New tools that speed along the editing process are always welcome. This is especially true when the number of photographs from a session feels overwhelming. Have you had one of those sessions? You import the photos into your workflow and smile at the wide selection to work with. Then you do the mental arithmetic for editing time. Right about then is when the panic sets in.

The opportunity arose to take a look at Evoto and the first thing I thought of were my under-disciplined sessions that resulted in hundreds of pictures. I generally don’t work in bulk — mostly because I’m kind of a perfectionist when editing. At 10 to 20 minutes per image, the effort just doesn’t scale. Evoto offers some pretty clear value in this situation, especially when the option is hiring out the editing work.

Let’s dive in

Several of Evoto’s tools are helpful immediately. I looked most closely at the portrait retouching and backdrop touchup features.

Clean solid backdrop

While working on this session with Corey, I discovered a series of wrinkles and creases in my favorite backdrop. Removing that defect from all of them would take hours. Evoto fixed it with a button click. Look closely at the left side of the “before” image and around the backdrop in general. One drawback is the shadows under my model are less distinct in the “after” image. I’m happy with the result especially since the edit can be applied in bulk.

Portrait retouching

Evoto’s retouching suite is very good and the real value-add is you can apply the edit to a selection of photos. Zayla in the above sample has stunning features and had fairly bumpy skin during this session. The skin smoothing necessary to produce hundreds or even tens of portraits couldn’t be finished in a reasonable timeframe. Evoto finished a set of photos from this session in minutes.

Very good but not magic

In my opinion, Evoto can be a welcome addition to an existing workflow although it probably should not replace your workflow. My initial evaluation started by importing RAW and DNG files. I quickly found that other tools are better for RAW formats.

Workflow suggestions

• Do your basic edits like color correction, crop, and rotate in Lightroom, then export as full-sized TIF.
• Import the TIF files into a project in Evoto for a solid starting point.
• Export the results as TIF and import back into Lightroom.

Polite criticism

• Pricing makes sense for bulk portrait photographers. The price you pay is directly related to the number of unique edits that you export. That’s not a criticism but it is the proverbial elephant in the room.
• The gender detection feature doesn’t seem to add value.
  • Some tools are just hidden when Evoto decides the subject is male.
  • In one test image, Evoto incorrectly determined that a hand was a female face.
• Body shape tools are helpful and can introduce problems when applied in bulk
  • Let’s take a look at this set of photos of Alexis. Slimming her shoulder made sense because of her pose relative to the lens angle. This works well for individual photos but not when applied to a selection. A slight change of pose results in some strange looking distortions when the same edit is applied.
  • I wish the these tools wouldn’t distort background elements. The edit is blatantly obvious in both examples. Use with care.

This photographer’s summary

Evoto is a powerful tool. The pricing makes it most appropriate for bulk portrait photographers and offers a clear advantage compared to hiring a retoucher. Having said that, it probably doesn’t make much sense for enthusiasts.