Hey photography besties! 👋
Let’s be real for a second.
You just shot a massive wedding.
Or maybe an intense portrait session.
You come home, upload the files.
And there are 4,000 photos staring back at you.
Suddenly, you want to cry.
I’ve been there.
We have all been there.
Culling is the worst part of the job.
It eats up hours of our lives.
Hours we could spend sleeping.
Or actually being creative.
But guess what?
I found a cheat code.
It’s called Aftershoot.
And today, I’m spilling all the tea.
I’m going to show you exactly how to use it.
From zero to hero.
Let’s save your sanity. ✨
【Before You Start】
First things first.
Don’t overthink this.
Go download the software.
It’s available for Mac and PC.
The best part?
They have a 90-day free trial.
Ninety days!
That is crazy generous.
You have zero excuses not to try it.
Install it on your main machine.
Make sure you have some hard drive space.
It needs a little room to breathe.
Once it’s open, it looks super clean.
No confusing dashboard here.
It’s ready when you are.
Just have your SD card or folder ready.
We are diving in head first. 🏊‍♀️
【The AI Culling Magic】
Okay, step one is culling.
This is where Aftershoot shines.
It’s not like Photo Mechanic.
Photo Mechanic is fast, sure.
But it’s still manual culling.
You are still clicking.
Aftershoot is different.
It uses AI.
It’s like having a robot assistant.
Who knows your exact taste.
Import your folder.
Hit “Start Culling”.
Now, walk away.
Seriously, go get a coffee.
Or watch an episode of your favorite show.
Let the machine do the work. ☕️
It analyzes every single image.
It checks for focus.
It checks for closed eyes.
It checks for blur.
It even detects emotions.
Smiles vs. serious faces.
When you come back?
Boom. It’s done.
It groups your photos.
It shows you the “Keeper” rate.
Usually, it keeps about 10-20%.
That’s it.
No more staring at 50 nearly identical photos.
Trying to pick the best one.
The AI picks the sharpest one.
The one with the best expression.
It’s scary accurate.
I’ve used it for over a year now.
It still blows my mind.
You can adjust the settings, too.
Want more photos?
Slide the bar up.
Want only the elite shots?
Slide it down.
You are the boss. 👑
【Mastering AI Edits】
Now let’s talk editing.
This is the new hotness.
Aftershoot isn’t just for culling anymore.
It edits now.
And it’s not basic filters.
We are talking “Professional AI Profiles”.
This is where it gets deep.
You can train your own AI.
Think about that.
You teach the software your style.
How?
You use your best photos.
The ones you spent hours perfecting.
Upload them into a “Profile”.
Tell the AI, “This is my vibe”.
It analyzes your colors.
It looks at your tones.
It studies your contrast.
Then, it applies that to new photos.
It’s wild.
You can also use presets.
They have built-in styles.
Film looks, moody, bright.
But the custom training?
That’s the game changer. 🚀
There is also “Subject Masks”.
This is techy but cool.
The AI detects the subject.
Skin, sky, trees.
It adjusts only those parts.
Smooth skin without smoothing the dress.
Punch up the sky without washing out the building.
It’s smart editing.
Not just a blanket filter.
It saves so much time in Lightroom.
You get 80% of the way there.
With one click.
Just one.
【Workflow & Export】
Let’s fit this into your life.
If you shoot weddings, you need this.
Time is money, folks.
My workflow used to be a mess.
Import. Cull for 3 hours. Edit for 10 hours.
Now?
Import. Aftershoot culls. Aftershoot edits.
Export back to Lightroom or Capture One.
Speaking of Capture One.
They play nice together.
The integration is smooth.
Aftershoot updates the tags.
Everything stays organized.
When you export from Aftershoot.
You choose your settings.
File size, format, color space.
Hit export.
It sends the photos right back where they came from.
Or to a new folder.
Whatever you prefer.
Then you do your final tweaks.
Maybe adjust a crop.
Fix a tiny exposure thing.
But the heavy lifting?
Done.
You just cut your editing time in half.
Maybe even more.
I’m not kidding.
It gives you your life back. ⏰
【Pro Tips & Tricks】
Alright, let’s get into the weeds.
I promised you the real deal.
Here is what I learned.
Don’t train your AI with bad photos.
Garbage in, garbage out.
Only select your absolute best work.
To train the AI properly.
Mix lighting conditions.
Indoor, outdoor, golden hour.
This makes the profile versatile.
Watch out for skin tones.
AI can sometimes go weird on skin.
Especially in tricky lighting.
Always, always check your faces.
Zoom in to 100%.
Make sure it didn’t smooth out a texture you like.
Also, don’t be lazy.
Aftershoot is a tool.
You are still the photographer.
Use it to speed up your workflow.
Don’t use it to check out completely.
Think of it as a super-efficient intern.
You still gotta sign off on the work. ✅
One more thing.
Use the “Star Ratings”.
Aftershoot uses stars.
1 star for rejects.
5 stars for keepers.
Learn the keyboard shortcuts.
It makes flying through the edits even faster.
It’s all about speed.
And consistency.
【Is It Worth It?】
So, here is the million-dollar question.
Should you actually use this?
If you are a hobbyist?
Maybe stick with free tools.
But if you shoot for clients?
Weddings, elopements, portraits.
You need this.
It pays for itself.
In time saved.
In sanity saved.
I used to dread delivering galleries.
Now, it’s a breeze.
The 90-day trial is the perfect test.
Put it through the wringer.
Shoot a job. Process it with Aftershoot.
See how you feel.
I bet you won’t want to go back.
To the old ways.
Clicking 5,000 times manually.
Is so 2020.
Embrace the robots, guys.
They are here to help us create more.
And stress less.
That’s the dream, right?
Anyway, that’s my deep dive.
I hope this helped you navigate the tool.
Go save some time today! ✨
Have you tried AI editing yet?
Or are you team “manual only”?
Let me know in the comments!
I love hearing your workflows. 👇