Workflow details

I am bravely climbing into the saddle of wedding photography.

A few of you have already helped me get a sense for how it should work. i am excited to start advertising and booking gigs.

One question i have is the specifics of how you all handle the massive amount of images that shooting a wedding would make. Here, for example is what i have working with the few free weddings i have shot and am processing:

1 - import all the raws
2 - preview in bridge and reject the ones that simply dont show how awesome i am.
3 - the select few then open in Photoshop raw, and make all the adjustments to really make the images sing.
4 - save the edited to PSD files
5 - finish the PSD's with whatever special effects, or blemish removal required
6 - present client with the finished images

Does that sound about right?

Cheers

I don't save them as Photoshop files, they go straight from RAW to JPEG's. Also, it would take forever for you to edit each file in photoshop, so I would recommend doing the basic editing in ACR or Lightroom, then saving them and running actions on them if you feel they need it.

LR (Lightroom) can be quite a help for sorting at first the images which show how awesome you are (I copied this ). Then develop the remaining ones with LR. It saves you quite a lot of time preparing the images over there.
Export to either PSD (hope you have plenty of space on fast hard drives) or Jpeg, dependent how much processing you want to to do with PS and if you have to adjust the levels a lot. I export all to 16bit PSDs, which are between 47 and 73 MB per file.
LR is quite a good tool, but for certain things you still need PS.

I don't know what you describe with "few" in your no 3, but the client certainly expects more than just a handfull remaining but awesome shots.

Dependent on the wedding, I have between 1000 and 2500 raw files, keeping about the half of these.

Edit: Saying hello to Halifax, I was there starting my trip cross Canada (and later the world)

that sounds good. I would recommend Lightroom over ACR. I made the switch and love it.

Here is my workflow:
1. copy all images over and time stamp the filenames (i.e. a pic taken at 7:30 and 9 seconds AM with an original filename of IMG_6789.JPG turns into 073009_6789.JPG)
2. Use Pixort to cull the crap (as Toogy puts it. He's also the one who got me on Pixort) and categorize them. I found lightroom to make culling very slow. It takes a couple seconds to load each picture in full resolution.
3. import into lightroom according to the categories I made in Pixort
4. do colour and density correction on files one by one (takes forever). I don't do batch processing because often the exposure is off from shot to shot.
5. select few get CS2 love. The number of files I edit in CS2 dropped DRAMATICALLY thanks to Lightroom's awesome spot heal/clone tool, and red-eye remover that work non-destructively on raw files. it's quite awesome.
6. while working on files, do individual small jpeg exports on files I want to use in a slideshow
7. when done, do a full export to full sized jpeg.
8. run a little command to rename the CS2 edited files... because lightroom adds a suffix to your filenames when editing in CS2. The command I use strips this off to make filenames consistent.

So yeah, pretty close to yours, except I use lightroom instead.

Picture Crazy,

any other suggestions besides Pixort. I took a look at it and it's only for Windows (I'm a Mac).?

ummm nope. Sorry to say, but software support on the mac side is poor...
The big ticket items are there, but all the way cool little custom utilities are all for PC. sorry I wish I could help.

Here's mine:

1. Dump all cards to computer in client folder.
2. Burn DVD(s) of all files.
3. Make duplicate DVD(s) of all files.
4. Verify files are on all DVDs.
5. Import all files to Lightroom.
6. Add generic keywords to all files at import.
7. Set filter/flags to only view unflagged and picked files.
8. Look at each image and 'reject' (by hitting 'x') each image that does not make the cut.
9. Go through the list again and hit 'p' for each image that is a 'pick' (above average keeper).
10. On 3 or 4 above average shots take them through the paces in Photoshop and make them 'print ready'.
11. Export all unflagged and 'p'icked images to small jpgs (800 max pixel per side).
12. Burn CD/DVD for client proofs. (This proof CD/DVD should showcase the before/after aspect of your above average shots you processed through Photoshop to show what can be done).
12. Get the 'A'-list shots from the client which are the ones the want prints of.
13. Photoshop process those images.
14. Burn all finished images to DVD.
15. Copy DVD.
14. Order prints.

My workflow's detailed from a link in my sig.

Thanks anyway Picture Crazy.

Here's mine, I tried LightRoom but really didn't get on with it. So I am old skool Bridge/ CS2.

Download all cards, extra copy to external HDD.
Open CR2 files in bridge,leave it a few minutes to render all previews
Run through files as large thumbnails, I edit in (i.e. I choose the files I want to keep, not the ones I want to delete, I fell I get a tighter selection this way). Tag all files that are keepers, red for colour, yellow for black and white.
View keepers only, batch adjust for WB and where possible, exposure. Crop (this is the long bit)
Image processor -> batch export colour (I have some pshop actions that I run at the same time that get my files how I like them)
Image processor -> batch export b&w.
Some files then get an extra bit of PS, but not too many.

Files are saved as JPEGS, PSDs are too big and lossey compression is over egged. For the amount of times you will open and save changes to the JPEG, your client will never notice. Hell, I'd challenge you to notice, except on those tests where they show you it saved 500 times. If you've opened and close it 500 times then you're doing something majorly wrong.

arikajordan wrote in post #4184321
Picture Crazy,

any other suggestions besides Pixort. I took a look at it and it's only for Windows (I'm a Mac).?

Hey there,

PictureCrazy might be doing a Windows bias here and not knowing that Macs actually have software -- sometimes more in niche markets.

I did a quick Google search and I'm not sure if any of these would meet what you want but this one seems promising:

HexCat ViewIt - http://www.hexcat.com/​viewit/ (it does cost $20 though)

There's a mini review of some of the browsers/batch processing programs here: http://alexking.org …5/11/17/mac-image-tools-3

And if you went to a Mac specific site you might be able to get some better recommendations. I still use Lightroom for my sorting/browsing. I know there's some others out there I'm just forgetting their name. Some are high end library management tools.

My workflow details:

1. Dump CF Cards to a folder called RAW DUMP during the day of the wedding
2. Finish wedding, get home and import photos into Lightroom: "import and convert as DNG" - into a master folder on my Seagate ext. hard drive called Canon EOS Archive 2007. I put it in a subfolder named by the wedding name "Jane Doe Wedding".
3. Use Roxio Toast and drag ALL the DNG files into it and burn a master DVD disc spanning over 3-5 DVD discs.
4. Use an app for the mac called SUper Duper which will make an exact copy of my Seagate drive onto my Lacie Porsche drive. I leave this Lacie drive turned off at all times, except when making backups.
5. Use Lightroom to start culling files. Sort by capture time as both my cameras are time set with the EOS utility. I only tag undesirables with an X. After the wedding is sorted, I just selected the 'show unflagged files" and it shows me my remaining photos.
6. Work on basic edits to the files. Like Picture Crazy, I can't batch because each file is different in terms of exposure and what not. I have a very organized list of Lightroom preset looks for one click tonal changes, desaturates, over saturates, etc.
7. Use the Lightroom WEB module to create an online wedding gallery for the client and upload to my FTP/Website using Lightroom as well.
8. Now I usually show my rejected photos and delete these. They've already been tagged as rejected, so I don't need them. I have enough other photos that i've kept.
9. Use Super Duper again to backup and mirror my Seagate drive.

Oddly, I have not adopted a naming structure for my files and weddings. I really don't see the need in my particular workflow.

Thanks Cujo...I'll look at those now.

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

Just wanted to ask, is there a way to apply a preset to a group of photos selected in lightroom.

BTW - lightroom is an AMAZING app. for those of you that have not adopted it yet, do take a close look at it, it is probably the best thing i have seen from Adobe in years!

Here's my current work flow.

1. Dump all RAW files into cilent's folder
2. Import the RAW files into lightroom
3. Flag my picks, flag my rejects
4. Edit the keepers for white balance and exposure
5. Export the files as jpegs into a new folder called "Lightroom"
6. Batch process the jpegs in Photoshop using Kubota's Actions
7. Batch process a set of black and white images
8. Burn DVDs with the processed images

I usually select my top 20 favs and give those some tender love and care with several different edits, blemish removal, and special effects.

*I have 1 extra step in there if I shoot with 2 cameras. I usually have to sort them by capture time and rename the entire batch of images.