The Two Year Journey to Build Power Keys

Power Keys officially launched to the world in November 2022. As of May 2024, Power Keys has an impressive core feature set that covers the needs of even the most demanding users, this includes:

• The ability to control sliders with keyboard shortcuts

• The ability to personalize keyboard shortcuts

• The ability to apply develop presets with shortcuts

Don't worry though, we aren't done yet!

We have several exciting features on our development roadmap. That being said, this seems like a good time to recap the journey up to this point.

Edit Fast, Make More Money

We started our editing business in 2019. Since we charge per image edited, I tried everything I could to increase our editing speed (Shuttle Pro v2, Motibodo, VSCO Keys, etc.) Unfortunately, VSCO Keys and Motibodo were no longer actively supported at that point. And, Shuttle Pro v2 is simply a device that allows users to assign shortcuts to the buttons on their device (no ability to control develop sliders).

But — after trying these solutions I knew using the keyboard to control develop sliders was essential for editing quickly in Lightroom Classic. Dustin, the creator of The Archetype Process, recommended using an application called Pfixer. This was a game-changer for me and my team. Our editing speed went from under 100 images per hour to close to 200 per hour. Finally, I found a solution that did exactly what we needed and didn't require any extra hardware. Pfixer became a critical part of our workflow — it allowed us to increase our speed, earn more money per hour, and maintain our quality.

Things Started Breaking

Pfixer was released in 2013. By the time we started using it in 2019, the software was six years old and it was starting to show its age. While Ben, the developer, had released small updates throughout the years based on changes to macOS and Lightroom Classic, updates essentially stopped shortly after we purchased the software. In late 2021, an update to macOS and Lightroom Classic really started to break Pfixer. Keyboard shortcuts could not be entered into Pfixer and keyboard shortcuts couldn't be changed. I found a workaround but it was quite complicated.

I reached out to Pfixer's support but unfortunately, did not receive a response. It was apparent that Pfixer was no longer being supported. This is when I got nervous… If a macOS or Lightroom Classic update broke PFixer, our editing speed would plummet putting our household income at risk.

Let's Build It

At the end of 2021, I knew in 2022 we would need to figure out an alternative solution to Pfixer. The problem was, that there was not a viable alternative. That's when I decided we needed to build a solution to use in our editing business — I couldn't risk not doing it.

In early 2022 (during our slow season) I started reaching out to software developers to explore the feasibility of building an MVP (minimum viable product) to use in our business. The core functionality that we relied on was controlling the basic panel's sliders with our keyboard. I knew if we had that functionality, we could get by in our editing business. I interviewed several software developers and ultimately after several false starts, I decided on a developer who was familiar with macOS development and had worked with Lightroom Classic in the past. We were ready to start building. About a month later, the developer indicated they could no longer work on the project due to personal reasons. This was the first of many setbacks.

Picking it Back Up

During a vacation in July of 2022, I decided to start interviewing new software developers. I know, I don't know how to enjoy downtime. 😂 After interviewing several software developers again, I found a college student majoring in computer science who had extensive knowledge of macOS and some of the core technology required to build the functionality we needed. He was scrappy and did a great job building an MVP that satisfied the core functionality that we needed for our business. Finally, I no longer had to worry about our business suffering if Pfixer stopped working completely. Problem solved.

Let's Build For Everyone with a Better Model

I knew that others relied on Pfixer just like I did to edit faster in Lightroom Classic. This is when I decided we needed to build Power Keys for everyone, not just us. I knew from the start that I wanted to build a sustainable software solution that would be around for as long as the need was there in the market. I knew Power Keys had to be subscription-based. This would allow the revenue from subscriptions to pay for the development of new features and maintenance so that no user ever had to worry about a macOS update or Lightroom Classic update breaking the software. Power Keys isn't reliant on one person's willingness to support it even after it is no longer financially viable.

Creating software for the general public is much more complex compared to building software for internal usage for a small team. I worked with the software developer over the next few months to get to version 1.0 of Power Keys, this was a basic version that allowed users to adjust develop sliders (by predetermined amounts) with keyboard shortcuts. It was simple but as of November 2022, it was finally released and available for others to use.

Features, Features, Features

I knew I wanted Power Keys to have feature parity with Pfixer. This included being able to remap keyboard shortcuts and assign keyboard shortcuts to develop presets. I was ready to start adding features but I ran into an issue. Our software developer (who was a college student) was not able to continue working on the project. He needed to spend his time focused on his college studies — can't blame him for that.

The hunt was on for another software developer. Ultimately, I found another developer to start working on the next feature set — shortcuts. We worked together over the next few months to build the functionality for users and released a series of updates throughout the spring of 2023. Now Power Keys could control slider adjustments and personalize shortcuts. The software was becoming more powerful but I knew there was still more I wanted to do.

Better Than Pfixer

I didn't just want to create a Pfixer replacement, I wanted to create a better version of Pfixer. One feature that Pfixer didn't have was the ability to set custom increment changes for slider adjustments. If a user wanted the contrast slider to change by anything other than 10 per key press, it simply wasn't possible. While not everyone needed this feature, I knew many users would appreciate it. I started working with our new software developer to build exactly that. We worked on it over the summer and into the fall of 2023. For various reasons, the new software developer was not able to deliver the desired feature set and we had to part ways. Another setback.

The Best Version of Power Keys

This led me to search once again for a new software developer. Luckily, I found an incredible senior-level software developer who was capable and excited to take on the project. We spent the next six months working together to rebuild Power Keys from the ground up to guarantee optimal performance and stability. This was time-consuming and expensive but I decided to invest the resources into creating a flawless codebase.

Now that the codebase was refactored and ready to scale, we started adding features. Earlier this year, we added the ability to create custom increment changes as well as several new shortcuts (such as the ability to remap the Enter key). Then we got to work on the most requested feature, the ability to assign keyboard shortcuts to develop presets.

To make this work, we had to develop a new method for Power Keys to interface with Lightroom Classic. This, of course, required extensive software development but once built, it opened up a world of capabilities for Power Keys.

This finally brings us to the latest release of Power Keys, version 3.0. Now users can assign keyboard shortcuts to develop presets, assign shortcuts to aspect ratios, and transform upright buttons. I am very proud of the current version of Power Keys and I genuinely believe that any photographer who edits in Lightroom Classic would benefit greatly by adding it to their workflow.

Soon, we are going to pick back up on development for the next version of Power Keys. We have several new features in the works that I know our users will find helpful.

Are there features you'd like to see in an upcoming version of Power Keys? If so, please let me know. I can be reached via email at hello@getpowerkeys.com.