ZachIsHere

Workflows are wacky. Everyone has their own way of doing the same basic thing. Like ordering the same drink from different bartenders. Yes, you got the same drink but those very small things that differentiate the two people who prepared the drink make a noticeable difference. But alas, this is about photography not drinking. Right?

I need to make my personal objectives clear. My focus is on the ability to archive a large amount of photos (30k+ at this point) to be accessible for a number of uses. A large emphasis is put on my usable photos. Photos that are making their way in front of the eyes of people other than me for some purpose. I need to separate these “final” photos for post processing and preparation for internet usage.

One of the most important parts of my system is the use of multiple catalogs. One catalog is labeled “Archive” and the other is labeled “Final Images”. Everything gets dumped in the archive. No matter what happens I have the raw files from every shoot ready for me to access. It is a lot like that messy desk, it takes you a minute to find the papers you need but you know they are there. The “Final Images” catalog has any work that is needed for print purchase fulfilling or internet use. These images are used so frequently that I love having them grouped together and organized away from the archive. You can find out more about using multiple catalogs here and here.

Import: My card reader greets the CF card like an old friend with a new bag of presents. All images are imported and given a keyword to reference the particular job or shoot for later. This is easily done batch style in the import screen. The photos are dumped on to my external drive with the rest of the general population.

Sort: This is where everyone really has their own style. Usage of the flags, color labels, and stars are all ways to get the quality shots sorted from the meaningless shutter presses. Judging the shots that are worth the privilege of getting to see the light of day is a 2 day job. The “quick collection” shortcut does wonders during this process. I go through each photo and add potential winners to a quick collection and only “reject flag” photos that are completely unusable. Be fairly liberal during the first run because you don’t want to miss a potential gem after a single run. Photos that have been flagged as rejected are deleted and the process waits for a final judgment at a later time. Judging photos at least two separate times is very important because it lets your creative vision step back for a bit and look at the big picture. Maybe you missed something that first time? Or maybe a different mood\situation leads to a clearer idea of what is important from a shoot. Finalize your choices and group them for export to your other catalog.

Catalog Transfer: Export presets are your friend. It is easy to add one. More information here. An export preset to send a full quality copy of the file to my “Final Images” folder is used to be able to send good photos on their way with a minimal amount of clicks. This is where the multiple catalogs come to play. This isn’t as hard as some make it out to be. The “Final Images” catalog is opened to welcome the new additions. You can import them manually or set the folder to be watched automatically.

Post Processing: At this point feel free to use your own creative strategies to create the photograph you desire. LR puts a lot of tools in your hands. No workflow is going to tell you how to make great photographs for all the different purposes photographers get presented with. Try out new things and experiment.

Meta Data: Once you know a photo is going to be used for professional purposes you need to get serious about organizing its accompanying data. Titled, key worded, copy written, geo tagged, washed, rinsed, the whole nine yards. Do everything you can to make that photo easily organized and searched as well as labeled in a way that makes it clear it is nobody’s work but your own before you send it out into the wild. This is also going to make it easier to go back and get these photos when you need them.

Wrapping It Up: At this point you should have a finalized photograph ready to be used in any manner you choose. Export presets are your friend, I use them according to reoccurring places my photos are sent like a WordPress preset to make sure the image fits the dimensions of the body of this blog. You have your tightly controlled “Final Images” catalog and your cluttered but trustworthy “Archive” catalog with all of your work in case they are needed.

My personal workflow is rather simplistic when you look at the many tools LR gives you to sort and organize your work but it works for me. It has a few weak points such as the slightly disorganized nature of the “All Files” catalog and the potential for minor data loss exporting a file to a new place. Hopefully reading the way I think about things can help you create a workflow that works for you.

At the end of the day the proof is in the pudding.

199 year old local woman on the Price Is Right. Holy crap!

Who would have thought a viewfinder could have a lazy eye.

Taken in the kitchen at the historic downtown “Kansas City Club”. The guests were so close to a set of doors leading into the kitchen that noise from the area going out into the dining area was a problem. The chef would quickly get the attention of any talkers and point vehemently at the sign.

July, 2007.