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In this episode, we take a look at some of the things that you need to focus on when you aren’t sure about how to get started with organizing your images so that you can take on the edit and sequencing of a project. Much like location in real estate, the key to getting successful editing and sequencing of your project is organization, organization, and organization.

Tools to Stay Organized

It doesn’t matter what you use to stay organized (Lightroom, Capture One, PhotoMechanic), as long as you are consistent in your approach to organization. I personally find that using a cataloging system or keywording system that allows for a one image to many projects approach to be the most successful way to stay organized and find your work when needed. Building collections, albums or folders around key themes and concepts will allow you to explore your work and find images that can work across multiple projects rather than just for the one shoot they might have been created for at one time. The power of these sorts of tools like Lightroom and Capture One can make it easy to stay organized, focus on multiple projects and keep your editing consistent between projects. Each tool has pros and cons, and I recommend that you try them out if you haven’t to stay organized.

Write it Down

Also, keeping a running list or journal of your ideas and projects is important. Having clarity around what you want to have a project be about and focused on is critical to knowing what images to start with and how to narrow their focus down.

Pick and Edit Workflow

Finally, we talk about how you have to be really good about narrowing your images down from all to some to many to few and ultimately to your final picks. Getting a system in place for organizing and understanding your workflow will help you have time and energy necessary to do the editing work. By focusing on only a few images rather than editing all images, you can keep the focus on the story you want to tell rather than the sliders and layers stacks necessary for editing.