The Editing process

[SManazis]

I'm not a pro, by any stretch.  I got into photography about 5-6 years ago and never really had the time to dive in so I've been slow moving. I'll take 200 pictures, I'll like about 10 of them, then edit them over the course of a few nights as spare time allows.  I was wondering how the editing workflow works for some pro's who have 1-2 sessions a week.  40-100 photos to edit, etc.  How long is spent on each picture?  Is it better to do all the raw work at once, then PS each one from there?  Or Raw -> PS-> Export in that order for each photo?

[Damien Symonds]

This is a fabulous question, but probably needs a broader range of answers than you'll find here.  I'd suggest posting in a photography group.

I think that everyone finds their level, you know?  The amount of time you spend per photo is ultimately dictated by your number of available waking hours.  You have the luxury of spending solid time on each photo, making it a glittering masterpiece.  But folk shooting a lot will have to limit themselves to raw processing and just a bare minimum of PS work.

[Kim Howells]

I struggled with this for years, and I *like* spending time on photos I like.  But when you have large volumes, like Damien said, it's simply not feasible. 

So when shooting a wedding, the vast majority of mine only get a raw edit, but anything that is likely to end up on a wall gets a spruce up in PS.  For portraits, I spend more time on them, but I do try to stick to the basics of raw and levels where I can, and more recently skin after having done the Skin Class.  I guess on average it would be around 5 mins per photo, if there is nothing tricky like extending the floor or doing a head swap.  But sometimes I like to play and it's a lot longer - but that's for personal satisfaction, not that of the client.

I generally do all the raws first, then the PS edits.

[SManazis]

Thanks for your reply.