digital workflow hints and tips
DESCRIPTION
A presentation given to Olney Camera ClubTRANSCRIPT
Digital workflow hints and tipsMark Wilson, Olney Camera Clubhttp://www.markwilsonphoto.co.uk/http://www.markwilson.it/
Digital workflow?• What’s that then?
It’s about process!• Think back to the traditional (wet) darkroom:
– Film Developer Stop bath Fix bath negatives/transparencies file
– Enlarger Photographic paper (dodge and burn, tint, etc.)– Or slideshow– Or Scan and follow digital workflow
• Digital darkroom is the same– Images Disk Photo management software Metadata
(tags, etc.)– Apply adjustments Digital prints/slideshow/web
There is no “right” approach• I’ll talk tonight about some of the
tools that I use in managing my images
• Maybe some of it will be useful for you?
Some things to talk about• Basic workflow• Software• Backing up your images• Sharing your work online
BASIC WORKFLOW
Example workflow
Image management
Raw conversion
Digital negatives (original raw images and/or .DNG)
Image editing
Edited images (.PSD)
Final images (.JPG)
Raw images with sidecar (.XMP)
SOFTWARE
Which platform?• Mac or PC?– It doesn’t matter– Both are just tools – a means to an end
• Macs are not infallible (despite what Apple might tell you)
• Windows is well-known and well-supported• Linux may be an option for those who are
technically competent
Things to know• Windows and Mac OS X both have photo-
management applications– iPhoto– Windows Live Photo Gallery
• No need to install Canon/Nikon software to get pictures off your camera– Windows and OS X can both access cameras via USB– Many computers have built-in card readers– Adobe Camera Raw is free and can handle most raw
conversion
On my machine• Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5.8 (Leopard)• Image management and editing: Adobe Lightroom 2• Raw conversion: Adobe Camera Raw• Image editing: Adobe Photoshop CS4• Image management: Adobe Bridge CS4• Noise reduction: Noise Ninja plugin for PhotoShop• Upload to online services: Flickr Uploadr• Bulk file renames: Renamer4Mac• Screen calibration: Spyder3Utility• Film scanning: Nikon Scan 4• Tethered image capture: Lightroom Tether, Sofortbuild• Other: EXIFtool
Demonstration
BACKING UP YOUR IMAGES
Backups• Golden rule:– No image “exists” until it’s backed up in
at least two places (three places?)
• Hard disks are inexpensive– But as we store more data on them, the
chances of failure increase
• Your images are priceless
A cautionary tale• Several thousand images stored on two
hard disks attached to the same computer• Nightly backup from one disk to the other• User error resulted in wiping both disks
clean• Panic ensued – irreplaceable images of
young children appeared to be lost!
A cautionary tale• Stop! Do not attempt to write to those disks– Sleep on it!
• Some Internet research turned up a $99 software package that examined the disk and found all the files – they were still there, just not accessible
• Different solutions for Mac and PC• Full story at
http://www.markwilson.co.uk/blog/2007/05/recovering-data-after-destroying-the-mac-os-x-partition-table.htm
What can you do?• Don’t rely on local backups!– Burglary, house fire, user error – could all result
in lost data
• Backup to a second hard disk and keep it off-site– Store it with a friend or family?– CDs/DVDs have a limited life (so do hard disks
that are not used)
• Use Internet backup services
Internet backup services• Not just the photo sharing sites but a place to store files
online• Various options:
– Windows Live SkyDrive – 25GB space free from Microsoft– Mozy - $4.95/month for unlimited storage– Dropbox – more expensive but more options– Jungledisk – PAYG pricing using Amazon.com web services– There are others too
• Uploads may take a long time (days, weeks, months!) – photographers have many GBs of files
• Some sites offer the ability to backup/recover by shipping physical disks
Data recovery• Memory card errors
– Not all memory cards are created equal– High end brands (e.g. Sandisk, Lexar) may provide
software with the memory card (see http://www.markwilson.co.uk/blog/2007/08/recovering-images-from-a-compact-flash-card.htm)
• Failed external hard disks– Often the disk inside is fine, but the USB-SATA
connection is damaged. It may be possible to access the disk in another enclosure, or installed directly inside a PC and recover the data
SHARING YOUR WORK ONLINE
Choosing an online service• I use Flickr (now owned by Yahoo!) but
there are others options too:– Windows Live Gallery (Microsoft)– Picassa (Google)– Facebook (urgh!)– Photobox
• Think about online privacy as well as potential copyright infringement
Why I use Flickr• Huge site with lots of functionality, backed by Yahoo!
– Unlikely to disappear
• Granular control over access:– Some images visible to all– Other images for friends, or for family– Able to issue guest passes
• Can mark images as copyright – or issue a Creative Commons license
• Full resolution image available to me (with a Pro account), but only low resolution displayed to others
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark-wilson/
Copyright and creative commons• In the UK, you automatically own the copyright on
your images (unlike the US, where copyright has to be registered)– © All rights reserved
• Creative Commons is a means to grant a license for others to use your work:– Some rights reserved– Various licenses are available - read more at
http://creativecommons.org/
SUMMARY
What have we covered?• Described what workflow is, and what a simple
workflow might look like• Listed some of the types of computer software
that might be useful for a digital photographer• Stressed the importance of backups – and gave
some advice on how to make sure images are safe
• Talked about sharing images online, including copyright and Creative Commons licensing
CThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence.
For further details, please visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/
cbn
© 2010, Mark Wilson.Some rights reserved.