Joss Stone

I watched Zack Arias's video on his workflow the other day. He uses Photo Mechanic, Lightroom, and Photoshop. I use Lightroom - so far.

Joss Stone during her concert at X-Tra Club

When posting the video, Zack mentioned that he used Photo Mechanic to import his photos from the memory card and make quick choices on keepers and trash-fodder. Doesn't Lightroom actually do that for ya? Why pay $150 for a program that does the same thing?

Joss Stone singing live in Zurich, Switzerland

Zack kept on (and on, and on, and on ;-) ) talking about how fast Photo Mechanic is importing pictures and rendering previews - something I've been struggling with for a while (launch LR, insert memory card, type keywords, hit enter and go eat a sandwich - or three). Especially when I'm shooting for 20 Minuten, time is crucial, because they gotta figure out if they wanna use the shot on their cover or on the music pages for the next day's edition.

Joss Stone performs during a live concert at X-Tra in Zurich

Since Camerabits, the company that makes Photo Mechanic, offers a 20-day free trial, I decided to give it a go for Joss Stone's show. And boy, I was blown away! I have no idea when I'll eat now after coming home from a shooting a concert, but I'm definitely heaps of precious sleep minutes faster than it used to be.

Joss Stone live in concert

I also needed it - Joss Stone was beautiful, her voice amazing, and the light just perfect. Edited 500-something photos (yeah... fast continuous shooting on a D3 produces lots of pictures) in less time than it used to take me to just download them to Lightroom. I guess I'm gonna invest $140, cause I've heard there's a $10 gift code somewhere in Zack's post. Great night!

Joss Stone sings for Zurich