How do you save time and energy when editing photos?

Photoshop has reigned as the leading champion. However, it comes with a subscription plan. Gimp is open-source, but coming from a Photoshop background, it is extremely hard to figure out with its user interface. Affinity is a good alternative, especially if you want to have a fixed cost. CaptureOne is a powerful contender and they are pushing innovation with their tools. More expensive than Affinity, but the preferred software at rental photo studios. However, with AI entering the market, Adobe has been at the forefront with Firefly and generative AI command prompt in the latest version of Photoshop. Choosing will depend on your needs. If you only edit on mobile, using Lightroom and Snapseed will take you far.

All the shortcuts, presets, software and workflow frameworks in the world may help you save time on doing the work AND…if you really want to save time and make more money without raising your prices, consider reducing the number of deliverables. Yes, select images can be hard work too but the fewer images you promise to a client: the less work you have to do, the less time it takes so keeping your prices consistent you make more money, and it makes you look like a more skilled photographer because every image is a winner.

I use a combination of FastRawViewer, Photo Mechanic and Capture One (with Photoshop where required), then ChronoSync for backups. This is because Photo Mechanic, Photoshop, Capture One and CronoSync are industry standards, so knowing those pieces of software allow me to work with other photographers much easier, and I can act as Digi Tech where required.

Photoshop is the one to go for me. But I'm trying do do as much as I can durning the shoot, so I don't have to do much in post.

To save time and energy when editing photos, use Adobe Lightroom and create presets for different shooting conditions like rainy, sunny, golden hour, and indoor. Presets streamline your editing workflow by ensuring consistency, saving time, and reducing mental effort. Simply apply a preset and make minor adjustments, making photo editing more efficient and preventing burnout during extended sessions. Additionally, consider organizing your photo library with keywords and tags to easily locate and work on specific images. Lastly, keep practicing your editing skills to become more proficient, which will further enhance your efficiency in post-processing.

I name all my files with the following formula. Consistency is the key! Year.Month.Location.Event Ex. 2023.09.DC.vacation Using this system is easy to expand for more information. Ex. 2023.09.DC.vacation. Monuments

Try to maintain a proper file and folder structure for your edited and unedited images. If you're using software from Adobe then Adobe Bridge can help you organise.

Organising your files doesn’t have to be hard. Come up with a system that makes sense for you. And stick with it. Also think about having a system that is software independent. The tags in your favorite software might be useless when that program is not available anymore in 20 years. So I do a lot with the file names and folders. That way it doesn’t matter which program is used to search through the files or if it’s Mac or Windows. Each job gets a dated main folder: “20230922 Fun Portraits Yellowstone Park” for instance. And then sub folders inside that for the best selected photos etc. I definitely recommend Photo Mechanic by CameraBits. It’s a must. Also lets you batch add IPTC caption, keywords, file names etc.

I put all my images into folders relating to the year and month. So at start of each year I create a folder for that year, and then inside that year a folder for each month. I transfer images from my camera card to the relevant month folder before importing into Lightroom, adding relevant keywords, location or whatever is relevant to each particular shoot.

I categorize my folders by year, job type, and then each job gets it's own folder and catalog in Lightroom. In the job folder I organize everything into 4 subfolders: 1) RAW Images (A dump of all the images on a memory card) 2) Picked Images (RAWs that made the cut) 3) Edited > (Final & Previews Subfolders) 4) Catalog

As both a photographer and a preset creator, I can definitely attest to the time-saving benefits of presets for photographers. However, I want to emphasize that presets are not just a 'one-click' solution. They are designed to provide a specific aesthetic to an image while also speeding up the editing process and maintaining consistency across your work. I encourage photographers to tweak presets and make them their own, as it allows for greater creative expression and customisation.

I love using presets especially if I'm working on a lot of images. I typically will edit one image from a collection and then save it to use for the rest. Sometimes that doesn't always work if lighting changes over time so I adjust where need be. There are also tons of photographers who make presets you can buy, or that are free, if you want to get a feel for other looks. It is always good to play around with the app you are using to get a feel for it and how different affects work. For practice, you can take your photos and try to get the lighting to match others work.

I use programs such as Topaz Studio for presets but only use it now and then, not all the time. Not every image I take requires presets.

The new slider, after you've applied a preset, in Lightroom makes it easier than ever to batch edit and then adjust the strength of any preset used when one or two photos need an extra tweak. Learn how to also create your own presets for maximum branding of your work.

Starting with presets can save so much time when you're not sure what direction you want to go with your edit. You can quickly preview your photo with any preset you have downloaded to Lightroom, choosing the one that best enhances that photo, and fine-tune editing on top of that. Sometimes the color opportunities will surprise you, so I always peruse a couple of options (even though I have my favorite presets) because it shows me parts of that composition I may have ignored before.

After creating ActionScripts in Photoshop, you can then make Droplets and assign an action to a droplet. Then you can drag and drop directly on the droplet to run the action.

In Lightroom the only things I usually batch process are things like sharpening and adjusting noise levels. Although, occasionally I will batch watermark a series of images.

I often edit 1000+ images for one wedding/event and I find batch processing actions a lifesaver, especially for toning. You can actually do your entire color process this way if you set your actions properly. Even with photoshop! I set different batches for various lighting scenarios at events and go from there. It saves me hours of work. Of course, you may still need to clonestamp that photo bomber in the back into a bush or a tree, or that ugly neon exit sign out, but it will still save you quite a bit of time and is definitely something to utilize when mass editing.

Actions in Photoshop can be a huge time saver for repetitive tasks. It’s worth spending time to explore that. Batch actions in Photo Mechanic are also a big bonus when renaming files and adding keywords and captions to files.

One does not know, till having processed a fair bit, when something is a good image. Easiest is to filter at each stage of processing, using colour and star coding. This way by the end of having processed the whole series, the few good ones are left to gloss over the detail processing, and also the specific details which one is looking for even from prior filtered out files. And naming by series plus date of shooting always is far easier to retrieve the images and the raw files even after few years.

Shortcuts are timesavers. You can either use the already assigned ones or set custom shortcuts. Combining shortcuts with tool presets such as defining custom crop sizes, makes cropping fast and accurate. Do you have some odd requests on a regular basis? Then save that as a preset and have it ready in a click.

My workflow always starts with importing images straight into lightroom with the planned preset applied immediately to the batch. Such a great time saver.

I've learnt a number of keyboard shortcuts for Lightroom - some accidentally :-) but mostly because I've looked them up. I find it quicker to process if I can be using my keyboard much of the time, rather than having to swap to the mouse constantly.

Good ones to get to know: Ctrl/Cmd + S (Save): Quickly save your work to prevent data loss or create backups. Ctrl/Cmd + Z (Undo) and Shift + Z (Redo): Easily undo or redo recent actions. Ctrl/Cmd + C (Copy) and Ctrl/Cmd + V (Paste): Copy and paste elements within an image. Ctrl/Cmd + T (Transform): Resize, rotate, or skew selected elements. B (Brush) and E (Eraser): Toggle between brush and eraser for local adjustments. Ctrl/Cmd + 0 (Fit to Screen): Instantly scale the image to fit the screen. Ctrl/Cmd + R (Rulers): Enable rulers for precise selections and alignment. F (Fullscreen Mode): Focus on your image without distractions.

Learn keyboard shortcuts for your editing software to speed up common tasks like zooming, selecting tools, or applying adjustments.

Editing smartly when you are working on deliverables. Having a fast and consistent workflow will give you the best results. Experiment and play around with different tools and filters when you want to learn and explore. Innovation comes from testing. This can be done when you don't have deadlines. There are so many ways to get the same result in Photoshop. Some are quicker than others, some are better than others. Only by testing and exploring you will find what works best for you.

Editing smartly is an ongoing learning. I find I work one way for ages and then learn something else from someone and add that into the equation. It's good to be open to continual learning on ways to improve on what you are already doing.

Editing smartly is about being efficient, effective, and mindful in your photo editing process. It involves having a clear vision for your edits, making informed choices, and maintaining a healthy balance between creativity and practicality. By following these principles, you can save both time and energy while producing compelling and well-edited photos.

I am only concern with lighting and a light blur (portrait mode) that everything is kept as-is including lines, wrinkles and a few flaws for authenticity.

A great hack is to use Plug-ins. They range from free to paid and from beginner to professional. I personally use one for retouching and another for color grading. It's a smart way of working, but does not replace the fact that you need to know what you are doing!

The best advice I can give that has worked for me and generated lots of money to my business as well as saved me an immense amount of time is by outsourcing any editing work. This allows me to focus on servicing my clients, doing more for my business and of course spend time doing other things.

The best way to be more efficient and give yourself an immense amount of time back is to get as much right in camera as possible. For some situations this may not be the case. In these instances try to get the settings and looks as similar as possible.

If you want to shorten your post-editing process, it’s best to make sure that you do most of the work while you’re photographing! Prioritize making sure you’re settings are where you want them be, your composition, lighting, the whole nine yards. When the in-camera aspects are perfect, there’s less time you have to spend correcting anything in post!

Getting it right in camera is the biggest time saver of all. If you don't need to crop, erase elements, even dramatically lighten or darken your photos during post-processing, you're already ahead of the game by the time you get to editing. Aim to do the least amount of work possible once you've already taken the photograph and you will be happier for it.

Before you start editing, have a clear vision of what you want to achieve. Setting limits on how much time you'll spend on each photo can prevent over-editing and save energy.