Post-processing workflow for birds in flight
If you would rather head straight to a concise summary, the TL;DR is at the foot of the page — or jump directly to the FAQ.
I have developed a detailed workflow for post processing birds in flight images.
TL;DR
- Post-processing BIF images requires a specialist workflow: triage (FastRawViewer), denoise (DxO), dynamic contrast (On1), and final curation (Lightroom).
- Batch operations scale: 400+ keepers cannot be manually edited; use FastRawViewer for culling, DxO for lens correction + denoising, On1 for perceptual sharpness.
- ProCapture yields 35-frame bursts—manage them by flagging best events, deleting pre-burst junk, keeping post-burst sequences for landing analysis.
- Metadata preservation: embed exif, focus point, ISO into Lightroom collections for future reference and performance analysis.
- Storage strategy: RAW masters + Lightroom catalogue on local SSD; exports to external drive for archival and backup.
Frequently asked questions
How do I manage 400+ keeper images from a single session?
Impossible by manual editing. Use FastRawViewer to flag keepers (focus check at 1:1), then batch denoise with DxO Photolab (20 mins for 400 RAWs). On1 PhotoRaw adds dynamic contrast; finally, Lightroom for metadata and final culling to ~50 portfolio shots.
Why use FastRawViewer instead of Lightroom for triage?
FastRawViewer imports RAW directly without transcoding; Lightroom requires import + preview rendering (slow). FastRawViewer’s focus-peaking and 1:1 zoom are faster for checking sharpness on 4000+ images.
Should I edit every image or cull first?
Cull ruthlessly first. Flag 3–5 best examples per landing sequence in FastRawViewer (5-10 minute pass), then process only flagged images. Processing all 400 wastes hours.
What role does DxO play vs Lightroom?
DxO excels at optical correction (lens distortion, vignette removal) + noise reduction via DeepPRIME. Lightroom’s denoise is inferior; use DxO for batch denoise, then import corrected DNGs into Lightroom for final adjustments and metadata.
How should I organize ProCapture burst sequences?
In Lightroom, stack 35-frame bursts (Group by Capture Time). Flag best frames (takeoff, wing positions, landing), reject pre-burst frames (filler). Keep 3–5 per stack maximum; delete rest after final approval.
