Culling software

[Barleyman]

So there are a number of tools out there that people recommend for culling your photos. I currently use a combo of LrC and Lr, and understand pretty well how they work.

With other tools, I would like to know what happens to the photos you pick. That is, how does the software mark the photos that you want to keep, edit , etc?

Does it modify the file Metadata, the xmp, keep a catalog, move the file?

 

[ishwanu]

... how does the software mark the photos that you want to keep, edit , etc?

One of the apps I use can make it as simple as a keep/discard choice. A more complete way is with standardized tags and ratings that are understood by numerous apps.

Does it modify the file Metadata, the xmp, keep a catalog, move the file?

Metadata is the generic term for data about data, so dedicated culling software (if that's what you're talking about) might modify EXIF, IPTC, and XMP metadata, depending on what you want to insert. Moving and deleting files are expected capabilities.

Cataloging would be unusual because running dedicated culling software is normally a process that has a definite end point: identifying less important stuff before handling the important stuff with an editor and/or DAM. If the culling software uses standard metadata correctly, the editor/DAM will read it so you can do your cataloging with those tools.

 

[BillyBobSenna]

So there are a number of tools out there that people recommend for culling your photos. I currently use a combo of LrC and Lr, and understand pretty well how they work.

With other tools, I would like to know what happens to the photos you pick. That is, how does the software mark the photos that you want to keep, edit , etc?

Does it modify the file Metadata, the xmp, keep a catalog, move the file?

I use LrC and Photo Mechanic. In Photo Mechanic, I can star rate, add other meta data, and even crop photos extremely easily. I can use Photo Mechanic even for photos that are already imported into LrC. After rating photos in Photo Mechanic, I simply need to “read metadata from file” in LrC to sync the updates into LrC.

 

[John McCormack]

FastStone Image Viewer. Free and fast. https://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

 

[IanYorke]

So there are a number of tools out there that people recommend for culling your photos. I currently use a combo of LrC and Lr, and understand pretty well how they work.

With other tools, I would like to know what happens to the photos you pick. That is, how does the software mark the photos that you want to keep, edit , etc?

Does it modify the file Metadata, the xmp, keep a catalog, move the file?

I take culling to be the process where, after a shoot, you want to reduce the number of images to be processed down to the "best" shots for processing. With cameras now offering 20fps it's easy to end up with hundreds of shots, particularly if you are shooting birds etc.

Virtually all software has a rating system and for me, that's all you need.

Select All Photos

Rate them as 1 Star

Go through these 1 Stars rating rejects as O Stars

Refine the selection by going through the remaining 1 Stars and rating those photos worth editing as 2 Stars.

Select all 2 Stars and Rate them as 3 Star

Refine again by Rating any photos that aren't really needed back to 2 Star. This has the advantage of isolating your "almost" shots if you later find that some of your final selects needs replacing.

Process your remaining 3 Stars.

Some software like C1 and ON1 Photo Raw let's you put 3 or 4 images on the screen at once for easy comparison of similar shots where you zoom in on 1 image and all the others are zoomed in as well, so you can check focus as well as composition. Again very useful for similar shots eg BIF.

Ian

 

[palombian]

Seems Adobe plans to add AI assisted culling aids in LR in 2025.

Already looking for a faster GPU...

 

[Barleyman]

Thanks for the replies..

Just trying to get my head around the workflow I would have, so I can integrate one of these tools into it. It is tags it into the meta data, that would work for me.

 

[tbcass]

I use FastStone for that but everything about it is manual. You organize the photos, and you choose which ones to delete. I prefer that method, but you may not.

 

[Barleyman]

FastStone Image Viewer. Free and fast.https://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

Thanks, it is indeed fast, and is perfect for what I want, except one thing...

I tried using it to tag and rate a set of Raw files, but it doesn't appear to save the ratings or tags. How do you save the ratings and tags?

 

[ishwanu]

FastStone Image Viewer. Free and fast.https://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

Thanks, it is indeed fast, and is perfect for what I want, except one thing...

I tried using it to tag and rate a set of Raw files, but it doesn't appear to save the ratings or tags. How do you save the ratings and tags?

Apparently FastStone Image Viewer isn't capable of saving those things in standard sharable form, and they're only stored in its own database. It doesn't even save them in my JPEGs.

If you want something fast, functional, and inexpensive for culling that will do that, try FastRawViewer. This is some of what it can do:

Also read this to understand how the metadata sharing works:

https://www.fastrawviewer.com/usermanual17/xmp-metadata

 

[Thommya]

Seems Adobe plans to add AI assisted culling aids in LR in 2025.

Already looking for a faster GPU...

That's the first time I've heard that—where did you read about it?

 

[Barleyman]

FastStone Image Viewer. Free and fast.https://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

Thanks, it is indeed fast, and is perfect for what I want, except one thing...

I tried using it to tag and rate a set of Raw files, but it doesn't appear to save the ratings or tags. How do you save the ratings and tags?

Apparently FastStone Image Viewer isn't capable of saving those things in standard sharable form, and they're only stored in its own database. It doesn't even save them in my JPEGs.

If you want something fast, functional, and inexpensive for culling that will do that, try FastRawViewer. This is some of what it can do:

Also read this to understand how the metadata sharing works:

https://www.fastrawviewer.com/usermanual17/xmp-metadata

That sounds like what I want. I will give it a try.

 

[Ken Seals]

Seems Adobe plans to add AI assisted culling aids in LR in 2025.

Already looking for a faster GPU...

That's the first time I've heard that—where did you read about it?

There are discussions about AI culling on the Adobe forums. However, Adobe NEVER discloses information about upcoming products unless they include beta functions in the current version of the app.

I can't for the life of me see how AI culling could do an acceptable job. Suppose a wedding photographer uses AI culling and it leaves out Aunt Allice who was old and died the day after the wedding. Or, in my case, shooting landscape and wildlife, tiny differences in composition and critter positions are extremely important. I don't see how AI could do an acceptable job.

 

[Ken Seals]

Photo Mechanic (PM) will do everything you want, including metadata. The program creates XMP files for each image that LrC reads upon import. Your ratings, etc. will be in those files.

I do not use the advanced features of PM, just basic culling. For wildlife, sports and music shows, it saves me a ton of time. I can get the number of shots down to a few hundred from the thousands I might shoot at an event or nature shoot.

For me, the key to culling efficiency is to NEVER choose rejects. I always only choose (TAG in PM terminology) the images I think will make good photos. Once the images are tagged, PM will let you filter by UNTAGGED, which I do and delete those.

I will import into LrC the tagged one since they are the only ones left in the folder. That minimizes the time the LrC import process takes. From there, I will go through the images in LrC choosing the ones I want to work on.

There are some excellent YT videos on PM.

 

[Barleyman]

FAstRawViewer is exactly what I was looking for, It updates the xmp file.

Hopefully in the next release that will support the "Pick" tag that Lightroom added last year.

And the price is very reasonable.

Thanks

 

[tbcass]

Seems Adobe plans to add AI assisted culling aids in LR in 2025.

Already looking for a faster GPU...

That's the first time I've heard that—where did you read about it?

There are discussions about AI culling on the Adobe forums. However, Adobe NEVER discloses information about upcoming products unless they include beta functions in the current version of the app.

So, it's simply a rumor. I never pay attention to rumors.

Rumor: a currently circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth.

 

[sirhawkeye64]

So there are a number of tools out there that people recommend for culling your photos. I currently use a combo of LrC and Lr, and understand pretty well how they work.

With other tools, I would like to know what happens to the photos you pick. That is, how does the software mark the photos that you want to keep, edit , etc?

Does it modify the file Metadata, the xmp, keep a catalog, move the file?

I think this question is a bit too broad, as it depends on the culling software you're using. Photomechanic for example I think uses a database, and as you know, Lr and Bridge use XMP files, CaptureOne uses a catalog (as does LrC which you already know). DXO is like Bridge (although I think it uses a pseudo-catalog for some stuff like ratings and keywords, but edits are saved to DOP files, similar to XMP files for Adobe). So I think it depends really but it seems many of them use a catalog / database for general library management.

I've been using Bridge (and sometimes Lr Desktop if I need to compare files during culling) as I don't need the overhead of LrC.

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PLEASE NOTE: I usually unsubscribe from forums and comments after a period of time, so if I do not respond, that is likely the reason. Feel free to PM me if you have a questions or need clarification about a comment I made.

 

[Ken Seals]

I think this question is a bit too broad, as it depends on the culling software you're using. Photomechanic for example I think uses a database,

Photo Mechanic has both database and non database versions. Photo Mechanic Plus is the database version.

 

[sirhawkeye64]

I think this question is a bit too broad, as it depends on the culling software you're using. Photomechanic for example I think uses a database,

Photo Mechanic has both database and non database versions. Photo Mechanic Plus is the database version.

After posting that I realized there was two versions and different approaches, but still it will depend on the software used.

Considering the various options that companies employ for file management systems, it would be nice if Adobe would make it so that you could opt for LrC to have a database but ONLY for the sake of metadata and searching, but store the edits in XMP files only (not a database). I know there is an option to enable XMP writing, but Lrc still writes the changes to the database although I think I know why they have the requirement though -- virtual copies, which cannot only reside in the catalog and cannot be saved to XMP files.

--
PLEASE NOTE: I usually unsubscribe from forums and comments after a period of time, so if I do not respond, that is likely the reason. Feel free to PM me if you have a questions or need clarification about a comment I made.

 

[Barleyman]

So there are a number of tools out there that people recommend for culling your photos. I currently use a combo of LrC and Lr, and understand pretty well how they work.

With other tools, I would like to know what happens to the photos you pick. That is, how does the software mark the photos that you want to keep, edit , etc?

Does it modify the file Metadata, the xmp, keep a catalog, move the file?

I think this question is a bit too broad, as it depends on the culling software you're using. Photomechanic for example I think uses a database, and as you know, Lr and Bridge use XMP files, CaptureOne uses a catalog (as does LrC which you already know). DXO is like Bridge (although I think it uses a pseudo-catalog for some stuff like ratings and keywords, but edits are saved to DOP files, similar to XMP files for Adobe). So I think it depends really but it seems many of them use a catalog / database for general library management.

I've been using Bridge (and sometimes Lr Desktop if I need to compare files during culling) as I don't need the overhead of LrC.

Yea, I meant to be broad. What I really should have asked is which tool pairs well with a LrC flow. Which means it directly modifies the XMP that is then read by LrC. FastRawViewer appears for fit this pretty well. I can quickly pass the files and give a 1 start to the ones I want to edit. I can then import (or sync meta) into Lrc, and easily filter and edit the ones I picked.