Overall Goals
My workflow is designed to accomplish two goals:
1. Generate photo files that will be displayed on this web site:
- Blog photos - Gallery photos -
2. Be able to quickly search for photos at any time.
Adobe Lightroom Classic is my tool of choice to use for my photo organization and post processing tasks.
Import photos
I use my operating system to copy the files from the camera card into the "My Workflow" folder.
I then remove the card from the card reader. I do not format this card using the computer operating system. I also do not return the card to the camera just yet.
I start the Lightroom Classic application, click on the Import button on the lower left-hand of the screen. Navigate to the Source of the photo files, the "My Workflow" folder.
If I want to assign a Location Keyword to all of these photos, I add that Keyword in the Keywords section of the "Apply During Import" panel on the right of the screen.
I also have an Import Preset that will be applied to every photo during the Import step. This Preset will apply the Adobe Landscape profile, Auto in the Basic panel, Lens Correction and a touch of Texture. This provides a better-looking photo to perform the rating process but also gives me a head start on post processing.
I make sure the Add option at the top middle of the screen is highlighted and then click on the Done button.
I quickly view the files in the Library module of Lightroom Classic. Once I am confident that all of the camera files have been imported, I return the card to my camera and format the card, so it is ready for its next use in the field.
Rate photos
In the Library module (Loupe view mode), I go through the photos one by one and assign a 4-star rating to those photos I wish to keep for display on my website.
I rule out a photo if it is out of focus or has an obvious poor composition that can't be saved with the crop tool.
I find the most difficult decisions come when I take a series of similar shots in the attempt to capture the perfect moment. I find the Compare and Survey view modes are useful for this.
I make a second pass through the 4-star photos to determine if any rate a 5-star rating.
Delete photos
I review just those photos with no rating to be sure that I want to delete them for good.
I then delete those photos from the disk.
Post process
As I stated in Step 1 - Import My Photos, an import preset is applied. This gives me a starting point from which to begin the Post Processing of this batch of photos.
I use a combination of Global and Local adjustments as appropriate to achieve the final result.
Blog photos
The photos from the shoot that have a 4 & 5-star rating will go on the Blog page of my website.
I use Lightroom Classic to sync these photos to the Adobe Cloud where a web page is created for you. The provided link to this page is then tied to a thumbnail photo on the appropriate Blog page using Microsoft Expression Web software.
Best photos
If I have any 5-star rated photos, they are added to the appropriate synced Collection and will automatically appear there on my website.
Move files
Within Lightroom Classic, drag all of the files in the "My Workflow" folder into the appropriate folder. This will clear the "My Workflow" folder for next time.
-- Related Topics --
Hardware & Software
Backup
Keywords
Collections