Culling Studio helps save you time culling photos by grouping and rating them according to your preferences. You can quickly review your best photos, tweak the ratings, and then go straight to editing in the Imagen app.

These are the main steps:

1. Create a new culling project
2. Review your culled photos
3. Adjust your results and send your photos to edit
4. Review edited photos

Create a new culling project

When you start a culling project, complete it on the same computer. If you open the project on a different computer, you won't see your culling results.

1. Open Imagen, and on the Projects page, click Create a New Project, and then click Cull.
   
   
   
2. Choose the type of photos in the project.
   
   
   
3. Choose the photos you want to cull. Imagen supports culling photos from Lightroom Classic catalogs or from compatible Adobe software. If you want to upload photos from a different Adobe software, click Choose Photos/Folder at the bottom of the screen, and upload them from a folder.
   
   
   The New Culling Project opens.
   
   
   
4. In the Choose an AI Profile list, select a profile to get an edited preview of the photos. These edited previews help you make an informed choice when culling, and you aren’t charged for them. You’ll be charged only for the images you send to edit later in the process.
   
   
   
5. (Lightroom CC only) If your editing software is Lightroom CC, click Culling preferences to open the culling settings. Change the rating from Color labels to Stars or Flags. Lightroom CC doesn't support color ratings. See Understanding culling results for more information about rating methods.
   
   
6. Choose the folder of the photos to cull.
   
   
   
7. Click Upload. Your photos are uploaded, and culling takes place on the Imagen Cloud. On the Projects page, in the Active tab, you can track the culling progress in the Progression column.
   
   

Review your culled photos

Make sure you are on the same computer where you culled your photos. If you open the project on a different computer, you won't see the culling results.

1. When the culling is complete, click Review Culling to open Culling Studio.
   
   
   (First-time only) The Culling Studio Quick Start opens.
   
   
   A culling summary opens.
   
   
   
2. Click Got it to close the summary, and Culling Studio opens in grid view. Imagen has rated your photos and grouped them by your culling preferences. In the example below, we use the default preferences, Imagen’s best practice.
   
   
   
3. Review your results. See the sections below for more information.

Filter your photos by ratings, flags, and camera type

To filter the best pick from Imagen culling, we recommend you filter your photos by Keepers and Standalones. Keepers are the best photos from a group of similar photos. Standalones are unique photos. They don't have duplicates and are not part of a group. See our guide for more information on understanding culling results and ratings.

You can choose which filters to display:

Sort your photos by date, name, and stars

By default, photos are sorted by capture date and grouped accordingly. When you sort by any other value, you lose your groups. To go back to the groups, sort by Capture date again.

You can sort photos by:

• Capture date
• File name
• Star rating
• Flagged

Switch between original photos and an edited preview

If you choose to review photos with an edited preview so that you can see them with your profile, you can toggle between the original photo and the edited one.

Zoom in and out of the previews to see more details 

You can resize the previews to zoom in and out with the slider in the bottom right corner.

Optional: Export culling results to Adobe editing software

Sometimes, you might need to review your ratings in Adobe editing software instead of proceeding directly to editing. In this case, you can import them back to Imagen when you're ready. 

• Click Export <# of photos> photo ratings.
  
  
  The ratings are exported in XMP format to the same folder where you uploaded the photos.
  
  
  When you go back to your project in Imagen, it automatically detects changes in the culling results and prompts you to import these changes before you continue editing. For more information, see our guide on reviewing culling results in Adobe editing software.

Managing culling results outside of Imagen

• Sometimes, you might want to organize your culled photos in folders in Bridge or Photomechanic before editing. In this case, you must create a new editing project for your culled photos because they aren't in the same location.
• Exporting your ratings also gives you a backup copy of your results.

Adjust your results and send your photos to edit

Tweak ratings in grid and loupe view

If needed, change ratings and filters until you are happy with your choice. Feel free to add stars, colors, or flags to help you filter the best photos.

Here is an example flow to review ratings:

1. Similar photos have a number next to the image, showing how many images are in the group. To review photos in a group, hover over a thumbnail image in the group or double-click it. Then, click it, and press the space bar. 
   
   
   A pop-up of the image opens. Use the mouse or arrow keys to navigate to the image you want. Pick your favorite shot by changing the ratings inside each image.
   
   
   
2. For loupe view, double-click an image, and press the spacebar to enter Loupe view.
   Use the keyboard arrow keys to browse images in Loupe view. For images in a group, click the up arrow to go into the group and browse the images. Use the keyboard shortcuts to change filters quickly.
   
   
   Press the F key to see the image in full screen.
   
   
   
3. Click the Culling overview button to review your culling results.
   
   

Send for editing

Now that you have culled your photos, send them straight to editing with the AI Profile you used for the edited preview.

Keep in mind

• You can only create one editing project from a culling project. If you don’t want to edit all the photos in your culling project now, import the photos for the next editing batch into another folder and create a new editing project later.
• (Real estate photographers) If you want to edit with the HDR Merge and Window Pull AI tools, create a new editing project with your culled photos instead of continuing in this flow. 

1. Finalize the filters to select the photos you want to edit. Imagen will charge you for editing these photos.
   
   
   
2. (Optional) To select from within this group, click the Select button and then select the photos to send to edit.
   
   
   
3. Click the Edit Photos button. The Send for edit dialog opens.
   
   
   
4. In the Photos to edit list, choose which photos to send to edit. You can send the selected photos, all the photos in the current filter view, or all the photos in the project.
   
   
5. Click Edit.
   
   
6. In the Choose an AI Profile list, choose the same AI Profile you used while culling.
   
   
   
7. Add the AI tools you want.
   
   
   
8. Click Edit to edit the images. After Imagen has edited the photos, you receive an email and a notification in the Imagen app. Continue to Review edited photos.

Review edited photos

When you review your edited photos, the process changes depending on where your source files are. 

• If you started culling from a Lightroom Classic catalog, see Download a project to review edits in Lightroom Classic. 
• If you started culling in Lightroom CC, Photoshop, or Bridge, you can either add your photos to a Lightroom Classic catalog or move or copy them to a new folder. This way, you only see the edited photos you need to review. 

Add photos to a Lightroom Classic catalog

1. When your edits are ready, click Download to review.
   
   The Download Edits window opens.
   
2. Click Download edits. After the download is complete, click Review options.
   
   The Choose how to review your photos dialog opens.
   
3. Select Add to a LrC catalog, and either click Recent catalogs and choose a catalog, or click browse to find one yourself.
4. Click Add to catalog. The photos open in Lightroom Classic for you to review.

Move or copy edited photos to a folder

1. When your edits are ready, click Download to review.
   
2. Click Download edits. After the download is complete, click Review options.
   
   The Choose how to review your photos dialog opens.
   
3. Select Move or copy photos. Depending on how you want to review your photos, select Move edited photos or Copy edited photos. In this procedure, we chose to move the photos. The process is the same for copying them.
   By default, the new folder created for the edited photos is a subfolder of the source location. You can change the subfolder's name or browse to a new path. 
4. Click Move. 
5. Select the editing software you use. If you use Photoshop or Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw opens when you edit. In this procedure, we are selecting Lightroom.
   
6. The review process changes depending on the editing software you choose. First, click Open folder, and then follow the steps in the Review editing results window.
   

When you finish reviewing the edits, go back to the Imagen app and click Upload final edits to keep your profile up-to-date.

Common questions about culling

How do I filter out blurry photos while culling?

To filter out photos that are blurry, accidentally captured, and improperly exposed, enable Low-rated in the culling preferences. See this guide for help.

How do I review culling ratings exported as XMP?

When reviewing culling results in Culling Studio, you can export the ratings in XMP format, which lets you review results in another editing software. The XMP information includes the stars, color labels, and flags. See this guide for help.

Can I subscribe only to culling?

You need an editing plan to subscribe to culling, but you don't have to pay the $7 minimum monthly fee. So, keeping the editing plan with culling doesn't cost you anything. Learn more about our pricing.