Wedding image processing

S

SeanCampbell

Suspended / Banned
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34
Name
Sean
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi Guys!

To all the wedding photographers or any photographers who edit in loads of batches, what way do you edit your photos instead of going through each photo individually which takes alot of time. Is there anyway speeding this process up?
 
Outsource?

It depends on what you want to correct and then it depends if you can batch or have to do one by one.

Have you culled to reasonable amount before editing?

Also what program are you using?
 
Last edited:
SeanCampbell said:
Im using the latest Lightroom CC and yes I have culled a large amount.
Click to expand...

So how far away from where you want to be are you?

I don't edit in batches unless its for WB or exposure (under controlled lighting). Usually I use LR or C1Pro.

Still doesn't take long.
 
For future reference im talking about, What way would you edit large amount of images
 
It helps no end if you shoot consistantly, get it right in camera and you'll save ages. I find I can edit say 500/700 pics from a wedding I've shot in a maybe 2 hours sometimes less including export from LR. Someone elses wedding can easily take me days simply because each image needs loads doing and every single one is way different to the next shot in the same lighting.
Same with watching your background, if you've loads to take out (signs etc) it all takes time, avoid them in the first place, jobs a good-un.
 
juggler said:
Faststone, Perfect Browse & PhotoMechanic are all much faster for going through images & culling / picking than Lightroom.
Click to expand...
I've been hearing this for years, but LR doesn't slow me down for culling at all. I download to PC, when all images are downloaded I set it to import and create previews which it does without me.

When it comes to picking, it's a single keypress then right arrow till I get to the next pick etc. Doesn't skip a beat.
 
Phil V said:
I've been hearing this for years, but LR doesn't slow me down for culling at all. I download to PC, when all images are downloaded I set it to import and create previews which it does without me.

When it comes to picking, it's a single keypress then right arrow till I get to the next pick etc. Doesn't skip a beat.
Click to expand...

On my PC Lightroom takes a couple of seconds to load a preview, even if it's already been generated. The others are instant.
 
juggler said:
On my PC Lightroom takes a couple of seconds to load a preview, even if it's already been generated. The others are instant.
Click to expand...
Simon, when doing your culling in Lightroom, do it in the Library module rather than the develop module. As Phil, says, it should be instant there.
 
I'm with Simon takes too long, especially if you want to zoom to 100% in lightroom. My system isn't beastly but it's more than powerful enough but it's not even close compared to using perfect browse. I also find with lightroom even if I pre render the library previews half the time I still get that initial camera jpg flashup before it renders the correct image.

My wedding workflow at present is once I get home import all cards in lightroom leave running overnight so all data is backed up to onedrive before proceeding.
  • 1st pass in perfect browse quick run through full size images 1 star any images that look ok.
  • 2nd pass in perfect browse filter one star run through imagesfull size removing star from any that don't stand up to new selection.
  • Resync folder in lightroom to import stars from perfect browse scans.
  • 3rd pass in lightroom develop module go through each image check groups at 100% images for sharpness expression, apply crops as needed, 2 star all keeper images as I progress
  • 4th pass in library grid view use quick develop exposure adjust to match up images jumping in to develop to batch apply white balance syncs acroos similar sets of images, wish you could enter white balance values in quick develop :(
  • 5th final pass in lightroom develop module make any local adjustments and any that need retouching get flagged red.
  • Export all images as 16 bit tiff images to selects folder
  • edit flagged images in phtoshop
  • apply any final styling to finished images
I know importing through lightroom probably seems inefficient but I have import presets that work well for putting everything where I need it and adding meta data i want quickly, I can leave it running so it's not a big deal how long it takes. I could also probably merge 2nd and 3rd passes but I'd need to be more careful so not sure how much time I'd save.

I don't think it's the most efficient methodology in the world though it doesn't feel as bad as it looks written down but keeps everythings output quite consistent at the end. I'm testing out capture one at the moment and really like aspects of it but I'm used to lightroom for these jobs. On latest one I'm going to try moving to capture one at step 5 to see how it keeps exposures and crops as I really like their skin whitebalance tool, skin tone smoothing and overall output compared to lightroom, think it will make for cleaner images overall.
 
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CraigDHD said:
I'm with Simon takes too long, especially if you want to zoom to 100% in lightroom. My system isn't beastly but it's more than powerful enough but it's not even close compared to using perfect browse. I also find with lightroom even if I pre render the library previews half the time I still get that initial camera jpg flashup before it renders the correct image.

My wedding workflow at present is once I get home import all cards in lightroom leave running overnight so all data is backed up to onedrive before proceeding.
  • 1st pass in perfect browse quick run through full size images 1 star any images that look ok.
  • 2nd pass in perfect browse filter one star run through imagesfull size removing star from any that don't stand up to new selection.
  • Resync folder in lightroom to import stars from perfect browse scans.
  • 3rd pass in lightroom develop module go through each image check groups at 100% images for sharpness expression, apply crops as needed, 2 star all keeper images as I progress
  • 4th pass in library grid view use quick develop exposure adjust to match up images jumping in to develop to batch apply white balance syncs acroos similar sets of images, wish you could enter white balance values in quick develop :(
  • 5th final pass in lightroom develop module make any local adjustments and any that need retouching get flagged red.
  • Export all images as 16 bit tiff images to selects folder
  • apply any final styling to finished images
I know importing through lightroom probably seems inefficient but I have import presets that work well for putting everything where I need it and adding meta data i want quickly, I can leave it running so it's not a big deal how long it takes. I could also probably merge 2nd and 3rd passes but I'd need to be more careful so not sure how much time I'd save.

I don't think it's the most efficient methodology in the world though it doesn't feel as bad as it looks written down but keeps everythings output quite consistent at the end. I'm testing out capture one at the moment and really like aspects of it but I'm used to lightroom for these jobs. On latest one I'm going to try moving to capture one at step 5 to see how it keeps exposures and crops as I really like their skin whitebalance tool, skin tone smoothing and overall output compared to lightroom, think it will make for cleaner images overall.
Click to expand...

I'll be interested to hear how well Lightroom and Capture One play together.
 
I have the same issue Juggler, I find LR punishingly slow. i7 4ghz, 32gb RAM, 16Gb LR cache, Nvidia 970GTX with GPU enabled/disabled (Tried both). Nothing seems to work, everything feels unbearably laggy. LR catalog is on an SSD and the images are on a RAID Mirror set with 170mb/sec read speed. Photomech for rapid culling, then import what's left into LR.
 
I use Fast Picture Viewer Pro which I bought years ago - find it extremely fast and easy to use separating the keepers into a separate folder for further editing.

The latest version can batch process and do all kinds of things which I don't need myself so have never updated it.

http://www.fastpictureviewer.com/
.
 
SeanCampbell said:
Hi Guys!

To all the wedding photographers or any photographers who edit in loads of batches, what way do you edit your photos instead of going through each photo individually which takes alot of time. Is there anyway speeding this process up?
Click to expand...


Get it right in camera, create a light preset, batch the preset across all images and then go through making individual adjustments. It should only be exposure, contrast, tint and wb that need changing.
 
CraigDHD said:
I'm with Simon takes too long, especially if you want to zoom to 100% in lightroom. My system isn't beastly but it's more than powerful enough but it's not even close compared to using perfect browse. I also find with lightroom even if I pre render the library previews half the time I still get that initial camera jpg flashup before it renders the correct image.

My wedding workflow at present is once I get home import all cards in lightroom leave running overnight so all data is backed up to onedrive before proceeding.
  • 1st pass in perfect browse quick run through full size images 1 star any images that look ok.
  • 2nd pass in perfect browse filter one star run through imagesfull size removing star from any that don't stand up to new selection.
  • Resync folder in lightroom to import stars from perfect browse scans.
  • 3rd pass in lightroom develop module go through each image check groups at 100% images for sharpness expression, apply crops as needed, 2 star all keeper images as I progress
  • 4th pass in library grid view use quick develop exposure adjust to match up images jumping in to develop to batch apply white balance syncs acroos similar sets of images, wish you could enter white balance values in quick develop :(
  • 5th final pass in lightroom develop module make any local adjustments and any that need retouching get flagged red.
  • Export all images as 16 bit tiff images to selects folder
  • edit flagged images in phtoshop
  • apply any final styling to finished images
I know importing through lightroom probably seems inefficient but I have import presets that work well for putting everything where I need it and adding meta data i want quickly, I can leave it running so it's not a big deal how long it takes. I could also probably merge 2nd and 3rd passes but I'd need to be more careful so not sure how much time I'd save.

I don't think it's the most efficient methodology in the world though it doesn't feel as bad as it looks written down but keeps everythings output quite consistent at the end. I'm testing out capture one at the moment and really like aspects of it but I'm used to lightroom for these jobs. On latest one I'm going to try moving to capture one at step 5 to see how it keeps exposures and crops as I really like their skin whitebalance tool, skin tone smoothing and overall output compared to lightroom, think it will make for cleaner images overall.
Click to expand...

How long does this take please Craig, say a ball park figure of 600 images
 
Last edited:
SeanCampbell said:
To all the wedding photographers or any photographers who edit in loads of batches
Click to expand...


I probably edit more pics than most

Cull using fastStone.. one key for flagging.. Mouse wheel for next and mouse button to view 100% .. really is fast and simple

load into photoshop 70 pics at a time... straighten (I am shooting fast at sports so not always straight) and crop (I use primes a lot so need to crop a lot) auto anything.. but mostly shot right in camera :)

I edit hundreds of pictures every week.. thousands in peak months... lots of shortcuts in photoshop can do without looking..

never ever batch work on pics... for me thats no good.. would be horrified to know wedding photogrpahers batch work on pics..
 
Last edited:
TG. said:
How long does this take please Craig, say a ball park figure of 600 images
Click to expand...

I've not done a lot of weddings to be fair yet but I normally take between 1500 and 2000 images and cull down to around 400. Whole process sat in front of computer I'd guess at about 7-8 hours currently, the resyncs, exports.and imports obviously add extra time but I don't do it full time so I tend to leave it overnight doing those jobs. I'm still trying to speed it up a lot of it comes down to decisiveness when editing hopefully once I'm more comfortable I know my look I'll be able to zip through them quicker.
 
CraigDHD said:
I'm still trying to speed it up a lot of it comes down to decisiveness when editing ...
Click to expand...

Craig, decisiveness when picking the keepers or when correcting/tweaking?
 
Serendipitous Sid said:
Craig, decisiveness when picking the keepers or when correcting/tweaking?
Click to expand...

Tweaking them. I'm ok at culling I think, splitting it in to 2 passes helped a lot first selects maybe's second selects keepers which means I'm not thinking as much first when I irst go through them and then theres a lot less choice the second time. It's the part where I'm doing crops and local edits in lightroom I find takes a while I feel I spend too long going back and forwards I hope with experience I can get more of an eye for getting to where I want to end up more quickly. I will say I'm not making radical edits but I just find at the moment I'm probably overthinking and taking a while examining the frame for anything I might miss.
 
CraigDHD said:
... I feel I spend too long going back and forwards I hope with experience I can get more of an eye for getting to where I want to end up more quickly. I will say I'm not making radical edits but I just find at the moment I'm probably overthinking and taking a while examining the frame for anything I might miss.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. Where weddings are concerned, there's not a lot you can do until your brain decides to accept the fact that for 80% or more of those files, you're almost certain to be tweaking them well past the point at which both your customers and your potential customers would be delighted with them.

Aiming high is obviously a Good Thing, but if the time you spend tweaking your files starts vexing you or getting in the way of Life, you need to put your business hat on ...
 
CraigDHD said:
Tweaking them. I'm ok at culling I think, splitting it in to 2 passes helped a lot first selects maybe's second selects keepers which means I'm not thinking as much first when I irst go through them and then theres a lot less choice the second time. It's the part where I'm doing crops and local edits in lightroom I find takes a while I feel I spend too long going back and forwards I hope with experience I can get more of an eye for getting to where I want to end up more quickly. I will say I'm not making radical edits but I just find at the moment I'm probably overthinking and taking a while examining the frame for anything I might miss.
Click to expand...

I find I do similar. Selection is quick, as are basic tweaks to sort out crop, wb, exposure. But when it comes to applying a style most people have a preset that they then apply, but I find I can't come up with a decent precet that works every time, so I makes something up from scratch for each wedding which in itself isn't too bad. But then find it doesn't look quite right on every image so then end up going back and doing a second round of tweaks on nearly every image.
 
For batch image processing Adobe Lightroom is always a better choice. Having said that I want to add here, if you are not expert enough or you dont have sufficient time to editing of huge list of images then you can outsource them as someone suggested here.
 
I must be the only guy using bridge lol.

I import all my files to a hard drive then back up to another one that I keep at the office.

I browse and cull in bridge.

I'll open a few which are shot in the same light and batch process in ACR - then I export them to photoshop where I have a wee look and do any tweaks that are needed before saving to another folder on the hard drive. Once all the editing is done I copy that folder to another hard drive too.

Any presets tha I used are saved as XMP files and applied in ACR - I don't use lightroom at all but with everyone else using it I probably should investigate further. I invested a lot of time getting to know photoshop and anytime Ive dabbled with lightroom Ive failed to find any advantage - obviously not darling deep enough.
 
Lightroom and then a couple of light presets but we do go through every image :) however we have culled them first with flagging etc

Wish capture one had LR interface the raw conversion is turd in LR
 
windrunner said:
I must be the only guy using bridge lol.
Click to expand...

And I'm probably the only one who's never used it, despite being one of the first on the block when the beta of Lightroom came out.

TBH I still don't know what it's for and how it works, but thankfully I don't need to know now ...
 
I just use Lightroom now aperture is no longer updated. It's instant for me on my MacBook Air in the Library module and also on my Microsoft Surface Pro. Find it easy and quick to use.
 
CraigDHD said:
I'm with Simon takes too long, especially if you want to zoom to 100% in lightroom. My system isn't beastly but it's more than powerful enough but it's not even close compared to using perfect browse. I also find with lightroom even if I pre render the library previews half the time I still get that initial camera jpg flashup before it renders the correct image.

My wedding workflow at present is once I get home import all cards in lightroom leave running overnight so all data is backed up to onedrive before proceeding.
  • 1st pass in perfect browse quick run through full size images 1 star any images that look ok.
  • 2nd pass in perfect browse filter one star run through imagesfull size removing star from any that don't stand up to new selection.
  • Resync folder in lightroom to import stars from perfect browse scans.
  • 3rd pass in lightroom develop module go through each image check groups at 100% images for sharpness expression, apply crops as needed, 2 star all keeper images as I progress
  • 4th pass in library grid view use quick develop exposure adjust to match up images jumping in to develop to batch apply white balance syncs acroos similar sets of images, wish you could enter white balance values in quick develop :(
  • 5th final pass in lightroom develop module make any local adjustments and any that need retouching get flagged red.
  • Export all images as 16 bit tiff images to selects folder
  • edit flagged images in phtoshop
  • apply any final styling to finished images
I know importing through lightroom probably seems inefficient but I have import presets that work well for putting everything where I need it and adding meta data i want quickly, I can leave it running so it's not a big deal how long it takes. I could also probably merge 2nd and 3rd passes but I'd need to be more careful so not sure how much time I'd save.

I don't think it's the most efficient methodology in the world though it doesn't feel as bad as it looks written down but keeps everythings output quite consistent at the end. I'm testing out capture one at the moment and really like aspects of it but I'm used to lightroom for these jobs. On latest one I'm going to try moving to capture one at step 5 to see how it keeps exposures and crops as I really like their skin whitebalance tool, skin tone smoothing and overall output compared to lightroom, think it will make for cleaner images overall.
Click to expand...

That seems like a good solid workflow.. what about actual processing? do you have standard presets that you will apply as a base and tweak from there?

Thanks
 
Phil V said:
I've been hearing this for years, but LR doesn't slow me down for culling at all. I download to PC, when all images are downloaded I set it to import and create previews which it does without me.

When it comes to picking, it's a single keypress then right arrow till I get to the next pick etc. Doesn't skip a beat.
Click to expand...

You may know this already and it's tangential to the main thread, but there's an option in Lightroom that moves it to the next image once you've flagged an image as well, so you can even cut out the right arrow requirement, I cull (nothing like wedding photographs) with two hands, one for keep, one for discard, and Lightroom just moves to the next image after each click.

For me, once the previews are built (which can, I admit, take a depressing amount of time, even when I'm not there), the previews load very, very quickly.
 
EightBitTony said:
ou may know this already and it's tangential to the main thread, but there's an option in Lightroom that moves it to the next image once you've flagged an image as well, so you can even cut out the right arrow requirement,
Click to expand...


Keeping Caps-lock on while you flag does this
 
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