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Workflow- Back from Botswana and Zimbabwe
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Nov 25, 2021 06:51:34   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
greymule wrote:
Another question- when is the best time to use Topaz noise reduction? I just purchased Denise, sharpen and upsize from Topaz- all for $99.

Thanks for the replies. They all make perfect sense. My workflow has been

open in ps raw
make obvious adjustments
open in ps
make final adjustments, including reopening raw where I can.

Please feel free to correct me.


Try applying noise reduction at different points in your workflow. I think you'll find that applying it first provides the cleanest images. I don't use Topaz anymore, but this works with On1 NoNoise and DXO PhotoPlan Prime, though Prime really only addresses noise, not sharpening.

So, my workflow is simple.

1. Transfer all images to a temporary folder for culling, using FastStone Image Viewer.

2. Once I've deleted the "beyond any hope of being useful" images I use Lightroom to import all the remaining files into they final destination in my Pics master folder. I have an import present that applies lens profiles, Auto tone settings, mild sharpening, camera profile, etc, and changes the file names to one that adds camera identification, a new sequence number starting at 0001 for the set. I also build 1:1 previews for all of the images. Once imported I add a top level keyword, identifying the name of the shoot/trip/event/etc. to the entire set.

3. I go make myself a latte, or a cocktail, enjoy it and come back to the computer after all the images have been ingested and tagged and renamed, and all previews are built.

4. Next comes raw editing. If an image needs the help of noise reduction and sharpening it goes through either DXO PhotoPlan or On1 NoNoise before any actual editing is concerned. This can be redundant, because each of the programs will revert to the raw "image as captured" version of the shot and apply noise reduction (Prime) or noise reduction and sharpening (NoNoise) and exports them back to LR as dng. At this point I use all the tools available to make the best images possible while still in raw, then I convert the dng or raw file to psd, 16 bit with ProPhoto color space and export to Photoshop using the edit in command, and the default external processor which is Photoshop - for more advanced editing if necessary.

5. When done in Photoshop, saving the image will place an edited psd file alongside the original in the catalog. I can choose from among 12 export presets to create a jpeg for distribution based on the requirements of the specific destination.

For smaller "jobs" I will modify the above, importing directly into LR, skipping the cull step in FastStone. Smaller sets of images can be processed just as fast or faster that way.

This almost took longer to write than it does to execute, BTW.

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Nov 25, 2021 07:14:50   #
scubadoc Loc: Sarasota, FL
 
Regardless of editing program, after downloading to your storage external drive, get rid of the oof shots, mistaken shots, etc. No need to keep them as no amount of editing them will salvage them. Next pass is to give the highest rating to your “calendar shots” , those you want in a book or on your wall without much editing. Next step is to decide among the rest those that can be improved upon with post-process editing. How you do much of this is dependent on your editing program. I think most on this forum likely use LR Classic. For your highly rated keepers, if they have significant noise, run them through a de-noise program such as Topaz DeNoise. This should be the first step in any post-process edit. Then the fun begins, again depending on your program do your post-process editing and export the final images as TIFF on a folder on your HD as these will be the ones that you will post on social media or print for a book or a calendar. Those TIFF files can than be converted to whatever format is needed for what you decide to do. I recently came back from South Africa and Botswana with close to 5000 images. This was last August. I’m close to being finished and plan to make calendars, jigsaw puzzles for my grandkids, and a photo book for the coffee table.

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Nov 25, 2021 09:31:38   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
greymule wrote:
Curious to check my workflow before post processing recent 2000 exposures. I use photoshop. What is the best workflow?


Use Lightroom Classic for all developing, cull editing, rating, and cataloguing your images. Send to Photoshop only those files that need Photoshop tools.

Photoshop is a black hole time sucker!

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Nov 25, 2021 10:08:03   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
You want to get the best results, so take your time with each one of those images. Ask family members what they think of each one. Process each one, maybe using different programs, and see how you like the results.

Seriously, what I do when faced with too many pictures is look through them and move the ones I don't like either into the Trash or into a Holding folder. The Holding folder is for "maybe" pictures. When I start processing, I want to work with the ones I think are the best. Sometimes I will have another folder called Best. As I scan through images, I'll put some into the Best folder.

I think it's important to get rid of the "junk" first. Just because you might be able to save a shot doesn't mean it's worth saving.

Have fun, and don't make it a chore.

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Nov 25, 2021 10:40:40   #
Jimmy T Loc: Virginia
 
greymule wrote:
Another question- when is the best time to use Topaz noise reduction? I just purchased Denise, sharpen and upsize from Topaz- all for $99.

Thanks for the replies. They all make perfect sense. My workflow has been

open in ps raw
make obvious adjustments
open in ps
make final adjustments, including reopening raw where I can.

Please feel free to correct me.


This is what Topaz Products sez and it works well for me.
The key is "If Needed"
The Ultimate Workflow for Topaz Labs AI Software:
https://topazlabs.com/the-ultimate-workflow-for-topaz-labs-ai-software/?utm_source=Topaz+Updates&utm_campaign=8c480bdca3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_11_19_04_29&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5e4dd8652a-8c480bdca3-92602881&mc_cid=8c480bdca3&mc_eid=c9be7297b0

Also: How to make Topaz Products Run Faster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GraqwH2YYJ4
Start at about 1:40 min. into the video.

Smile,
JimmyT Sends

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Nov 25, 2021 11:08:07   #
photoman43
 
Download images.

Make two backup copies.

Then cull/delete the bad ones.

Then start processing.

At each processing stage make two back ups.

At some point in this process, create unique file folder names and unique image file names. Not DSC 1234.NEF. I create the unique names at the time of download using Downloader Pro. if you shoot Nikon use Nikon Transfer.

Others might create the unique file folder names and image file names after initial cull when they may input into Lightroom or some other product.

The workflow to use is the one that works best for you and involves multiple backups. Backups do help you recover stuff when you or your computer or local power system screws up.

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Nov 25, 2021 16:29:30   #
Bill McKenna
 
Photo Mechanic is the best organizer I’ve seen. I go through all my RAW images in Photo Mechanic, and then import the ones I want to edit into Photoshop. (Photo Mechanic has this easy feature.) Then I go through all my edited images to select my best.

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Nov 25, 2021 19:03:07   #
Photocraig
 
sb wrote:
I have never figured out a good workflow. I try to separate them into "Meh", "OK", and "Wow". Then a few weeks later go back through to make sure I didn't put one in an undeserving folder... The problem is - you have so many photos, and being familiar with your work, you will have a lot of good photos - so then what? I distilled my South Africa trip down to about 60 of my best photos and printed a book through Shutterfly. Sometimes people look at it....


I just watched Tim Gray's "Avoiding a mess in Lightroom Classic" on You Tube. It is a long tutorial/promo of his for $$ classes. BUT it is informative enough to give a LR user a good start. Free on You Tube--search "Tim Gray avoiding a mess."

He has some nice tips about folders, Key wording and grading. Interestingly, he marks every image on import with a red marker. That signifies it hasn't been reviewed. After review, he key words, and stars them as best of shoot, best of Year, and best ever.

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Nov 26, 2021 09:08:16   #
CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City
 
Real photographers use Lightroom.

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Nov 26, 2021 12:32:18   #
anotherview Loc: California
 
Cull the photos. Identify your photos with a short name. Save similar photos in folders. Or organize your photos by date to start. You can do this work in Adobe Bridge.

Open your selected phots in Adobe Camera Raw to do preliminary processing. In fact, I've found I can do most of the processing in ACR.

Next, open your selected photos in the full Photoshop for finishing.

Save your finished photos in the JPEG file format for display on computer monitors. Note that you perform the save via File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy)

In the page shown, click on the box "Convert to sRGB." You will see this description: Internet Standard RGB (No Color Management)

These settings preserve the photo colors as you set them. So, your photos appear on other devices as you produced them.

If printing a photo, you may wish to return to Photoshop to save a photo as a large JPEG file, say, 1 megabyte in size for best results.
greymule wrote:
Curious to check my workflow before post processing recent 2000 exposures. I use photoshop. What is the best workflow?

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