file is present in the same folder as the original. I'd be very surprised, if Lightroom would not do the same.

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Answer 4

Feb 2, 2017 11:09 AM in response to léonie

I tried it and you're quite correct. In Lightroom, the keywords show up under "Keywords," not "Metadata" as I had expected. So the best way to preserve the Photos keywords is to export as you suggested. Thank you!

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