When I first tried Narrative Select for photo culling, I was impressed with the speed and accuracy of the AI, which quickly helped me cull the best photos from the sessions I uploaded. It has since saved me hours of time that I’d have otherwise lost during the editing process, and it has given me peace of mind knowing that I’m keeping the best of the bunch. It’s a win-win. In fact, I liked it enough to say that while you “can” use the native photo culling tools in Lightroom or other photo culling software on the market, it doesn’t mean you should. Narrative Select is one of those tools that can truly streamline your workflow and significantly reduce the amount of time you spend on photo culling. In my review, however, I missed an important “con,” and it’s because I use a Mac, which was previously the only compatible system for using Narrative Select. Well, I may have missed it, but it’s no longer an issue because Narrative Select has launched for Windows!

The launch of Narrative Select for Windows is great news for a couple reasons. First, if you’ve been wanting to use Narrative Select but couldn’t because you work on a Windows-based system, the wait is over. Secondly, if you’ve never tried Narrative Select, you can get started with Select for free, regardless of the system you use.

Key Features of Narrative Select

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Even those of us who love the art of image editing can appreciate what Narrative Select offers. The process of culling images can prove time-consuming and tedious, as it has more to do with selecting deliverable images and less to do with how we stylize the images through editing. With Narrative Select, you can expect to spend a fraction of the time on culling.

Here’s a quick overview of some of Narrative Select’s Key Features for Culling Images

  • Scenes View: This view groups images into scenes and orders them by either capture time or Assessment rank to help you avoid getting tired and wasting time filtering through variations of the same shot. With Scenes View, you can use Narrative Select’s AI-driven recommendations to identify the best shot(s).
  • Speed: Select is super quick, allowing photographers to review images instantly. On top of that, Narrative has also included several keyboard shortcuts for rating, zooming, changing workspaces, and so on that you can use to further speed up the process.
  • Focus and Eye Assessments: If you’re struggling to see a subject (especially in group shots), Narrative Select’s AI will show the status of a subject’s eye (open or closed) or the focus level of their face with a basic warning indicator (such as yellow or red flags). You’ll still have the final say in case the eyes are meant to be closed in a candid moment, or if the soft focus doesn’t take away from a meaningful moment.
  • Close Up Panel: Instantly see all the faces in an image without having to zoom in and out. This feature allows photographers to make an immediate decision about which photos are keepers, and which ones should be rejected.

The Role of AI Vs. the Photographer

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Narrative Select decided early on that the photographer would maintain control of the wheel, so to speak, when it comes to decision making. The AI assists to make the photo culling process more efficient than ever via the features described above, but the photographer ultimately has the final say on which photos to keep.

Narrative’s CEO & Founder, James Broadbent, shared his thoughts on this taking this photographer-centric approach to using AI for the culling process: “Our driving force is to develop an AI tool that is crafted to assist photographers in their workflow as opposed to automate their output. We firmly believe that AI should empower photographers to become the best versions of themselves.”

System Requirements

Here are the suggested minimum requirements for running Narrative Select. Please note that the app will work for everyone on Windows 8, even if your computer doesn’t meet the ram, cpu, or gpu aspects.

  • Aspect Stat
  • Operating system: Windows 8
  • CPU: More than 4 cores or 2ghz
  • Ram: 8gb
  • GPU: 2gb of vRam
  • Direct X 12 support

Try Narrative Select for Free

Select is the fastest-growing AI culling tool and processes at a rate of over a billion images per year, and for good reason. Now that you have some idea of how Narrative Select can help you with photo culling, give it a try it for free and see firsthand what a game changer this app really is.