When Do You Find Time?

[kja]

To process your photos? Some people do a truckload of processing on their images - or at least some of their images - and I know that it can take a long, long time to get it right.

I take a ton of "fun" stuff and just wondering when/how y'all manage to find that kind of time in a day. I always think I'm going to find some time to experiment more with processing, but mostly I'm a KISS Girl day to day.

It's like the 7th of January and I'm approximately 8 days behind on work - personal stuff is being squished in whenever I need a five minute break from reality! And this is my dead quiet season - I just don't know what's happening.

So, do you schedule time? Is processing something you simply consider a must do in a day for your own enjoyment? Do you think of it as a job (or is it a job as you intend on selling images/calendars/cards/misc or build a portfolio etc)? How long do you spend with photos that you choose to process? Do you stay up really late/get up really early to have some you & processing time?

[SchnauzerBoy]

So, do you schedule time? Is processing something you simply consider a must do in a day for your own enjoyment? Do you think of it as a job (or is it a job as you intend on selling images/calendars/cards/misc or build a portfolio etc)? How long do you spend with photos that you choose to process? Do you stay up really late/get up really early to have some you & processing time?

Sometimes the only things I do to a photo is exposure, brightness and contrast.... sometimes I adjust levels, curves, crop etc etc, it really depends.

I think, like most people who take photography semi-seriously, you can take a photo with a picture in mind at the end. You will often then need to adjust the photo accordingly....

I certainly don't PP all my "fun" shots, but I certainly do when I am doing a professional shoot for portraits, pets or weddings When those are in mind and there is a $$ figure involved, the time is made available.

[persephone]

I don't do anything to most of my photos- and most things I DO attempt only take a few minutes per image..I am not a fussy person

[TerraNik]

I tend to stay up late and do them but usually there's not much intensive editing. I know how I like my photos to look and I can get there pretty quickly. I don't take it too seriously. For a basic shot that I'm happy with it's about a 5 minute fix-up job. For others that are photoshopped with objects removed, etc obviously that takes longer but it's not something I do every day.

When I'm studying and particularly close to exams I found that I couldn't fit in editing every day. I saved up a few days worth and squeezed it in somewhere. It became very frustrating when I was so far behind, but what can you do!?

[kja]

To be clear, I'm only talking about fun shots here really - not ones we might be doing for clients because obviously one builds that time into the session planning

I found that I couldn't fit in editing every day. I saved up a few days worth and squeezed it in somewhere. It became very frustrating when I was so far behind, but what can you do!?

That's what I'm trying to find out! Hopefully with all the ideas from such a great variety of people something will help me (and others who are interested!)

Edited January 7, 2010 by kja

[Ripley]

I don't find time, kja. That's the problem. I work full time and don't get on the computer at night if I can help it as it gives me insomnia and OH gets the sulks. He's the one who wanted me to have a hobby, now he resents the time I have to stay on the computer editing. I have so many photos to go through, some from an overseas trip in late 2008 that I've culled, but not processed. Trouble is, I know more about PS now (been reading a great Scott Kelby book plus there is google) so want to go back and re-edit some photos before putting them on a website.

This weekend I'm going to sit on my butt and do more editing and culling but to be honest, I find it very boring. I like taking photos but don't like the time processing them. I'd rather be out doing other things.

One tip someone gave me was if you are travelling, take a laptop with you and load and cull as you go, delete the crap, convert the raw files and sort into folders for processing later and do this daily, at night after you take pics. Also another tip: treat the digital camera like a film camera and don't snap away at anything and everything. Trouble is, my OH's laptop isn't calibrated properly and he won't let me stick my spyder on it.

eta: with the wild bird photos to post process takes less time. I convert from raw into tiff and then a slight selective colour boost (not all colours) and sharpen is all that is needed. Sometimes if the exposure is off, I'll do a layer mask or subtle shadow/highlights adjustment but I prefer to get it right in camera so fiddle with the camera a bit during taking the pic. Landscapes take more time. Dogs can take more time too.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Ripley

[helen]

For me some photos don;t have much adjustments and some have heaps.

I know what you mean about the time though. I have taken a few photos since Christmas, I am trying to get together 2 calendars, one for myself and one for a friend, now it is 7th Jan, then I have 2 people who want a canvas of photos I took very recently, so I think I will have to spend some time very soon doing photos on the computer, not taking photos - if it is photos just for myself they tend to go on the backburner sometimes

[~*Shell*~]

I don't! I have folders stocked with photos here that are still waiting on editing months later. I want to get some done while I'm holidays so I can get them printed but even then, I don't know if I'll have the time!

[kja]

Great answers - anyone who actually DOES have or find time consistently?

[Linda K]

Just a newbie here, but with any session work, the first thing I do is get my 2nd cut of ones that are good enough to work on, then if that is more than 30 for a session, I go through and review and see if there are any duplicates or near duplicates to cull. I then go through and batch edit - any in similar light / setups etc that will all need the same WB processing, adjustments etc,. so I can do them altogether. I am trying to get it down to 5 min an image, at the moment it is more like 7 - 10, , then save in the worked on file. Anything that does not look good at 100% view is discarded.

Personals stuff, well that is a different matter, I shoot on jpeg anyway, so they might just be a very quick crop, boost either via curves or dup layer, soft light and mask, and sharpen, and generally not to much more than that - these are for the most part more snap shot, rather than needing to be perfect at 30 x 40 on a wall. I am way behind on those though, whereas client work I will try to have a few ready for a blog sneak peek in a day or 2 of the shoot, and the remiander of the gallery ready within a week after that. HTH

I also now am a SAHM, and do the photography PT as well, so I guess it helps I can do this during the day

Linda

[TangerineDream]

I drop the whole lot from the session onto the computer and then go through them all as a slideshow with a notebook, writing down the ones that catch my eye or make a statement. I then open them in batches of 10 and most of my processing for the internet is fairly standard and can be done quite quickly....the one's that I get excited about and decide to have a serious go at, I note down the number as I go and then come back to them (1 maybe 2 most times - occasionally up to 5). I do 3 copies of each - 1 at 1200x800, 1 at 800x500 and 1 at 500x333...........they go up onto the various sites and that's it for the day unless there's something really special...I have a break and come back to that one...... I have to do virtually all of this in one go or I never get around to it......can take 355 photos in one day so the first thing I do is always make a cup of tea

Btw, I only work in jpg rather than raw.

[kja]

More great answers The more I read them the more I think maybe I'm not asking really the right question. I don't have a problem finding the time (usually) to deal with my personal images when I'm just doing the basics.

I do have more of a problem finding time to experiment with different processing options or working on an image to include a ton of processing. There are several DOLers who clearly do a lot of editing - textures, masks, cloning, etc that all take time to do well - and I know the more you do it, the faster you get, but I was hoping that those who do heavy editing could share how they developed a workflow that made sense for their lives. Not a workflow like "I download, then cull, then rate etc ..."

Part of my problem is that once I start playing around, I tend to KEEP playing around "ooo, let me try this other thing!" "oo, I wonder what would happen if I try this?" "ooo, this looks good, I'll bet if I do X and Y it'll be super neat" "ooo, maybe I should do this in a colour tone (and then try 1, 983, 298 different ones)" LOL

For myself, I squish experimenting into my "breaks" - either from mundane office stuff or when I am editing client images. Rarely do I sit down with the aim of having a play.

Edited January 9, 2010 by kja

[Guest Tess32]

I haven't, I have thousands to go through. I need help hehe.

[rocco]

So, do you schedule time?

I make time and try to do something everyday to improve my skill. I never take 100's of photo's that I know will never process.

Is processing something you simply consider a must do in a day for your own enjoyment?

Yep, I love learning new processes.

Do you think of it as a job (or is it a job as you intend on selling images/calendars/cards/misc or build a portfolio etc)?

Yes and No. I dont take photo's for the purpose of sale, but have been selling them.

How long do you spend with photos that you choose to process?

Sometimes hours sometime minutes. Save alot of actions. I always know how I want my image to look before I take the photo, so I am not spending all day playing around with ideas. I think this can be time wasting when you get indecisive.

Do you stay up really late/get up really early to have some you & processing time?

Yep, but only because I dont sleep much.

Edited January 9, 2010 by Rocco1

[carebear]

i personally, prefer to try and get the photo 'right' on the camera, so not much editing needs doing (if at all). most of my photos on here have had no editing (except to make them smaller to fit on here), but occasionally i might boost the colour, or add an antique effect, but that's it.

atm i'm only using iphoto to edit photos, so am limited to what it can do, but would like one day in the future, to get an editing program and try other things (ie i really like those black and white photos which have 1 thing in colour, etc)

[kja]

Again, more great answers Love to see ppl adding their ideas.

This thread isn't about getting it "right" this is about doing "special" editing type things. Everyone I've ever talked to or met tries to get it right in camera but that doesn't mean that even the most rightest in camera image doesn't need something. See various threads here and elsewhere for exhaustive, repetitive and mostly boring discussions on that whole issue

care - You are going to love when you have a more intensive editing program - not only will you be able to futz with selective colour (the bw with one thing in colour you love) but you'll be able to minutely control those black and white images to make every detail of the image the way you want it. I adore black and white editing!

[Ripley]

Don't some people buy plug ins and just run them in the actions menu? That would speed up time but then I guess if you didn't like the look, you'd have to adjust each layer.

[kja]

Rocco - how long do you reckon it took you to find the textures and processing techniques you use in many of your photos and get them working the way you like so you can see the finished image before you shoot it? Do you use premade actions/presets or have you designed all of your own? I think lots of folks here would be very interested in how you developed your style.

[Linda K]

sorry, selective coloring is very cheesy, and would not touch it with a ten foot pole (I do know that some people still like it, but it is not for me, mostly it just leaves freaky looking people / animals, or emphasis on the wrong thing - if a whole shot is B & W except for a flower, that is where you will look, even if the real subject of the shot was the person holding the fllower).

As to trying all sorts of different things with photos, I will have an idea what look I want the photos to have before I start editing, and go with that - for instance with any breeder shots, I would not saturate the colors, as that is not then a true representation of the breed and their real colour, and if the breeder is going to use that image for their own website, then they want to show their animal as it is, not how I have made it look.

I will use actions, but will know which ones I have either created myself or purchased, that will do the look I want, and same for B & W conversions - once I have the colour corrected the way I want, I have a few different B & W depending on the overall tonal values that I will use (ie I will not use the same B & W action on everything, as it will not always need the same values to get the best look, or I might want a moodier B & W or an airier one depending on the subject, but again, I know which one I want to use before I do it. The general flow though is cull the shots to those I want, work those in batches that I want similar looks on, and use actions, but masking and brushing to get the look I want , but still minimal time - if I spent hours on each image perfecting it, unless each one of those shots sold, it is time wasted.

Most important thing for me also is to not sit down and edit for too much time in one hit, as I know that otherwise your eyes start to lose their ability to detect colour casts etc, and you will not have an evenly edited gallery, so I will edit say 1/2 hour, take a screen break (maybe check on a few forums, or take a coffee break), then come back and edit some more, so my eyes stay fresh. I will also edit in natural light in my office, so I am not thrown off by any casts from the flouro light tube that I have on when I am not editing.

On the occasion that I am tempted to experiment, that is what history and snapshot statuses are all about, so that you can try, and backstep, without losing too much time, or even just save versions along the way.