Culling and Retouch Queue

Turn a finished shoot into one ordered list of the frames worth retouching, with the rest set aside on purpose.

macOS — coming soonSee the 3 automations
Media / AUTOMATE.md

Every evening at 7:00pm, pull the frames marked as picks from the shoot log and post a count per subject, with the first ten to start on.

Ready-made: Starred Keeper Digest

The job, and what good looks like.

### What breaks A 900-frame card gets retouched in whatever order the editor opens it, so one sitter ends up with three treatments and nobody can say which one shipped. Review notes sit in an inbox instead of next to the frame they are about. ### What the workflow does - Rank the picks from the shoot and put the retouchable ones in a single queue. - Attach every review comment to its frame instead of to an email thread. - Separate the rejects into their own folder rather than deleting them. - Show the client only the frames in the queue, not the whole card. - Close a queue item when the retouched file is exported, not when it is opened. ### What a human still approves The retoucher signs off on the order of work, and the photographer makes the final keep and reject call. No frame reaches a client without a person choosing it.

When it is handled

  • One ranked keeper list per shoot
  • Notes stored on the frame, not in an inbox
  • Rejects kept in their own folder
  • Retouch closed only when the file is exported

Works with tools like

  • Adobe Lightroom
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Frame.io
  • PhotoRoom

Ready-made automations. Pick the one that fits.

Each one is a plain-language document. Run it as it is, or change the timing, the rules and the tools to match your team.

Retouch Note Attach

When a reviewer leaves a note on a frame, copy the comment into the retouch list with the file name, and notify the retoucher so nothing sits unread.

When a reviewer leaves a note on a frame

Retouch Queue Aging

Every Monday at 9:00am, list the frames still in the retouch queue after three days and email the list with the name of whoever picked each one up.

Every Monday at 9:00am

Starred Keeper Digest

Every evening at 7:00pm, pull the frames marked as picks from the shoot log and post a count per subject, with the first ten to start on.

Every evening at 7:00pm

You stay in charge.
At every step.

It checks and files. Every creative call stays yours.

  • It never deletes on its own

    It checks, lists and files. Deleting or formatting anything waits for your OK.

  • Undo a move you don't want

    Every step is recorded, and files it moved or renamed can be put back.

  • Your drives stay yours

    It works on the folders you point it at, on your computer. Nothing is uploaded to a new library.

Starred Keeper Digest

Approve before it posts in Slack?

ReviewApprove

Before you download.

Where does it run?
On your Mac or Windows computer, in the background. It keeps working after you close its window, and only reaches the folders and apps you connect for each automation.
How does it connect to our CRM and other tools?
Through each app's own connection where it offers one, signed in once by you, or by using the app in a browser the way you would. Each automation gets only the connections you give it, and the tools a page names are examples you can swap for your own.
Does it run when my computer is asleep?
It keeps your computer awake while a job runs and just before a scheduled one. While the computer is closed or off, nothing runs; when it wakes, it checks the inbox, calendar and other sources it watches for anything that arrived meanwhile.
How does my team use it?
Each person who runs automations installs the app. Keep a project in a shared folder, such as Google Drive or a network drive, and teammates can open it and follow every run, while one person owns it and runs it.
Do I need anyone technical to set it up?
No. Download the app, add an automation in plain words, and connect only what that job needs. Nothing runs until you switch it on.

Already have tools for this? Here is the difference.

Presets and actions in your editor

Repeating the same edit across many files.

They can't check a delivery against an approval or tell you a card didn't copy.

Flowchart automation tools

Moving data between cloud apps.

They rarely reach local drives, and every exception becomes another branch.

Doing it by hand

Knowing exactly what happened.

It is the part of the job that waits until midnight.

AUTOMATE.md

Your routine, written in plain words. It runs on its own, follows your rules, handles the exceptions a flowchart can't, and asks you when it matters. The file stays yours, whichever AI model runs it.

Related workflows.

Client Proofing and Selection

Give the client a small, decidable set of proofs and record exactly what they picked.

3 automations

RAW to Delivery Color

Apply one agreed look across a shoot and export delivery files that match the proof the client approved.

2 automations

Photo tagging

Puts reviewed keywords on a shoot as it lands, so a decade-old library is findable by the words a client actually says out loud.

2 automations

Start with one job.
Make it your own.

macOS — coming soon
  1. 1

    Get the app

    It runs on your computer, next to your files.

  2. 2

    Add the automation

    Paste the instructions into the app, or save them as a file next to your work.

  3. 3

    Try it, then turn it on

    Run it once and check the result. It only runs on its own once you switch it on.

macOS — coming soon