Why photojournalists prefer using Photo Mechanic to Adobe Bridge

An example how an edited photo using Photoshop returns beside the unedited version in Photo Mechanic.

   During a recent course chat with a Kent State grad student in the Teaching Multimedia course, she questioned the use of Photo Mechanic as part of the photography assignment workflow. She thought using Photo Mechanic was an extra, unnecessary step in the photo editing process.

   It is a good question. After all, if you already have access to Adobe Bridge, then why bother with Photo Mechanic (PM)? After all, both are media browsers that accelerate your workflow. Once photos are ingested, both allow you to preview your photo shoot and tag your selection via color codes or stars. 

   And neither offer the editing option. Although PM allows you to do a simple crop and crooked horizon adjustment. You still have to edit your images through Photoshop, Adobe Elements or Lightroom.

   But there are a few distinct differences that make PM an industry standard for photojournalists.     

   Here are a few reasons why PM is the browser of choice for photojournalists:

• PM is cheaper. Version 5 is a one-time price of $150. No monthly fee. You also get an education discount.
• It is a cross-platform, standalone browser that is compatible for both MACs and PCs, and one license will work on up to three different computers.
• You can write captions in the IPTC Stationary Pad. You can caption a single image, or a group of images fast and simple; and those captions carry over onto your Wordpress blog posts. The IPTC Stationary Pad also allows you to add copyright information.
• You can transmit your images right out of PM to your newspaper or organization. This prevents you from having to email, Dropbox or Google Drive your images.    

   So, if you are a Digital Photojournalism or Teaching Multimedia student of mine, it would be a disservice not to expose you to Photo Mechanic, a powerful image browser and workflow accelerator made for photojournalists who work fast and furious on deadlines.

   Consider this: After an assignment, we are expected to quickly upload hundreds of images, select and write captions for the chosen ones, edit them, and then transmit (export) them moments after the assignment has ended. 

   Adobe Bridge is just too impractical for what we have to accomplish.

Taking you through the editing workflow: Photo Mechanic & Photoshop

   The following Camtasia tutorial takes you through the motions of photo selection, editing and uploading photos to your Wordpress blog.
   It's certainly not perfect, but I hope it's a helpful guide. Please take 35 minutes out of your day to view it. This video will answer a lot of your questions. Thanks!

How to add keywords to your Wordpress posts

   Keywords are certain words in your blog post that are searchable. 

   For example, in the blog post (see below) about autism, notice that two of the keywords on the left, under the Category and Tags tab are autism, Bittersweet Farms, etc. When a reader is searching for those topics, your blog post could pop up.

To add a keyword, follow these steps:

1.              Log into your site by going to Wordpress.com

2.              Click on My Site

3.              Click on the words Blog Posts (to edit existing blog post), or the Add button to add a new blog post

4.              If adding keywords to an existing blog post, find that blog post then hit the Edit button and open up the blog post.

5.              In the left menu, Click on Categories & Tags

6.              Write your keywords that you should pull out of your blog post. Typically, add your keywords after you write your blog post so you know what words to use.

Example:

Podcast on camera controls: ISO, shutter speed and aperture explained

 

Beautiful chaos: The method of math in photography. White board at WSU for camera control lesson Feb. 2.

   The dual podcasts below offer simple explanations of camera controls: ISO, shutter speed and aperture.
   Because of time constraints on the free version of AudioBoom, which only allows you to record 10-minute podcasts, this lesson is broken down into two parts: ISO and shutter speed is segment one; aperture is segment two.
   Thank you for listening!