Ok you asked so... I forgot where I heard this, but having to deal with flags, stars, colors and trying to keep all of that straight can be confusing unless you have done it for a while. Why not make your first pass and give all of the initial picks a '1'. Then make another pass (of the 1 picks) giving the nice photos a '2'. If these are vacation pics the '2' picks will be retouched and edited. Then from the '2' batch go through and find the '3' picks and they will be portfolio images. With each pass you promote the best of the best to the next level. You probably don't need any more than 3 levels. Once done just delete the '0' picks. This way you only are working with one rating system of numbers between 1 and 3 or 4.
I too just use Flags and Stars, but I never thought of the 2 stars for edits etc. I've used colours for marking photos for a portfolio or calendar. Or where I had B&W versions of an image, I'd mark as unique colour to simplify finding them after.
Dude you just save me $150.00. I was about to buy photo mechanic for culling my images but instead I looked to the trusty Phlearn and you, of course filled me with the knowledge I needed. Thanks a ton Aaron 🤙🏻
I shoot weddings, so I need to keep a lot of my images - I use the colour ratings to divide the parts of the day (bride getting ready, ceremony, reception etc) so that I can separately cull and edit each section. Going in with 2000+ images to edit is overwhelming, but breaking it into chunks like that helps me a lot! From there I'll choose my picks, then edit the section with batch settings for shots with similar lighting situations - and cull a little more as I fine tune the edits one by one. It's a good system - I can edit a whole wedding in a day this way!
Interesting! I have a similar approach to you Aaron, but use ratings/picks/colour codes a bit differently. Probably because I'm usually selection a number of final options for a graphic designer/art director/creative director to choose from. Here's how I do it: Step 1: Selects the ones I'm struck by right away like you. For me, I rate these with the number 1 (one star). If it's a small shoot, I'll look at each image one at a time. For larger shoots where I have over 1000 photos, I'll usually select from the grid view and go by the general shape of the photo. It means that a few out of focus shots may get through, but it's much quicker than going through every shot (you don't even have to render previews yet). Step 2: Go through the one stars and apply 2/3 stars. 2 stars is for shots that I don't love, but could work depending on what is needed for the assets. 3 stars are the ones that I really like. Step 3: If there are still too many selects, I'll go through and do a 4-star pass, and then a 5-star pass, but I don't often get to that. Throughout the steps, I'll use a combination of loupe, survey and comparison views. I've also found that if 2 images are too similar for me to make a call, it probably doesn't matter. So I'll try my best to just pick one quickly and move on. Colour-wise, I use red to mark shots that I like but are out of focus, so that if someone asks about it, I can easily tell them why I didn't pick it. Yellow is for ones where focus isn't ideal, but it could still work. Blue depends on the project. Sometimes I use it to mark 2 similar frames to be blended in post. Other times I use it for my own personal faves. I often use purple to mark the faves of a client or collaborator and finally green is used for shots that are finalized and ready to export. I use picks (flags) similar to green/purple above, depending on the project. I should probably standardize it now that I "write it out loud..." - Haha!
Super stuff. Thank you. A slightly simpler method to remove all of the "absolutely no" images is to just go to the Photo menu, and then "Delete rejected photos". A little safer than setting the attribute flags, selecting the rejected ones and then deleting them all. I know I've inadvertently set the attribute flags incorrectly and included unfledged photos as well as rejected.
I do a reject pass from my SD card using Fast Raw Viewer, which loads raw files instantly with no rendering required (a boon with Fuji X files, which render very slowly in Lightroom). It's also great for finding bad exposure (by the numbers) and critical sharpness at a glance to allow a more thorough rejection pass. I then use FRV to copy only the non-rejects to a temp folder on my photo drive and I bring them into Lightroom using the "Move" import method (which moves the copied files into the LR directory structure without making additional copies). I then wait for 1:1 previews to render. From there, I do similar rounds of culling but only using the 0-5 star ratings. I find this gives a little more flexibility as larger shoots might require 4-5 rounds of culling, whereas smaller shoots might require only 1-2. I do as many as I need (well, up to 5) to get down to my final picks, which I bump up to 5 stars so I can consistently recognize picks across projects (though I'm thinking now that I should use the pick flag for final picks, duh!). I also use color labels, but only to visually group related images - like multiple shots of a panorama - not for culling.
I use a similar way to cull images, but working in full screen mode (F key) on black background (twice L key). First step with the PUX method, I generally use rejected (X) for absolute no pics (included the unsharp pics that can occurs in sports or wildlife), then CMD+DEL to get rid of them. In that phase, I also use the picked (P) to mark the one I notice at that first and quick step. At the end, I also give a 3 stars to the picked pics, then unpicked them (U). Second step rating by stars, starting from 1 and growing up to 5 if needed.The level will depends on how many pictures I want to select as best ones. The third step will be color rating, depending of the distination of the pic (portfolio, web, print,...).
Not sure if people know. But in your settings for LR you can build 1:1 previews as your importing your photos. How I go through. > Look at everything once. > Scrap anything technically incorrect. Missed focus, bad timing, exposure can't be helped, cropping doesn't help, etc. > Scrap any duplicates. And for portraits, pictures with bad facial expressions. > Scrap weak photos. What's weak is subjective. > I'll even delete a photo while editing it. If I'm not feeling it as I'm working on it, it's gone. > I'll come back to all the finished photos some time later. Go through them all again and scrap what I think is weak or redundant. > Before I do a permanent delete of the rejects I go through them one last time a little bit later. Never know if you see something a little bit differently. Maybe what some photos need is time away. Couple hours maybe a day (time permitting).
Render Previews alone was worth watching this video. Thank you! Our process is similar in culling, but I shoot alot without a tripod so I also have to cull images that aren't sharp.
Perfect Timing I'm about to do a 3 day shoot of cooking and staged food. Can you do an update video on file management/storage now that you have showed how to refine and cull images?
Hi There, The first stap can be quicker. If you pick your NO's (reject photos) than you can hit 'cmd + del'. Lightroom delete only the reject photo's and not the rest.
Great tips! Here's one more. After you have rejected your photos by pressing X you can go to Photo and press delete rejected photos.n Saves a couple of steps.
Thanks this is amazing and it will sure shorten my culling time.... Just one simple downside that you have to wait for the images to be rendered for previews. Otherwise the same procedure can be used on photo mechanic to eastern the process.
Definitely the most helpful video I’ve seen so far on culling images. Thanks a lot for sharing! I am currently looking at an effective way of adding keywords to my photos so I would really appreciate if you could share your advice on that. Thanks
Nicely done. I follow pretty much the same work flow, with the exception that I use a second monitor for screening and culling. Oh, and one fine point: I often work from inside my collections and not my folders. If one does so, one cannot delete any "absolute nos" just remove them from the LR catalog. That's a minor point, but one that may confuse a few.
Bob Belas workaround for that problem is to select all the photos in the collection, then switch to the All Photos source. the photos will remain selected, and you can press the Delete button. then go back to the collection.
I'm so much a beginner and I really appreciate all the help I get from you videos. Just before the 5 min mark you go to attributes. I can't click on this. I did notice that further to the right you have "no filters" where mine says "filters off". Would that make a difference? I don't have the option of no filters. Or am I on the wrong track?
Interesting ! I've gotten used to a similar way as well but it only happens through star ratings. I'll go through and rate all the ones I like with a 1 star. And narrow it down to 2 star, 3 star and so forth until ive narrowed down the select few I like as 5 stars. Then from the 5 star rated shots ill pick one and that'll be the final picture
Most informative video on culling I have seen. Thank you. Question : after choosing picks, is there a quick way to delete all the non-picks without scrolling through again and marking with an x?
Even with 1:1 previews Lightroom still has to load sometimes. If you're experiencing this a lot, you should check your settings for the Camera Raw Cache settings (preferences > file handling) and set that Cache to a couple of Gigabytes. This way Lightroom can cache the 1:1 previews and you can cull the images a lot faster, because Lightroom doesn't have to render the preview everytime :) Also, if you have finished a shoot and your done editing and exporting. Remove the 1:1 previews from the catalog. This saves up a nice amount of disk space.
Hey Aaron! Thanks for another great video! I really appreciate the inside scoop on the studio shoot you did. Please do more of that : )) Around 28:20 you have this rig on wheels that has a telescoping rod with an arm that seems to be really adjustable. Can you add a link (or video) to put something like this together? Thank you!
Hi Aaron, just checking - you are no longer setting up folders "Capture" "Master" & "Output" and exporting images as you sort? Thanks for the great videos!
Great tips, thanks! Quick question: After you've chosen your "picks" (step 2), why not then delete all the others that didn't make the cut? I can understand saving from the "picks" on up in case the client wants to see other options, but I'm wondering why save the others?
I just delete files and use the star system directly instead of doing picks and rejects. The pick reject stuff seem redundant as described. nice to walk through all the possible features though ☺
Seems a little cumbersome for big galleries. I do like it for promo shoots. do you recommend using Quick Selection for larger image galleries (ie. weddings, event portraits, etc.)
How did you show portrait shots as vertical on Lightroom? Did you have to rotate every single one? Is there a function that will automatically download portrait shots as vertical?
Thant's ok for culling photoshoots, but you have to cull wedding or event its slow and uncomfortable. I use game controller and JoyToKey program and just use star rating.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you !! Aaron, I've been learning LR-6 by RU-vid tutorials mostly. I'm always surfing the page finding new things by hit and miss ....... uhg ~ There are many tutorials that comprehensively describe a particular action I needed to learn, as is this one you just shared. But, waiting and hoping to find a tutorial on something I need to learn is frustrating. Learning by trial and error is even worse. Question : Is there some sort of book, lesson or curriculum that will cover LR-6 from start to finish or from A to Z as it were ? Thank you and your Phlearn team for all your generous sharing by tutorial, Sincerely, Steph_Louisiana
Great Video Aaron. I am just wondering what your thoughts are on after choosing your picks, say 25 of the 217, as you are only going to continue selecting from that point forward - is it ok to delete all photos that weren't picks? My workflow is similar in that I delete rejected shots immediately, then i go through and hit P for picks. I usually make a collection of the picks as I am not usually looking for 1 final shot. Once I have my collection of Picks, I don't see a need or 'use' for the images that were not picked. I realize if I hit x on those and delete they are gone but they too are just sitting on the hard drive taking up space. I figure you might say it's personal preference but just curious as to your thoughts. Keep up the awesome work. Dave
I love noticing that I've recently switched to a similar system. It even got put to the test this last weekend after sorting through a 800 photo wedding shoot. I've come to use this: Red: needs processing Yellow: done in Lr but continue edit in Ps Green: ready for Export (to either web and/or full size) Blue: Websized (I reimport these so that I can see if I've got a jpg/tiff file for the image already, or to show different edits/looks) Purple: Full quality exported 1 star: not great technically, or not great subject-wise. Still in the selection as back up if it turns out that it's the only shot of that situation (esp. relevant in weddings) 2: Meh.This rating is a midway station to remove the image from the filtered processing view. 3: Decent and relevant part of entire shoot. Not Excellent, but I can work with this. 4: Aww yeahhh! 5: Holy fuck, I made that? I love it! Step 0: add metadata such as faces, tags, keywords, copyright info, general location/coordinates (if one location) Step 1: Flag Rejected for obvious fuckups. Step 2: Select All and Category Red. (filter view is on show red, flag and unflagged, 5 stars or lower) Step 3: rate 5 stars to all the immediate LOVES/potential portfolio showcasing. Step 4: Rate 4 stars to all amazing, must-have-in-final product Step 5: Rate 1 star to the technically poor but perhaps usable (because nice comp or emotion or situation) Step 6: Rate 3 stars as explained above. Then I head over to Develop mode and put the filter on 3 stars or above, red, and flag picked and unflagged. When I'm done editing in Lr I either hit 7 for further Ps editing, or 8 to mark ready for export. Although I usually start by editing the 5 and 4 star ones, then go over to 3 star (majority, usually). This way I divide the culling and editing in overseeable chunks which is more motivating (esp. with 800 pic weddings). As I go through the shoot, star rating may vary and are adjusted as I notice I can't fix an image, or when I improve it by converting to B/W (at which point I increase rating). Hope this helps!
I love the video and while i work almost exactly as you do it but i feel like you should use the stars more... I never have a 5 star image with my workflow, i use one star and then if i do another cull i use 2 stars... the only time i normally go as far as 5 stars is for weddings when im doing many culls. Do love your work but i wanted to say you can us all the stars and not have to go into colours unless your doing something like different edits etc
Just wondering.. You use filter / attributes / flag / select / delete.. But since you've flagged them as rejected already, wouldn't it be MUCH faster just to use Photo -> Delete Rejected Photos -menuitem? Or still faster, Cmd-Backspace? Is there a difference between how these methods work or what?
When you accidentally hit '0' and the photo disappears from your filtered set, just hit CTRL- or CMD- Z to undo. You don't have to turn the filter off and play seek-a-pic to re-select the image and re-star it.
You're using the stars as a binary selector? Don't think this was the intended use of the software. Also, what was the point of labeling that as a color?
Anyone know how to reset keyboard shortcuts in Lightroom. I was using "X" key since a long time but I don't know why the "X" function has changed. Thanks!
Help, when I am in survey view any change I make to set stars (or picking or color) sets it to all of the images that are displayed in the survey screen. This is clearly not how your’s is working. Does anyone know if this is a setting somewhere? I like your method but not being able to work in survey view the same way is making it useless.
Its a bit incorrect in the step 3 to set a 5 star rating only for the one photo per portion. Using a such technique makes classification depends on the position in your catalog. It would be more precise to leave the last 2 (up to 5 for bigger portions / selection struggles) photos per portion with rating 5, 4 and etc. And to select all of these rated photos in the step 4.
When i'm having to pick images out of 200/400 images i only uses star rating. Start with giving images 1 star to the images i just like. Then go to 2 star which are better and catchy till i'm at star 3 or 4. Most of the times i already have the image i want, but sometimes i have to go to 5 stars for the absolute best. No picks or colours needed in my opinion.
I like the concept. But for some reason I like picking out the photos I like, and still keeping all the photos In the folder anyway. Probably my ocd. That my explain why my computer is slow as fuck though.
Ethan Hickerson In addition to all the info you provided, along with the addition of metadata, etc., you can also FTP photos straight out of PM without having to use a standalone FTP client. PM is really powerful and I wouldn't use Lightroom to do anything other than toning photos and maybe making slideshows.
