Photo Selection Program - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

09/08/2004 03:22:27 AM · #1

Tell me your way, solution and the program you use to make the final photo selection after a long day shooting (more that 500 pictures)... I usually finish with 1 out 100 as a keeper to be use, reuse, crop, corected, print.. etc....

Please tell me YOUR best way to do it.... alone?, with the model... preselection alone to get from 500 to 100... and those 100 to 5 with the model... ?

What program do you use (i use canon image broser with ok and no folder)... the picture is OK or NO... no is to be deleted... OK to be reevaluated...

Experience welcome.... Thanks in advance... will post the best 5 from my photshot with my model soon...

And oh BTW in a 6 hours session, i have take 630 pictures.... 2 day into selection now !... and continue !... ouf !

VisiBlanco

Canon EOS-5D

09/08/2004 04:43:41 AM · #2

I usually weed out the obvious duds. I just go through the files with IrfanView (it reads RAW too which is nice). Sometimes I'll compare very similar photos in LViewPro and pick out the best. Then I'll usually get a Proofbook made for the customer depending on what the photoshoot is for.

I then order proofbooks from White House Custom Colour in St. Paul, MN and have the customer pick out what they want. I prefer showing the actual prints rather than digital images so the customer can take them home and also because photos can look significantly different once printed. //www.whcc.com/proofbooks.html

riklowe

Nikon D70

09/08/2004 05:44:58 AM · #3

I think 630 shots in 6 hours may be the reason you are only getting 1 out of a hundred as keepers.

6 hours = 360 mins. That means you are taking 2 shots a minute, continuously.

One of the few problems with digital camera's is the fact you can snap away, without thinking about the shots you are taking. With film, you always took that extra few seconds to compose and check before taking the shot.

My solution to this - limit the number of pictures you are taking. Start the day be saying - I only have 200 shots today. Its amazing what a difference that can make.

Hope this helps.

Artyste

Sony Ericsson W810i

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Pentax

09/08/2004 05:53:36 AM · #4

Originally posted by riklowe:

One way to do this is to minimize your storage space before you go out.
If you usually take 512MB or 1GB cards.. take 128MB or, hell, even 64MB cards with you.. one in the camera, one as backup.

You limit your shots this way, forcing you to think about them, and once you're done, you have two choices.. go home, or start deleting the shots you aren't entirely happy with.
The only time I think large storage cards are needed are for vacations.. or other types of long-term trips away from a computer.

ghoti

Nikon D70

09/08/2004 06:20:08 AM · #5

I like ACDSee for selecting pictures. You can rate the pictures (I usually pick out a few and give them higher scores) and then sort by rating. This way, you don't have to delete or move anything before you decide on which picture to use. ACDSee's "filmstrip" view is the best for this IMHO, because it allows you quick access to a reasonably large number of pictures but still leaves enough room to see the current picture at a decent size.

Most of the editing I do (which usually is just cropping and resizing anyway) in IrfanView, for more complex stuff I use the GIMP or PS LE.

jonr

Olympus OM-D E-M5

Olympus 9-18mm f/4.0-5.6 M.Zuiko Digital ED

09/08/2004 07:14:20 AM · #6

I use IrfanView, it is fast and allows you to browse through photos. You can even make quick'n dirty webpages with thumbs.
And you can customize what EXIF data it displays.

Nusbaum

Fujifilm X-T1

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

09/08/2004 10:38:41 AM · #7

I don't like waiting for any of the browser or image management programs to bring up a raw image. On my first, and only, session with a model I shot about 194 images. I used photogshop to batch process all of the images:
1. resize from 300 ppi to 72ppi
2. USM
3. anti-alias
4. save a jpeg
Then I can load in iPhoto or iview media pro and move through them very quickly. I also uploaded those same images to pBase as proofs so the model could offer her opinion.

KevinRiggs

Canon EOS-1Ds

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

09/08/2004 10:55:18 AM · #8

Marc,

I shot this many frames for the first year of working with models. I think its ludicrous to suggest that someone else shoot less frames until they begin to get a feel for working with a model; that's one of the benefits of being able to shoot 500-1000 frames digitally and compare them without having to pay to have them printed. Shoot the heck outta the camera and over time as you compare your own work you can start to define the particular looks that you want. I now shoot about 1/3 as many photos during a session as I used to. I can now produce a similar quality of portrait with more consideration before, more selective snapping of the shutter and less wasted frames. Until you start to feel comfortable with your own work, crank out tons of frames if you like.
When I start to review the photos I like to sit with my wife and get her opinion as to which photos to spend the time editing. Often I find that my favorites are not what she, the model or anyone else would select. I usually edit between 6 and 10 of the photos. I adjust levels, hue/saturation, crop for an aspect ratio, apply any special filters (b&w, spectral light, diffusion) and then if needed I apply USM.
I generate a proof CD with the images cut down to about 20% of their original size and give that to the models along with a suggestion of the poses/frames that I like and allow them to make their own selection. This may lead to me editing 20-25 frames in any given session but I generally don't work too long on the stuff that I edit for myself unless I want to put it into my actual printed portfolio.
After all this I burn the contents of 2, 3 or 4 photoshoots onto a DVD. I then profile the images from the DVD into Extensis Portfolio Client 7. I have gone back to edit photos from months ago and this software makes it easy to find photos based on catalogs of images or keywords.

Hope this helps,

Kev

zeuszen

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

09/08/2004 11:29:53 AM · #9

Depending on subject, I may have series of bursts within a role and, so, fill a card or two quickly. The camera downloads the card contents to iPhoto. I go through the shots one by one, cropping, editing and deleting as I go. I repeat this process over a day or two, sometimes longer until nothing is left in the iPhoto library. ;-) -Well, near-nothing, perhaps...

Whatever's still there I copy into iPhoto Albums (folders with various catagories: landscapes, portraits, export, DPC, Gallery, that kind of thing). Final selection are made from a selection inside of an Album, say, the DPC one. Again, I may choose to go back after a time, move things around and delete more images.

If something survives numerous passes and the time it takes to process, I drop it into the Gallery Album, which contains my best shots. This folder, of course, is subject to the same processes.

Message edited by author 2004-09-08 11:31:10.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

09/08/2004 11:30:13 AM · #10

I really appreciate all your comment and understand that nobody use a mac or i am wrong ?.. any iapp usefull...

For the 630 photo in 6 hours.... two reason... inexperience and i got time to do so.... next time session will left 3 hour max and 200 picture, but it is not evident with amateur model. i also try some light setting and have problem to make perfect white-black background in my small studio with need for full lenght body shot...

Now when i check ELLE, ClinD'oeil, and other girl magazine... and think some of the pose-smile-hair is less than perfect on 70% of the shot.... like me :-), but those not so good shot will not be bublish...

Last, when reviewing the model picture, i look for things she dont see, she look at her cleavage, nose, smile.... I look for light, pose, hand, composition.... and the most important... I know that i can retouch some imperfection here and there, so i dont care much..

Fell free to contribute more to this tread, because i think ALL of you HAVE to select as fast as possible the good from the not soo good work...

zerocusa

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

09/08/2004 11:48:31 AM · #11

i use the default win xp image viewer

Nusbaum

Fujifilm X-T1

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

09/08/2004 01:26:53 PM · #12

Originally posted by menardmam:

I really appreciate all your comment and understand that nobody use a mac or i am wrong ?.. any iapp usefull...

I think zeuszen and myself both mentioned iPhoto, which is a mac application, so there are at least two mac users here.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

09/08/2004 10:59:51 PM · #13

Any other way to do ????

dacrazyrn

Nikon D300

09/09/2004 12:12:12 AM · #14

1. I download the files to my Hard Disk in a new folder under /2004/The Month Model Shoot (a descriptive title) then look through the thumbnails in CS for any obvious bad photos.
and then drag the files into iView (for Mac).
2. Depending on what type of photos and if I did the shoot for here or not I rearrange the process. If not for DPC and is portrait or model shoot, I have it automated to add all my extra EXIF (my copyright, keywords, categories, name, etc.) and change the name to the year-month-date-hour-minute-second for the title. Then have iView apply new Finder Properties to the file to display an image in the Finder.
--if for DPC I go through PS CS and look at the TN for all the potentials and save the originals to a different file for DPC.
3. I then have iView copy and reset Paths to an Original OOC folder to burn to CD for these originals.
4. Back to PS CS adjust my RAW files to my White Balance card in a PRE shot. then batch those and do again for any lighting changes. I then open one image and set a Tone and Color correction setup. Then Batch process those again, that includes a slight USM.
5. If it is for a model/portrait shoot I batch another time to convert to JPG and turn it into a webpage to upload to my site and for the client to check and send back info automatically.
6. Look through the TN and start Flagging my favorites and potentials. And get to work on those (by selecting only the Flagged option. Wait for email to see if any others they want me to edit.

The archiving and steps before the start editing and final look through took about an hour for 130-150 images.

All on Mac also. (C:

Message edited by author 2004-09-09 00:15:06.

AmiYuy

Nikon Coolpix 8700

09/09/2004 12:50:34 AM · #15

- First off I go through on camera and delete obvious blurs and such.

- Then I load them into Nikon Image Viewer and copy over the best ones into a seperate folder. I find this a good way because then I can compare similar "good" ones to the ones they're similar too without having to go between all the others that were in between.

- Then I'll re-weed them pulling out the best of the best.

Througout this I'll ask for opinions depending on who I have there, sometimes the person, sometimes not.

09/09/2004 12:58:04 AM · #16

Goooooooooooooooooooood... always interesting to see how other do it... thanks to you all !