THE BEST AI PHOTO EDITING TOOLS FOR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS
THE BEST AI PHOTO EDITING TOOLS FOR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Another wedding season is upon us but before things get too hectic, it’s a good idea to ensure that your workflow is as efficient as possible to avoid any unnecessary stress for you or your client. With this in mind, I’ve conducted a comparison of the best AI Photo Editing Tools For Wedding Photographers.
As a wedding photographer, you likely have a particular workflow that begins when you return from photographing a wedding. This side of the industry, which is not so visible, is where much of the real work happens. Each photographer has an individual recipe, using tech stacks that differ from person to person, according to what suits them best.
The game majorly changed when AI entered the group chat. As wedding photographers, managing the high volume of images and ensuring timely, quality delivery to our clients is paramount, especially during the busy season. It’s the one thing I see wedding photographers worrying about most.
With the evolution of Artificial Intelligence in photography, bulk editing programmes have been transformed into highly efficient tools that streamline the daunting process of mass digital photo culling and editing. Here, we explore some of the leading AI photo editing and culling tools that are currently available, helping you decide which might best enhance your workflow.
“Culling can be hateful. With almost limitless storage on modern memory cards, we’ve become trigger-happy. “
THE BEST AI CULLING TOOLS: REVOLUTIONISING IMAGE SELECTION
Culling digital photos can be hateful. With almost limitless storage on modern memory cards, we’ve become trigger-happy. I regularly come home from a wedding and upload 5000 images. I’ve seen photographers talk about their process and say it’s normal for them to break the 25k mark at weddings – yikes!
Some photographers start the culling process by going through their cards during their break as the wedding breakfast is served. Others do their culling on an iPad in front of the TV using Smart Previews. Good old Photo Mechanic was the tool of choice for many until several AI-powered tools emerged to streamline this phase.
If you are new to AI culling you might be thinking that there’s no way you want machines selecting the images that you deliver from a wedding. None of them do that, they all rate your images for guidance and don’t delete files. You can still access them all and make your own choices. But let’s look at the top four AI Culling Tools
- Narrative Select: Narrative Select focuses on speed and accuracy, helping photographers cull their images quickly while ensuring that key points and expressions are not missed. Thanks to the Close-Ups Panel, it’s particularly good for selecting your best group photos. Its integration with Lightroom makes it a seamless addition to many photographers’ workflows.
- AfterShoot Selects: Recognised for its user-friendly interface, AfterShoot automates the culling process by quickly identifying the best photos based on criteria like sharpness, exposure, and facial expressions. It’s designed to learn from your preferences over time, ensuring that the results align closely with your style.
- Imagen Culling Studio: This tool starts in the Imagen dashboard where you customise your parameters and decide what ratings work for you. You can drag a folder of images into it or use a LRC catalogue, either way, it rapidly assesses the files. What’s unique about Imagen’s culling studio is that it can apply your profile or one from their talents onto the previews and it’s all processed in their cloud so your computer speed is not so relevant.
- FilterPixel: Filter Pixel offers a slightly different approach by providing detailed reasons for each photo it selects or rejects, such as blur, eyes closed, and duplicate shots. This feedback can be particularly useful for understanding the AI’s decision-making process. It works with raws and JPGS and can set different parameters for different genres.
COMPARING THE BEST AI PHOTO EDITING TOOLS & PLANS
There are quite a few players now when it comes to AI bulk editing for photos. New kids on the block include the Chrome App Polarr Next, which works entirely within an online platform – think of it as sliding in the door left open by Canva. However, for this article, I am looking at the top four players currently in the market – Narrative, Imagen, Aftershoot, and Impossible Things.
For simplicity and a real-world perspective, I am looking at these programmes with the parameters of a wedding photographer that averages 25 weddings per year, fully editing 800 images per wedding with straightening. This is based on a recent survey of our audience. So although they all offer a range of pricing plans, this is how I am considering them and trying to answer the question, what are the best AI photo editing and culling tools for wedding photographers?
Features and Pricing:
- Cost Model: Pay-as-you-go, $1000/year based on 800 images at 6c per image.
- Imagen supports multiple profiles, which can be advantageous for photographers who operate across multiple genres. Imagen can also automate Subject Masking and Skin Smoothing. Access to all of their Talent Profiles is also included from high-profile photographers. Imagen is cloud-based so updates happen automatically. Imagen works with Lightroom Classic and also Lightroom CC, Photoshop, and Bridge through Adobe Camera RAW
- Ideal for: Time-poor wedding photographers who want fast and accurate results. Versatile photographers who work in various photographic styles, and require a tool that adapts to different types of work. The pay-as-you-go model also offers flexibility for those whose volume of work may vary significantly from month to month or photographers who do not want a large upfront cost.
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Features and Pricing:
- Pre-Pay Package priced at $600 for processing up to 20,000 images
- Narrative Edit offers a comprehensive solution that seamlessly moves from culling into full editing capabilities. It’s ideal for photographers who require a robust, all-in-one tool that integrates seamlessly with Lightroom. It is the newest player in this field so expect to see more developments soon.
- Ideal For: Photographers on Mac who handle a high volume of images and require an efficient, integrated solution for both culling and editing. This tool is well-suited for wedding photographers who need to quickly sort through thousands of photos, select the best ones, and perform detailed edits to deliver high-quality images to clients.
Features and Pricing:
- Annual Cost: $480/year* for the unlimited plan with one personal profile and access to over 30 of their Marketplace Styles.
- Aftershoot offers comprehensive culling and editing tools including advanced features like straightening, cropping, exposure corrections, colour adjustments and masking. The platform supports batch processing and allows for the creation of custom presets to streamline workflows. It now works with Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Capture One, Adobe Bridge, Photoshop, and Camera Raw.
- Ideal for: Wedding photographers looking for an all-in-one solution that handles both culling and editing efficiently across unlimited images in one place It is especially suitable for those with a high volume of events and also great for anyone who would prefer to apply the edits before culling.
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Features and Pricing:
- Annual Cost: $588/year, works with your existing presets plus you can access their cloud styles from many of your favourite photographers.
- Impossible Things is an out-of-the-box solution that requires no upfront training. Focuses on personalised editing by learning and adapting to the photographer’s unique style. Offers advanced editing options like masking, selective color enhancements, and creative effects, along with essential tools like straightening and cropping. Works natively via a Lightroom Plugin so you don’t need to open another platform.
- Ideal for: Photographers who value consistency in their editing style across different projects, and need a tool that integrates deep learning to maintain that consistency. Also great for photographers who like experimenting with presets developed by leaders in the industry.
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All of them offer free trials, Narrative, Imagen and Aftershoot will need to have some training from your existing edits but this is very easy to do. Impossible Things has already been trained and just needs to learn your preferred preset. All of them will improve as you use them and feed your reviewed images back to them so don’t expect them to be perfect from the off.
I suggest giving them all a try as they are quite different and you will not only need to be happy with the results but also feel comfortable with how they fit into your workflow.
Questions to ask yourself are…
- Will I edit on one computer all of the time?
- Do I need to be able to work without wifi?
- Might I sometimes edit on a second device?
- Is my computer fast and powerful?
- Am I deeply committed to a preset I’ve developed over time or do I like to match the finish to the job?
- Is masking important to me?
- Do I need straightening? (This one is important to me!)
- What is my preferred Editing Programme?
- Does my workflow vary from month to month?
- Do I want one tool for both culling and editing?
WHAT ARE THE BEST AI PHOTO EDITING AND CULLING TOOLS?
When we discussed this topic in the Photography Farm Facebook Group, I was surprised to discover that most photographers currently use multiple tools for culling and editing. This might be because they prefer how culling works in one app and not another or how their workflow has organically developed. If it ain’t broke, why fix it right?
However, most of the companies in this sector are working hard to become the one-stop-shop for both culling and editing. Before things get too hectic for you, ensure you have the very latest version of your preferred software and stay up to date with any news that they release. Some genius people are working behind the scenes at all of these brands and both their aim and mine is that nobody struggles this year with an editing backlog that feels stressful.
All of these tools are incredible for saving time and freeing you up for the fun stuff, like creating. Does this mean that you can skip learning how Lightroom works? I don’t believe so, you will still want creative control and the ability to make the final tweaks plus you need to have a file management system in place. However, we have a full Lightroom course over in The Barn that you can watch in your own time.
As you can see, the costs incurred vary significantly, and I understand that this is a major factor for many. However, during the first half of my career in wedding photography, I worked with film. When I switched to digital, I employed an editing assistant to maintain an efficient workflow and prompt delivery times. Thus, I am accustomed to incurring a development cost per wedding.
My priority is to have the best tools for my workflow. I’m not particularly fond of sitting at my desk editing photos, so I’m focused on speed and accuracy. Does AI in photo editing mean you can simply press a few buttons and let the robots do all the work? Not quite, and I don’t believe AI will ever match the finesse of a photographer’s eye but I am a huge fan.
If you haven’t revised your workflow for some time, take this as your sign to. There have been rapid developments in all of the companies mentioned and what might not have worked so well before, has probably improved. If you are new and feel confused as to where to start, I suggest running the same images through each to see the results on your own work. A little work now will save you a lot of time later.
WHAT EVEN THE BEST AI PHOTO EDITING TOOLS CAN NOT DO
- No AI editor can currently help with converting a selection of images in a gallery to Black & White. However, the workaround for this could be to rate these images when culling and run them through your AI editor with a different profile. Either your own or from one of their talents/creators.
- AI culling tools can currently not tell if your Motion Blurred or Dutch Tilt photo, is like that in error or through artistic intention.
- They also cannot make a cuppa, pour a wine, give you a neck rub or a foot massage when you come in from a wedding but they 100% do free you up to do all of the above yourself.
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