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Cullant

Getting started

Getting started

Open your first project, make one pass through it, and put the rejects in the bin.

This guide takes you through one shoot, from the card to an empty bin. It takes about ten minutes to read and about the same to do.

Open a project

A project is a folder. Point Cullant at it and you are working. There is no import step, no catalogue to build and no copy to wait for. Subfolders come with it.

  1. Start Cullant. The home screen lists the projects you opened before.
  2. Select Open folder and pick the folder that holds your shoot.
  3. Cullant walks the folder and shows you the grid as soon as the first files land.

Behind the grid, Cullant is reading the metadata of every file and building thumbnails in the background. You can start culling before it finishes. Whatever you look at moves to the front of that queue.

Cullant does not move, rename or change a single file when it opens a folder. It only adds a .cullant folder beside your photos, which holds one small database. Delete that folder and your photos are exactly as they were.

Make one pass

The first pass is a keep-or-kill pass. Do not think about stars yet.

  • P: pick, this one stays
  • X: reject, this one goes
  • U: no opinion, clear the flag
  • → and ←: move between frames

Turn Caps Lock on and every flag advances to the next frame by itself. That is one keypress per photo, all the way to the end of the shoot.

Press E to see a frame large, and Z to jump to 100% and check focus. Esc takes you back to the grid.

A reject does not delete anything. It writes a note in the database and queues a delete for later. Change your mind and press U; the queued delete goes away with the flag.

Make a second pass on the keepers

Now narrow the grid to what survived. Press \ to open the filters, and set the flag filter to Picked.

Rate the survivors with 1 to 5. Use the colour labels, 6 to 9 and -, for whatever your workflow means by them: a client favourite, a frame for the album, one that needs a retouch.

When two frames are too close to call, select both and press C for compare, or N to survey a whole burst and knock out the losers one at a time.

Commit

Nothing has changed on your disk yet. Press Ctrl + Enter.

The commit dialog lists every file that is about to change, grouped by what will happen to it: deletes here, moves there, sidecars at the end. Read it. Unqueue anything you are not sure about; unqueueing a delete also clears its reject flag.

Then run it. Deletes go to the Recycle Bin by default, so even this step is reversible.

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