We all know that feeling. You’ve been photographing birds, sports or some other action all day. It was fun and exciting, but now you have way too many photographs to cull through and edit. The task feels gargantuan and the fast frame rates of our latest cameras only exacerbate the situation. In this video I’ll share some simple tricks and tricks in Photo RAW’s Browse to speed up and simplify that culling process to get you quickly editing only the best of the photos from your action and wildlife shoots. I’ll also do a start to finish edit of my favorite kitesurfing photo so far this year.
Hudson HenryBeginnerHudson Henry Tips & TricksON1 Photo RAW2023EditOrganizing and ManagingBrowse
On March 2, 2023 at 7:08 pm bskiin1188@gmail.com wrote:
I just watched your culling video, and I loved it! You always provide great tips. I especially liked the tip on grading images. I have been using 4 and 5 stars to select my better photos. WRONG! I am now going to start with 1 and 2 stars. As you stated, that will gradually improve my eye in selecting average photos compared to good and great photos, and quickly. Thanks. Keep up the great work!
On March 3, 2023 at 12:00 am Andrew Gray wrote:
watched your vid with interest and although my main topics are landscapes i still have loads of images, which are similar [just different lighting or compostion] , your principles of fast review before getting bogged down in editing makes sense. i have since tried and being selective and grading in one sitting pays off….i may have tweaked your process to suit but general principle works a treat.
thats the thing with photography theres always something to learn and try out……
On March 3, 2023 at 3:07 pm william ballard wrote:
Very good presentation-it will speed my review process a lot. I’ve been one who stops in the culling process at times and edits an image. Now I’m planning on going through all the shoot’s images before working on a single file.
On March 5, 2023 at 3:45 am Mark Haskell Cooper wrote:
A very useful video – I have a lot to learn. Lol. Thank you Hudson.
Mark
On March 5, 2023 at 6:04 am James Friedlander wrote:
Thanks for the video – useful as always! It’s interesting to see the different ways people cull and develop.
I’m somewhat mouse-phobic, so I use the following method to cull: Go to grid mode (G) and select the first image. I then do a first pass cull by turning Auto Advance on (Photo menu), then I press either X to reject an image or P to keep (pick) the image. Auto Advance takes me to the next image. I typically shoot birds at 20fps, so I have a lot of images to deal with and this helps me get through the first pass quickly.
Once I’m done with the first pass, I do a second pass in Detail (E) view, also using Auto Advance. Again, I just press X or P and go on to the next image. When I’m done with the second pass, I’ll filter for only the Ps and start editing. If, during editing, I discover an image that I don’t like, I just press X to reject it and move to the next image.
I only add stars and colors after I’ve edited all the images. Once I’m done and have my “keepers,” I filter for X and delete all the rejected images and then export the keepers.
As for editing, I’ve taken to using the Refine tool, which I find does a great job of cleaning up missed areas when masking.
Thanks again for all your videos, they are a huge help!
Jim
On March 5, 2023 at 6:33 am James Friedlander replied:
Sorry, forgot one step (and you apparently can’t edit posts here): before starting the second pass, filter out the Xs.
On March 6, 2023 at 10:47 am dral4pets wrote:
Excellent video. I’ve been doing a similar technique, letting my gut decide the ratings, and spending no more than 2 seconds per photo on the initial run through. It helps in sifting through the thousands of photos taken when I’m on the road.
On March 6, 2023 at 11:10 am Alan Brown wrote:
Excellent Video, thank you.
On March 7, 2023 at 4:19 am Rashmideva Veldhuizen wrote:
Hello Henry.
I shoot in RAW, with the result that I usually have to edit all the basics (contrast, exposure, highlights, texture) before I can judge them for keeping or deleting. I see you don’t!
Is that wise? Or should I always rate photos without this ‘pre-wash’?
Greetings from Rashmideva
On March 9, 2023 at 7:08 am Kenneth Scheepers wrote:
Thanks Hudson, always learn something to improve my editing.
On March 9, 2023 at 1:18 pm Willie Jarl Nilsen wrote:
Greetings Hudson.
Enjoyed your video.
Some time ago you had a video about culling, where you used 1, 2 and 3 stars. 1 was reject, 2 was maybe and 3 was keep. Having completed the pictures from the shoot you then went through the 2 stars and placed them in 1 or 3 stars. Finally you rejected the 1-star pictures. I have used this ever since and find it an easy way to sort my pictures. Have you left this way to cull and is the new method better?
I still have not found a way to use the color codes properly, but that is no problem for me.
As I now am 74 years young, I might start looking for my 5-star pictures or am I still too young?
Best wishes and have fun.
On March 9, 2023 at 1:45 pm Mark Sweeney wrote:
Lots of great tips. If there is one thing I take away from every one of your editing videos it’s:
LESS IS MORE!
So important to remember that and NOT over process an image. Well done, Hudson.
On March 23, 2023 at 4:48 am Cecilia wrote:
I really enjoy your instructional videos. Your logical and clear presentation is very helpful. Thank you,
Ceci
On March 24, 2023 at 2:52 am bjkluft@gmail.com wrote:
Very interesting tutorial! Thanks. I started rating with 3,4 and 5 stars but will change that to 1 and 2. It made sense to do it your way.