lightroom workflow questions

12sndsgood · Aug 17, 2012

So my only exposure to processing so far has been CS5 and I have been using there raw converter to do the majority of my adjustments and then id pull a certain percentage of photos into photoshop itself for more work or for adding watermarks or resizing for the web. I have just started using presets where i'd adjust the first photo. save a preset, then pull up my next photo. hit the preset button to do those changes and then give it a quick once over or crop and straighten to finish up. Hasn't been a big deal till lately. I did a wedding and I started realising I need to speed up this process a lot. I would use the nik software to go thru my photos and tag them with the ones i wanted to edit, then id look at the photo number and then use cs5 to open and edit. I know you can pull this up in bridge, I just havnt worked with that. for things like the drifting event I covered this past weekend it would be great if i could just go into lightroom, edit them all up in the one window and be done so to speak. Can you easily make a preset in Lightroom and automatically have that preset change every drawing? is it that simple. or it is the same as what i'm using now. I am not good on the whole automation processes at all. I'm learning photoshop as I go. Sorry if this post is confusing.

Big Mike · Aug 17, 2012

Firstly, to answer your question, yes you can. What you are looking for is the 'Sync' button/feature. You make adjustments to one image, then select a bunch of other images (keeping the edited one active/on top) and hit sync. It will being up a window with a bunch of check boxes, you just check the aspects that you want applied to the other images and hit OK. Boom, done.

As for workflow in Lightroom, there are as many different ones as there are photographers, but this is how I teach it in my Lightroom class.
Start with one or two types of editing, and run though the images....and of course, start with culling/week whacking to cut down the number of images.

So first, run though and get rid of the bad ones. Then run though again and either cut down the 'only average' ones or pick out the best ones.
Then move onto something like cropping. Crop (and straighten) one image, then the next, then the next etc.
Then go though and adjust/set the WB. (depending on the type of shoot, you could probably sync many of the photos)
Then go though them adjusting the 6 exposure/brightness sliders.
Then maybe color, then maybe gradient filter & adjustment wand.
Then affects (vignette)
Then details (sharpening & noise reduction)
Spot healing/cloning can fit well in the cropping stage or with gradient/adjustment brush.

But the point is that if you have a lot of images, it's likely going to be better/faster if you can fixate your brain on one type of editing and run though your images, then switch to a different type of edit, and run though again....etc.

12sndsgood · Aug 17, 2012

Looks like I should really breakdown and just get this. it just sounds like it's going to speed things up. I have about 1500 drifting photos to go thru right now that i'm behind on and havnt started. all during the da, similar lighting for the most part. Just have to work on more speed without decreasing the quality of my work.

MTVision · Aug 17, 2012

12sndsgood said:
Looks like I should really breakdown and just get this. it just sounds like it's going to speed things up. I have about 1500 drifting photos to go thru right now that i'm behind on and havnt started. all during the da, similar lighting for the most part. Just have to work on more speed without decreasing the quality of my work.

You can edit multiple photos in camera raw as well an sync your Settings. If your photos are all really similar you can edit one in camera raw - then in bridge you can apply those settings to as many photos as you want without opening any of them. You can apply presets to any photo in bridge without actually opening the file in camera raw...