brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Many of the problems I see posted here indicate the absence of a good workflow. Devising a workflow is not easy. It takes a lot of thought and planning. So much so, I suggest that the workflow be written down and studied for steps that might cause issues.

We all use some sort of workflow, whether we are aware of it or not, but I'm referring to a formal workflow that is followed for each image captured. What are your thoughts?

I'll post a link to a very good article on the subject.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

There is no one best workflow for all situations or for all photography or for all photographers.

I was a systems manager, product developer, lab area manager, and trainer for a large portrait company. Our workflow was in a constant state of revision and flux.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

I'm sure, but you had one. And I'll wager each facet of the workflow was clearly defined. No doubt it had to be modified regularly.

Did different people perform different steps of the workflow?

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Mine is pretty much the same for all digital images.
1. Take the photograph.
2. Place the SD card into a receptacle on one workstation
3. Log onto my imaging computer and Remote Desktop Connect to that workstation.
4. Start the Nikon Transfer Software on that workstation
5. Create the directory structure into which to transfer the file(s)
6. Transfer the file(s) to this temporary directory renaming them in the process
7. Edit the file name per my naming scheme
8. Copy the directory to a second drive on the same workstation (backup no. 1)
9. Log off the first workstation
10. RDC to a second workstation.
11. Map the initial directory on the first workstation to the second workstation
12. Copy the initial directory structure from the first workstation to a second drive on the second workstation. (Backup no. 2)
13. Log off the second workstation
14. End RDC session
15. Map the first workstation to my imaging computer.
16. Copy the directory structure to an image directory on this computer.
17. Open PS and Bridge
18. Check image file integrity
19. Remove card from reader
20. Format card in camera
21. Open image in ACR
22. Perform initial adjustments to image, these are mostly the same for all so it's a click and run set of steps.
23. Make small adjustment to image using ACR.
24. Open image in PS
25. Perform a WB operation, (optional convert to black and white), burn and dodge as needed
25. Apply vignette
26. Construct border
27. Apply signature
28. Final save of .psd file
29. Convert to .jpg for posting
30. Save .jpg

This is pretty much my standard set of steps from taking to producing a jpg to post here, or for printing. It took me longer to type then than it does to perform the steps listed.
--Bob

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

In the film days, circa 1993, we had over 750 people at peak Fall seasons in:

Film receiving
Data entry (student records)
Order entry (school job setup)
Film processing
Film job separation
Film inspection
Film editing
Film retouching
Film cleaning
Production control (film/job movement)
Color analysis (Kodak PVAC)
Process and printer quality control
B&W service item printing (ID cards, file prints, rotary file cards...)
B&W paper processing (all products)
Color service item printing (ID cards, file prints, rotary file cards...)
Color paper processing (all products)
Underclass (K-11) portrait package printing
Senior portrait package printing
Commercial receiving
Commercial editing/film masking
Commercial printing
Service finishing (gumming, slitting, cutting, bagging, sorting, packing...)
Underclass print inspection, spotting, trimming
Underclass staging
Composite typography
Composite print prep (gum, cut/die cut)
Composite paste-up
Composite internegative copy camera
Composite stripping
Composite contact printing
Package insert design/proofing
On-demand electronic insert printing
Computerized product identification printing (package labels, product pouches, principals' albums, ID Cards, etc.)
Underclass finishing services
Underclass packing
Commercial finishing services
Commercial packing
Senior finishing services
Senior packing
Shipping/receiving
Paper slitting and sheeting (from 40-inch wide, 5600' rolls)
Chemical mixing (all)
Customer service (3 teams)
Information Technology
Equipment engineering and maintenance
Custodial support
Human Resources
Marketing
Creative Services
Audio visual production
Paper waste monitoring/analysis
Accounts payable
Accounts receivable
Payroll
Customer finance
Sales
Business development
School reunion portraits and books...

Our dealers --- the sales force --- were customers. So we had enormous permutations and combinations of workflows set up 'ad hoc' for their client requirements.

Every January through summer, we were ripping out walls, moving old equipment, installing new equipment, designing new products, revising order forms, procedures, instructions, support systems, training programs...

We had "standard" workflows, but 20% of the work deviated significantly from standards. And yes, we had division of labor, but we did plenty of cross-training.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Take photo, insert card into card reader, link up to LR, review all shots in Library Module, mark foot and sidewalk shots and blurry shots with an X, mark shots I like with a green color, when done reviewing hit Command-Delete and delete all X-ed shots at one time. If several shots have the same lighting situation edit them in auto synch first, then look at each one individually. May also use auto tone on some photos and then edit individually. Normally work down the panels, using presets I have developed along the way. Sharpen last. Don't save in any other format but do export as needed in whatever format I need. Don't need to do backups outside of LR as the RAW files are saved upon import and the computer does backups daily which includes the catalog, although I do back it up often on another drive, too. I email directly from LR when needed and export to Flickr directly from LR when needed. As needed I will export photos in various formats. I don't save double copies of anything other than the RAW and the catalog.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

Plug camera into the computer - let software download it. Review Jpg's and delete awful ones with Raw too.
Open Raw software review and make basic alterations as required - delete awful ones.
Rename file folder to something appropriate (Slindon wood May 2017)
unplug camera and format card.
Shut down.

Have Wife, Life and Work - not all stages happen on the same day!

have fun

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Some links -

http://www.digitalphotomentor.com/setting-up-a-good-digital-photography-workflow-dos-and-donts/
http://petapixel.com/2015/11/03/my-lightroom-post-production-workflow-after-a-day-behind-the-lens/

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

Bob, thanks for taking the time to share your process with us!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Bruce, thanks for asking and the opportunity to share. I agree, a good, well-organized workflow prevents problems. And I am constantly refining what I do and how I do it. With that in mind, this is what I have been doing up until now, but it is about to change now that On1 Raw is just about mature enough to insert into my workflow.

Decide what gear to take based on anticipated shooting needs ie birds-long lens, landscapes - PC-E lenses, tripod ND and cpl, etc.If I am not sure, I get my "Mother Ship" (my biggest camera bag) and take everything.

Refresh charge on batteries

Format SD cards using computer and SD Formatter utility

Pack the camera bag.

Get to location, scout and walk around looking for best opportunites and vantage points

Take out and set up camera. Check white balance setting, make sure correct custom shooting menu bank is selected, fire off a couple of test shots, do a colorchecker target shot.

Start shooting. Chimp the first few shots to make sure hightlights are not being blown, but receiving the most exposure possible. Look for blur if shooting in low light.

Once back at my computer I copy all the contents of my memory card(s) to my internal RAID 6 array, using Lightroom's Library Module, creating a new folder which respects my 19 yr old folder hierarchy naming scheme. I may or may not import wtih keywords, depending on how homogenous the shoot was and how descriptive I can be in the folder name, which is easily searchable in LR's catalog.

Begin the task of culling. I first look for bad compositions and out of focus/blurred images - I give them a one star rating. Then I delete them. I make a second pass looking for my favorites - give them a 5 star rating. Third pass are images that I like a lot, but may require considerable processing in PHotoshop to make them right. They get 4 stars. Fourth pass is filtered for unrated images, and I look for some that I may have missed in the first three passes. At the end of this stage, all bad images are gone, and I have only 4 and 5 star rated images.

I then look for similarities among the remaining images, specifically looking at exposure, white balance and contrast. I stack them together in as many categories as I need, usually 3-5.Then I pick a sample image in a stack, edit it to the best I can get in LR - which includes white balance, black and white clipping, gamma, contrast, presence, saturation, dehaze, and a soft touch on sharpening and noise reduction because I get better results using Photoshop doing that, then sync the rest of the images in the stack to the first. So essentially I only edit 3-5 pictures at this stage.

Then I go through each of the images in the matrix view in LR Library, looking for inconsistencies - making corrections along the way.

At this point I pick my favorites using a Flag. These images will get more scrutiny that the rest with an eye on either printing or publishing on my website/Instagram/Facebook/Flickr pages. I look for sensor dust, objects that may need to be removed or relocated, sometimes if I am shooting a moving subject and it is too close to the edge, I may decide it is easy enough to extend the border using content aware move/extend in PHotoshop.

Photoshop is great for compositing, local color, contast/microcontrast, tone, sharpening and noise adjustments, HDR, pano stitching, using smart objects, etc. When I am done I have a huge psd file with all of my layering and editing choices intact, and it is automatically added to my LR catalog.

I have over a dozen export presets that represent the submission requirements for each unique destination - file size, image dimensions, color space, bit depth and file format, watermark, etc - are covered for each. I do not make a habit of saving jpegs and output tiffs - once they get to their destination they are deleted from my computer.

At this point, any images that may be grouped into collections get added to their respective collections. This is much easier, faster and cleaner than making individual folders and duplicating images.

Anything that leaves my desk as a finished image/print will get a tour through Photoshop. LR is great for generating proofs but not finished images. So any images that are to be shown or printed get the full finishing treatment with lots of attention to detail. Sometimes I am lazy and decide it is good enough so it may get less of my attention if I am just sharing on social media, but all of my printed work gets intense scrutiny, as a creative director might do.

File management is easy and effortless. I copy the contents of the card to my computer, the computer does a scheduled backup to several external drives every night, and first thing I check in the morning is the integrity of the backup - if it is 100% I then reformat my cards. I also use CrashPlan as a third level of redundancy, but just for archiving.

This is from before I leave the studio to when I send stuff out. A more granualar description covers all of the steps in editing, but I don't think that was what you were looking for.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Thanks for sharing, Gene.

I want a situation where the same things are done to all my images, and it's easy to overlook something if there isn't a defined sequence used for each at PP. I'm quite regimented about it. We seldom see this topic discussed and it was my hopes that some of the newer members might gain from the discussion. Lots of good info here.

Thanks again.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Thanks for sharing, Bill!! Your experiences highlight the need for a solid workflow.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Thanks, Bob! Good info!!

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Thanks, Jerry!! Good links to the subject.