Using Lightroom and Expression Media to Modify Metadata

A reader asked the following question:

My specific question is regarding how you were able to use both LR and XM2. Did you upgrade from iVMP and added LR into your Workflow after it got released?

I used iVMP before, but am exclusively using LR. However, being frustrated with its DAM capabilities, i am looking to go back to XM2. Were you able to migrate your LR catalogs to XM2? Any thoughts welcome. Thanks in advance.

I understand the frustration with the DAM (Digital Asset Management) capabilities of Adobe Lightroom - looking at both Bridge and Lightroom I sometimes feel that Adobe just don't get DAM. But there is always hope for LR2. ;-)

I have Lightroom and Expression Media working together nicely (see here ). The way that works for me is to write the metadata changes I make in Lightroom directly to the image files instead of to XMP sidecar files. This works well with JPEGs and DNGs.

XM can import the metadata changes (you have to initiate this manually).

If you simply want to go one way from Lightroom to Expression Media you are done at this point.

If you want to work with both programs you then write the changes you make in Expression Media to the files (manual command). Lightroom can import the change and you can continue editing in Lightroom.

This way of working is not perfect because it requires that you to remember to manually sync, but it seems to preserve all the data.