My Current Photo Work Flow

I was going to share my weekly photo flow in my post about Google Photos, but it got so long, I decided to share it separately. I've had lots of photo work flows through the years, but Google Photos and my smartphone camera has definitely simplified the process. Since all my phone photos sync up automatically I never have to plug anything in to my computer to access my photos. Why plugging stuff in is so hard, I don't know, but I know you know that I am right.

Saturday is my photo/scrapping day. In the morning I will sort through the photos from the week and make my weekly pocket spread. Occasionally I'll sort things through as the week goes on, especially if I'm on a trip and taking a lot of photos, but usually a weekly check in is enough for me.

I begin by favoriting all the good photos from the week. I don't usually delete duplicates or the rejects. I like to keep these for a rainy day, and also because Google will make me fun animations with them.

google photo 4

Once I have my favorites, I will give them a quick edit. Usually I just use the "auto" filter in Google Photos.

google photo 3

If the auto filter doesn't cut it, I usually switch to the A Color Story app. I prefer the control I have with their editing tools, as well as their filters.

edit 1

I also particularly like adding in what they call "effects" which include flares, bokehs, confetti, weird light things, color gradients, etc. I use these when a photo feels empty.

edit 2

Since these edits done outside Google Photos creates a duplicate photo, I'll favorite the edited version, and remove the star from the unedited version. I'm also real picky so I will change the date on the edited photo so that it matches the original. Otherwise all the edited versions show up on the day they were made.

Once I have my photos favorited and edited, I switch to my computer, find my Favorites album and download the ones I want to include in my weekly pocket spread. Then I just stick them on my pocket page template, do a little journaling and I'm done for the week!

2018-09-27_08-43-23

What are your favorite photo workflow tips?

Tags: 

Recent Comments

Lola Milton
Lola Milton Sat, 06/15/2019 - 22:28

I'm an old lady, stuck in my ways. I know how to plug in a cable and transfer photos that way. I just don't do it weekly. (or monthly). So when I do transfer photos off my phone it is in the 1,000's and a daunting task to sort out from there. So the take-away from this blog is to download and sort more frequently. Frequent small doses vs. rare large boluses.

Courtney Muir
Courtney Muir Sat, 12/08/2018 - 22:28

Have you tried Snapseed? I prefer it for editing because I like that I can auto or I can use the tools and adjust specifically.

Marisa Lerin
Marisa Lerin Thu, 11/15/2018 - 07:50

@Beatrice: I'm sure it may take a bit for Google to organize things if you've just added your photos.

Google Photos will actually tell me when to delete the photos off my phone. Once they're backed up, there will be a message telling you to delete them if you want.

I do use the high quality free storage option. Unless you're storing very large images (RAW, etc), the free version should cover what you need.

Beatrice Loren
Beatrice Loren Tue, 11/13/2018 - 11:09

All of a sudden I see faces. Yay. I am so excited! @Marisa do you periodically delete photos after backing up elsewhere or do you use the high quality free unlimited storage option. I assume the latter since you said you use the free option.

Beatrice Loren
Beatrice Loren Tue, 11/13/2018 - 09:42

I just installed the app on my phone and pc. It looks really cool but unfortunately so far I cannot get the app to recognize faces. When I tap in the search bar no faces come up so I can't label the groups. I've tried all the solutions suggested in the help forum but nothing seems to work for me. I'll keep trying but it does mean the app is far less usable for organizing photos.Your work flow looks great though and I always love your pages.