Cull before you import into Lightroom

Lightroom Classic details from Adobe’s announcements, October 2026.

Lightroom is where a lot of photographers edit, and Cullstack is not trying to replace it. But Lightroom works on photos in its catalog, so a shoot usually goes in first, all of it, before you start sorting. Cullstack lets you do the sorting first, right where the photos are, and bring only the keepers into Lightroom.

Why cull first

• A smaller, cleaner catalog. Hundreds of rejects never enter it, never get previews built and never need deleting later.
• Cull where the shoot is. On the card, an external drive, a NAS share, or (with Pro) a server over SFTP or WebDAV and cloud folders, without copying everything to your computer first.
• Speed for the first pass. Full-screen culling with the arrow keys, 1 to 5 for stars, P to pick, X to reject, and the next photo already on screen.
• Help from on-device AI (Pro): closed eyes and blur flagged, bursts and near-identical frames stacked with the best one on top. You still decide, and no photo is uploaded.

The workflow

1. Open the shoot in Cullstack, wherever it is.
2. Cull. Rate, pick and reject in full screen.
3. Filter to your picks and copy them where your Lightroom photos live, or leave them in place.
4. Import into Lightroom. Your first pass comes along. For RAW files, Cullstack writes ratings and keywords to a standard XMP sidecar next to each photo, which Lightroom reads on import. Lightroom reads JPEG ratings only from inside the file, so for JPEGs switch on Write ratings into original JPEGs (for Lightroom) in Settings › Files.

What about Lightroom’s Assisted Culling?

Lightroom Classic now includes Assisted Culling, which scores focus, eye focus and open eyes, at import or on photos already in the catalog. Adobe says it is currently tuned for photos of people. If your whole workflow lives in Lightroom and that is enough for you, use it. Cullstack is for the step before: when the shoot is still on a card, a drive or a NAS, when you want to look through it at full speed yourself, or when you would rather not import the rejects at all.

Also without Lightroom

Lightroom is only sold as an Adobe subscription, so you pay for as long as you use it. If you use it mostly to sort and organize rather than to edit, Cullstack does that on its own for a one-time price: browse, cull, keyword and organize photos and videos across all your storage, on Mac, Windows and Linux, with a free tier.

Try it on your next shoot

Cull your next shoot in Cullstack before you import it. The free tier never expires, and the 30-day trial unlocks everything, with no credit card.

See also: Cullstack as a Photo Mechanic alternative · An Aftershoot alternative without a subscription · Cull photos on your NAS.

Download Cullstack   See pricing

Lightroom and Lightroom Classic are trademarks of Adobe. Cullstack is not affiliated with Adobe. Lightroom features change often; check Adobe’s documentation for the current state.