Hey everyone! I need some help with my photo editing process. Just got back from vacation and imported around 2500 pictures into Lightroom Classic. Right now I’m going through each image one by one to remove the bad shots and blurry ones. This is taking forever and I feel like there must be a smarter approach. What methods do you use when dealing with huge batches of photos? Are there any shortcuts or features in LR that can speed this up? Thanks for any suggestions!
Batch operations will save you hours. I learned this the hard way after spending entire weekends culling photos one by one.
First - build 1:1 previews on import. Takes longer upfront but scrolling through thousands of images becomes buttery smooth.
Use the Library Filter to sort by capture time, then work in chunks. Your brain remembers the shooting sequence better this way.
Here’s my secret weapon: enable Caps Lock for auto-advance. Hit Caps Lock once, then just press X to reject and it jumps to the next image automatically. No clicking, no delays.
For focus issues, sort by shutter speed in metadata view. Anything below 1/60 handheld usually gets cut unless it’s obviously intentional.
This video breaks down solid culling techniques that complement what others mentioned:
Once you get a rhythm going, 2500 photos becomes 2 hours instead of a full day.
Custom metadata filters were a game changer for vacation dumps. I set filters for ISO above 6400 and shutter speeds below my lens focal length - automatically catches most technical rejects. During import, I create temporary collections by shooting conditions. Beach shots here, restaurant photos there. Way less overwhelming than working through random chronological order. Pro tip: use the Painter tool with rejection flags. Click and drag across thumbnails in grid view to mass-reject bad shot sequences. Perfect for burst sequences where you only need one frame. Takes practice but becomes second nature.
The real problem isn’t culling speed - it’s doing manual work you could automate.
I used to blow entire weekends on this until I automated everything. Now I run image analysis that catches blur, bad exposure, and composition problems before I even open Lightroom.
Set up a workflow that processes images the moment they hit your computer. Run quality checks, sort by metadata, and flag obvious rejects without touching anything. This cut my culling time by 70% since I only review photos that actually matter.
Connect your camera imports to automated sorting rules. Bad exposure? Auto-reject. Duplicate timestamps within 2 seconds? Keep the sharpest. Motion blur above threshold? Gone.
Build the whole system to run overnight. Import happens, analysis runs, you wake up to pre-sorted collections ready for final review.
This beats any manual Lightroom trick since you’re fixing the root cause instead of just clicking faster.
For large batches, I rely heavily on Compare view. I’ll do a quick first pass in Grid view, then hit C to compare similar shots directly. No more guessing which one’s better when you’ve got multiple photos of the same thing. With massive imports, I set up Auto Import with a basic preset that handles lens corrections and noise reduction automatically. Saves tons of time since you don’t have to fix each shot individually later. Survey view (N key) is also a game-changer when you’ve got several candidates from the same scene - way faster than clicking back and forth between individual images.
survey mode is the way to go! just hit G for grid view and increase thumbnail size. makes spotting bad shots super ez! i hit X to reject while scrolling, way quicker than opening each pic in develop module.
Cull on ur phone first if ur shooting raw+jpeg. I know it sounds weird, but scrolling through jpegs in ur gallery is super fast. Delete the obvious duds b4 they hit Lightroom - saves tons of import time and storage.
Got this trick from a wedding photographer who processes thousands of photos: use Pick flags on your first pass, not ratings. Just hit P for picks and U for rejects while scrolling through Grid view. Flag your keepers, then filter to show only picked images and do detailed edits on that smaller batch. Be ruthless - if you hesitate even a bit, it’s probably trash. I also import by location or time instead of dumping everything at once. Processing 500 images feels way more manageable than staring at 2500 thumbnails. Smart previews are a lifesaver too since they load way faster during culling.