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Archive 2013 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions

  
 
paparazzinick
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


With the end of my 2013 weddings coming to an end soon, I am beginning to think of what I can do better next year. One thing I would LOOOOOOOOOVE to do better is utilizing lightroom better. I am pretty good and pretty fast, but I want to get better.

With the introduction of LR5 and smart previews, I was able to cut my editing time down by 25%. Now I just added a new iPad mini to use with photosmith, hopefully soon adobe lightroom mobile. My point of doing this was to do my culling and organizing while on the go. Then when I get home, sync and edit. When LR Mobile comes out, hopefully I will be able to do some editing on the iPad too. But we shall see. I also plan on using the iPad to work with clients with picking their photos for albums and prints and such.

So this got me thinking. How do you all use LR? Not what settings and tools do you use to edit a photo. What is your workflow? How do you utilize your color labels, pick and reject, ratings?

What I am doing now is I reject the ones I don't want and then pick the ones that will go on my site and or blog. I don't really rate or color label anything. If you rate and label, why/how/whats your reasoning? I'm curious to why you are using those features. I am not using them and if something you all do seems logical to me, then I may add it to my workflow.

What I was thinking of doing is the following.

There are 5 colors so using colors for organizing the 5 parts of the day.
Getting ready
Ceremony
Family Formals
Fun and Intimates
Reception

Or something of the sort.

I'm not sure how I would use the rating system. Maybe 5 are portfolio worthy, 4 are print or album worthy and 3 would be a moment that has to be included but might not be print or portfolio worthy. 1 and 2 would be kept around and only included if I really needed one of the shots from that part of the day. Again, not sure how I would use them.

As for the rest of lightroom.... Brushes, gradients, spot removal, radial filter, adjustment brush, presets and custom settings are all mastered. Well ok, not mastered but I am pretty comfortable with my use of them.

Thanks in advance. If you have any videos or tutorials you recommend for what I am seeking, please do share. Wish I would have had a chance to snag the Hoffer workflow to see what doin.




Nov 14, 2013 at 12:05 AM
Robin Usagani
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


I color mine to identify shots by different cameras (which also identify whether it was shot by me or 2nd shooter).



Nov 14, 2013 at 12:14 AM
paparazzinick
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


Robin that is a good idea. When we import we import cameras in to separate folders.

SO it would look like this.

Lisa and Bobs Weddings
---D600
---D7100
---D4
---D800


But I see where your way would be better.



Nov 14, 2013 at 12:16 AM
Scott Mosher
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


My workflow for my own stuff:

- Import via Photomechanic
- Cull images by marking keepers as green. Teasers/Blog images get marked as red.
- Import keepers into Lightroom
- Run a script that selects all the green images, gets rid of the color and flags it
- While editing, mark any images that I'll want to put on the blog/portfolio as red.

Workflow when editing other photographers work:
- Import everything into LR
- Color code images by camera serial number
- Edit the images by camera. I'll edit camera 1 first and them match the other cameras to match. Color coding them helps me be able to identify/select images of the same camera.

Once my program I use in Lightroom (Paddy for Lightroom) is fully compatible with LR5 I fully intend on using it for the smart previews. Until then I'm using LR4.



Nov 14, 2013 at 12:51 AM
flash
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


I use keywords on import. Place, date, names etc. Then I cull with the reject and pick flags, by camera. rejects get deleted immediately. Picks will go on Facebook. During processing I'll use a red flag for a potential blog/folio shot. Then change it to green if it gets blogged and purple if it goes to the portfolio collection.

I should do more.

Gordon



Nov 14, 2013 at 12:57 AM
WNStudio
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


I shoot a lot of pictures- A LOT. First thing I do is sync date/time on cameras

I use star system:

1*- goes for album/www
3*- are ok, just cd/dvd for a client
5*- delete

One hand rates pictures- 1/3/5, other just right arrows to the next picture.

Then while editing 1* I pic ones blog/www worthy and change rating to 2*.

I also flag- just the ones for a vendor/band/videographer.

Works for me.



Nov 14, 2013 at 01:21 AM
Depth of Feel
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


I've been trying out VSCO keys as part of my editing process. I wanted something faster then the mouse but less expensive then RPG keys. I've spent 2 days with it and I will be spending $40 on it once the trial is over. I think I gained 20-30 percent edit speed increase.


Nov 14, 2013 at 02:30 AM
Jeff Simpson
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


I would not recommend using colors to organize parts of the day... colors can better be utilized for other things.

Also.. there is no reason to separate photos in different folders. Just put them all in one folder, and from there you can easily manage them with the metadata columns in grid mode. You can also apply metadata on import such as who took the photo (creator).

I started a fairly comprehensive workflow blog post a year ago.. it's my goal this off season to finish it! although I'll need to update it a bit to reflect LR5.





Nov 14, 2013 at 08:25 AM
paparazzinick
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


Would love to read it when you're done.

Jeff Simpson wrote:
I would not recommend using colors to organize parts of the day... colors can better be utilized for other things.

Also.. there is no reason to separate photos in different folders. Just put them all in one folder, and from there you can easily manage them with the metadata columns in grid mode. You can also apply metadata on import such as who took the photo (creator).

I started a fairly comprehensive workflow blog post a year ago.. it's my goal this off season to finish it! although I'll need to update it a bit to reflect LR5.





Nov 14, 2013 at 08:26 AM
Prettym1k3
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


-Import to Lightroom when I get home. Let render while I sleep.
-First cull. "P" pick (white flag) images I like. Skip over ones I don't.
-Run boiler plate action on all images (in color).
-Go through images one by one. Edit. Add in B&W's, adjust images, etc.
-Cull out images as I go that are duplicative.
-Sort by picked images for my final deliverable images.
-One final cull by my wife (a fresh pair of eyes).
-5 star (5 key) images that are going on my blog.
-Sort by 5 star images.
-Red box (6 key) images that are teasers.

-Export picked images at full resolustion and resized to 1200px for Facebook (for my clients.
-Export my 5 starred images at 800px wide for my blog. Open images to be made into diptchs in CS5 and run action.
-Export red boxed images at 1200px wide for teasers on Facebook.



Nov 14, 2013 at 02:57 PM
DblDrgn
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


Depth of Feel wrote:
I've been trying out VSCO keys as part of my editing process. I wanted something faster then the mouse but less expensive then RPG keys. I've spent 2 days with it and I will be spending $40 on it once the trial is over. I think I gained 20-30 percent edit speed increase.


VSCO keys is speeding up my workflow too, it's fantastic. For now, I'm still using the "Simple" layout to quickly fix white balance/exposure on an entire wedding, before diving into the develop module for more creative editing.

Here's our workflow, designed for a quick blog and a one-week turnaround for the proofs (with cloud backup):

1) we mark our "bloggable" images via the RATE feature on our 5DIII's, during the wedding (we rate bloggable images with 3 stars)
2) arrive home and dump all the cards at once (my girlfriend and I both use 64GB cards)
3) cull in photomechanic, (we mark our "keepers" purple by hitting the "1" key, then separate anything not purple into a "culled" folder)
4) create new catalog in LR, import keepers
5) convert to DNG, render previews (smart previews and standard previews)
6) move catalog to Copy . com folder on a fast "working" external SSD drive (this puts our previews and catalog file on a really fast drive with a cloud backup of the entire wedding just in case)
7) disconnect from the RAW files, edit the catalog from the smart previews on our fast "working" drive (unconnected smart previews develop a lot faster)
8) export blog images via the print module, export JPG proof images, upload to zenfolio
9) job delivered, now it's safe to overwrite the original CF cards and move catalog files back from the external working drive (and remove from copy. com cloud)



Nov 16, 2013 at 08:28 PM
D. Diggler
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


Prettym1k3 wrote:
-Import to Lightroom when I get home. Let render while I sleep.


Render? You mean capture?



Nov 16, 2013 at 10:13 PM
D. Diggler
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


WNStudio wrote:
I use star system:

1*- goes for album/www
3*- are ok, just cd/dvd for a client
5*- delete


I use the star system to rate as to how much noise reduction each image needs. I then use dedicated noise reduction programs outside of Lightroom for superior results.



Nov 16, 2013 at 10:17 PM
sgtbueno
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


he means "Preview" rendering


Nov 17, 2013 at 07:00 AM
paparazzinick
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


Thanks everyone. Great ideas for me to try.


Nov 17, 2013 at 09:40 AM
swoop
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


I'm a photojournalist so I probably use Lightroom very differently and probably inefficiently.

1. Copy import into folder "2013" into subfolder "November." Add name and website to images via metadata preset. Generate standard previews after import.
2. Browse through Previous Import and add selected images to Quick Collection.
3. Caption images in Quick Collection while in Library mode.
4. Process images in Quick Collection while in Develop mode.
5. Select all in Quick Collection then Export at 3000px at 300dpi into folder titled "assignment name_nov15"
6. Zip folder, upload to dropbox, share dropbox link, email to editor. Or upload to FTP depending on publication.
7. End of month backup "November" folder to backup drive. When I run out of HD space I delete those images from the LR catalog.



Nov 17, 2013 at 11:57 AM
Michael Beard
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


Our current workflow...

Start in Photomechanic: 1 star = reject, 2 star = keep, 3 star = blog. 1 star raws get moved into a separate folder, only 2+ get imported into Lightroom. Once in Lightroom I assign colors to each different camera.

I REALLY want to use Paddy or something similar, I can't stand how I need to look away from an image to grab a slider. I'm using LR5 so I hope Paddy catches up soon. Is there another software that offers the same functionality on PC?




Nov 17, 2013 at 01:42 PM
brett maxwell
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


p2fx wrote:
I REALLY want to use Paddy or something similar, I can't stand how I need to look away from an image to grab a slider. I'm using LR5 so I hope Paddy catches up soon. Is there another software that offers the same functionality on PC?


Paddy works fine on LR5, what's the problem? I'm a diehard Paddy + G13 user, I'd still be on LR4 if it wasn't supported, but it is.



Nov 17, 2013 at 02:57 PM
jcolman
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Lightroom Editing Workflow Questions


I keep things pretty simple. I import all photos from a wedding. I then render previews before I go to bed. The next day I start looking at the images in library mode. I give the "keepers" one star. It takes me about 30-40 minutes to look at all the images. When I finish I create a subfolder in LR, select the keepers, and they are automatically put into the subfolder (which I name "selects"). I never trash the non-keepers because there have been a couple of times I've had to go back to those images to find another shot.

I open up my selects folder, order all images to be shown by capture time, then start editing. I usually make some tweaks to the first few images, then sync all the images from that particular setting/situation. I still look at each and every image but most of the work is now done unless I need to use the adjustment brush or crop tool. I keep going like this until I've edited all the images. While I edit, I'll give an image two stars for inclusion in a blog. Sometimes I'll work an image in PS but usually everything is done in LR. I typically only PS images that go into an album or print.

I can edit an entire wedding in about 3-5 hours.



Nov 17, 2013 at 03:39 PM





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