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Photographers Nina Zimolong, Don Laurent and Alessandro Galatoli shares their best time saving tips for an efficient photography workflow

3 photographers share their best time saving-tips for Capture One

If there is one thing most people wish they had more of, it’s time. Time to relax, to spend with friends and family, to work on what you truly care about. Although an essential part of a professional photographer’s work, culling and editing can sometimes take up unnecessary time. We spoke to three photographers about how they have made their workflow more efficient in Capture One Pro and get more time to do what they love.

Nina Zimolong

On assignments for high-profile brands, fashion and lifestyle photographer Nina Zimolong doesn’t waste any time on unnecessary steps. Keeping a well-thought-out, simple yet efficient workflow is what makes her able to deliver at a speed that amazes her clients.

What is the most important thing to think of before a shoot?

When planning a shoot, I need to be super organized. I like to have everything planned down to a T. I’ve been on many sets where things are not planned properly and it’s always those shoots that take the most amount of time and I can see the frustration in the entire team. So, I like to come prepared. Always be one step ahead. I like to have my mood boards in front of me at all times, and also, I like to chat with the client before the shoot to understand what they expect from it.

What does your workflow look like today?

I like to base my workflow on the “coming in first and going out first” thing. I do not like to hang around on client shoots. So as soon as I shoot, I make it my mission to get it to the client asap. I think it is one reason why I stand out to my clients. They are always amazed at how quickly they get their photographs. I like to plan my workflow ahead of time and make sure I always give myself enough time for editing.

How have you changed your workflow over time to be more efficient?

I have tried many, many programs to see what works for me and what makes my life easier. Sometimes I shoot like a crazy person, and I have hundreds of pics to go through.
Culling is the most time-consuming thing known to photographers. On important shoots, I always rate my images as I shoot or tell my assistant to rate the pics. It is a way that makes culling easier for me.

I also like to have my client with me on set; I know many photographers hate it, but I prefer it. I like them to rate images with me and my assistant as I go as this saves soooo much time.

What is your favorite tool/feature in Capture One Pro?

For me, from day one, it has been the tethering. I can’t live without it. But as of late, my assistant also has shown me how insane the colors are in Capture One. And it’s something I just can’t seem to replicate in Photoshop.

What is your best time-saving tip for editing or culling?

A new feature that is an absolute game-changer is AI editing!! It will fix the Exposure for you just the way you like it but for all images, even if they are in different light settings. It thinks for you. Before, this took me so long to do; now it is just super quick. I really am making good use of it, and I won’t look back!

Explore Nina’s work here

Don Laurent

LA-based fashion photographer, Don Laurent likes to give his images the attention they deserve to bring out the emotion he wants. To have the time he needs to perfect his photos, he has honed his workflow to make sure he is purposeful in the steps he takes and is always working from a good starting point.

What is the most important thing to think about before a shoot?

Intention. Initially, I was going to say location or lighting but I recognize that these are all details set around the question of, what is your intention with this shoot? In other words what emotions are you trying to evoke or what are you trying to say? After you figure that out, you can map out: model, lighting, clothing, props, location, and a team that can help bring the story to life.

What does your workflow look like today?

I begin by importing my images into Capture One Pro and culling them with the star-rating system. Five stars are for immediate “wows” and for images that will make it to the final editing process. Fours and threes I’ll come back to and cull through even further until I’m happy with my choices. After getting a solid selection (which can range from 10-20ish) depending on the shoot, I will do photo corrections such as cropping, exposure correction, curve/level adjustments, adding grain, and building in the foundation for my color grading.

This is perhaps the most important part of my process because, from this point, I can start getting an idea of how I feel about the image and if it’s still as strong as I believed during the culling process. By this point, I have a very strong foundation of an image that I can export and further work within Photoshop for skin retouching and refining. I like that the bulk of what I need to do can be done in Capture One, from culling to color grading.

How have you changed your workflow over time to be more efficient?

Prior to 2016 I was using Lightroom solely for imports and doing everything else in Photoshop. I switched over to Capture One Pro and loved that I could practically do all editing “in-house” before exporting to Photoshop. I owe a lot of time-saving and organization to Capture One and how it streamlined my workflow.

What is your favorite tool/feature in Capture One Pro?

Easily the Color Balance tool. It grants a level of control over colors in my work that eclipses programs I’ve used in the past. I’m also an extremely visual person, so being able to see the color wheel and interpret how it will affect highlights, mid-tones, and shadows is super important to me. I would say that color is the “heartbeat” of my imagery, so having access to a tool this precise is something I am thankful for.

What is your best time-saving time tip for editing or culling?

The best tip is to try to get everything done as best you can in-camera to save time when it comes to culling or editing. It has been said many times over but it’s truly that powerful of a tip. You will find that you pay attention to every minute detail possible when shooting, which effectively changes how you set up a shot.

It may sound cliche but really trust your gut when culling through images. Does it speak to you or wow you when you first see the image? If so, that belongs in your “top picks” list; for others that seem good but require a bit of work to get the image there, they can be in your next tier. From that point, you decide which ones require the least work to get to the same destination or are worth the extra work in general.

Discover more of Don’s work here

Alessandro Galatoli

For high-volume shooters like wedding photographer Alessandro Galatoli, having a strategy for culling and editing is essential. With upwards of 6000 images to sort through from a single job, the Florence-based photographer and educator has refined his workflow to make sure he can deliver high-quality images fast and make his clients’ big day even more special.

What is the most important thing to think of before a shoot?

It definitely depends on the type of shoot. My “to-do list” can be slightly different but there are a few things that are always the same. First, I start with the basics, so gear check. The second thing is always thinking about the results I want to get; it could be a mood board to get inspiration or a face book to know who the VIPs are that I need to photograph.

However, I think the most important thing across all shoots is always to get the right mood and attitude. I know it seems silly but the right mood and the right attitude, especially with people, is what makes the difference, what gets you the right shots even. For me, this is definitely what allows me to be aware, to be present, and to prepare to perform my best during the shoot.

What does your workflow look like today?

Compared to just three years ago, it is much lighter and faster. I was one of those photographers who would bring 10 lenses, adapters, filters, and lots and lots of stuff I would never use. Also, in editing, I used to move from one software to another and work on so many adjustments – it was time-consuming and frankly useless.

My workflow is now much faster and smoother, bringing just what I know I will need on the shoot and using basically only Capture One Pro for editing. After sorting my pictures with color flags, I start my standard editing workflow– Exposure and details adjustments, perspective corrections, then White Balance and color wheels for the color grading, adjusting the Luma Curve if needed and, basically, that’s it. Then I flag all the pictures ready to be exported as green and create the collections I need based on the different use.

Since trying out the new Capture One Pro 23 Beta, my workflow has been boosted in an unbelievable way. Features like the Smart Adjustments and the new culling tools are literally saving me hours each day of editing. I can now basically be more productive or just get more time to spend with my family.

How have you changed your workflow over time to be more efficient?

The biggest change I have made is in the sorting phase. It used to take me twice as long as today.
Now, I color flag the good ones and then leave the rest without even looking at them. A very big change in my workflow came when I started using Capture One Pro and it happened thanks to Recipes that allowed me to save time while exporting files.

I now just batch the export of different versions of my pictures for different purposes through Recipes and this is a big time-saver. Also, the quality of my editing changed with Capture One Pro, allowing me to use some tools, like Clarity, that I never used before due to the disruptive and cheesy effect that it had in other software, but that works amazingly in Capture One Pro.

What is your favorite tool/feature in Capture One?

A couple of weeks ago I would have answered the color wheels and the Styles allowing me to customize and create my very own personal touch using Levels for Styles and the amazing tools for skin tone.

After trying Capture One Pro 23, my life will never be the same. I mean, the AI behind Smart Adjustments feature is crazy. It is by far my favorite feature. It allows me to have consistency between different lighting situations at a speed that I would never have dreamed of.

What is your best time-saving tip for editing or culling?

Well, with the new culling “feature” in Capture One Pro 23, my tip is just to USE IT! It is amazing and has already saved me hours.

Other than that, use the color flags to just select the “needs editing” pictures. Then move to edit individually or batch, and in the end, color flag the “ready to export” images with a different color. This way, you will have control over everything, and you’ll be visually aware of the work you still need to do and what you already have that is ready to deliver to your customers.

Also, I often use stars in addition to colors when sharing my set with clients through Capture One Live. Then they can quickly select the pictures they want to be edited but just among the color-tagged ones I choose as my wide selection. All of this is literally live – I often do it while on the phone or on a video call with clients in other cities.

Find more of Alessandro’s work on his Instagram

Have you tried Capture One Pro 23 yet? Download it here

Capture One for iPad: How Sharpen saves time and impresses clients with tethering

Tethering to the Capture One iPad app is the latest new feature for photographers to take their work on the go. Watch editorial photographer Robert Hall – one third of Sharpen on YouTube – talk time-saving, collaboration, and how he wows his clients using the new tethering capabilities.

“[Tethering to a laptop or desktop] just doesn’t work for me because I am never in a fixed location,” says Robert. The Michigan-based photographer has been playing with the new tethering functionalities on Capture One for iPad since the update to the app came out in September and has seen it open doors to new ways of working.

“Most of my work is on location wherever my clients are. Even today when I am working for my university client, I am going to be in six different rooms in three different buildings all around the campus.”

“I am just not in a fixed scenario that warrants tethering to some type of laptop or desktop setup. But with the update of the Capture One app, tethering is finally in a portable enough fashion that it works for my on-location workflow.”

With an iPad in a sling across his shoulder, Robert is now free to move between locations and in spaces where a cart, external displays, and wires just aren’t practical while still getting the benefits of a tethered shoot.

More screen real estate and RAW file viewing

Having a mobile way to shoot tethered means increased screen size for Robert to view his images as they come in.

“Going from your tiny two-and-a-half/three-inch screen on your camera to a 12-inch or 10-inch screen is just a huge upgrade in terms of visibility.”

He points out that not only can he better view his images on a bigger screen but shooting tethered means that he is viewing and making adjustments to his RAW files and not just the JPEG previews on his camera screen. With the same image processing power as you find in Capture One Pro for the desktop, the iPad app lets you work directly with your RAW files to have full control over the results.

“If you’ve ever gotten home from a shoot and you’re like ‘I thought there was way more contrast.’ That’s just JPEG preview life because you’re not actually viewing your RAW file on the back of your camera; you’re making adjustments to a JPEG version of it that generally has more contrast and saturation. So, you’re making adjustments that are in response to ways that your image doesn’t actually look.”

“Phenomenal for collaboration”

Discovering what using the iPad for tethering can do for his workflow, Robert has noticed how it brings his clients and collaborators closer to his work. “This is phenomenal in terms of collaboration.”

He has used other apps in the past to give his clients a way to preview and give feedback on his work, but none have hit the spot. Whereas other apps he has worked with take away his control as soon as he shares a preview with his client, using Capture One for iPad lets him continue his work without interruption when he hands the tablet over to his clients.

“Now [they] can look at the images as they come in and add commentary to the session, which makes things go a lot smoother and my experience using the camera is completely undisrupted.”

Enhance your images instantly

Capture One for iPad has a lot of features that desktop users will be familiar with. This includes Next Capture Adjustments, which lets you apply adjustments to your first shot and automatically add them to any subsequent captures. This means your images are one step closer to the final product as they come in.

“Because you’re dealing with RAW images here, this is really nice especially if you are doing any type of retail experience where you are showing clients images live,” Robert explains.

“Because, let’s be honest, a RAW file is a little bit meh. I mean they are low contrast, low saturation. They are designed to capture as much data as possible. Not just to look visually stunning right out the gate. So, to show clients RAW images, at least retail ones who don’t understand the editing process, might be a little underwhelming.”

For an instant wow effect, Robert adds that you can also select a Style to automatically apply to your images as they roll in.

Fill the empty space in your schedule

“Every photographer has experienced this. We have an 11 o’clock shoot across town 45 minutes from our house. Then we finish and we don’t have anything to do for two and a half hours and then you’re in that zone where you’re like, do I go home to only have 30 minutes at home, what’s the point of that?” says Robert.

“This is just wonderful because it’s a more productive use of our idle time. For me, this will probably largely be culling. You can use either the stars or the color tags and go ahead and rate your images however you want. But there is no reason to stop at culling. If you want to edit on this, you have control of all your typical sliders of color adjustments, cropping, sharpening, all that built right into the app.”

Capture One for iPad has many of the same editing and selection functionalities that you can find on the desktop. Now in a portable package, Robert has found that he can get most of his selection work done before even setting foot in his studio.

“I just had an hour and a half gap, and I culled all the photos from my first two shoots today.”

Want to see what Capture One for iPad can do to elevate your work? Download it here

Artist Matilde Digmann sitting on a chair showing her middle finger. Shot by Marie Hald

Behind the photo with Marie Hald

Marie Hald is not one to shy away from a difficult topic. The Danish photojournalist has spent her career capturing intimate glimpses into the lives of people who are often overlooked, forgotten, or that many have decided they would rather not see. With her camera, she gives the audience an honest, unglamorous, yet deeply sympathetic view of fatness, sex work, old age, girlhood, and much more.

Her new photo book “Feminin” celebrates feminine beings, as she puts it, and the different ways 100 people between the ages of 0 and 102 inhabit this identity in a world of unattainable beauty standards.

Join Marie behind the scenes as she tells us about the process behind getting one photo from her book.

Who is the woman in the picture?

The woman is Matilde Digmann. She is an artist who works with ceramics and graphic design and also a friend of mine.

Why did you take her picture?

I love to play around with and photograph some of my friends who are also artists, and Matilde and I sometimes swap our art, if you can call it that. We had planned this session to be raw and true to Matilde’s universe. I love how the dynamics can be between artists working together. And a lot of the ideas for the shoot came from Matilde’s curly brain and just stuff we made up while playing around.

In the image, she is sitting on a bar stool with her legs spread, wearing a robe, and with only a drink covering her crotch. She is also showing the middle finger. Can you tell us more about this scene? What do you think the pose says about her?

The idea for this pose actually came from an image of Danish poet Tove Ditlevsen. We have another image that looks true to the photo of Tove. Matilde is a provocateur and an extreme feminist and just a wild heart. I’ve also photographed her naked, lying with her cat, as an ode to another image of Frida Kahlo. So, we liked to play around with her giving the viewer the finger while having her drink placed in quite a provocative place, like the crotch.

What do you like about this photo?

I like the tones of the image. The pastel colors that are milder and feminine matched with Matilde’s ‘no fucks given’ attitude.
Working in a studio setup hasn’t been anything I’ve really done in the past couple of years. I have a BA in photojournalism and normally come from a reportage background.

It’s a very colorful shot. Did you decide on the wardrobe? What kind of thought went into the colors in the photo?

Matilde brought over a lot of her wardrobe to my studio, and we experimented with different styles. The robe idea came from an image from The Big Lebowski. So, as you see we had a lot of mood board ideas and sort of just mixed them all up.

They say a picture says a thousand words. What do you think this image says?

I would like to think this portrait tells the story of Matilde. It’s hard to put in words, but I think it captures her raw, vulnerable, and powerful being. She is such a wonderful artist with all that comes with that. A wild mind, free spirit, and a lot of emotions.

How much time did you spend editing this photo? What have you done to it in post-processing?

I don’t usually edit my images that much. If I shoot a series, I make sure the tones are aligned, white balance etc. I like to get a sort of analog look. I also edit a lot of black out of the image and sometimes add some grain.

How does this image represent your work as a whole? Is it representative?

I think it is. I just published my first coffee table book, ‘Feminin’ which is a collection of my work with women and feminine beings. My goal is to be able to tell stories about people and subjects that are taboo in society. I want to portray women as they are: strong, powerful, feminine, and in many cases also vulnerable and sensitive. This is a huge power, and we have to reclaim the word feminine as a way more powerful word than it has been used as.

Editorial workflow with Jan Wischermann

Join David Grover, retouch artist and Capture One ambassador Jan Wischermann and photographer and Nikon ambassador Ava Pivot in a unique editorial walkthrough of their work for Numero Netherlands and Faces Magazine.

Photographer Ava Pivot has shot the images, and Jan will show you his editing steps and color grading in Capture One, giving the photos even more character.

“I love sharing deep knowledge of my craft. It’s a great honor to connect to so many creative talents around the globe!” says Jan Wischermann.

Check out the fashion editorial photographed by Ava Pivot.