A Full Photo Editing Workflow on an iPad Pro

In case you hadn't heard, there was a supermoon the other night. Here in Orlando, the sky was perfectly clear around 9:30pm, so the moon was ridiculously bright. I thought it might be a fun opportunity to use my Nikon D750 and the longest lens I have (Tamron 70-210 f/4) to see if it could get anything worthwhile. Then I thought it might also be a fun opportunity to try an entire photo editing workflow from beginning to end using my iPad Pro. I was correct on both counts. 

As you can see in the image above, the Nikon did a pretty decent job of capturing detail in the surface of the moon...although I'm probably not going to blow it up and print it any time soon. It was still fun to get a shot like that from my backyard.

But what was really fun was taking the photo from the memory card through the editing process using nothing but my iPad Pro.

I use an Anker USB-C SD Card reader, which is incredibly convenient for pulling images from a card to the iPad. It plugs directly into the USB-C port of the iPad  Pro without needing any dongles or adapters. You can use the Files app to copy the files directly from the card to the iPad's internal storage or iCloud Drive if you happen to have enough space.

For this particular project, I decided to skip the Files app and use the import function in Lightroom CC to pull the images straight from the card into Lightroom. Since I pay for Adobe's "Photography" plan, I get 20GB of cloud storage included, so there's plenty of room to import RAW files.

Once I had the files in Lightroom, I started the editing process using my Apple Pencil. This is one of the main joys of editing photos on an iPad. Using the Apple Pencil in the Lightroom interface makes you feel connected to the process in a way that a mouse pointer just can't. If you're an experienced photographer, you're probably scoffing at the idea of using Lightroom CC instead of Lightroom Classic...and I get it. Lightroom CC doesn't have quite the advanced editing capability that Lightroom Classic on a desktop computer has, but it is very powerful in its own right and images sync among devices, so it's fun and convenient for a hobbyist.

After a couple of minutes sitting at my desk tweaking the supermoon photos, I realized that I was using an ultra-portable tablet and that sitting at my desk was idiotic. So I popped my iPad off of its keyboard case and jumped into bed to finish editing. So convenient!

Once I found the best photo of the bunch and got to a point that it felt finished, I used AirDrop to send it to my iPhone where I uploaded it to Instagram. No cables, no adapters, no fuss. 

I'm definitely a beginner when it comes to photography and I understand that this workflow may not apply to someone who's working for a client or has a ton of photos to batch edit. If you're someone who takes photos as a hobby, though, you may want to give the iPad Pro a shot as your main editing tool. It's truly a joy to use.

Print your photos!

One message that has come up over and over from multiple photographers that I follow is that the ultimate joy of photography is printing your work and hanging it on the wall. Instagram is fun and all, but as proud as you might be of a photo you post there, anyone who comes across it will probably spend 3 to 5 seconds looking at it before they move on and never see it again.

If you have a piece that you really enjoy, it’s important to give it life in some way. In fact, that’s one of the reasons I set up this website. The more I practice photography, the more I’m making images that I absolutely love. I love them so much, in fact, that it’s sad to think that they might only ever live on a hard drive or server farm somewhere.

A few weeks ago, I finally decided it was time to make my first real print. Choosing the photo was easy. I think the best photo I’ve taken so far was from an early morning trip to Lake Baldwin in Orlando (pictured above). It was 100% luck that I found that scene and was able to set up my tripod and get the shot before the light changed completely.

Choosing the print process was also a no-brainer. I heard about Nevada Art Printers and their Lumachrome prints on Nick Page’s podcast and decided it would be perfect for this choice. Lumachrome prints are known for making an image glow, which I knew would make this particular photo look beautiful hanging on the wall.

The process was incredibly easy. I decided to crop the image for a 12” x 24” print, uploaded it through the Nevada Art Printers website, and…that was it. They sent an invoice, I paid, and my print showed up about 3 weeks later.

The most difficult part of the entire thing was deciding which mount I wanted. I decided to go for the museum standard mount, which added a protective backing and a composite rear floating frame.

The final product is just stunning.

Now I get to enjoy this gorgeous photo every day. If you have a photo you love hiding in your computer’s hard drive or your phone’s photos app, I highly recommend getting it printed and framed.

And of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that I’m selling prints of this photo in the store section of my site. You can order the same 12” x 24” Lumachrome print that I put on my wall, a paper print on Photo Rag paper that you can put in a frame of your choosing, or if you’d rather discuss other options, feel free to send me an email. I’m limiting this image to 99 prints regardless of the print option (this one doesn’t count as I’m labeling it an “Artist Proof”).

Now…get out there and make some images!