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Learn how to Delete Rejected Pictures in Lightroom (My Culling Methodology) • PhotoTraces


If you wish to study the way to delete rejected photographs in Lightroom, you must learn this text. At the moment I’ll present you my easy workflow of how I clear up my picture catalog by deleting undesirable or rejected photos. 

How to Delete Rejected Photos in LightroomLearn how to Delete Rejected Pictures in Lightroom (My Culling Methodology) • PhotoTraces

Learn how to Delete Rejected Pictures in Lightroom: Fast Reply

If you’re in a rush and wouldn’t have time to learn all the article, listed below are two methods you may delete rejected photographs in Lightroom. 

  1. Use the keyboard shortcut CMD + DELETE (Mac) or CTRL + BACKSPACE (Home windows). 
  2. Use the highest menu: Photograph > Delete Rejected Information.

The Principal Problem of Digital Property Administration

Digital pictures gives us many unprecedented advantages, corresponding to prompt visualization and no further value to take additional photographs. However on the similar time, it additionally comes with new challenges. 

One of many greatest challenges we face is that almost all photographers (together with myself) are inclined to overshoot or take extra digital photos than vital. 

Overshooting results in the extra difficult and time-consuming challenge of digital asset administration (DAM). 

Over time, I discovered that utilizing Lightroom is vital for sustaining my sanity. I simplified my digital asset administration workflow and unapologetically delete unneeded, undesirable, and unused photos from my digital catalog. 

Right here is the place picture elimination turns into a vital a part of my pictures. 

Learn how to Delete Pictures in Lightroom Basic

Lightroom is not any totally different than most DAM applications.

To delete a photograph, you first choose the image supposed for elimination. Then, you hit the DELETE or BACKSPACE key on the keyboard. 

What occurs subsequent is a step that’s distinctive to Lightroom catalog administration. 

How to Delete Rejected Photos in Lightroom (My Culling Method) 1How to Delete Rejected Photos in Lightroom (My Culling Method) 1

You’re introduced with a popup menu that includes two choices: DELETE FROM DISK or REMOVE

REMOVE implies that the picture might be faraway from the Lightroom catalog, however it will likely be preserved on the pc’s arduous drive in its unique location. 

DELETE FROM DISK implies that the picture might be faraway from the Lightroom catalog and deleted from the arduous drive

Finally, as an alternative of utilizing the DELETE or BACKSPACE keyboard shortcuts, you may right-click on the picture and choose the REMOVE possibility. 

It’s a easy and easy course of for deleting undesirable photos in Lightroom, nevertheless it has one vital shortcoming. It’s too time consuming when that you must course of 1000’s of photos. 

Right here is the place the Rejection Methodology turns into extraordinarily helpful.  

Rejecting As an alternative of Deleting

The important thing right here is to first mark the undesirable photographs as rejected after which delete the rejected photographs in a single sweep on the finish of the culling course of

Use the “X” keyboard shortcut to mark the chosen photos as REJECTED. The picture will not be deleted from the catalog or the pc’s arduous drive; it’s merely greyed out with a black flag positioned within the prime left nook. 

How to Delete Rejected Photos in Lightroom (My Culling Method) 2How to Delete Rejected Photos in Lightroom (My Culling Method) 2
Rejected photographs within the Library Module

Auto Advance

One other helpful possibility is to make use of the CTRL + X shortcut to auto advance to the subsequent picture after marking the chosen picture as rejected. 

The even higher possibility is to use the Caps Lock key to activate the auto advance mode for each picture after utilizing the “X” keyboard shortcut. 

Utilizing the Caps Lock and “X” shortcuts velocity up the culling course of and permit me to cull 1000’s of photographs in a matter of minutes. 

My Culling Workflow

Culling means to pick the keepers—the photographs with the potential to be printed—and delete any unneeded photos. In some situations, the culling course of includes ranking the keepers by giving them between one and 5 stars. 

My culling workflow is a three-step course of. 

Step 1 – Rejecting

Within the Library Module of Lightroom, I hit the Caps Lock key to activate the auto-advance function. 

Subsequent, I am going by way of all my newly imported photographs in Lightroom and solely search for photos to mark as REJECTED. 

Probably the most obvious standards for rejecting photographs embody out of focus photos, incorrect publicity, and unintended captures. I additionally reject photographs with poor composition that can’t be salvaged by cropping. 

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It was straightforward to determine to mark 5 photographs as REJECTED as a result of earlier than taking pictures, I didn’t connect the lens hood correctly,
leading to extreme vignetting in 5 captures.

If I can not determine in a single to 2 seconds if I ought to reject a picture or not, I go away it unmarked and transfer ahead in order that I don’t waste any extra time. 

Step 2 – Selecting

On this step, I choose the keepers through the use of the shortcut “P” to flag them as PICKED. 

I don’t give my keepers a star ranking; I merely choose the photographs which have the potential to be printed. I would apply the star ranking to a few of them sooner or later once I begin enhancing photos. 

Please be aware that I proceed utilizing the Caps Lock perform for auto advancing. 

By the top of Step 2, I’ve separated my photographs into three classes: Keepers (picked or flagged), Unmarked, and Rejected. 

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Later, maybe in a couple of months or so, I would undergo the identical course of utilizing the unmarked photos to search out extra keepers or extra photographs to reject. 

Step 3 – Deleting Rejected Pictures

Lastly, I’m able to delete all of the rejected photographs. 

I take advantage of considered one of two strategies:

  1. Use the keyboard shortcut CMD + DELETE (Mac) or CTRL + BACKSPACE (Home windows). 
  2. Use the highest menu: Photograph > Delete Rejected Information.

I unapologetically delete all of the rejected photos from the Lightroom library and the pc’s arduous drive. 

Learn how to Delete Rejected Pictures in Lightroom | Closing Ideas

Deleting photos from the Lightroom catalog and the pc’s arduous drive looks as if a trivial and unexciting job in a photographer’s life. However for those who gamify the method by treating each deleted picture as an funding in your psychological well being, it will get a lot simpler. 

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