Folks, I don’t mean your idealized efficient workflow. I mean what really happens.
At least to me...
I planned some table top shots to test out my new shooting table. All this is from memory, so the actual times may be off.
I spent most of the day shooting and testing my home-built shooting table. Aside from the usual interruptions, the afternoon went well. I’d stop every 20 minutes to transfer the images from the chip to the desktop using Nikon’s Picture Project.
Now, it’s after the shoot and time to edit.
7:15pm: I open Lightroom and import the images into a catalog I have intuitively named “Stuff”. Import goes OK.
7:20pm: Daughter asks to go to friend’s house. I open Lightroom and begin examining images.
7:22pm: Daughter asks for ride to friend’s house. I explain the concept of “exercise” and “walking” and the benefits of each.
7:32pm: Return from giving kid ride. Chase cat away from desk, and resume examining images. Cat insistent on being on desk.
7:33pm: Put cat in hallway, shut door. Begin using Develop module to correct color temps.
7:34pm: Kick cat outside, the whining to get back into room is just too annoying to continue work. Threaten cat with removal of various body parts as he’s shown the door to the great outdoors.
7:35pm: Find myself in kitchen. Huh? Oh, well, pour some beer and get back to work.
7:50pm: Having found a few images usable, I begin export to Photoshop format for further editing. Three images OK to export as JPG for uploading without retouching.
7:59pm: Potty break.
8:00pm: Pour another beer.
8:01pm: Open folder of images to edit. Decide on which one to edit. Open image in Photoshop.
8:06pm: Preview image as JPG. Edit a few missed dust spots. Preview JPG. Save. Next image.
8:10pm: Phone rings. Kid wanting ride home. Again explain benefits of walking. Explain concept of “too busy” to kid.
8:12pm: Save next image as JPG. Answer phone.
8:25pm: Return from getting kid, get back to work, and again chasing cat from desk. See that cat has chewed on mouse. Try to explain to cat that this isn’t a mouse a cat should catch. How did cat get inside anyway?
8:26pm: Cat goes outside again.
8:28pm: Answer cell phone, explain to caller I’m not interesting in a free trip for buying pens for my business, explain concept of “Cell Phone minutes” and “Prime Minutes”. I then suggest a biologically impossible act and hang up.
8:35pm: Explain to daughter how if there is no food to her liking in kitchen, none will be found anywhere else, must make do with what is in kitchen.
8:45pm: Answer door, find several of daughter’s friends. Direct them to her bedroom. Futilely explain need for quiet.
8:50pm: Export two more images, and then proceed to daughter’s room to ask for quiet.
8:52pm: Chase cat from desk again. Cat managed to infiltrate back into house when kids entered.
8:53pm: Toss cat into daughter’s bedroom.
8:55pm: Manage to edit two more images, and deleted one that is, without question, utterly crap from every perspective.
9:00pm: Interruption by kids wanting food. I explain concept of hunting and gathering and how it worked for thousands of years… Give permission to order pizza.
9:04pm: Talk to pizza place to give card info.
9:06pm: Try editing more images.
9:10pm: Noise from hallway. Kids playing some odd teenage game involving yelling, running and hitting things. Yell for quiet.
9:12pm: Yell for them to turn down stereo. TRY to edit another image.
9:20pm: Check email, waste time on various forums posting idiotic advice.
9:30pm: Arrival of Pizza. People in kitchen, mass confusion, fussing about pepperoni from “vegan” kid. Plates are distributed and I issue warnings of severe bodily harm is I find pizza anywhere but on plates.
9:32: Another beer. Try editing another image while eating pizza.
9:35pm: Heartburn meds. Noise from kid’s bedroom drowning out fire engine siren.
9:35:30pm: Fire engine?
9:36pm: Outside as neighbor has emergency. Ambulance arrives. I finish beer, return inside and shut down Photoshop.
That’s a typical workflow for me… Anyone else?
(BTW: I was interrupted many times while posting this...)
