At its most basic, the workflow may simply involve the keywording, sorting and archiving of images.
The next level might involve selecting and rating “good” images while discarding the “bad” images, also known as “outtakes".
The third level may involve tagging specific images for post-processing. For example from 100 images, you might discard 10 that were grossly over or underexposed and from the remaining 90 choose ten top images that satisfy your vision. From these you might choose a single image that is perfect in terms of composition but needs adjustment to exposure or color. Or, you might have a perfectly balanced and exposed image that needs cropping or an unintended element removed.
Some adjustments might be done as a batch (for example, if a series of images were all shot with the wrong white balance), or they might be done on an image-by-image basis.
My Worflow
There are two basic types of images I work with, “randoms” and “events". Randoms are the images that I shoot on a daily basis. Events are specific to an event or series, such as a wedding or portrait session. I store these images in two folders on my workstation, one named “Contact Sheet” and one named “Photo Library”.
The contact sheet folder is a semi-permanent area in which I store images as they are first imported from my cameras. It’s organized by device (camera, scanner, network download) using appropriately named subfolders. There’s one for each camera (film or digital), scanner, and one named downloads. I use this area to review, sort, tag, and process images prior to archiving them in the library folder.
The other folder named “Photo Library” is where I store images on a more permanent basis. It’s organized by Client Work, Downloads, My Work and Stock Photography. Client Work is organized by job or assignment, Downloads and My Work are organized by genre, and Stock is organized by vendor. Once tagged and processed, images from the Contact Sheet folder are moved to the appropriate Library folder.
When each of the Library folders reaches the point where it contains enough images to fill an optical disc, I then burn a volume and catalog it for later retrieval.
Retrieval of Archived Images
When properly processed, image retrieval is simply a matter of searching the catalog by keyword, retrieving the named volume, mounting it, and opening or copying the image.
Working Images vs. Archived Images
When an image is “in process” it’s temporarily stored as a “working” image in a folder named “Lightbox”. This could be a layered image file such as a Photoshop (.psd) file, or a Tagged Image File Format (.tif) file. Specific file formats work for specific purposes. DNG, TIFF and JPEG images, can all be “working” images when used with applications such as Adobe Camera Raw that apply adjustments in the form of metadata, and these are generally left in place in the Contact Sheet folders.
Camera Raw files were designed from the onset to be working files. When you open a Camera Raw file, the extension of which depends on the camera, you’re presented with an interface with which to “process” the image. Since these images contain little or no processing by the camera, every RAW image will need processing of some sort. You can think of a RAW image as the digital equivalent of the latent image on film. As a film photographer, you may know from experience that in order to satisfy your “visualization” of a photo, it will require a certain chemistry in processing. Even printing on certain papers benefit from certain types of processing. But with a RAW workflow, you apply the processing in real time to an individual image with visible results. This processing is applied as metadata, and is not a permanent part of the image pixels.
JPEG files can also be working files because adjustments can also be stored as metadata. However, JPEG files may contain processing by the camera, and generally do not contain as much “tonal” information in the form of bit depth. Still, JPEG/RAW workflows can be very intuitive and achieve good results.
Layered Image Files, such as Photoshop and TIFF, are self-contained and appropriate when substantial retouching is required. Individual pixel layers can be used to compose various elements or store multiple versions. Adjustments can be applied both destructively and non-destructively. You can even combine RAW and layered workflows in the same image file. The price you pay for all this is file size. Layered files can become quite large, but there are steps you can take to keep their size down. Saving in TIFF format with ZIP layer compression is one such step.
Flattened TIFF files are a good choice for a scanning workflow, where extensive retouching needs to be done over time. It’s also ideal for “true” black and white (grayscale) images as it eliminates the redundant channel information in favor of lossless LZW compression. But even more important is that it supports 16-bit grayscale images for truly outstanding black and whites.
PNG, or Portable Network Graphics files are not suitable for photographic work as they don’t support metadata or pixel layers. Still, they are lossless and compress better than TIFF images, so they might be a viable option for single-layer retouching where storage space is limited.
Archival File Formats
The image file format you choose for archiving is important. You should use a format that will be recognized by software applications for years to come, and that supports metadata for assigning keywords. This is important, because as you amass thousands of images, all of which may not reside on your hard drive, you will want to be able to locate them relatively quickly.
Here, JPEG is king, because of its compression options. At it’s highest quality, a JPEG image is about one quarter of the size of the original uncompressed file, with the effects of compression being virtually invisible. And yet, these images can still be adjusted losslessly through metadata.
If an image is true black and white (grayscale) having no color information whatsoever, TIFF is a good option. The archived versions remain editable without loss of image quality.
The Camera RAW format is not a good choice for archiving RAW images, as they may not be compatible with future software releases. However, Adobe has solved that problem with the publicly available DNG (Digital Negative) format. This is a somewhat of a misnomer, as these images are not actually negative, simply copies of the RAW data in a universally readable format. If you shoot with different brands of cameras, you may want to convert all your RAW images to the DNG format as part of your workflow. For example, Nikon produces .NEF files, while Canon produces .CR2 files. These can all reside on your workstation as DNG files, and you can differentiate between the two using the EXIF metadata embedded within the file.
File Sizes
Here are some file sizes for a typical 4288 x 2848 image at maximum image quality from a Nikon D90:
Original Formats:
- Camera Raw: 11.3 MB
- JPEG: 7.2 MB
Working Formats (no layers):
- PSD (Photoshop): 36.7 MB
- TIFF (no compression): 36.8 MB
- TIFF (LZW compression): 19.7 MB
Archival Formats:
- JPEG (original): 7.2 MB
- JPEG (quality: 12 “Maximum”, from Photoshop): 8.0 MB
- JPEG (quality: 8, “High” from Photoshop): 7.1 MB
- DNG: 9.0 MB
- DNG (with original embedded): 20.1 MB
- TIFF (LZW compression): 19.7 MB
Web Formats:
- PNG (lossless): 16.3 MB
- GIF (8-bit, 256 colors): 5.2 MB
- GIF (6-bit, 64 colors): 4.0 MB
As an 8-bit grayscale file, the sizes change as follows:
Working Formats:
- PSD (Photoshop): 12.3 MB
- TIFF (no compression): 12.3 MB
- TIFF (LZW compression): 7.5 MB
Archival Formats:
- JPEG (quality: 12 “Maximum”, from Photoshop): 5.4 MB
- JPEG (quality: 8, “High” from Photoshop): 1.1 MB
- TIFF (LZW compression): 7.5 MB
- EPS (duotone, binary encoding): 12.3 MB
- EPS (duotone, ASCII encoding): 15.6 MB
Web Formats:
- PNG (lossless): 5.9 MB
- GIF (8-bit, 256 colors): 9.8 MB
Black and White Workflows
You have many options when working with black and white images, and so workflows may vary. You could:
- Shoot color (RAW or JPEG) convert to black and white, and archive as RGB or grayscale.
- Shoot black and white (neutral), and archive as RGB or grayscale.
- Shoot black and white (sepia or other toning) and archive as RGB.
Just because an image doesn’t contain any color information doesn’t mean it has to be processed as a grayscale. When you shoot black and white in your camera, it does the conversion based on any electronic filters you have chosen, and discards the color information. But, the image is still RGB, only with three balanced channels. If you choose sepia or other “toning”, the channels are slightly unbalanced to create the desired toning effect. But if you shoot in color and convert to black and white in Adobe Camera Raw or Photoshop, you have tremendous control over how the colors in the image translate to gray values. You can then archive the image as grayscale or color.
Archiving a black and white image as grayscale locks in the conversion. But keeping it as RGB allows the conversion to be adjusted on the fly. This is something to be taken into consideration. It’s not unlike printing a color negative on black and white paper, and using different filters in the enlarger to control the conversion. If the negative was black and white, this would not be an option.
Smart Objects
Photoshop has an incredibly powerful feature that enables you to combine workflows.
For example, if you open a Camera Raw file in Photoshop as a Smart Object, it remains editable. This “embedded” 24-bit color image can then exist within a 16-bit grayscale TIFF. You can double-click on the Smart Object layer, launching the Camera Raw interface and allowing you to change the conversion at will and save the changes in a single, self-contained file.
You could also embed a L*a*b* image within an RGB image to take advantage of the tremendous advantage that color space has to offer.
My Film Workflow
Of course, all this refers to digital workflows. If like me you also shoot film, then there’s also a film workflow to be considered. This might be traditional in nature, or in my case, combined with the digital workflow.
After shooting the film, I hand it off for “processing” (developing) to the lab of my choice. Depending on the circumstances I may also elect to have 4x6 prints made, a miniature 4x6 contact sheet, or a CD burned. The images are scanned at medium resolution (3,088 x 2,048), more to facilitate the selection and cataloging process than for final prints. But the 6.3 MB images are quite good, and suitable for all but extreme enlargements. If I am particularly confident about the images, or if the work if for a paying client, I may elect to have the images scanned at a higher resolution.
The images from the CD are transferred to the workstation, and placed in the Contact Sheet subfolder for the camera they were captured with. They are then rated, keyworded and archived just like any other digital image, however none of them are discarded.
The negatives are transferred to archival sleeves, and stored with the CD in dust-free archival binders. The images are eventually transferred to the appropriate archive folder along with any other digital images in the same category or event.
To retrieve the images for future scanning and printing, I search the catalog to locate the name of the binder and archival “page” in which the negative is stored.
The image is then scanned at high resolution to a working image, post-processed, and printed. The working image is then archived along with the digital images, under an appended filename that matches the name of the 6.3 MP scan from the CD.
My Film Workflow
Of course, all this refers to digital workflows. If like me you also shoot film, then there’s also a film workflow to be considered. This might be traditional in nature, or in my case, combined with the digital workflow.
After shooting the film, I hand it off for “processing” (developing) to the lab of my choice. Depending on the circumstances I may also elect to have 4x6 prints made, a miniature 4x6 contact sheet, or a CD burned. The images are scanned at medium resolution (3,088 x 2,048), more to facilitate the selection and cataloging process than for final prints. But the 6.3 MB images are quite good, and suitable for all but extreme enlargements. If I am particularly confident about the images, or if the work if for a paying client, I may elect to have the images scanned at a higher resolution.
The images from the CD are transferred to the workstation, and placed in the Contact Sheet subfolder for the camera they were captured with. They are then rated, keyworded and archived just like any other digital image, however none of them are discarded.
The negatives are transferred to archival sleeves, and stored with the CD in dust-free archival binders. The images are eventually transferred to the appropriate archive folder along with any other digital images in the same category or event.
To retrieve the images for future scanning and printing, I search the catalog to locate the name of the binder and archival “page” in which the negative is stored.
The image is then scanned at high resolution to a working image, post-processed, and printed. The working image is then archived along with the digital images, under an appended filename that matches the name of the 6.3 MP scan from the CD.
Documentation
Once you establish a set of workflows that work for you, it’s a good idea to document the for future reference. This way you if you haven’t worked with a type of image for a while, you can recall your steps and remain consistent.
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