First I import all the images into light room. I make sure I use the keyword tags that will help me later on find these images on my computers through a simple finder search. After importing I simply sift through all the images at a quick rate. As I am going through the images I will either put a rating on them or no rating at all. This will allow me to put a filter on in lightroom to later show me just the rated ones (i.e. the ones I want to keep) THIS IS IMPORTANT because I don’t waste time deleting photos I dont want. If I delete photos I, (1) no longer have that image and (2) waste time for my computer to put them in the trash. This also allows me to do a second “sift through” to make sure I didn’t miss any photos that I would really like to keep.
I'll start to edit once I put the ratings on the photos and tell lightroom to only show me the images I liked. Lightroom allows me to take my raw images (.CR2 files) and edit them without destroying/changing the original file. Raw files are amazing because you don’t lose any capabilities in the editing process. If you are shooting in JPG, the image is compressed in your camera and you then lose the capability to do heftier edits.
Lightroom allows me to edit these files one by one using the slide tools in the develop module. I have full control over exposure, recovery, fill light, blacks, brightness, contrast, clarity, vibrance, saturation, curves, luminance, sharpening, noise reduction, and many other options. One of my favorite option in lightroom is that I am able to push “command C” on a picture and copy any or all my edits. I then am able to “command v” on any other picture/s and paste all those edits onto them. This cuts HOURS of edit time if your settings on a shoot are all the same or at least close.
Lightroom is a great tool, but it is not an end all tool. After all my edits have been made, I simply export them to JPG format and save them to my computer. I then am able to do more precise edits in Photoshop (cloning, stamping, brush tools, etc) My recommendation – go out and buy a software like Adobe Lightroom and watch your workflow get literally cut in half. More time means more time to shoot!
