How do you sort (cull) you images?

[NorthernFocus]

No ranking system for me either.
- Import files to my culling/screening catalog
- First pass to cull the obvious OOF etc. That's probably 10 percent eliminated.
- Second pass to cull based on content. That probably get me down to half of the original number
- Then additional culling using compare function in LR to try to keep only one best image from each burst sequence. This probably gets me down to 15-20 percent of the original shoot.
- Process a few of the best images and import the lot into master LR catalog

Beyond this I need to let some time pass to minimize the emotional connection that I have with the field time. I'm continually going back(at random) into my master files and processing additional images and culling more.

 

[MarkG]

FastRawViewer, it's amazing and way faster than LRC.

 

[RichF]

Beyond this I need to let some time pass to minimize the emotional connection that I have with the field time. I'm continually going back(at random) into my master files and processing additional images and culling more.

Agree about letting time pass.

 

[Johan Schmidt]

I use PhotoMechanic to select images I want to edit later in LRC - in LRC I use the 'compare' (key N) function to compare similar images to select the best ones - I rate them 1 star and then edit in LRC Develop module.

I pick the ones I like, not the ones I don't like - makes culling fast.

 

[Johan Schmidt]

How do you sort your images. I tend to have a multiple pass approach but am working to get the number of passes down to 2 or 3. Toss the junk and then find the keepers.

Mark the keepers in PhotoMechanic e.g. Red (2) and possibles Orange(3). Use the zoom option in PM - even if set zoom to ½ or ¾, this provides a fast view of sharpness. If you're in a rush to send off a few/ best images, select all the RED images, and rate the best few Purple(1) - only take these into LRC for editing. I shoot sports - only way to handle time pressure.

 

[RichF]

Mark the keepers in PhotoMechanic e.g. Red (2) and possibles Orange(3). Use the zoom option in PM - even if set zoom to ½ or ¾, this provides a fast view of sharpness. If you're in a rush to send off a few/ best images, select all the RED images, and rate the best few Purple(1) - only take these into LRC for editing. I shoot sports - only way to handle time pressure.

One improvement I would like in PM is to use 2 screens. One at 100% and the other to fit the image.

 

[Johan Schmidt]

One improvement I would like in PM is to use 2 screens. One at 100% and the other to fit the image.

I agree - something similar to Lightroom's Compare (N) function would be sweet

 

[MarkB]

I copy raw files to a folder using the Finder on my MBP, then use Fast Raw Viewer to delete the junk (out of focus, cut off something, duplicative, etc.) then import into LRC and rate as one, two, or three stars. One star is deleted, two stars kept in case I want to go back to an image, three stars are considered for processing. If processed successfully I give it four stars so I can easily find the keepers. I perform the initial screening before importing to LRC since the import process takes some time to import and build previews.

 

[Many Feathers]

With trying to learn Nikon Z8 from D850, I have LOTS more deletes.
-I delete in the camera if there's time while waiting for birds.
-Got FastRawViewer trial a few weeks ago and will be purchasing when trial is up. It's a lifesaver for me. As MarkG said above, it's much faster than LR AND it reads the photos off your card, so you don't have to upload the deletes, just the keepers. You then drag the keepers into LR, where it will upload the image to one external and copy to another external (LR preferences).
-Another pass in LR where I crop, compare or survey screens sometimes, 5 star the ones I want to share right away and delete more. I also love the Keyword List in LR. Can just checkmark, for example, Bluebird Female or Bluebird Flying. Then I can easily see if I have another photo previously that is better than the one I just catalogued and delete it.

 

[MikeInMI]

When I started shooting BIF at 15 fps, I had to adopt a new approach. So when I came back from Costa Rica with 6500 images, here was my approach: (1) I use Narrative Select for culling, (2) I use grid review to look at each "sequence" (which is a 15 fps burst) and from the grid view I decide which pics I want to see in full screen. When the pic looks good (composition, focus, etc.), and interesting enough, I give it one star. Then I have Narrative Select ship the "1" stars to Lightroom. Then I through the pics on Lightroom and among the 1 stars, I decide which ones standout and give those a second star. If there are still too many, I go through the 2 stars and determine which are then worthy of 3 stars. I do this until I get down to the number of pics I want. In most cases, I want to get down to no more than two dozen for each shoot. I've kind of determined that the attention span of most audiences is no more than that and that is what I show.

On most shoots, the pictures that didn't get one star in the initial culling get thrown away. I used to keep everything but found I never went back to them. I still will save everything from a special shoot (e.g., Costa Rica), but no every shoot I do. So far, I haven't missed what I've thrown away.

Here are my numbers from my Costa Rica shoot (10 days):

Shots taken = ~6500
1 stars = 1810
3 stars = 214

From here I came up with two collections of highlights, the first was 31 pics of my favorites. Yes, that is serious culling, but every shot is stunning (IMHO) and that is what I choose to do.

 

[EricBowles]

If there is time in the field I tend to rate images in camera to focus on what are probably the better shots.
I try not to delete in the field
When I am back from a game drive - I import all into LR Classic with minimal previews and apply my basic import preset - then I look at all the images 5* in the field and all adjacent shots - very quickly finding REJECTS (hard misses) and Potential (5/4 star) and the rest 1,2,3 star -- all 4/5 star are then sent to DxO Pure RAW 3 for conversion - while I go through the 1,2,3 again
Ultimately I delete all rejects and 1 star -- images prior to backing up all those left.
Each day I am looking for 5-10 shots that summarise the day's game drive -- but these may not be the best.
I only settle on my final selection once back home and I have gone through the whole shoot again often more than once.
I also find that my editing style for a shoot has to adapt to what I have captured and this can also impact my image selection.

Andy makes a really important point that there is a difference between keepers to tell a story and the best images from a day. It's important to have both. Nothing is more frustrating than to look back from a trip and find a degree of sameness in the photos - a lack of diversity in style and subject matter that overlooks important details that can tell a story. I'm typically targeting a similar number - 5-10 good photos for a day - even though only 1-2 would be the star image.

I ran into that issue right after getting my 800mm PF and making a trip to Badlands and Custer SP. All my wildlife shots were great - frame filling close ups or head shots. But l completely lacked images in the 400mm range or 100-200mm range that would be useful telling a good story or for articles about what I saw.

 

[Photographer_Bill]

#2 for me. I've been using Breeze Browser Pro (BBO) for years, and even though I also use Adobe tools I have not found them as "Fast" as BBP (for weeding out the unwanted images). I can blast through a slideshow in BBP real fast on first pass tagging everything that needs to go, pass two allows me to already have in memory most of the images so I'm more critical, for example, if an image is slightly OOF but it's the only image I have of the client/subject then I may keep it and try some LR or PS magic on it. Pass three I now look at "series" where I have a bunch of images that "look" the same and here I can do a quick 100% comparison with up to four images at a time - example: image 1 eye is in focus but images 2 and 4 are out of focus - tag those for deletion then compare 1 and 3 and make a decision to keep one or both. As mentioned above, I think of the story - whether it be for the client or for my own personal adventures so even if an image doesn't make the cut from a purely technical standpoint, they may make the cut from an artistic standpoint. When I photograph weddings this is often the case, sometimes I will keep a completely botched image, technically speaking, because I know I can use it to tell the story when I design their album; similar I suppose to what videographers do with B roll for movies and documentaries.

 

[jeffnles1]

Beyond this I need to let some time pass to minimize the emotional connection that I have with the field time. I'm continually going back(at random) into my master files and processing additional images and culling more.

This is why I go back in January to review the prior year's images. The passage of time does remove or greatly reduce the emotional attachment. I may keep a few images that are not "great or even good" because they will bring back a fond memory of time spent with family or friends, visiting a special place or just a scene that connected with me although the photo may not be that good. Otherwise, the duplicates and the ones I no longer want to keep around get the delete key.

Sounds like your process and mine are fairly similar.

 

[Rodamu]

I upload photos to a "Temporary" folder in Photoshop's Bridge where they are easily enlarged and do a quick cull of those that are blurred or otherwise obviously bad. A second pass eliminates most duplicates and poorly composed photos. Later I will pick out the photos I have a use for and move them to appropriate folders. Those photos usually go to Camera Raw for initial editing and some go to Photoshop for further editing and may be converted to another format. Some photos stay in the Temporary folder until I am sure some should be saved and others deleted. This system works for me as I usually take less than 50 photos/day and still works for trip photos that seldom exceed two hundred photos. Occasionally I will erase photos in the camera when I know they are bad, such accidetnly taking a photo of my foot.

 

[Photographer_Bill]

This is why I go back in January to review the prior year's images. The passage of time does remove or greatly reduce the emotional attachment. I may keep a few images that are not "great or even good" because they will bring back a fond memory of time spent with family or friends, visiting a special place or just a scene that connected with me although the photo may not be that good. Otherwise, the duplicates and the ones I no longer want to keep around get the delete key.

Sounds like your process and mine are fairly similar.

I think I will start instituting this as well, I kind of already do it, though not intentional, but as mentioned - the passage of time eliminates some of the emotional connection - do I really need 150 images of my daughter dancing? In the moment I think I do, but give it a little time and easier to let go of some of the more redundant photos. Was on the pier last week but only brought my 24-120 with me and caught a black skimmer trying to grab a little fish struggling at the surface, I caught him on second pass when he grabbed it and probably snapped about 30 images as he came in and picked his dinner up. In reality, at 120mm none of the images are really "keepers", but I did keep about 5 that "tell the story"...

 

[Ken Miracle]

Card in card reader and then I drag and the image file folder to my desk top (apple Mac studio). My initial cull of the images now on my desk top, Z9 20fps NEF raw or HFE*, is almost always the same with Photo Mechanic 6. The keepers I give a 1 star rating. When done I hide the 1 star ratings hit command a and select the rest and move them to trash. Before I empty the trash or format my card I check the show 1 star rating.

Then if all worked I import the remaining images to my external hard drive using Light Room Classic import (with copy setting). Then if all there in LRC I back up to 3 other external hard drives using carbon copy cloner. Then I delete the folder on the desk top and format the card in camera.

On some occasions like trying out new settings in camera or after a firmware update I open the files in NX Studio to see more of the EXIF data and "probable" focus point etc.. and cull there then import to LRC.

 

[tcrick]

I use Photo Mechanic to cull in several passes. It is fast enough that I can cull an event (I am a sports photographer) with 2-3,000 images in less than a half hour.

 

[gdecamp]

1. Download all files from card onto my PC using Photo Mechanic.

2. Go through each image one at a time and rate 1 star - will delete, 2 stars- save has merit, 3 stars - keeper for sure. All I have to do is click 1, 2 or 3 on the keyboard and Photo Mechanic automatically moves to next image.

3. Select all 1 star and delete

4. I generally keep all the rest and over time delete duplicate 2 star files, at 20fps have lots that look alike. Some may move up to a 3 later

5. Import into photoshop for edits, topaz Ai for noise and tweak sharpness if needed. I've got to the point I'm very fast at it.

 

[merlinator]

I download my images to the folder in my Lightroom catalog where I will add them in Lightroom when I've culled the images that just won't make it. I then view them in Faststone image viewer. Much faster than Lightroom and it's free. I delete all the obvious out of focus, clipped wings, no eye contact, and poor composition. I then add the remaining images to my lightroom catalog. I usually have to delete a few more when viewing in LR. I keep all the rest because as other people have said "storage is cheap". I usually process maybe 10% of my images. As my proficiency in LR and PS improves along with better additions to LR and PS I regularly go back and review older images .

 

[Emil]

I do the first pass on CP1 - preview, before I import the ones remaining into CP1. The second pass I assign rankings ( 1 to 5 stars) and process > 3 stars in CP1.