Since joining UKNP and reading all the treads past and present I have a funny feeling that I do things diferently to most others. I get the impression that most take the original image file run through the nessesery processing and then save a copy, from this processed copy you then produce your web images if so required.
I have my originals saved on my external, if I want a web image I work on it specifically for the web and save that. Then if I need one for print I'll start again from scratch off the original and then save it.
I guess there isnt a right or wrong but I would be interested to hear how people do things and why.
Hi Raff,
My workflow, fi you could call it that, is to import all the images off my card or laptop into Aperture. I will assign keywords at this stage.
I will then go through all the shots, weeding out only the ones that are very obviously oof or worse. During this stage I will mark the very best ones as 5* and the ones I can only part use as 1*.
When I convert any shot from RAW in Aperture it is saved as a version of the original, so I may have a shot converted as a 16bit tiff for printing with versions for the web too, but all have had the same wb adjustment, exposure adjustment and shadow highlight adjustment done to them in Aperture, this way if I post a shot on my website and I get an order for it as a print then it is just a matter of pulling the larger file from Aperture and not having to worry about getting the colour/exposure etc to match the one on the website. A big + in this way of working is that my hard disks are not choked with various versions of the same shot, instead the versions are stored as scripts in Aperture and take up signifigantly less space than picture files.
All this may sound complicated but it is actually a lot easier to do than to explain.
1) Create a new folder in my main Raw Files folder which is situated on my D Drive.
I name the new folder using date.Raw_Brief subject title
i.e. 2007.01.30.Raw_Roe deer,Birds at hide,frost patterns
2) Using Breezebrowser Pro I copy all images off the compact flash card into the above,
newly created folder.
3) Open a few random images to check they've successfully copied over to PC.
4) Take CF card out and format it in camera ready for the next outing.
5) Using Breezebrowser Pro I batch rename the files in the following way: My
initials_Camera model_Date (image was taken)_four digit sequential number.file type
i.e. JC_5D_300107_0001.CR2
6) I then browse through the images using Breezebrowser Pro and delete any obvious
bad shots.I perform a more thorough edit at a later stage,i.e. days, or even weeks later.
7) I generally convert one or two images as and when the fancy takes me.I use Capture One
for this.I either select the folder in Capture One and allow it time to build the thumbnail
profiles (about a second per image).Or,if there are a lot of images in the folder and I want
to get straight down to converting just one or two images,I copy just those specific images
to a folder named Temporary Images.
8) Convert the file into a 16 bit tiff and rename it with the subject title before the rest of the
filename. i.e. Roe Deer_JC_5D_300107_0001_tif,this is automatically saved in a folder
called Work In Progress
9) Open the image in Photoshop and adjust levels,contrast and saturation using
adjustment layers,clone dust spots,etc.
10) Use the Save As function and save the image as a 16bit unflattened PSD file in the same Work In Progress folder.Close the image.
11) Launch Adobe Bridge and browse to my Work In Progress folder where I now have
a tiff and a PSD file.I then delete the tiff file.
The remaining PSD file which is now my master file,stays in the Work In Progress
folder unless the adjustments are complete,in which case I then move it to a sub folder,
called, for instance,mammals,birds,scenics,flowers,etc,etc. this folder resides in a
main folder called Final PSD Master Files.
12) When I fancy making a print,I open the master file,duplicate it,so I have two identical
images on screen.Apply Photoshop's Soft Proof feature to the original image,selecting
whichever paper profile I intend using.Use the second image as a reference to judge how
soft proofing has changed the original and make any necessary adjustments to the
original so it matches the UN-Soft proofed image.
Any adjustments are made using adjustment layers and are grouped in a new layer
group which I name after the paper and rendering intent I intend using,
i.e. Epson Semi Gloss_Perceptual.
13) Close the 'copy' reference image,no need to save it.De-select proof set-up on the original
and save it.
14) Duplicate the image,closing the original for safe keeping,flatten the image,crop (if desired)
Re-size and Sharpen.
15) Print.
16) To create a web image I just copy my master PSD file,convert it
to sRGB colour space,Re-size it and save in a folder called 720 pixel jpeg's
Discussion
3 repliesI have my originals saved on my external, if I want a web image I work on it specifically for the web and save that. Then if I need one for print I'll start again from scratch off the original and then save it.
I guess there isnt a right or wrong but I would be interested to hear how people do things and why.
Many thanks
Raff
My workflow, fi you could call it that, is to import all the images off my card or laptop into Aperture. I will assign keywords at this stage.
I will then go through all the shots, weeding out only the ones that are very obviously oof or worse. During this stage I will mark the very best ones as 5* and the ones I can only part use as 1*.
When I convert any shot from RAW in Aperture it is saved as a version of the original, so I may have a shot converted as a 16bit tiff for printing with versions for the web too, but all have had the same wb adjustment, exposure adjustment and shadow highlight adjustment done to them in Aperture, this way if I post a shot on my website and I get an order for it as a print then it is just a matter of pulling the larger file from Aperture and not having to worry about getting the colour/exposure etc to match the one on the website. A big + in this way of working is that my hard disks are not choked with various versions of the same shot, instead the versions are stored as scripts in Aperture and take up signifigantly less space than picture files.
All this may sound complicated but it is actually a lot easier to do than to explain.
Cheers
This is the technique I use:
1) Create a new folder in my main Raw Files folder which is situated on my D Drive.
I name the new folder using date.Raw_Brief subject title
i.e. 2007.01.30.Raw_Roe deer,Birds at hide,frost patterns
2) Using Breezebrowser Pro I copy all images off the compact flash card into the above,
newly created folder.
3) Open a few random images to check they've successfully copied over to PC.
4) Take CF card out and format it in camera ready for the next outing.
5) Using Breezebrowser Pro I batch rename the files in the following way: My
initials_Camera model_Date (image was taken)_four digit sequential number.file type
i.e. JC_5D_300107_0001.CR2
6) I then browse through the images using Breezebrowser Pro and delete any obvious
bad shots.I perform a more thorough edit at a later stage,i.e. days, or even weeks later.
7) I generally convert one or two images as and when the fancy takes me.I use Capture One
for this.I either select the folder in Capture One and allow it time to build the thumbnail
profiles (about a second per image).Or,if there are a lot of images in the folder and I want
to get straight down to converting just one or two images,I copy just those specific images
to a folder named Temporary Images.
8) Convert the file into a 16 bit tiff and rename it with the subject title before the rest of the
filename. i.e. Roe Deer_JC_5D_300107_0001_tif,this is automatically saved in a folder
called Work In Progress
9) Open the image in Photoshop and adjust levels,contrast and saturation using
adjustment layers,clone dust spots,etc.
10) Use the Save As function and save the image as a 16bit unflattened PSD file in the same Work In Progress folder.Close the image.
11) Launch Adobe Bridge and browse to my Work In Progress folder where I now have
a tiff and a PSD file.I then delete the tiff file.
The remaining PSD file which is now my master file,stays in the Work In Progress
folder unless the adjustments are complete,in which case I then move it to a sub folder,
called, for instance,mammals,birds,scenics,flowers,etc,etc. this folder resides in a
main folder called Final PSD Master Files.
12) When I fancy making a print,I open the master file,duplicate it,so I have two identical
images on screen.Apply Photoshop's Soft Proof feature to the original image,selecting
whichever paper profile I intend using.Use the second image as a reference to judge how
soft proofing has changed the original and make any necessary adjustments to the
original so it matches the UN-Soft proofed image.
Any adjustments are made using adjustment layers and are grouped in a new layer
group which I name after the paper and rendering intent I intend using,
i.e. Epson Semi Gloss_Perceptual.
13) Close the 'copy' reference image,no need to save it.De-select proof set-up on the original
and save it.
14) Duplicate the image,closing the original for safe keeping,flatten the image,crop (if desired)
Re-size and Sharpen.
15) Print.
16) To create a web image I just copy my master PSD file,convert it
to sRGB colour space,Re-size it and save in a folder called
720 pixel jpeg's
Any more contributions would be great.
Cheers
Raff