3.1 — iPad Workflow
The Ultimate iPad Pro Workflow for Street Photography
What’s poppin, people? It’s Dante.
Today I’m giving you the ultimate iPad Pro workflow for street photography — and I’m doing it straight from the forest. Let’s get into it.
📍 Why the iPad Pro?
First off: portability.
“You can bring it along with you in the woods and work on your photography.”
No matter where I am — the forest, the street, a coffee shop — the iPad Pro lets me stay in my creative flow. That’s why I use it. It’s light, fast, and always with me.
🛑 Why I Left the Old Workflow Behind
After coming back from Hanoi in 2022, I realized I needed to radically simplify.
I was:
- Using the Fujifilm X-Pro3
- Carrying multiple lenses
- Backing up with hard drives
- Culling on a laptop
“It was outdated. Tedious. Bogged me down practically and mentally.”
So I sold the gear, picked up the Ricoh GR, and switched to the iPad Pro.
⚡ Speed, Simplicity, Efficiency
“It’s all about the speed, the simplicity, and the efficiency.”
- Importing photos: USB-C to SD card reader, straight into the Photos app
- No Lightroom needed if you shoot JPEGs
- Culling on the go — in the street, café, or forest
- Publishing same day, every day
📸 A Typical Day in the Workflow
Here’s what I do:
- Shoot 500+ photos using Ricoh GR III (small, high-contrast B&W JPEGs)
- Plug SD card into iPad Pro
- Open the Photos app, use the 3×3 grid view
- Favorite instantly what hits me
- Name the album by date (e.g.
April 12, 2024) - Airdrop to phone/iMac or back up to Google Photos
“If it looks good small, it’s probably a keeper.”
☁️ The Power of the Cloud
I use:
- Google Photos for public, sharable archives
- Lightroom CC for my old RAW files
- Airdrop for device-to-device simplicity
“The beauty is having access to your portfolio anywhere, anytime — across phone, iPad, or desktop.”
✍️ Voice Dictation & Writing
- IA Writer + Voice Dictation = blog posts with no keyboard
- I write standing up in nature, walking, even while hiking
“You don’t need a mouse, a case, or accessories — just speak.”
I also:
- Use ChatGPT for brainstorming and creative thought
- Publish directly to WordPress from the Safari app
🎨 Using Procreate for Collages
Lately, I’ve been remixing my photos:
- Add gradient maps
- Drag elements using AI selection
- Create collages that play with layers and spontaneity
“Street collage is like Dada — serendipity, imperfection, humor, lightheartedness.”
It’s fun. It’s freeing. It’s visual art, not just photography.
🎞️ Creating Slideshows with Keynote
- Keynote lets me make slideshows of my photo sequences
- Add fades, text, export as video or PDF
- Publish straight to my blog or YouTube
“You can make a photo essay by 9 AM — shoot at sunrise, cull on the bus, publish before work.”
🧠 Why This Matters
Photographers get bogged down by:
- Too much gear
- Slow workflows
- Over-editing
This setup:
- Speeds everything up
- Keeps you excited to shoot again
- Develops your vision faster
“Focus more on taking pictures — not culling through them.”
🌲 Freedom to Create Anywhere
Like the birds in flight in one of my photos — I just want to be out there exploring endlessly. I don’t want to be glued to a desk.
“Combine the Ricoh GR with the iPad Pro — it’s freedom. Pure and simple.”
🛠️ Final Tools I Use
- Ricoh GR III (28mm, high contrast JPEGs)
- iPad Pro
- Photos app
- IA Writer
- Google Photos
- Lightroom CC (for RAW legacy)
- Procreate
- Keynote
- Safari + WordPress
📢 Last Thoughts
“This workflow is why I’ve published every single day for two and a half years.”
It brings me joy, clarity, and creative momentum.
If you’re shooting JPEGs already, I highly recommend adopting the iPad Pro as your main hub. Cull, backup, publish — and move on with your life.
Stop chasing perfection. Start creating with speed.
Play more. Create more. Share more.
“Let’s revitalize the photo forest. We got a pretty big canvas here.”
Peace.