Changing the workflow

Over the years a photographer evolves a personal workflow that increases productivity and optimizes efficiency. You get to know your tools and gear, every button and every quirk. So you know your stuff.
This is the point that I reached some time ago. I know certain processes to create a specific look in a photo, the strength and flaws of my camera and the tools in postproduction.

If you get comfortable with your workflow, it may lead to a repeating process with an almost repeating product. This is necessarily a bad thing, since the process is highly efficient. Like in many areas, photography means learning new things and ways to achieve a new level. My experience has shown that breaking your comfort zone is the most ambitious way.
So I began to modify certain aspects of my workflow. Last year I altered my gear and in last couple of weeks a changed my postproduction tools.
A big change in post is definitely to most challenging. It takes time learn shortcuts, the behavior and create a new workflow around those tools. It costed me quite an effort to do it, since most of your well known processes are broken.
But it pays off. I see new possibilities for new creative work and motivates me to try even more new ways.

During this change I made a shoot with the incredibly talented Sarah Est. Since most of my workflow was and is still broken, it was difficult to produce the same level everyone is expecting from me. Therefore I had to be even more precise in postproduction to be successful. In short: Sarah is happy with the final images and so am I.