How to Edit Travel Photos Faster (and Actually Enjoy It)

Someone on Reddit asked, “How do you keep the editing process fast and fun after a big trip?” It’s a great question, and one I’ve struggled with myself.

Why travel photos pile up unedited

I usually take multi-week trips, so I come home with thousands of photos. When I first got into photography, I didn’t look at my photos on a computer until I was back home. Then I’d need a few days to rest and catch up. After that, daily life took over, and I could only edit on nights and weekends. If something came up and I skipped a few days, I’d often stop altogether, and the photos would sit unprocessed for months.

Two habits fixed that for me.

1. Build excitement before the trip

I’m much more likely to process photos I’m excited about. That’s true outside of trips too. When I photograph urban landscapes in a snowstorm and the snow looks great at a new location, I can’t wait to see the images on screen.

So before a trip, I research specific photo opportunities and locations. When I shoot them, I’m more eager to edit the results, and I get through them faster.

2. Don’t wait: start editing during the trip

On multi-week trips, I bring my laptop. Every night I import that day’s photos into Lightroom Classic, which doubles as a backup. Then I start picking winners right there in the hotel. I choose 50 from every 100 photos, and it takes less than 20 minutes.

If I keep this up, I’ve already picked winners from half my photos by the time I head home. That’s a huge head start, and finishing the rest feels much more achievable.

Keep the excitement going

There’s a small window when I’m excited about the unprocessed photos on my computer. Both habits keep me inside that window, and that’s what keeps my photo editing fast.