I had the pleasure of attending the D-65 Workshop last week. It was hosted by the husband and wife team of Seth Resnick and Jamie Spritzer. Both are experienced photographers and educators. This workshop was different from most that I have attended in that it was workflow specific. Any “shooting” time that we had was on our own.
The topic of workflow comes up often in conversations with friends, family and colleagues. Put simply, workflow is the process one employs for capture through processing of your photographs. Many people struggle with this process and frankly I find it to be the main reason some people take less photographs.
If you search the web, the number of solutions available for photography workflow is daunting. The problem with most of them is they are not easily repeated nor scaleable. That is not the case with the D-65 program. Yes, there is the ability to customize aspects of the workflow to meet your specific needs, but the core workflow is the same for every situation and photographer. Think of it as an assembly line for your photographs.
The only potential drawback I can see with this system is the “investment” required in Adobe’s Lightroom. I say investment because you not only spend money on acquiring the assets (software, external hard drives) but spend significant time mastering the software. Without the desire to make that investment I don’t think you should follow the D-65 program. That said, I have tried and/or used every browser and image management software available. My two favorites are Apple’s Aperture and Lightroom and I ultimately settled on Lightroom for one reason, the massive acceptance by the photgraphic community. You can get help from a myriad of places for Lightroom, not so with Aperture. What does that tell me? In the long run, my investment in Lightroom will be protected.
Before anyone attends D-65, I would strongly suggest reading Seth and Jamie’s book or purchasing the video Seth and Michael Reichman produced on the topic. Why would you do this before spending four whole days at the workshop? Very simple. I believe the strategies and techniques D-65 employs are best understood and implemented before you attend the class. My preparation afforded me the opportunity to absorb more in the classroom and arrive at the workshop with very specific workflow questions that I needed answered. Topics that were specific to how I work. Had I not made that effort before attending, I don’t think I would have gotten as much out of the class.
I know some of you are thinking, Vinnie, this is way over my head. Well you will be glad to know that the group attending the workshop ranged from established professional photographers to the group that I call “shutter moms” and everyone in between. You need to remember that just because you can take great pictures doesn’t mean you will be good at organizing, editing and processing those images. This workshop and program will get you going in the right direction. I strongly recommend attending. One added bonus is they offer workshops in Miami (where Jamie and Seth have a studio) so you can combine the education with a little R&R!
