“What do you use to edit your photos?”

This is a funny question with a loooong answer. It’s not as simple as just saying “Photoshop”. :) Below is a list with descriptions of the hardware and software I use in post production from a wedding; all are things that I highly recommend.

From camera to computer: I own a Mac with Leopard, and use Image Capture to grab all of the images off of the camera and onto my computer. I don’t use the camera’s USB cord; instead, I use a Sony Multi-Card Reader/Writer which goes so fast and has ports for different types of cards. This definitely comes in handy if a friend of mine comes over with an SD card and wants to offload the photos.

Back that thang up: I have a Porsche-designed LaCie 160G USB/Firewire external hard drive for backing up all of the images from the wedding immediately. I make additional backups as I edit the photos. I also burn the unedited images to DVD as secondary backups.

Second shooters: I use FireFTP (with Firefox) to get and send images from second shooters. I’ve created separate FTP logins on a separate hosting site so the file management doesn’t get confusing. I also use FireFTP to upload any client documentation, retouched images, etc.

Picking and choosing: The more I reflect on the Party of Five workshop that [b]ecker hosted, the more I realize I’ve benefitted from it. He recommended Photo Mechanic for going through all the photos after the wedding and a slick technique for choosing which ones to keep and retouch. It has saved me, literally, hundreds of hours.

Editing: Adobe Photoshop. I learned in PS school and work with it as a professional; I don’t recommend the full version if you’re not planning on doing heavy editing or not taking a course. Photoshop Elements is just as good for editing, with all of the features you could ever need for regular photo editing.

Slideshowing: Another DC photographer, Sarah Hodzic, highly recommended ShowIt Pro and I decided I’d try it out. I fell in love. The options are endless and it’s totally customizable; the custom timing definitely adds something to the show and I love the option to purchase it on DVD.

Proofing: This is the one tool that might be changing. I currently use Instaproofs, which has many benefits - easy ordering, favoriting, hiding of images. It’s been great, but I might start looking for something with a little more “oomph”.

Posting: Huzzah for Wordpress! I’m a geek and wanted full control over the installation of my blog (and website, for that matter… until this most recent Flash one I’d always built my portfolio myself, from scratch) and Wordpress allowed me to do that.

Dataing: Google Analytics is an excellent, free resource for website metrics that’s relatively simple to install. Understanding the data and getting every piece of knowledge that you want is another matter, but this is really a great and informative tool. I prefer it to Sitemeter definitely. I work with GA every day and am still learning new things about it, and here’s hoping they continue to make it more robust.