Workflow questions

[Gabe]

Having used my new-to-me D30 a little more now, I have some questions. Since this will be my primary photo-taking tool from here on out (till I upgrade someday), shooitng mostly people, I need to know that I am working in the best way I can with my images, since they will be my only originals once stored.
The following questions regard keeping the original traits of each image (no enhancements or modifications other than cropping, dodging, burning, etc) so that it continues to be a representation of what I first saw through the viewfinder. Keep in mind that I'm not new to PS but rarely ever use it beyond the following workflow.

So what's your workflow like? Here's mine:

Open the image, and do any cropping needed

Run Auto Levels

Go to Levels: Input levels, 0; 1.15; 255 (others are default)

Unsharp Mask:
Amount: 130 %
Radius: 1.0
Threshold: 0

If printing in newspaper or mag, change Mode from RGB to CMYK


Make any contrast/color adjustments necessary

Resize if needed

Save As jpg, max quality of 12 (or TIFF for printing)
**

So, is there something better, or more precise, than Auto Levels? Should I always run Auto Contrast and Auto Color as well?

What's the threshold and radius mean in the Unsharp Mask filter? Should I change them?

I learned this workflow from working at the campus newspaper, as the photo editor. The previous editor had left this on a sheet, and it seemed to work great. Except for changing modes to CMYK - that's something our printer eventually said I should do.

I am also going to start saving my originals as TIFFs, and leave the jpegs for web-use only.

Other questions:

What happens if I save an image that is originally 9MB, with a res of 180 dpi, to 300 dpi? Most magazines want submissions sent in at 300, but the D30 seems to want to shoot 180. Is it the "limited" 3.2MP capability of the camera? (Can you tell I'm a total newb at this pixel stuff? lol)

Some pics come out yellowish when I run Auto Levels .. it seems this only happens to photos that are out of focus. Any ideas?

Now about printing: any tips beyond getting a good printer? I'm gonna get an Epson Stylus 1280, but in the meantime, I'll be using the local lab. What can I do to insure they get me the print I want out of it? Besides resizing to 8x10, should I change the Mode from RGB to CMYK for them? Will the above workflow be suitable for lab printing?
What about Lab Color?

Any good books on general digital photography that deal with tech questions like the above?

Are you still reading this? (If so, bless yer heart, and thanks in advance for any help! )

[Trevor Ash]

It's always interesting to see other people's workflows. The first comment I have about your workflow is that it's more "static" than mine is. I suppose depending on a persons needs they might benefit from a fixed procedure with the same settings for every image. I only edit the photos that I care about so I don't usually edit very many photos in the same session.

I don't think too many people would argue that the way to get the best "quality" for an image is to treat each and every image different than the others. There are always reasons why people should sacrifice quality for speed or convenience.

Why do you do auto levels and then adjust the levels again? Does it just suit your preferences? I'm not a fan of auto levels myself but for some images I've seen it work well.

You might benefit from introducing a little more manual work in the process. Try to find a convenient way to do levels and sharpening manually.

>> So, is there something better, or more precise, than Auto Levels? Should I always run Auto Contrast and Auto Color as well?

Manually using levels and curves is probably "better" in my opinion. If you do them manually then auto contrast and auto color become irrelevent. Try learning the curves tool. It takes a lot of practice and understanding but once you get the hang of it you'll wonder how to did without.

Before I attempt to answer your questions I want to stop and recommend a book on photoshop "Real World Adobe Photoshop 7". I don't know if they have a CS version yet.

As much as I dislike the person who runs the site, I'm going to link to his very helpful articles

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tu.../digital.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tu...hotoshop.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tu...d_primer.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tu...orkflow1.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tu...it-depth.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tu...stograms.shtml

Take the time to read through each of these articles. Take notes about what you do and don't understand so that you can revisit the subject later. Feel free to come back here and ask more questions as tehy arrive.

>>What's the threshold and radius mean in the Unsharp Mask filter? Should I change them?

Yes you should. See the tutorials above for explanations.

>>What happens if I save an image that is originally 9MB, with a res of 180 dpi, to 300 dpi? Most magazines want submissions sent in at 300, but the D30 seems to want to shoot 180. Is it the "limited" 3.2MP capability of the camera?

See this tutorial for an answer:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tu...solution.shtml

>>Some pics come out yellowish when I run Auto Levels .. it seems this only happens to photos that are out of focus. Any ideas?

Auto Levels is not magic. It doesn't know what the color temperature should look like. You'd be best to learn the other tools so that you can simply avoid using it. That's just my opinion

>>Any good books on general digital photography that deal with tech questions like the above?

Check out the one I recommended earlier.

>>Now about printing: any tips beyond getting a good printer? I'm gonna get an Epson Stylus 1280, but in the meantime, I'll be using the local lab. What can I do to insure they get me the print I want out of it? Besides resizing to 8x10, should I change the Mode from RGB to CMYK for them? Will the above workflow be suitable for lab printing?
What about Lab Color?

This is a VERY complicated subject. My advice (not that you're asking) would be to stick with the local lab for a while until you become comfortable with photoshop and the digital workflow. Eventually, you'll start to notice the things that are important to you all by yourself and you'll come back to the internet for answers. That's what I did and it works well.......baby steps You should ask your lab these questions. Hopefully they'll have the knowledge and correct answers. The pro labs will know what you're talking about and will be able to give you instruction.

>>Are you still reading this? (If so, bless yer heart, and thanks in advance for any help! )

lol, thanks

Good luck to you! There's a lot to take in...

[another view]

Trevor knows his stuff! I'm still at the beginner level for Photoshop, but highly recommend Scott Kelby's book Photoshop for Digital Photographers. It's very step-by-step and written in terms that photographers can understand. But here's what I can add:

I usually start with auto levels too. It takes one click and may get the image closer to what you want. If it doesn't - then click "undo". I rarely use any of the other "auto" functions. Sharpening should be your last step - Luminous Landscape has a good tutorial about it and Scott Kelby has a whole chapter on it.

I (and apparently alot of other shooters) use 512 mb compact flash cards. One nice thing about them is that you can immediately transfer all images to a CD so you have a backup copy in case something happens. With bigger cards, you'd have to split it up on to more discs. If it's an important shoot (i.e. paying customer) then it's an easy extra step - cheap insurance. Then after I Photoshop the image I save it as a TIFF. From that TIFF, I'll make a jpeg if necessary (like for posting here).

One big eye-opener for me was Nikon School Digital 201. Great way to spend a day but your head will hurt by afternoon. Not cheap at $150 but well worth it. Check out https://www.mckennaproimaging.com/Crockett.htm too, Will Crockett knows his stuff. I'll have to go to the one in Madison! Here's Will's website too: http://www.shootsmarter.com/

[Gabe]

Thanks for the replies, guys! I meant to post last night, but stayed up till late reading all those tutorials (and others)

Trevor, I copy/pasted a lot of the info in those links into a quick reference manual I started in Word. This is gonna be invaluable! So far it's almost 30 pages long. I did get many questions answered through them, and am understanding everything much more easily than I thought I would.

Now, I do change my workflow according to some images, but since most of what I've been shooting lately has been for a newspaper (deadlines, deadlines!), I use a pretty standard process unless an image really needs more attention. BTW, I adjust the levels again that second time, as noted above, to make the image a little brighter for the printer. I was told to always make them brighter than I need to as that helps them show up better on newsprint. I guess I really don't need that for printing my portfolio...

I pretty much ignore Auto Contrast and Auto Color, but was wondering if I shoud use them at all. I do see what Trevor means in regards to using curves instead - I haven't tried it yet but am familiar with the terms I was reading in the links.

I do have one book, How to Use Photoshop 7, by Daniel Giordan. It's really more a user's manual, with tasks that you complete and learn the different tools and actions in the process. It's what I need to begin with, so I can properly understand Photoshop.
I had forgotten that I also have Rob Golbraith's The Digital Photojournalist's Guide, 4th Ed. Though a little outdated - it still talks about using the old Canon/Kodak hybrids - there's a good deal of info there for a digital darkroom noob like me. I'm also going to check out the books you guys mentioned.

As for printing.. well, the Epson is a month or two away, so in the meantime I'll have to work with a lab anyway. Now to find a good digital lab ... I used to go to a couple that weren't too far away. Being pro labs, I'm sure they've expanded into digital by now. I'll have to see if their quality work transferred over well into the pixel world.

another view, awesome idea on saving the pics directly onto CD as backup, thanks! And I'm going to look into digital workshops .. I think I saw a flyer for one not too long ago, it ran for about $150.

I'll be back with more questions, I'm sure ;)