Faster workflow with panels or keybord ?

[AlexM75]

Hi,
I'm a wedding photographer, so a edit a LOT of pictures every week ! And so, I'm looking to make this work more faster.
I have seen on the web two kind of "accessory" that pretend make it easier and faster.
I would like to know what do you think about that. Have you try ? Does it make it really faster ?

Here is 3 links to brands I have found. If you know better stuff please share .

- the first is a "simple" keybord , specially design for (and by) shortcurts : SHORTCUT-S | for Lightroom
I'm not so sure that It would be very usefull for wedding postproduciton.

- the second, is a more "fancy" panel , design for lightroom. It's a kind a mixing panel.
Pusher Labs — Workflow Solutions for Lightroom
It's look like great... You can chose to buy the panel from this compagny, or you can just buy the software and use your own panel.

- this third link, is almost the same than the last one. You can costumize each button, but it's much more expensive ! Pre-order Palette Kits


SO ! What do you think about that. Is there any good idea that really improve your workflow ? What's the better for you ? have you any other suggestion ?

 

[JTT]

You should also consider the Shuttle Pro v2. I have it and like it a lot for culling and rating photos.
ShuttlePRO v2

Sent fra min D5803 via Tapatalk

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Hi Alex

It's funny you should ask now, as I'm working on a series of blog posts on that very subject and there's a thread on the subject here: Lightroom keyboards and other gadgets The posts will be on my blog starting about 3 weeks time.

As I founded Photoshop Services, which does raw processing for a number of wedding photographers, I completely get the need for speed. And yes, gadgets do make a difference when you're plowing through volume.

I've long been a fan of the Shuttle Pro v2 that JTT mentions. When combined with a graphic pens in the other hand, you very comfortably move the pen over the slider and then turn the dial to adjust the slider. Big adjustments on the outside ring and run tuning on the inside one works great. My settings are here. The other benefit is because it's using built-in shortcuts, it doesn't get broken by LR updates.

If you're in a hurry to find something before the wedding season kicks off, there are a couple more to take a look at.

Motibodo is a very popular solution for wedding photographers. You have to work "their way" but it's fast once you get past the initial learning curve.

PFixer (Pusher Labs) looks very interesting for Mac users. I haven't been able to test it yet but I have one on the way.

Palette looks very cool, and it's very flexible, but the ergonomics are uncomfortable and it would end up pretty big if you had dials and sliders for all the controls you might want to use. Some people love it, but for high volume, I can't see it.

I'll add Shortcut-S to my list, as I hadn't seen that one. I'll drop them an email to see if they're still in development as it looks like they've been working on it for a few years.

 

[Denis Pagé]

Note that for Shortcut-S, they say: "Compatible with Lightroom 5 or any other older version". Surprisingly not "5 and newer"!

 

[johnbeardy]

I go through periods when I need to process well over 1000 raw files a day, day after day, with around 20-30 needing to be turned around quickly and around 50-60% finished for client review.

For me, the solution is thoroughly knowing what can be done in Lightroom, having a keyboard and knowing enough shortcuts, having a good trackball mouse and especially - because high volume usually means bursts of similar shots - staying in AutoSync mode all the time and by default adjusting multiple images simultaneously. Gadgets just get in my way.

John

 

[AlexM75]

Thank you all for your messages.
Johnbeardy : yes of course, a good use of LR capacity is the minimum for the one who want to go faster !
Denis : good to notice that !!
Victoria : so which one do you prefer ? It's quite verry différent !

 

[Victoria Bampton]

I'm still leaning toward my Shuttle Pro at the moment, simply because it doesn't override all of the Lightroom shortcuts, whereas Motibodo does, and it doesn't break when there's a LR update. But that really is a YMMV situation. I still have yet to try some of the others. The Pfixer MiniMal arrived this afternoon, so I'll be playing with that on Thursday.

 

[AlexM75]

Ohhh !
Tell us about the Pfixer when you will have try it !
I wish I could have try the Motibodo solution, but unfortunately there is no Trial period.. You have to buy to try .
So waiting to know what do you think about the Pfixer !

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Tell us about the Pfixer when you will have try it !

The short answer - love the software (it's likely to stay installed on my laptop) - but undecided about the MiniMal. Ergonomics aren't great, because it's not designed to be used this way, and I could do with a couple more dials. Jury's still out on that one, as I think it's down to personal taste.

 

[Jerry Fenner]

Good morning Victoria and everyone I've just got the Shuttlepro, tempted by the voucher code Can it programmed to have different settings in Library and Develop modules?

 

[Victoria Bampton]

It can Jerry! It doesn't switch module settings automatically. You can set up multiple settings in the control panel, and assign a button (I use one of the bottom ones) to select a different set of settings. You might want an extra set for brush too, setting the central dial to brush size and outer edge for feathering.