Step 1 - Create a project
For each new shoot, create a new project from the Projects screen, click the small + icon at the top of the toolbar or hit [⌘ N] (mac) or [Ctrl N] (windows).
Now click Choose a folder, find your folder of images in Finder and click 'Open'. Alternatively, you can drag and drop a folder onto the Narrative window.
Optionally give your project a name, then click next.
Your images will now import into Narrative.
Step 2 - Moving and rating
Moving
Tap [up] and [down] arrows to move to the next and previous image.
Tap [left] or [right] to skip to the next or previous scene.
Tap [⌘ up] and [⌘ down] (mac) or [Ctrl up] and [Ctrl down] (windows) to cycle through images in a scene.
You can swap these in preferences
Rating
[1],[2],[3],[4] or [5] to apply a star rating and [0] to clear stars.
[6],[7],[8],[9] or [p] to apply a color rating and [⌘ 0] (mac) or [Ctrl 0] (windows) to clear color rating.
[T] to tag, [X] to reject and [U] to clear these ratings (mac only).
You can also apply a rating by clicking on the rating block on the image thumbnail, via the right-click menu, or the 'Rate' menu.
Pro tip: All the keyboard shortcuts can be found here.
What are .XMP sidecar files?
When you rate an image we create a .XMP sidecar file in your source folder. It’s important that you keep these files in the same folder as your images, or you will lose your ratings.
What do the different ratings mean?
The short answer is– anything you want them to mean! They don't carry any inherent meaning and are a legacy of the way most programs have allowed users to rate images. Many photographers will simply rate images they want to keep with 1 star – but there are many, many other ways to do this. Find a way that works for you!
Step 3 - Workspace
By default you are in ‘Loupe view’. If you leave Loupe view, tap [E] or click on the icon in the toolbar to go back.
Tap [G] or click the grid icon in the top left of the toolbar to view your images in ‘Grid View’.
Tap [S] to view your images grouped into scenes in 'Scenes View'.
Tap [N] to view you selected images in 'Survey View'
Tap [F] to enter Fullscreen mode for a distraction-free culling experience.
Pro tip: you can customise your workspace, such as the location of the filmstrip from preferences or by right-clicking in Loupe View.
Step 4 - Zoom basics
To enter zoom mode tap the [SPACEBAR]. If there are any faces detected in the image you’ll zoom straight to the face closest to the centre.
You can now tap the [←/→] to scroll through all the faces in the image, or click and drag around.
[Up] and [Down] will move you to the next image but keep you in the same place.
By default you’ll zoom to 100% of the original image size. But you can change this with [+] or [-] or by adjusting the slider in the toolbar.
Press the [SPACEBAR] again to leave zoom mode and return to standard mode where the image fits to your screen size.
Step 5 - Close-ups
Press [/] to open and close the The Close-Ups panel in Face Mode, or click the icon at the top of the vertical toolbar.
If no faces are detected the Close-ups panel will show in Pan Mode. In Pan Mode you can scroll around a zoomed in portion of the image while keeping the main image in view for context. You can manually enter Pan Mode by clicking the icon or tapping [⌘ /] (mac) or [Ctrl /] (windows).
In Wedding and Event shoots, you'll notice some faces are marked with a blue icon and blue frame - these are your Key Subjects. Narrative automatically highlights the people who matter most in your shoot, so your eye goes straight to the right faces as you review. Learn more about Key Subject Highlighting →
Step 6 - Face Assessments
The icons below each face are our Face Assessments.
The ellipse gives you information about the subject's eyes and expression, and the curved line gives you information about focus.
By default,
Green = no problems detected.
Yellow = there might be something sub-optimal, double-check if you're not sure.
Orange or Red = there's likely to be a problem.
Hover your mouse over the icon to get a more detailed explanation. The top row describes their expression, and the bottom row scores the focus of their face out of 10. You should consider a focus score of 8 or above, great!
You can choose to have the detailed information show up in the Close-ups panel, and change Face Assessment colors via Preferences.
Step 7 - First Pass
First Pass is your AI-powered culling assistant. It gives you Image Assessments — the coloured hexagons that appear on your image thumbnails — to help you get to your best photos faster.
With AI First Pass+, you get a clearer picture of where each image sits within a scene. There are five categories:
Dark blue — Best in scene. Likely your strongest candidate from this scene.
Light blue — Above average. No major issues detected, a solid pick.
Grey — Average. No major issues, but there are probably better options in the scene.
Pink — Below average. Some issues detected; better options are very likely available.
Red — Undesirable. Significant issues detected; almost certainly a poor choice.
Hover over a hexagon for a short explanation, or click it for more detail.
You can also adjust how strict the AI is via Preferences > AI First Pass settings:
Ruthless — Pushes more images into the lower categories. Best for a fast cull where you want the AI to do the heavy lifting.
Balanced (default) — A mix of speed and caution.
Cautious — Gives more images the benefit of the doubt. Best if you prefer to review more yourself.
Image Assessments Filters
There are a few powerful ways to use the filters with First Pass to cull even faster.
Use the AI First Pass+ dropdown in the toolbar to filter by any combination of assessment categories — check what you want to see and uncheck what you don't. A count next to each category shows how many images match in your current view.
For a fast pick, work purely from the top two categories (dark blue and light blue) to focus only on your strongest images.
For more control, filter out Undesirables first, then work through the remaining categories at your own pace.
You can also combine First Pass filters with the People Filter to focus on specific subjects. This is useful for finding your best images of the couple, a family member, or any key subject in the shoot. And if focus is a priority, you can filter by Focus Score to quickly surface the sharpest images in any scene.
Step 8 - Shipping to Lightroom
When you’re done culling, you can ship your selection straight to your editing software through the Ship menu. Click the [SHIP + EDIT] button and choose your editing software from the drop down menu.
In the Ship menu, you can also choose to apply an AI Preset while you ship so your images appear in Lightroom Classic or CC pre-edited for you to add the finishing touches.
If you're a photographer who hasn't yet defined your unique style, Artist AI Presets might be a great option for you. You don't need a big portfolio or years of experience to get professional-grade edits in just minutes.
If you have your own editing style and a portfolio of at least 1,500 consistently edited images, you can train a Personal AI Preset now that can instantly apply your unique editing style to the images you ship from Narrative to Lightroom. Any corrections you make in Lightroom are automatically gathered and added back into your Personal AI Preset so it learns from you with every shoot.
