An introduction to our ‘Creative workflow’ tutorials

"Great video David explained in the usual straight forward and well thought out way, I am not sure why but I thought the adjustments would be more complex than they were, which is a surprise. "

Simon Jenkins

"A wonderful and very helpful V tutorial David. I am really glad I subscribed for the life membership. I wish though that all of them were vidoes as they are much easier to understand."

Pavan Kaul

"You guys totally rock! I just ordered the new iPad2 and plan on viewing your tutorials on it while working with my images on the computer. No more Ctrl+ Tab between screens, lol. :) Thank you so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge. All the formats you provide are excellent."

Holly

"Very helpful tutorial. It really taught me about putting mood into my photographs. Thanks alot!"

James B.

"Love the video feature. Must be my right brain tendency and visual preference that makes video explanations an easier manner for me to learn. So much more dynamic than reading and re-reading until it sinks into my addled mind. Despite the sub-freezing temperatures along the Connecticut coast, I'm off to the shore tomorrow morning to capture images to which I can apply this technique. Good chance to try out my new Miller Mitts too, :-)"

Ron Landis

"Excellent, really enjoyed this one probably the most so far, have never used the guide on the horizons in that way and the toning of the top part of the sky was a great tip for a problem I often come across. Full Marks for this ;)"

Simon Jenkins

"Thanks so much for this tutorial, I think I learnt more from it than from any of your previous tutorials. The way in which you prepared the curves layers made a real breakthrough for me. Thank you"

Florian

"Excellent. I learn so much better by watching the video and listening to the thought process. I think all your tutorial should be video based. My favorite so far!"

Jim Miller

"David. Another excellent tutorial on the "why" rather than the "how". In my view, this is the hardest bit - the "art" rather than the "engineering" - probably because I've spent my life to date in engineering, with the frustrated artist trying to get out. I love the commentary "sloppy photography" and, for what it's worth, agree entirely - if the end result is what you envisaged and it is pleasing and rewarding to yourself and others then you have achieved the goal of the art that is photography. If we waited for the perfect conditions or until we got the perfect location to get out there and press the shutter, then we would be missing so many opportunities - post-processing makes these excuses redundant."

Stephen Brewell

"The debate about 'when does a photograph cease to be a photograph' is as old as those on film vs digital and Canon vs Nikon. Surely, photography is an art form and as such, post processing is acceptable and good luck to those, like David, who have the skills to maximise PS's potential. I believe that. as long as the photographer/artist is honest about what they have done to create the end result, we can all decide for ourselves whether we like it.

We are not all professionals who can spend days in the field waiting for the right light. Sometimes, we have to make the best of the light we have at a given location. I enjoy my photography as a hobby and if I can create a pleasant scene using PS then I will."

Trevor Hughes

"Really good discussion David and I think you did a great job with this shot, the final toning of the image I think makes all the difference in giving it real impact and the processes are explained simply and easily.

And I think you argued your point brilliantly with regard to Ed's initial comments. When are the conditions all perfect at the same time for the perfect shot ? Very few times that's for sure, but you've shown us that by taking the best 'technically' available shot you can at the time, you've got the ability to try and reproduce what you envisioned at the time, even if the conditions weren't great."

Justin Photis

"Excellent tutorial and great explanation of how using something like Photoshop is part of the entire 'development' process of going from image capture to final realization. Photographers for years have influenced the final look of their images, choosing a particular camera and lens, choosing a particular film and processing and finally affecting the printing through various darkroom techniques. The use of Photoshop in this process is no different, but arguably easier."

James Howe

"Another clear and easy to follow tutorial from you David, thanks very much. You lay out what the initial considerations should be and then walk us through how we should attack each stage to improve the end result. You continue to make it sound really simple, and in fact, the steps you've gone through ARE simple, which is why they're so much fun to follow. I think you're cheating though. Your starting point is always much better than mine ! :) I love the 'Creative Workflow' series, keem them coming please."

Justin Photis

"Thanks for yet another fine tutorial. The interweb would be a better place if more photography tutorials were of this quality, both in terms of the content and the presentation."

Adrian Park

"Thank you for a great tutorial. This has really helped me with thinking creative workflow to an end goal/message rather than focusing on individual mechanical steps."

Jean Eichenlaub

"Another great tutorial David, thank you."

Jason Christie

"Once again you clearly lay out the, relatively, simple steps towards achieving the final result. There are plenty of links to previous tutorials where you've highlighted the technique you were using and the final image looks fantastic and really achieves what you set out to get.

The difference between the teacher and the students, is that clear vision you have about what you want to achieve in your final image & you've got that technical know-how to get there.

Great as always."

Justin Photis

"Thank you for the latest tutorial, it was very informative. The words in your final paragraph really made me think and it sounds so simple but I find that I struggle to convey what I want an image to say and in the process I get frustrated. This lack of clear vision in turn means I keep working an image until its a mess and I finally give up due to the frustration. This is one of the reasons why I have gigabytes of images on disk and none framed and hanging on my walls. One day maybe it will click into place..."

Jason

"Terrific tutorial. I really appreciate hearing not only the what, but the why behind your approach.

Thanks!"

Steve

"Great!"

salvatore_ at

"I like this, yes the technical information contained is stuff that's been covered before but that's the whole point, you can be told all the technical information and you can understand it, but if you can't think about where you want you picture to end up it'll end up a like like a run-away train. Some of the changes David outlined look miniscule, either with the curves or with some of the cloning out, but when they are put in context with his comments you think, yeah, I get why now."

Justin Photis

"Wonderful tutorial, I couldn't help but think what a nice complement Michael Freeman's book, The Photographer's Eye would make to this particular tutorial. If you had a section on suggested reading I highly recommend it as it explains color theory very well and in a major way reinforces what you are teaching. (the section of moving your eye through the image is there as well."

Tim Valloces

"Another outstanding tutorial David. It's really well written and helped me already to understand some of the thought processes that go into producing such superb images."

Roger

"This has been worth waiting for. Like many people, I can follow the step by step process with sample pictures and understand the techniques involved. I then open one of my own and wonder what I should do first, adding curves and other layers at random without really understanding what I want to achieve."

Steve