Post-shoot culling is an essential yet often daunting part of a photographer’s workflow.
In his article Post-Shoot Cull: The Aggressive Art of Selecting Your Best Photos, Glen E. Grant shares practical tips on how to streamline the culling process and make it more efficient.
The goal of culling is to reduce the large number of photos taken during a shoot down to a manageable selection of the best images, which saves time in post-production and ensures high-quality results for clients.
Key Steps to Effective Culling
1. Understand Your Client’s Needs: Before starting the culling process, it’s important to keep in mind the purpose of the photoshoot and your client’s expectations. Whether the focus is on corporate headshots, lifestyle imagery, or beauty shots, knowing what your client values will help you filter out unnecessary or less relevant images.
2. Use the Right Tools: Grant emphasizes the importance of using software that supports efficient culling. Programs like Adobe Lightroom and Capture One allow photographers to quickly review and sort large numbers of images. By utilizing rating, flagging, or color-coding systems, you can easily categorize images based on their potential quality. More details on the additional tools Glen uses are in his article.
3. Work Methodically: Instead of jumping around from image to image, working in a consistent order will help you stay focused. Begin by eliminating any obvious rejects, such as photos that are blurry, poorly lit, or have bad expressions. After narrowing down the options, you can start to focus on the finer details—comparing similar images and selecting the strongest compositions.
4. Avoid Overthinking: Grant advises photographers not to spend too much time on each image. Overthinking or obsessing over minor flaws can significantly slow down the process. Trust your instincts and make confident decisions as you work through the selection.
5. Refine in Rounds: Instead of trying to select the final images in one go, cull in multiple rounds. The first round might involve eliminating the clear rejects, while subsequent rounds allow for more detailed comparisons between similar shots. This method can reduce decision fatigue and result in a better final selection.
By this methodical approach and refining your workflow, you can significantly speed up the culling process while ensuring you deliver top-quality images that meet your client’s expectations.
Follow Glen on Threads: @glenegrant
Take a look at the tools Glen uses, and check out his step-by-step culling process:
Post-Shoot Cull: The Aggressive Art of Selecting Your Best Photos
