Professional Photographer Workflow Tips: How to Streamline Your Post Production Process
Becoming a professional photographer may seem like it’s all lights, camera, action, but it’s the behind the scenes work that we do for our clients that eats up the majority of our time.
I had a ton of students asking me about my post production workflow and how to better streamline the process so I put together this FREE training, on how to increase efficiency and buy back your time.
Here’s what’s covered:
- What is a photography workflow and why is it so important?
- The key elements of a good workflow
- The five phases – from memory card to online gallery
- Tools for your post production workflow
(If you want access to even more resources…scroll to the bottom!)
What is a Photography Workflow and Why is it so Important?
Your workflow includes every step that your product or offer goes through from the time of initiation through to completion.
In this post, I’ll be breaking down the steps of a post production workflow, which is the process of taking your raw images and turning them into a deliverable digital product you can send to your clients. This will probably be the most time-consuming and tedious part of your overall workflow process.
A good workflow will:
- Cut out redundancies in your processes
- Improve the quality of the product or service you provide
- Help you better serve your clients
The Five Phases of a Post Production Workflow
Your session is over and now it’s time to start editing. Let’s break down the post production workflow into five simple phases.
Phase 1: Initial Upload
• Upload the files from your memory card to your preferred destination. If you don’t have some sort of file naming / storing system in place – it’s time to develop one.
Pro Tip: Use the SAME naming format for all of your files and folders. This will make your system timeless. The SIMPLER it is, the easier it will be to find what you need, when you need it.
Phase 2: Cull
• Culling is the process of paring down to the specific images you plan to edit and deliver to your client.
Pro Tip: Don’t get hung up here! This can be one of the slowest parts of the workflow for even experienced photographers and I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be a big time suck!
• I use Photomechanic to cull ALL of my sessions because it’s the fastest software I’ve found. It also allows you to color label your files as well as star rate them, which all shows in Bridge later for easy sorting.
• The first step in your culling process should be to toss all duplicates, misfires, poor exposures, or any other pics that can’t be fixed. The next step is to cull out redundant images or any unflattering poses or expressions.
Pro Tip: Remove any images that you wouldn’t want your client to share publicly as a representation of your brand.
Phase 3: Edit
• Load your culled images into your favorite editing software and go through your own personal editing workflow.
Pro Tip: If you want to learn more about my personal edit workflow, or ask questions about yours, be sure to sign up here!
Phase 4: Gallery Upload + Sales Automations
• Upload your images into an online gallery for your client. If you have sales automation features and you don’t turn them on, you’re leaving money on the table AND your clients are missing out on beautiful prints!
Pro Tip: ALWAYS preview the gallery before you email it to the client for things like consistency, missed throw away images, etc.
Phase 5: Delivery
• Put a digital bow on it and deliver that gallery to your client! Some photographers like to give sneak peeks prior to full gallery delivery – this is totally up to you!
• If you want to add blogging to your workflow I recommend placing this step BEFORE the gallery delivery as it’s too easy to procrastinate blogging once you’ve delivered to your client!
Pro Tip: Include links to places where they can post a review with the gallery delivery.
Tools For Your Post Production Workflow
Whatever tools you decide to use, make sure they add to your workflow efficiency, versus complicating it, and also help you save time.
Here are the tools that I use:
- Adobe Bridge – I use this during my initial upload phase for organization and renaming process.
- Photomechanic – As mentioned earlier, I love this one because it’s the fastest software I’ve found.
- Adobe Lightroom + Photoshop – I use Lightroom for all of my basic edits and adjustments and Photoshop for more specific / fine tune edits.
- Jpeg Mini – This program reduces image file size without compromising the quality of the image.
- Blogstomp – I use blogstomp for resizing and grouping images for my blog.
- PASS+ – This is the online gallery + sales automation tool I use.
Hopefully you found this post helpful for setting up your workflows. Did I miss something important? Tell me about it and don’t forget to reach out for access to more valuable resources to help you grow and fine tune your photography business.
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