How to Make Your Retouching Workflow Faster and Mobile With These Five Pieces of Hardware

How to Make Your Retouching Workflow Faster and Mobile With These Five Pieces of Hardware

As photographers and retouchers, we are often required to travel. But travel eats up a lot of time and thus it is crucial to optimize one’s workflow. While gear is not everything in our industry, it still maintains a critical place, especially to help save time. Spending more and more time on the road, I recently had to take a look at my editing workflow and find new solutions to make it better and faster. In this article, I’ll share with you some of the accessories I use or have since discovered to cut my retouching and keep me sane.

Think of Retouching as a Game

Computer games and retouching have more in common than most would like to admit. For example, both gamers and retouchers always wished they had more keys on their keyboard to set new shortcuts. Both also require a precise and fast mouse that is somewhat ergonomic.

A good mouse will meet all these criteria. Many gaming hardware manufacturers exist and offer a large range of products. Personally, I like Razer and bought a Naga Chroma. It has 12 mechanical buttons on the side and 19 in total, all being programmable. So you can assign anything to any of them. When I say anything, it doesn’t just mean a key or keys combo, but macros as well. Even better yet, profiles can be created to match the software you are using. So that you can have a different action for each button depending on whether you are running Capture One, Photoshop, or Photo Mechanic.

The buttons layout require a bit of getting used to, but it quickly becomes second nature

One bit of advice, if you are traveling a lot, I'd suggest a mouse with a USB cord and stay off the wireless options. Cordless mice have a tendency to have a slight delay, can run out of battery, and connection issues are still common.

Unleash The Power of Shortcuts and Macros

When retouching you are always left with one hand doing nothing. Sometimes, you might use your left hand to reach a key to change tool in Photoshop, but that’s about it. So why not make it useful?

While the mouse added 12 shortcuts, having a few more wouldn’t hurt. It might seem like a lot a first, but once you have set the star rating from 0 to 5 and your flag rating, including no flag, you are already using the 12 of them! This is where the gaming keypad comes in. It’s a tiny yet very comfortable piece of hardware that you can customize to match your needs. Here again, Razer is my brand of choice with the Razer Tartarus Chroma

This is not a starship… but rather one of the most useful tool a retoucher could and should get!

Just a quick word regarding the keypad and the mouse. I’m sure some of you are wondering why I’m so crazy about shortcuts and customization. Look at any IT specialist; they use the mouse only when needed. The simple reason being that a keystroke will not require any precision or movement from you. As long as you hit the correct key, you activate the corresponding feature. Still not clear? What’s faster between moving a cursor across two screens to click “ok” on a tiny window, or just press “enter” on the keyboard to have a similar result? Now, the same story in Lightroom, Photoshop, or Capture One. What is quicker to adjust exposure, create a new curve layer, or export a file: moving your mouse, click a button, click the next, etc. or just press a key that activates a macro doing the work for you?

These two accessories will take a bit of time to be perfectly set up and match your workflow fully, but once they are fine-tuned, you’ll be left wondering how you could ever work without them before.

Work in Silence

Noise can be a distraction, especially if you are trying to concentrate and cannot switch off that noise. Well, you actually can turn down the volume of the noise around you. The solution? Noise-canceling headphones. When I bought my first pair of Bose QuietComfort, I couldn’t believe it. It kills the noise around you just as well, if not better than earplugs. I live about one mile away from a military airport and used to be unable to work during the airforce training weeks. With my new headphones on, I can work no matter the noise around me, even military airplanes taking off and landing next to my window.

Bonus tip, if you travel a lot and have to take the train, the bus, or the plane, you can use the noise-canceling system without any music on. A great way to sleep anywhere, no matter how loud other people are!

Color Correction on the Go

If you print a lot of your work, you might edit your pictures in Adobe RGB instead of sRGB. The only issue is if you travel often, you cannot always lug around your NEC or Eizo screen. However, a few brands have started to release Adobe RGB laptops. Yes, you read that right: laptops with an Adobe RGB display, finally!

First, there was Razer (no, I am not sponsored by them in any way) with the Razer Stealth. However it only carries a 12.5-inch screen and doesn’t come with more than 8 GB of RAM (cannot be upgraded either). So it’s a start but not perfect.

Then, comes the Dell XPS 15-inch. Much more powerful than the Razer and much cheaper than a MacBook Pro, it seems like the best option currently on the market for retouchers and photographers. I haven’t replaced my trusty MacBook Pro with it yet, but I might order one very soon. From the short trial period I had with it, the only thing I’d probably miss is the almost perfect Apple trackpad.

Do More With Less

I never liked tablets because I hate virtual keyboards with a passion. The iPad is great to show your work, to play, to browse the web, but definitely not the most practical thing to retouch, answer emails, write articles, edit metadata, or any work that requires a particular app or a lot of typing.

2-in-1 laptops are the perfect alternative, except for the iPad Pro. Yes, it is a very capable piece of hardware, but it doesn’t offer as many options as Windows tablets or 2-in-1 laptops. The Apple tablet cannot run all the apps that Mac OS can. For example, the industry standard for shooting tether, Capture One, doesn’t exist on iOS, yet it is available on Windows 10. Same with Lightroom, while it has a mobile version, it just doesn’t match the full desktop software.

The HP Pavilion x2 is the latest addition to my gear inventory. I bought it last week, and I couldn’t see myself working without it again, especially while on the go. I can now shoot tethered anywhere without having to carry a not so practical laptop. The small 2-in-1 laptop is very light and small to fit in any bag, yet big enough for me to check my composition, exposure, and do a quick edit on set. While I used to be a bit lazy with my MacBook Pro and end up shooting without tethering, I might just shoot tethered all the time now — except for weddings.

Speaking of weddings, I can also use it to run a photo booth. I can tether a cheap entry-level DSLR and let the tablet run everything with Flassh. So no more lost PocketWizard and no more drink spilled onto an expensive screen or laptop. Even better yet, I can upload the images to a gallery directly as I have Wi-Fi.

Finally, this tiny laptop is just powerful enough for me to do most of my daily tasks without any issue. So now, when on the go, I can bring it along with me, import or export files on my MacBook Pro, while still culling another job, answering emails, or even writing articles like this one on Fstoppers.

Recent 2-in-1 laptops such as the HP Pavilion X2 I own can be bought for less than $400. To me, this makes it a no-brainer. But if you have more money lying around and doing nothing, you can even spend a bit more and find a better 2-in-1 laptop that will be powerful enough to do any task you want.

There are tons of other exciting options out there. I couldn't mention everything in here, and I haven't tested everything that is available on the market. For example, using MIDI controllers to turbocharge your raw editing workflow is great if you work in Lightroom, but I couldn't find one that works with Capture One just yet. Like I said at the beginning of this article, our job is not all about gear, but it definitely plays a role when photography is your job. If you want to be as efficient as possible, a few accessories can go a long way.

How about you? Do you guys use any gadget or weird piece of equipment to boost your workflow? Do you use some the aforementioned gear or would you try any of these options now that you learned about them?

Quentin Decaillet's picture

Quentin Décaillet is a photographer and retoucher based in Switzerland specializing in portrait and wedding photography.

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27 Comments

I'm a new user of MIDI controllers for editing. Combined with a Logitech G15 keyboard my life is so much easier.

Have to say I've never been short of buttons just using my keyboard. Also Razer really does have awful quality control. I've owned three mice by them, all have broken within a year (all with the same problem - The wire became loose and started disconnecting. The rubberised covering started wearing off on one too). Now I have a basic Microsoft mouse and it's lasted me three years with practically no signs of wear.

I don't know. As far quality for razer, the only product I had problems with them is their Razer Blade 2014 laptop. They fixed the product though.
I have bought a lot of razer products already and didn't fail me yet.

Perhaps their quality control is better now. As I said, I've chosen not to buy any of their products for the last 4-5 years.

I must ask, what made you choose the HP Pavilion X2 over say the Surface Pro 4 or even Pro 3?

Pricing – it was only $350 versus double for the cheapest Surface Pro 3 I could find. The initial idea was to use the tablet only to run a photo booth. So I wanted something cheap wouldn't cost much if people broke it. But then I found other uses for it.
I might invest in a Surface or Cintiq later down the road, however, for now, I don't have the need for it.

Yeah, I see. That makes sense. You really can't beat $350 as far as pricing goes, especially if there's a chance of breaking it like that. My surface's screen broke a few months back and it was the cost of your Pavilion to get it fixed. It's stupid expensive. Thank you for your response.

Oh finally someone saw the capabilities of the Razer Tartarus! I actually use the Orbweaver, which has more buttons, making retouching easier and keys customizable to my preference.

Thanks for the article Quentin! Would you consider writing a post with a bit more details on how you customize your mouse and tartarus for C1 and Lightroom? Do you fit a stylus in that workflow?

Hey Xav! I do use a Wacom tablet, but mainly in Photoshop. I don't use it that much when developing raw files in Capture One or Lightroom.
Regarding the shortcuts, I believe they are more of a personal thing than something common to everyone. But I'll try to think of an article that would make sense for most people ;)

No mention of the Surface Pro 4 which has one of the most colour accurate displays on the market for a tablet? It also beats the iPad Pro for general usability hands down or even a Surface Book. I use a SP in the studio and in location daily, both to control the studio lights but also to shoot tethered.

I'd also rate putting a Cintiq on the list due to the fact it reduces desk clutter and gives you macro buttons.

Final comment, I also use a backlit mechanical keyboard, great when you're editing in the dark and the tactile feedback is also useful for when typing and when doing keyboard shortcuts. Plenty of options out there, and even if you don't want mechanical there's gaming keyboards that have macro keys that can be programmed.

One thing that's improved my workflow indirectly is putting in a AC WiFi connection and also having a 10Gb/e managed switch to handle data traffic. This means moving data to and from the NAS a lot quicker and makes backing up your images a lot easier especially if you use teamed networks (10Gb/e cards are just too expensive at this time).

I realise this is about gear you own, but a better researched article about what's available to photographers to improve their workflow would be useful. Especially since the market is always evolving.

My idea here was to give idea for people that want a fast workflow, but also for people that have to travel – hence the "mobile" in the title.
At home, like you mention, I use a mechanical keyboard and find it great! But I'd never travel with it. It's too cumbersome to lug around. Same with the network equipment…

Regarding the Surface Pro 4/Cintiq, like I said in the article, there are tons of 2-in-1 laptops out there. My choice was made purely based on the price and size factor. I wanted something cheap. But then, sure, if you have money and want to invest, there are much better options than the tiny HP Pavilion X2 ;)

I'm feel like an-ti Microsoft product here when not review Surface Pro. Just check Dell XPS not that cheap at all. For my work and my pocket, i will pick Surface Pro not Dell when Dell Design most for Office work.

What Dell XPS 15 did you tested? The 4k glossy screen or the FHD matt screen?
I'm still not sure what laptop to get.

It was the 4K version. I'm actually not sure if the FHD covers 100% of Adobe RGB gamut like the 4K.

cool, so I was actually planning to buy the 4k version. But I had reservation about the glossy screen. Was the glossy screen bothering? But the 100% Adobe RGB for laptop sound too goodto be true actually.
I'd actually really want to stay at mac, but looking at their update cycle, I have my doubts.
also I need a windows machine for my college. and I'm not willing to install bootcamp. especially when the dell is actually better specwise (on paper). And I have no problem with both OS

I will always prefer a matte screen over a glossy one… but well… I got used to my MBP glossy screen so it didn't bother me that much. Still, if I had something to color correct for a big commercial client or for a wedding album, I'd use my external monitor.
From the tests I've seen, the 100% Adobe RGB translates into a 95% in reality. Not perfect, but still much better than anything else on the market :)

I've used all the tabletop midi/controllers and they force you to take your eyes off the screen, as well as your hands away from your workspace, interrupting your flow. I currently use the Behringer FCB1010 midi foot controller pedal. it's main use is for guitarists, because it's midi, i have it mapped to various Actions in Photoshop, as well as macros, and more importantly as a retoucher, can increase/decrease brush size as i'm editing, without taking my hands off the tablet. I have grip tape on certain pedals, which lets me know which pedal does what by feel, so i dont ever have to take my eyes off the screen. You'll be surprised how much time a foot-based controller will save you vs a tabletop controller. I use a freeware midi keystroke mapping software that i cant remember offhand, but you can map any program you have on your computer with it. 10 switchable bank groups gives you 100 banks, which is more than enough for what you'll ever need. (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/keyboards-midi/behringer-fcb1010-midi-foo...)

For culling, any usb/wireless gamepad used with mapping apps like GamePad Pro, etc will let you zip through your images in no time flat. I use a Logitech usb gamepad i got for $25 on amazon and do a first pass of Select/Reject, then a second for 4/5 star ratings. Don't know of a quicker way to really go through your photos than something like that.

Previous tools used: The Behringer BCR2000 (Comes in both rotary knobs and motorized fader versions). Used for Lightroom in conjunction with KnobRoom or PFixer apps), which let's you control all the sliders and functionality in LR. Not bad, but sensitivity of knob movement wasn't precise enough for me, though that may have changed in recent versions of the software apps. Though i could operate it by feel, it took up a lot of room on my desktop.(http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BCR2000)

For Ipad/Iphone, there's also Actions (Now called Quadro). Let's you assign macros and functions to any program you have on your conmputer and trigger them via wifi. I had my iPad configured so there was a Photoshop group of buttons, one for LR, one for the Finder, one that opened folders, etc. I used mine for things like running Actions, Save to Web, switching tools, etc. Paid 5 for mine before they changed names, and now it's subscription based and much more expensive, but you should be able to find alternatives out there on the iTunes/Google Play stores. (http://quadro.me/)

I've tried the Bose Quiet Comfort headsets and let me tell you, they are not for everybody. It's probably the closest thing to being deaf. I didn't like the feeling. My ears are use to hearing ambient noises whether loud or faint. Take that away and it just doesn't feel right. It can also cause some spacial disorientation in some. I definitely suggest to try one out for a while before you invest.

Hi Quentin, great article as usual! I am curious about the Flash app and how you use it to run a photo booth on an entry level camera tethered to a tablet, why do you say "No more lost pocketwizards"? I don't see how the app would replace it for the customers to trigger the camera? As I'm also running a Photobooth for some weddings I'd like to know more about your setup please, cause mine is a pain in the arse to set... thanks a lot!

Still perfecting my mini photo booth, but I'll definitely write an article on this :) The app is worth the try ;) More on that coming soon!

Merci Quentin, looking forward to it!

man...all those controllers just look like workarounds and kludges. I use my palette system controller (I was a kickstarter backer) every day (Ps, Lr & Pr) and seriously get mad when I can't use it in my workflow. It travels with me (along with my small wacom tablet) in my computer bag.

The things I like about the Palette system is that they are an Adobe partner and have 2 techs whose entire gig is basically making the system play with Adobe products better.

Giving tips for faster retouching yet suggesting using a mouse and no mention of a graphic tablet?

which software is this if i may ask with due respect

i run a couple of XPS studio desktops back at the studio that are tuned to the max but increasingly i find myself doing the bulk of work on my xps 13 laptop. so much i've thought about replacing the desktops with a couple of xps 15s and call it a day. i know i dont have nearly enough power on m xps 13 as i do on my desktops but the fact i can be sipping on coffee outside while a wedding album renders instead of locked in my studio makes the extra wait time something to be enjoyed.

I have seen several of these posts and always wonder why no-one looks at the Contour product line. I use the shuttle pro and is way smaller, built for the purpose and reliable. (I have had mine 10 years??!) With the jog wheel I go to the next image, rotate sliders and just about never put a hand on the keyboard. (Being ambidextrous is a bonus for me so I have a hand on the mouse and a hand on the shuttle.) The software is designed around pro app's live video, adobe, and many many more. Zero programing. (Oh the left handed custom mouse is rad too.)

Check it out here:

contourdesign.com