My Daily Photo Culling Workflow (Fast, Simple, No Lightroom)

What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante.

Today I want to share my extremely fast workflow for culling through photos with my street photography.

The Setup

I shoot with the Ricoh GR in high contrast black and white, small JPEGs.

Each file:

• ~7 megapixels
• ~4 MB

This is a radical workflow.

No processing. No RAW backlog. Everything imports instantly.

The 3-Tier System

I keep it simple:

• Day folder
• Monthly selections
• Yearly archive

That’s it.

Everything stays organized without overcomplicating things.

Culling Fast (The Real Process)

I had about 568 frames from today.

Here’s how I go through them:

• 3×3 grid view
• Scroll fast
• Tap anything that stands out
• Move on

No hesitation.

No overthinking.

If something hits, I keep it. If not, I keep moving.

Most photos?

They’re trash.

And that’s fine.

Embracing Imperfection

Street photography is messy.

You fail constantly.

That’s part of it.

The more you shoot, the more you refine your instinct.

That’s why I keep everything transparent—my whole archive is public.

Because this process isn’t about perfection.

It’s about repetition.

Why I Don’t Use Lightroom

I don’t want friction.

I don’t want to sit there tweaking sliders.

I don’t want a backlog.

I want to:

• shoot
• review
• publish
• repeat

Every single day.

Daily Publishing = Discipline

One rule I follow:

I always publish the photos on the same day I shoot them.

No exceptions.

That keeps me:

• accountable
• consistent
• moving forward

Because once you fall behind…

It becomes a chore.

The iPad Workflow

I do everything on the iPad.

It’s fast. It’s tactile. It’s intuitive.

• Tap
• pinch
• zoom
• move

That’s it.

Honestly, any iPad works.

The point is simplicity.

Second Cull (Favorites → Monthly)

After favorites, I go back through and drag selects into the monthly folder.

Still fast. Still intuitive.

This is just:

• refining duplicates
• picking stronger variations

No overthinking.

The ChatGPT Trick

If I have two similar frames?

I’ll literally send them to ChatGPT and let it choose.

It’s just a photo.

I’m not sitting there debating forever.

Remove friction.

Move on.

Final Selection (Loose + Open)

From there, I make a final selection.

Usually:

• 10–50 images

Loose.

Not precious.

Because this isn’t the final judgment.

It’s just:

a record of the day.

A visual diary.

The Real Philosophy

You don’t need to make the perfect photo today.

You just need to stay in motion.

Because sometimes…

You get one frame.

Sometimes none.

But that’s normal.

The Surprise Is the Reward

The real reason I love this workflow?

Surprise.

When I come home and look through the photos…

I see things I didn’t even notice in the moment.

The camera sees differently than I do.

That’s what keeps me curious.

Photography Isn’t What You Think

You’re not responsible for making a masterpiece.

You’re responsible for:

• moving your body
• staying curious
• showing up

The camera does the rest.

Final Thought

Photography, to me, is about curiosity.

Not outcomes.

Not perfection.

Just:

seeing how life looks when it’s photographed.

That’s it.

Shoot. Cull. Publish. Repeat.

See you in the next one.

Peace.