Post processing and editing are killing my enjoyment of photography … (the PP blues)

[Keith]

I have two onerous files staring at me daily on my desktop that need to be completed, burned to disc and handed to those who are expecting them.

One was shot in black and white film (nine rolls) and has been scanned and all the images selected for final editing (approx 120) have been post processed and the last task is to edit that quantity down to around fifty final images and attempt to place them in some type of sequence … then burned to disc of course.

There is another folder staring at me that contains around 120 raw files from my D700 of a gallery opening I shot a week and a half ago … they need to be post processed and edited down to a final thirty or so … then burned to disc also! I received an email yesterday from someone wanting to know how much longer this particular completed file will be.

These two examples are no big deal I admit but I’m really struggling with this side of photography and find that it’s getting harder instead of easier … the more I have to do it the less I enjoy it! In fact I actually find it stressful to the point where I seriously procrastinate when there is PP and editing to be done and will find something else to do that I tell myself is far more important … yesterday it was spending almost the entire day brush cutting the top part of my property. 😱

How the hell do wedding photographers etc who go out week after week returning often with thousands of digital files that need to go through this painful process cope … I’m seriously beginning to wonder? Maybe I just don’t have mental discipline for this sort of thing and would be better off hiding in a darkroom somewhere learning to wet print … but of course no one is going to pay me to do that!

This is really starting to cramp me and I’m finding it progressively harder to actually pick up a camera and go out and take photographs for myself and often when I do I’m really not happy with the end result. Is there some pain barrier here that once you pass through it all becomes a little easier or should I just give up while I still have my sanity … mostly! 😛

 

[monochromejrnl]

If I'm doing something for someone else, I better be getting paid, otherwise it'll take a while before it gets done. Collecting money is a great motivator! Either you're not getting paid or you're not getting paid enough! ;P

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Keith, imagine you had to print all of those in the darkroom! That would be even less fun.

 

[t.s.k.]

You can do a "Winogrand" and let the exposed rolls age - like a fine wine 😀

 

[tlitody]

How the hell do wedding photographers etc who go out week after week returning often with thousands of digital files that need to go through this painful process cope …

One local tog I know of employs three monkeys to do the post chimping for her. Not sure how long they stick it for.

 

[DNG]

Keith
Hire someone to do the Post on Paid jobs.
Many Wedding photographers do just that.

Or, take on no more work for a week or two, catch up on current stuff, and take a holiday.

I'm having trouble going through 60 years of Slides, Negatives and prints that my dad kept from Marriage on!.....(14 double sized file boxes. 😱😱😱) and two large gym bags.

It can get overwhelming....

 

[Bob Michaels]

Keith: Your post led me to believe you were doing these two jobs as a commercial endeavor. Now you certainly do not have to dislike your job, but this is a job is it not? Maybe I am not catching on. I just cannot imagine anyone loving photography so much that they would enjoy shooting and editing events in a manner to please someone else.

 

[Vince Lupo]

I just shot about 5,000 pictures last week between 3 clients, so I can definitely appreciate your sentiments. But, if you charge for your time going through everything, then it can be a good motivator.

 

[Pablito]

It's supposed to be fun?

 

[Keith]

Keith: Your post led me to believe you were doing these two jobs as a commercial endeavor. Now you certainly do not have to dislike your job, but this is a job is it not? Maybe I am not catching on. I just cannot imagine anyone loving photography so much that they would enjoy shooting and editing events in a manner to please someone else.

Yes sorry Bob I should have been clearer ... they are both paid jobs but not what I would call great money. The institution I do these for has a photography budget for each event they hold and it's my choice to accept the fee they offer ... or not!

The film project I did for them was great fun to shoot and a real challenge but the scanning, post processing etc has really done my head in.

 

[Ranchu]

Best thing I've found for cutting down the time for Nikon files is Nikon's ViewNX, it's free, it crawls agonizingly when editing multiple files because it re converts every file every time you do an edit, instead of generating a 'preview' and showing you that. The time saver is that the color is good, so you're not screwing around with that for an eon.

You'll have the learning curve with ViewNX, but in the end I think it'll save you time..

🙂

 

[tomalophicon]

Why wouldn't people pay you to wet print?
You may get more excitement from it.
Just scan the outcome and you won't have to spend much time on the computer at all.

 

[Spyro]

Keep your processing simple mate, make a photoshop action or preferably a lightroom preset for your digital files, rotate, crop, maybe correct levels/curves if needs be and thats about it, batch export and you're finished. With your film scans unfortunately there's no way around spot-healing the dust spots, so maybe you should reconsider using film for this type of project?

 

[noimmunity]

I love the process, and always have some moments during the day or week when I can't focus enough to do anything demanding...that's where PP fits in.
My complaint is that I just can't get the results that I see others here putting up.

 

[Bob Michaels]

<snip> when I can't focus enough to do anything demanding...that's where PP fits in.
My complaint is that I just can't get the results that I see others here putting up.

Your first sentence contains the answer to the problem posed in the second.

 

[oftheherd]

Photo Shop or other PP software does digitally what is done manually in the wet darkroom. I don't know that you will find relief in going wet. I prefer it but it isn't any less work than digital PP. The work is manual rather than digital. In the case of the 75 year old photos, you are probably ahead of the game with digital. Not so many wasted attempts to throw in the trash can. When you are taking the photos, you can cut down on the PP, whether in the darkroom or computer. But with those, you didn't.

With your other job, were you just shooting away, or taking meaningful photos? That will cut down on the decision making.

It sounds like you have just gotten yourself overwhelmed with work conflicting with life. Probably coming down a bit from the excitement of the 75 year old photos as well. I didn't have them in my hands, and I am sorry there are no more.

Easy to say, hard to do: get hold of yourself and do it. Fun or not. Get it over with and then relax. Then don't take on more than you are ready to do in a given time. Photography can be so much fun that is sometimes hard to turn down challenges, until you realize why it sometimes gets to be less fun.

Good luck. You are in a funk similar to depression. From all your posts, I am confident you have the internal fortitude to work out of it. But you have to work at it. Right now you just want to avoid it. It's no fun. Most of us have been there and done that, to greater or lesser degrees. You will work you way out. Only you can determine how soon.

But I don't think you will be in this funk/for for long. You are too good at what you do.

 

[Steve M.]

There's a few options you might take.

A- Take less photos to begin with. Seriously.

B - Set up some actions in your PP that will do a lot of things all at once. Auto level, curve, auto color, etc.

C - Shoot only film (see A above).

 

[Frank Petronio]

I throw away most of what I shoot and I don't deliver that many finals.

Then I edit a representative file as good as possible in Adobe Camera Raw, followed by Applying the "Previous Conversion" to all the applicable files made under similar conditions.

Then, for freebies and simple stuff, I stay in Bridge and use the automatic website creation options to generate a website with the largest size .jpg files possible, 1600 pixels wide. It creates a folder for the website>Resources>Large which I open in Bridge and sort and rename the files as needed. That's what I deliver in most cases.

I can do a couple hundred snapshots, grip and grins, gallery openings, etc. in an hour of tv watching with my laptop.

For pictures I value, I spend quite a bit more on them individually.... but for a party? Facebook? Really? I'm not going to start liquifying fat people and covering bald spots unless I'm on the clock.

 

[tlitody]

The problem with digital files is that they are never finished and you can do more to them. Easy to spend more than an hour on one if its for a fine print.

Best policy is to edit in the viewfinder and don't get trigger happy just becasue you can. Then assuming you are getting exposures correct, there should be minimal post processing.
I would suggest just providing untouched digital proofs for selection and then post process only those selected. Tell them that's how you work. It will save you a lot of time.

 

[gavinlg]

Keith,

Can you outline your post processing sequence/methodology for us? There's almost always an easier way to do things...