Manual · Chapter 5
Culling
Culling helps you record a clear selection decision while reviewing photos. ViolaScope provides the three states Pick, Hold and Reject without automatically deleting any image.
What culling is for
Culling is the process of deciding which photos should remain part of your preferred selection and which images should be set aside.
This is especially useful when working through larger photo collections or sequences containing several similar frames.
ViolaScope records the decision as project information so that you can continue reviewing, filtering and exporting the collection later.
The three culling states
ViolaScope provides three culling states:
- Pick – a photo you want to keep in the preferred selection
- Hold – a photo for which you do not want to make a final decision yet
- Reject – a photo you want to mark as rejected
These states allow you to record a clear decision without having to delete or move the underlying image during the review process.
Pick
Use Pick for a photo that you want to keep as part of your preferred selection.
A Pick can still have any star rating, favorite state, color label or tags.
The culling state therefore does not replace the other organizational tools.
Hold
Use Hold when you do not yet want to make a final keep-or-reject decision.
This can be useful when two photos are very similar, when you want to compare them later or when you simply need another review pass before deciding.
Hold provides a neutral intermediate state between Pick and Reject.
Reject
Use Reject for a photo that you have decided not to include in your preferred selection.
Reject is a review state. It does not delete the image.
The photo remains part of the project and can still be displayed, reviewed again, rated or assigned another culling state later.
Reject does not mean delete
Marking a photo as Reject is deliberately separate from destructive file operations.
This means that you can make fast decisions during culling without risking the immediate loss of an original photo.
If you change your mind later, the culling state can be changed without having to restore the image from a backup.
Culling and star ratings are independent
A culling state and a star rating describe different aspects of your review.
For example, a photo can be marked as Pick and also receive a 5-star rating.
Another photo could temporarily be set to Hold while already having a star rating assigned to it.
Changing the culling state does not automatically change the star rating.
Culling and other organization tools
Culling also remains independent of favorites, color labels and tags.
A photo can therefore combine several organizational properties at the same time.
For example, a photo could be:
- marked as Pick
- rated 4 stars
- marked as a favorite
- assigned a blue color label
- assigned one or more tags
Each property can later be used according to its own purpose in your workflow.
Apply culling states while reviewing
Pick, Hold and Reject can be assigned while you are reviewing photos in the main workspace.
This allows you to move continuously through the collection and record decisions as you inspect each photo.
Culling states can also be applied to the current selection when several photos are selected.
Use culling in comparison view
Comparison view is particularly useful when a culling decision depends on small differences between two similar photos.
You can inspect both images side by side and then assign the appropriate culling decision without leaving the comparison workflow.
Filter by culling state
Culling states can be used as filter criteria.
This allows you to display only photos with a particular culling state, such as Picks or Rejects.
Filtering affects only the visible photo set. It does not change the culling states themselves and does not remove photos from the project.
Culling and export
Culling decisions can also affect the export workflow.
Rejects can be excluded from the regular export or, when requested, exported separately.
When Rejects are included in an export, ViolaScope can keep them separated from the regular exported selection.
The Export chapter explains the available export behavior in more detail.
Example culling workflow
A simple culling process could look like this:
- Review the complete photo set.
- Mark clear keepers as Pick.
- Mark uncertain photos as Hold.
- Mark unwanted photos as Reject.
- Filter the project to review the Hold photos again.
- Compare difficult candidates side by side.
- Change the remaining Hold states to Pick or Reject when you are ready.
This keeps the decision process reversible while the review is still in progress.
Next step
Culling records selection decisions. Tags and filters provide another layer for organizing and narrowing the visible photo set.
The next chapter explains how to work with tags and filters in ViolaScope.