This is the second section of a multi-part tutorial devoted to digital workflow which, over the coming months, will build into a comprehensive resource detailing a variety of topics: from capture to output to storage.
In this section we will discuss three main topics: choosing a workflow model; Importing, categorising and organising your images; and selecting which images to work with.
Sorry to be picky. Should "while items two, three and four", actually be "while items three, four and five". :-) PS: Please delete this comment after you've decided what to do.
Well spotted Rich - I've changed it. And if anyone else spots any typos, please let me know.
comment by Martin at 10:22 PM on 8 April, 2008
Many thanks David. The last page of this tutorial was extraordinary interesting. I just love these before/after pictures with explanations on how to find the potential in your images.
On page 1 there´s a "what" that should be "want", search for "what I what".
Martin: thanks, I've corrected that one too. As for the 'before and after' shots' - this is something that clearly interests a lot of people so I'm currently thinking about ways of integrating more of these into the tutorials.
How do you organize and store 'finished' images? I am assuming you would have different variations of finished images that would be save as PSD files; and flattened reduced JPG files for the web. Do you save them in a separate folder, or keep them with the original RAW files?
My strategy is to store the final or in progress photoshop files in a folder called 'PSD' and the web ready images in a folder called 'WEB'. both these folders are located withing the folder for that particular shoot. it seems to be working for me now, but i would like to know your method to see if i can improve on this.
Trystan: it depends. For the stuff I post on the blog, each folder contains the original RAW file, the high res' PSD file and the web-ready graphics. For other projects - e.g. an event or wedding - I will have a main project folder within which I'll have other folders for RAW files, high res' JPEGs or TIFs for the client and so on.
comment by Paul at 12:14 AM on 5 July, 2008
I agree totally with Martin's comment about page 3! That's exactly what I was waiting for, from initially flawed images to beautiful final images, being aware of their potential at the shooting moment!
Until recently (with the arrival of CS2 and Bridge) I just used to only use folders but sorting is now becoming easier with labels and rankings.
Talking about good habits, I have learnt one important lesson along the way (prior to the use of RAW files which stay as an original) - i.e. I now keep all non RAW original shots 'as is'/unmodified in a folder separate from any that are modified. As my knowledge has improved I can go back an rework the originals instead of reworking poorly adjusted files. I have stated nothing but commonsense I know but thank goodness for scanners - I can at least rescan my original old photos if need be.
Thanks again
comment by Marc at 03:46 PM on 3 January, 2010
Hi Dave,
What's your opinion about converting CR2 + XMP files into one DNG file?
Just wondering, as I've seen a lot of worklow models based on this type of conversion.
The Digital Negative file format makes sure one cannot lose metadata, while still have all RAW info.
Marc: as a long-term strategy I think that converting your RAW files into DNG files makes a lot of sense. Currently though, as Adobe's DNG converter will read all of my RAW files, I haven't converted mine yet. At the point at which compatibility becomes an issue, I'll start working through them.
This is the second section of a multi-part tutorial devoted to digital workflow which, over the coming months, will build into a comprehensive resource detailing a variety of topics: from capture to output to storage.
In this section we will discuss three main topics: choosing a workflow model; Importing, categorising and organising your images; and selecting which images to work with.
READ MORE ABOUT OUR DIGITAL WORKFLOW SERIES HERE
Sorry to be picky. Should "while items two, three and four", actually be "while items three, four and five". :-) PS: Please delete this comment after you've decided what to do.
Well spotted Rich - I've changed it. And if anyone else spots any typos, please let me know.
Many thanks David. The last page of this tutorial was extraordinary interesting. I just love these before/after pictures with explanations on how to find the potential in your images.
On page 1 there´s a "what" that should be "want", search for "what I what".
Martin: thanks, I've corrected that one too. As for the 'before and after' shots' - this is something that clearly interests a lot of people so I'm currently thinking about ways of integrating more of these into the tutorials.
How do you organize and store 'finished' images? I am assuming you would have different variations of finished images that would be save as PSD files; and flattened reduced JPG files for the web. Do you save them in a separate folder, or keep them with the original RAW files?
My strategy is to store the final or in progress photoshop files in a folder called 'PSD' and the web ready images in a folder called 'WEB'. both these folders are located withing the folder for that particular shoot. it seems to be working for me now, but i would like to know your method to see if i can improve on this.
many thanks for the tutorials.
Trystan: it depends. For the stuff I post on the blog, each folder contains the original RAW file, the high res' PSD file and the web-ready graphics. For other projects - e.g. an event or wedding - I will have a main project folder within which I'll have other folders for RAW files, high res' JPEGs or TIFs for the client and so on.
I agree totally with Martin's comment about page 3! That's exactly what I was waiting for, from initially flawed images to beautiful final images, being aware of their potential at the shooting moment!
Thanks for all these wonderful tutorials!
Paul: you're welcome.
Hi Dave
Until recently (with the arrival of CS2 and Bridge) I just used to only use folders but sorting is now becoming easier with labels and rankings.
Talking about good habits, I have learnt one important lesson along the way (prior to the use of RAW files which stay as an original) - i.e. I now keep all non RAW original shots 'as is'/unmodified in a folder separate from any that are modified. As my knowledge has improved I can go back an rework the originals instead of reworking poorly adjusted files. I have stated nothing but commonsense I know but thank goodness for scanners - I can at least rescan my original old photos if need be.
Thanks again
Hi Dave,
What's your opinion about converting CR2 + XMP files into one DNG file?
Just wondering, as I've seen a lot of worklow models based on this type of conversion.
The Digital Negative file format makes sure one cannot lose metadata, while still have all RAW info.
Marc: as a long-term strategy I think that converting your RAW files into DNG files makes a lot of sense. Currently though, as Adobe's DNG converter will read all of my RAW files, I haven't converted mine yet. At the point at which compatibility becomes an issue, I'll start working through them.