I’ve processed over 10,000 product shots, and I automated my way through most of them.

That’s not a brag — it’s a survival story. Years ago, I spent an entire day doing the same crop-and-resize operation 200 times in a row. By the end of it, I swore I’d learn scripting before I ever let that happen again. I built my first Photoshop action at 26 and haven’t manually repeated a task since.

I’m Marcus, 41, based in Chicago. Born and raised on the South Side. My first camera was my uncle’s old Nikon, and I’ve been obsessed with getting the most out of every image ever since. I studied visual communications in college, got certified as an Adobe expert, and spent 15 years working in commercial photography studios before starting my own post-production consultancy. My clients include ad agencies and e-commerce brands who need things done fast and done right.

I keep a spreadsheet tracking how many hours my Photoshop actions have saved me — currently at 2,400 and counting. I color-code everything. I have backup drives for my backup drives. If something takes more than 3 clicks, I will find a way to automate it. Once, I processed 500 product shots in a single afternoon using a batch system I’d built over a weekend. That’s the kind of efficiency I write about here at PSD Tool.

I’m co-parenting two kids, ages 10 and 13. They think my job is boring until I show them a before-and-after of a car ad composite — then suddenly I’m interesting for about five minutes. They’re both starting to pick up cameras themselves, which is both exciting and a little terrifying for my hard drive space.

I write about workflow, automation, and getting more done in less time. If you value efficiency as much as I do, stick around.

Want to get in touch? Drop me a line at marcus@psdtool.com.