The Digital Photography Workflow Handbook

Foreword......Page 11
1	Introducing the Digital Photo Workflow......Page 17
1.1	The Basic Digital Photo Workflow......Page 18
1.2	Computer Equipment......Page 19
1.3	What are RAW Files?......Page 21
1.4	JPEG Instead of RAW?......Page 27
1.5.1	Using Histograms as an Exposure Aid......Page 28
1.5.2	Clipping in Individual Color Channels......Page 29
1.5.3	Using White Balance Settings to Produce Optimum Color Quality......Page 30
1.5.5	Choosing the Right ISO Sensitivity Setting......Page 31
1.6	From the Camera to the Computer......Page 32
1.6.1	Downloading and Organizing Your Images......Page 33
1.6.2	Renaming Your Files......Page 35
1.6.3	Backup......Page 36
1.6.4	Handling Your Digital Originals......Page 37
1.7	The Digital Light Box......Page 38
1.8	Adobe Bridge......Page 39
1.8.1	The Bridge “Review” Mode......Page 41
1.9	Metadata......Page 44
1.10	Views......Page 46
1.11	Buzzwords You Should Know......Page 49
2	The Basic Workflow......Page 53
2.2	Phase 1: Shooting......Page 54
2.3.1	Transferring Image Files from a Memory Card to a Computer......Page 59
2.3.3	Image Inspection......Page 60
2.4	Phase 3: Image File Conversion and Optimization......Page 62
2.4.1	Which Steps are Better Performed with a RAW Editor, and Which Using Photoshop?......Page 63
2.5	Phase 4: Output......Page 65
2.6	Phase 5: Digital Asset Management......Page 66
2.7	The Influence of Individual Tools on the Workflow......Page 67
2.8	Increasing Efficiency......Page 69
2.9	Develop Your Own Approach to the Workflow......Page 70
3	Color Management Know-How......Page 73
3.1	Understanding Different Color Models......Page 74
3.2	Understanding Color Management......Page 77
3.2.2	What is a Color Management System?......Page 78
3.2.3	Working Color Spaces......Page 79
3.2.4	Visualizing Color Spaces......Page 81
3.3	Mapping Color Spaces......Page 84
3.3.1	Assigning and Converting Color Profiles......Page 85
3.4	Creating Device Profiles......Page 86
3.4.2	Printer Profiles......Page 87
3.5.1	Hardware-Based Calibration......Page 88
3.6	Photoshop Color Management Settings......Page 92
3.7	Printer Profiles......Page 95
3.8	Installing and Uninstalling Profiles......Page 97
3.9	Soft-Proofing and Gamut Warning......Page 98
3.10	Color Temperature and Hue......Page 100
3.11	Complementary Colors......Page 101
3.12	Working Spaces II......Page 102
4	 Image Processing Basics......Page 105
4.1.1	Simple Image Rotation......Page 106
4.1.2	Image Inspection Using Photoshop......Page 107
4.2	8-bit or 16-bit Color Depth?......Page 108
4.3	Image Size and Resolution......Page 109
4.4	Choosing a File Format......Page 112
4.5	File Information and Logs......Page 115
4.6	Image Alignment......Page 117
4.7.1	Optimizing Tonal Range......Page 119
4.7.2	Flexibility through Curves......Page 121
4.7.3	The Shadows/Highlights Tool......Page 124
4.8	The Art of Sharpening......Page 126
4.8.2	Unsharp Mask......Page 127
4.8.3	Unsharp Mask Filter (USM)......Page 128
4.8.4	Enhanced Sharpening Using Smart Sharpen......Page 129
4.8.5	Additional Sharpening Tools......Page 130
4.9.1	Correct White Balance......Page 131
4.9.2	Making Corrections to Color Temperature......Page 133
4.9.3	Software Filters for Warmer or Cooler Colors......Page 134
4.9.4	Adjustments Using Hue/Saturation......Page 135
4.9.5	Color Adjustments Using Photo Filter......Page 137
4.10	Selection Tools......Page 138
4.10.1	The Marquee Tools......Page 139
4.10.2	The Lasso Tools......Page 140
4.10.5	Selection Using a Color Range......Page 141
4.11	Retouching and Repairing Images......Page 143
4.12	Speed Up Your Workflow with Photoshop Actions......Page 146
4.13	Photoshop’s History Panel......Page 149
4.14	Additional Information and Overviews......Page 150
5	RAW Editing and Conversion......Page 153
5.1	Some Initial Thoughts......Page 154
5.1.2	Integrating RAW Editors/Converters into the Workflow......Page 155
5.1.3	Choosing the Right RAW Converter......Page 157
5.1.4	RAW Conversion Workflow......Page 158
5.2.1	Which Processing Steps are Performed Where?......Page 159
5.2.2	What to Look for When Choosing a RAW Converter......Page 160
5.2.3	Other Features of RAW Converters......Page 165
5.2.4	Other Useful Features......Page 169
5.3	Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)......Page 172
5.3.1	Sample of a Real World ACR Adjustments Workflow......Page 175
5.3.3	Optimizing Dynamic Range......Page 178
5.3.4	Image Optimization Using Tone Curves......Page 180
5.3.5	Selective Tonal Corrections......Page 181
5.3.6	Saving and Discarding Changes......Page 182
5.3.7	An Overview of the ACR Interface......Page 183
5.3.8	ACR Image Adjustments Panel......Page 188
5.3.9	Effects Tab......Page 199
5.3.10	ACR Presets......Page 201
5.3.11	Batch Conversion......Page 204
5.4.1	Capture One Pro......Page 206
5.4.2	DxO Optics Pro......Page 208
5.4.3	RAW Developer......Page 210
5.4.4	Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP)......Page 211
5.4.5	Nikon Capture NX (CNX)......Page 212
5.4.6	Silkypix Developer Studio (SDS)......Page 214
5.4.7	LightZone......Page 215
5.5	Even More RAW Converters......Page 217
6	All-in-One Workflow Tools......Page 221
6.1	What We Expect of an All-in-One Tool......Page 222
6.2	Apple Aperture......Page 224
6.2.1	The Aperture Workflow......Page 227
6.2.2	Editing Photos in Aperture......Page 228
6.2.3	Output......Page 230
6.2.5	Searching and Filtering......Page 232
6.3	Adobe Lightroom......Page 234
6.3.1	The Lightroom Workflow......Page 235
6.3.2	Correcting Images Using Lightroom......Page 238
6.3.3	Lightroom Output Modules......Page 246
6.3.4	Organizing Your Images Using Lightroom......Page 252
6.4	Bibble 5......Page 254
7	Photoshop Layers......Page 261
7.1	Layers Panel......Page 262
7.2	Your First Layer......Page 265
7.2.2	Blending Modes......Page 266
7.3	Using Adjustment Layers......Page 267
7.4	Making Selective Adjustments Using Layer Masks......Page 270
7.4.1	Understanding Layer Masks......Page 272
7.4.2	Paths and Vector Masks......Page 277
7.5	Flattening and Merging Layers......Page 280
7.6	Smart Cropping......Page 281
7.7	Removing Moiré Effects......Page 283
7.8	Auto Color Correction for Better Contrast......Page 284
7.9	Blending Layers Using Layer Styles......Page 286
7.10	Dodge and Burn Using Layers......Page 287
7.11	Loading Image Files into a Stack and Aligning Layers......Page 288
7.12	Smart Objects and Smart Filters......Page 290
7.13.2	Naming Layers......Page 293
7.13.3	Layer Groups......Page 294
7.13.4	Restricting Layer Effects to a Single Lower Layer......Page 295
7.14	Other Aspects of Working with Layers......Page 296
7.16	Selective Adjustment Using U Point Control Points......Page 298
7.17	More Tips for Working with Layers......Page 302
8	Advanced Photoshop Techniques......Page 307
8.1	Correcting Saturation Selectively......Page 308
8.2	Some Tricks for Improving Saturation and Contrast......Page 310
8.3	Correcting Perspective Distortion......Page 313
8.3.1	Simple Perspective Corrections......Page 314
8.3.2	Fine-Tuning Perspective Corrections......Page 315
8.4	Correcting Lens Errors......Page 318
8.4.1	Correcting Distortion......Page 320
8.4.2	Correcting Lens Errors Using Photoshop......Page 321
8.5.1	Using Photoshop Tools......Page 324
8.5.2	Color Correction Using Color Mechanic Pro......Page 325
8.6	Using Masks to Increase Luminance......Page 327
8.7	Correcting Images Using Brush Techniques......Page 331
8.8	Advanced Sharpening Using Photoshop Layers......Page 333
8.8.1	Sharpening Using Enlarged Images......Page 334
8.8.2	Correcting Sharpening Halos......Page 335
8.8.3	Sharpening Edges......Page 336
8.8.4	Uwe's DOP Sharpening Frame Action......Page 338
8.8.5	Sharpening and Defocusing Using the Same Filter......Page 339
8.9	Adding Digital Sunshine to Your Photos......Page 342
8.10	Brush Off Noise......Page 344
8.11	Enhancing Midtone Contrast......Page 347
8.12	Enhancing Local Contrast......Page 350
8.13	Content-Aware Fill......Page 356
8.14	Fine-Tuning After Upsizing or Downsizing Images......Page 357
9	Multishot Techniques......Page 359
9.1.1	Shooting the Image Sequence......Page 360
9.1.2	Image Preprocessing......Page 361
9.2.1	Panorama Shooting Techniques......Page 365
9.2.2	Merging Images Using the Photoshop Photomerge Command......Page 367
9.2.3	Stitching Using Autopano Pro 2......Page 371
9.3.1	Shooting for Focus Stacking Applications......Page 376
9.3.3	Merging Images Using Helicon Focus......Page 377
9.4.1	HDRI Shooting Techniques......Page 380
9.4.2	HDRI Image Preparation......Page 381
9.4.3	Creating HDR Images Using Photoshop CS5......Page 383
9.4.4	HDR Imaging Using Photomatix Pro......Page 391
9.4.5	Photomatix Pro “Exposure Fusion” Function......Page 398
10	Turning Color into Black-and-White......Page 407
10.1	From Color to Black-and-White......Page 408
10.2	Black-and-White Conversion Using the Channel Mixer......Page 409
10.3	Enhanced Black-and-White Conversion......Page 411
10.4	Black-and-White à la Russell Brown......Page 413
10.5	Black-and-White Conversion Using the Black & White Command......Page 415
10.6	Black-and-White Conversion Using Photoshop Plug-ins......Page 418
10.7	Black-and-White Conversion Using a RAW Editor......Page 422
10.8	Colorizing Images......Page 424
11	Printing and Image Presentation......Page 427
11.2	Printing Images on Paper......Page 428
11.2.1	The Journey from Pixel to Printed Dot......Page 429
11.3	Printing on Photo Paper......Page 435
11.4.1	Choosing a Fine Art Printer......Page 439
11.4.2	Printing Strategies......Page 442
11.4.3	Printer Profiles......Page 443
11.4.4	Paper Types......Page 444
11.5	The Print Workflow......Page 447
11.5.1	Preparing Your Printer......Page 449
11.6.1	Basic Print Settings......Page 451
11.6.2	Photoshop CS5 Print Dialog......Page 453
11.6.3	Printing Under Windows with the Epson R3880......Page 456
11.6.4	Color Printing with the Canon iPF6100 under Mac OS X......Page 459
11.6.5	Black-and-White Printing......Page 463
11.6.6	Finding a Printer’s Black and White Point......Page 465
11.7	Specialty Printing Software and RIPs......Page 467
11.7.2	RIPs (Raster Image Processors)......Page 468
11.8	Creating Contact Sheets......Page 469
11.9	Printed Frames......Page 471
11.10	Publishing Images on the Web......Page 473
11.11	Creating Digital Slideshows......Page 476
11.12	Other Ways to Present Your Images......Page 478
12	Useful Photoshop Plug-ins......Page 481
12.1	Photoshop Extensions......Page 482
12.1.1	Filter Plug-ins......Page 484
12.1.3	Automation Scripts......Page 485
12.1.4	Installing Photoshop Plug-ins, Filters, and Scripts......Page 486
12.2	White Balance and Color Corrections......Page 487
12.3	Reducing Noise Without Losing Detail......Page 491
12.4	Third-Party Sharpening Tools......Page 493
12.5	Correcting Perspective and Other Optical Anomalies......Page 494
12.6	Tone Mapping and HDR Images......Page 496
12.7	More Useful Tools......Page 499
13	Data Management and Backup......Page 505
13.1	Managing Your Image Library......Page 506
13.1.1	Image Data Management Requirements......Page 507
13.1.2	Metadata is the Key to Image Management......Page 508
13.1.3	Assigning Keywords and Other Attributes......Page 510
13.1.4	Other Image Management Functionality......Page 512
13.1.6	Where Are My Image Files Stored?......Page 513
13.1.7	Image Management Software......Page 515
13.2.1	The Risks Involved......Page 520
13.2.2	Some Practical Tips......Page 522
13.2.3	Which Data Should I Back Up?......Page 523
13.2.4	Backup Software......Page 525
13.2.6	Storing Your Backup Media......Page 526
A.1	Recommended Books......Page 529
A.2	Tools We Use Regularly......Page 530
A.3	More Information on the Web......Page 534
A.4	Inks and Inkjet Papers......Page 536
	Index......Page 537