Adobe Lightroom | At Home with Tech

July 30, 2017

The Fix for Your Vacation Photo Mess

Do you have an overpopulation of disorganized pictures from your last holiday trip? Well, I’ve got a new organizational trick that could be a game changer…

If a picture tells a thousand words, then what do a thousand photos tell? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I’d say that nobody in your life has the capacity to look at a thousand pics you might put in front of them.

What am I getting at? I’m here to remind you that you’re probably taking too many pictures. It’s essentially free to snap away these days, and you’ve got a better chance of capturing ‘the perfect pic’ if you take a few at the same time. The problem with that strategy is it’s clogging up your digital life. Trust me. I speak from experience…

And if you think I’ve got a problem, a friend of mine just told me he’s got 7,000 photos to go through from his recent trip to New Zealand. Good luck!

Barrett’s Rules to Organizing Your Photos
I just got back from a week-long family vacation, and I’m not proud to admit that I returned with over six hundred photos.
(That includes the pics from my wife’s iPhone.)
What are you supposed to do with all of that?

I’ll tell you how I’ve been handling the challenge of separating the digital wheat from the chaff…

First, I rate my photos on a five-point scale.
Then, I throw away the 1’s and 2’s.
(Total misfires and blurry mistakes)
Next, I work with only the 5’s and tweak them as needed in Adobe Lightroom.
(Brightness, color, straightening, cropping)

And for a family vacation, that usually gets me down to around 100 photos.
This time, I clocked in at 165 ‘best’ photos.

Then, I choose my ‘picks’ from the 5’s.
(I guess that makes them my 6’s.)

That helps to slim the group even more, but I’m always left with more pictures than I really want…

Last week, I ‘invented’ a new step to my photo organization process…

Are you ready for this…?

Slimming Down to 36
How many pictures do you really need to ‘properly’ show off a week-long family vacation?
A hundred?
Fifty?

Let me offer up a radical concept…
What about just 36 pictures?
That’s a nice, round number we worked with in the analog days when rolls of film ruled the world.

How about 24?!
(Okay… baby steps.)

I say force yourself not to go above that number… like you’ve got a physical photo album with only so many pages.

Which Pictures Tell Your Story?
Does it take time to choose the very, very, very best?
It sure does.

Is it hard to figure out which few photos tell the complete story?
Yep.
(And that’s usually a slightly different grouping than your ‘picks,’ which are individually chosen.)

And why have I created yet another step to what is already a long and laborious process to organize your photos?

Because, it’s the big payoff, baby!

If you’ve gone through all of the work to organize hundreds (thousands) of pics, shouldn’t you also have access to the few that truly rock? The ones that say, “Whoa! We’re really awesome!”

The ones that tell your story.

Family Test Case
I implemented my new concept, popped the fabulous few on the family iPad via an iCloud shared photo album and sat down with my wife and seven-year-old son after Saturday breakfast to go through them.

It was perfect.
(Daddy felt like a hero.)

And then, they remembered some moments that weren’t included and wanted to see those too.
(Sigh)

So, I pulled up my folder of 165 ‘best’ pics (the 5’s) and we reviewed those too.
But the fatigue factor was noticeable.
I could tell we wouldn’t go through this group again.

My ‘fewer-photos’ theory was still sound!

Be Flexible
I also realized that when you try to get to the core of your story through just a few photos, one person will likely choose a somewhat different grouping than another.

And that’s okay.

The easy fix is to just add in the few extra pics that your other family members have called out.

So maybe your fabulous 36 grows to 40-something.
(I won’t tell.)

The Better Way
At the end of the day, it’s all about truly ‘enjoying’ your pictures. Sharing them is a big part of that. And receiving a little head nod, Spock eyebrow move, or comment of affirmation is a whole lot better than a look of relief when you’re done with your photo show.

Sure, it’s much easier to swipe through a mind-numbing amount of disorganized pics on your smartphone when you’re trying to show someone a few vacation photos. But that’s always such a mess.

There’s a better way.

And when you’ve mastered my ‘slimming-to-36’ technique, I’ve got your next challenge for you…

Choose the one picture that represents an entire vacation.

Now, that’s deep.

June 25, 2017

Two Reasons Why You’re Failing as the Family Photographer

It’s not difficult to snap a picture. In fact, it’s never been easier. But if you don’t follow a photo library management plan, you’ll quickly be in a world of hurt. I’ve got seven steps that should help make your day…

No matter how hard I try, I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle as the family photographer. Sound familiar? The good news is you’re probably doing just fine taking the pictures.
(I snap a few winners here and there.)

The problem is what comes after…

Sure, you can quickly flip a photo or two out to your world from your smartphone, but if you’re like me, I like to bring my photos home for review, grading and improvements.

I have a five-point numbering system when I go through my pictures in
Adobe Lightroom:

5 = Great
4 = Good
3 = Okay
2 = Not very good
1 = Terrible

I immediately throw the 1’s and 2’s into the trash, because they’re the stinkers. But then I hold onto everything else. But after years of following this practice, I’ve discovered a severe flaw.

Only Keep Your Best Photos
My plan has allowed me to retain pictures that I just don’t need. More importantly, the sheer mass of accumulating photos clogs up my computer’s hard drive, and they simply take too long to catalog.

The 5’s are the only ones I should be focusing on.
(Sometimes, I also highlight a few of the 5’s as ‘extra special’ by making them a ‘pick.’)

If I’ve nailed the shot as a 5, why would I need to save a version of it as a 3 or 4?

New rule:
When you’re done cataloging all of your 5’s, go through everything else with the intent of deleting them. All of them!

Question why you need to save your 3’s and 4’s.
(Really)

There are No Shortcuts
For me, the underlying problem in my faulty photo management process is committing enough time to do the job right.

That means taking the time to correctly ID your 5’s on the first round of review.

And at the back end, you’ve got to do the ‘clean up’ phase and not leave around a lot of useless 3’s and 4’s you’ll never use again.

Because years will go by, and you’ll realize you’re holding onto way too many pictures.
(Like thousands of them)

Sure, I know I’m a big supporter of taking ‘multiple’ shots of a particular moment to ensure you actually get what you want. But that means you need to choose the best one and then delete everything else!

You Must Find the Time
Second new rule:
This all takes discipline and a daily commitment of thirty minutes of digital photo management.

I know that can be hard to fit in to a busy schedule. So I try to carve out the time first thing after I wake up in the morning with my cup of Joe.
(Yes, you probably need to set your alarm earlier to generate these precious minutes. I do.)

Without this regimen, your system will break down in a number of ways:

If you don’t share your photos quickly, their value drops off over time.
(Who wants to see last year’s photos? Your family and friends want yesterday’s pictures!)
Your computer’s hard drive will fill up. Or you’ll have to shell out for cloud storage.
You’re never going to create those photo books, as that’s usually the last step in a photo organization plan.

Keep It Simple
I just finished up a few days of ‘staycation’ expecting I would be able to catch up on all of this. Guess what?
Not possible.

If you’re months behind, the only solution is to chip away it.

Thirty minutes.
Every day.

Delete all of your 3’s and most of your 4’s.

Remember, you only need a handful of pictures to tell a story.
Less is more.

You’ve just got to take the time to figure out which ones they are…

Time.

Seven Steps to Success
So let’s review my updated rules for effective digital photo library management:

Don’t let your pictures languish on your camera’s memory card or computer.
Stop grading a group of photos on a five-point scale. Find your 5’s. And that’s it. Really everything else should be deleted.
Proceed with the ‘tweaking phase’ to improve your remaining ‘best photos.’
(Cropping, color balance, exposure)
Then, go find the four or five best 5’s. Those are your ‘uber 5’s.’ Share those. Family and friends rarely want to see more.
Email your photos to your family and friends within the week!
Don’t forget to copy your 5’s into the appropriate ‘theme’ albums or collections you’ve set up.
Commit half an hour every day to your life-long photo management project as the family photographer.

Thirty minutes.
Every day.
Promise me.

Now, promise yourself.

It’s not a snap, but it’s the answer.

April 30, 2017

My iPhone’s Logic Board Error

What are you supposed to do when you wake, but your smartphone doesn’t? It’s that thin gray line… when good tech goes bad!

It’s 5:15am. My iPhone’s rise-and-shine alarm begins to ring. I reach over to tap the screen. I tap it again. This time I open my eyes and tap three times more.
Nothing.

Huh?

My iPhone 6 Plus’ screen has become positively unresponsive.

Good morning, Barrett…

Clear the Cache
A few minutes later I trick my digital companion into compliance by clicking the home button a couple times and rebooting. (I forget the exact sequence.)
But clearly something is wrong as the ‘issue’ repeats itself twice more over the next couple of hours.

So I jump in my car and whisk my iPhone to the Apple Store for an emergency check up with an Apple Genius. The first thing she asks me is if I’ve done a ‘hard reboot’ by simultaneously clicking the home button and the sleep/wake button.

“That will clear out the cache, which can really build up over time,” she explains.

“Uh… no,” I respond sheepishly.

She proceeds to do that and a few moments later, my iPhone comes back to life as if nothing was ever wrong.

“Let me do some diagnostics, just in case,” she offers.

Another few minutes pass, and everything looks great on the report.
My iPhone is a picture of perfect health.

The Genius hands my iPhone back to me.

The Thin Gray Line
I look at my device.
Huh.

Then I remember something else.

“You know… there was one other thing…
Once, when the screen was frozen, I noticed a thin gray line shimmering on the very top of the screen.”

“A thin gray line?”

“Yes… at the very top.”

“Oh.”
(pause)

“Is that not a good thing.”

“No, it’s not.”

“What does that gray line mean?”

“It’s a documented sign of a logic board error.”

“Logic board error? That’s bad, right?”

“Yes… that’s bad.”

“But it only happened once. Could it happen again?”

The Genius looked at me. I already knew the answer.
When tech begins to malfunction, of course the problem can or will eventually come back. It’s just a matter of when.

Logic Board Blues
So I really can’t have a smartphone with a glitchy logic board.
That’s not going to work.

I’m planning on upgrading to the iPhone 8 when it’s released. But that’s an eternity when you’ve got an unhealthy iPhone. I see no viable option to just ‘wait it out…’

I turn to the Genius. “What are my choices?”

Her eyes squint a bit as she thinks. “What I can do is give you a new iPhone 6 Plus with the same specs as your old one for the same cost as a screen replacement.”

“And how much is that?”

“One hundred and fifty dollars.”

It’s Going to Cost You
What choice did I really have? Sure, it’s a band-aid solution… and you might recall, I replaced the battery on my naughty iPhone a few months back.
And that cost eighty bucks!

You might say the collective $230 would be better spent on a newer iPhone 7. But in a sense, I’d be buying into newer (though not more advanced) tech… The Genius explained that my new iPhone 6 Plus was built out of new and refurbished parts and came with a 90-day warrantee.

“Okay… let’s do it.”

“Good… So have you done a full back up of your old iPhone? You’ll have to re-sync everything to the new one.”

Thousands and Thousands… of Photos
Okay… so this is a little bit of a touchy subject for me…

I’ve been syncing all of my important iPhone data to iCloud like Mail, Contacts and Calendar. But I haven’t been using iCloud for a full back up.

I’ve got thousands of photos on my iPhone, which I’ve collected over the years.
(The basic 5GB of iCloud storage couldn’t handle that.)

And I’ve felt I haven’t needed to pay for more iCloud storage, because I’ve been religious about archiving my iPhone photos to my iMac… originally into Aperture, and now into Lightroom.
(I’ve also been archiving my iPhone’s video files onto my iMac.)

So I’ve been saving all of my phone’s media elsewhere.

There Are No Shortcuts
Separately, I’ve properly backed up my iPhone to my iMac via iTunes.
But… not recently.
(Bad Barrett)

Still, I know I’ve got all my media plus the old back up. I’m thinking I can confidently hand my iPhone over to Apple… never to see it again.

The Genius looks at me. “You don’t seem certain.”

“No, I’m good.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

So she unboxes the shiny replacement and slips my old iPhone’s SIM card into the new iPhone.

And that was it.

I must have suddenly turned pale, because the Genius says, “Do you want me to help you restore your data from iCloud?”

“Yes, please.”
(I don’t do this every day.)

So I stay in the Apple Store for another fifteen minutes, and she guides my next steps to ensure my new iPhone properly downloads all of my iCloud data.

I thank her and leave behind my old iPhone… and all of its photos forever.
(The device’s memory gets wiped and usable parts recycled.)

Rebuild and Improve
When I return home, I have a little more work to do. Since I’m not doing a full restore from a back up, I have to download my apps again and sign into them.
(A full back up solution of course would be better next time.)

The good news is I take the opportunity to only re-download the apps I’ve actually been using. And then I organize them on the screen in way that makes more sense.
(Like organizing your sock drawer… when do you ever make time to do that?!)

And then I tap on the photos app…
Nothing.

Of course, all of my thousands of photos are not on this iPhone.

Well… not exactly…

iCloud Photo Sharing
Over the years, I’ve been organizing all of my best photos into shared photo albums in iCloud. So all of the pictures that really matter to me… have already popped back into their respective shared albums on my new iPhone.

And then I had my Aha Moment…

These iCloud photo albums are now where I always go when I want to show someone a picture on my iPhone. I haven’t been going back and searching for a pic in my ‘Camera Roll.’

How many times have you waited for friends to show you photos on their smartphones, and then they have to swipe through hundreds (thousands?) of locally-stored pics to find the right ones?

I gave up that embarrassing practice a long time ago…

So really… why would you need to carry around your past decade’s worth of disorganized photos locally on your iPhone?
…As long as you’ve backed them up… you don’t!

Plus, without all of those photos bogging down an iPhone… it suddenly recovers a whole lot more local memory for other uses.
(Nice!)

Make Sure the Sun Still Rises
This all points back to the bottom line that you shouldn’t get too attached to any particular iPhone or the data it houses locally.

It’s always all about backing up and properly organizing your data and files… elsewhere.

Because eventually… all good tech goes bad.
Even your trusty iPhone.

Tag: Adobe Lightroom

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