Workflow – my way

Let me clarify that I’m only talking about digital working.  Let me also add that it isn’t the right way but my way – to my mind anyone’s workflow will be dependant upon

• Hardware – camera, monitor, printer,
• Software – camera software, image manipulation software
• Knowledge – each of us has a level of knowledge that we tend to enhance when we can or when we can be bothered.
• Output – what is the purpose of our photograph, i.e. workflow will probably be different depending on what you want to do with the photograph and why you took it in the first place.

Let me reiterate, this is what I do, it is based on the list above.

• I only shoot in RAW (in my case with a Canon flavour)
• I do minimal pruning during the shoot (whatever that is).  I am not trigger happy and only ever use a 2Gbit/s card in my camera.  If I’m on my hols/vacation I usually take my Epson viewer/drive thing and download to that.
• (I always have a spare 1 G/bit card that lives in my camera back – you only have to arrive at site once and find you’ve left your usual card back in the pc to appreciate the value of this!)
• I use the histogram facility of my camera, I recommend anyone to do the same if they have it.  I ‘chimp’ (what they seem to call the take shot look at the back routine many DSLR users adopt) – but only a quick look at the histogram and only when I’m changing view/location and there potential light changes.
• I shoot on the lowest ISO I can.  If I use a tripod this is invariably ISO 100.
• I have recently started to shoot for the right of the histogram.
• I do not routinely use negative compensation – I use the histogram
• My camera is set for Adobe RGB with no sharpening.
• Most of my shooting is done with Aperture priority

Back at base

• I make a cup of tea – coffee comes once a day at 11 o’clock if I’m at home.
• I download all my RAW files to a ‘Transferfrom’ folder (or subfolder, depending upon how much time I have been able to spend doing the post shoot work).
• I use a CALIBRATED monitor (I use a Spyder 3, but there are other tools for the job.
• I will then run through all the RAW files, either with Bridge or FastStone or File Manager (I’ve downloaded a driver from Canon that makes it possible to view RAW files in FileManager though this only really works for unedited RAW files).  Files that are obviously flawed – blurred, camera shake get deleted without a second thought – no point in keeping them.  I then run through again and weed out all the ones where the exposure is such that whites are burnt out where white is not specular highlights. pooof Gone.
• Of course, what I’m left with are all brilliant images, classics, masterpieces and each one needs care and attention.  Yeah right! 😉
• I go through each of the RAW shots I have left making adjustments for exposure, colour temperature, brightness, cropping and ‘straightness’ (vertical or horizontal) and open it into Photoshop
• In photoshop I then use Curves, Levels (seldom as this was sorted in the RAW conversion process), drop it to B&W (a number of ways available). I nearly always use Layers.
• Size it –
  • this may mean using Save for Web if it’s for use here or another website (Powerpoint presentations too)
  • Checking DPI/PPI and physical size of canvas
• Save it as a PSD (I used to use .tif but seems no point in my current workflow) to using the same file name as the RAW serial number of the shot.  I’ve been round the numbers already but it’s easy enough to find which duplicate number I want.
• Intially I file it in the same folder as the RAW file (TransferFrom).
• When I’ve finished the folder, I refile everything to the right folder.  My folders have generic headings like ‘Architecture, Landscape, etc. and these have sub folders and even sub sub folders.
• Holiday/vacation pics I usually keep seperate in their own set of subfolders based on dates/year/location.

Sharpening?  I hear you ask.  Before I print, I sharpen.  I don’t always sharpen for the web.

 

——Stephen——