Post your Workflow!

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Albedo

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Adam
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Hey, I'm just starting out with my new camera. My instinct is to shoot JPEG, but I have done a lot of reading that suggests it's a bad idea not to shoot RAW. So I have taken some RAW photos (along with JPEGs) and it's left me with twice as many photos and twice as much confusion. Is there any point shooting JPEGs as well as RAW?

Anyway, the point of this thread was to ask what your workflow is. I would be really interested to see how other people manage their photos, from shooting to printing (or storing in a clearly labelled and easy-to-find folder!)

So please post how you go about this (including programs etc!)
 
Hi
I shoot raw, import to lightroom, develop in lightroom, then export as tiffs and jpegs (the jpegs are mostly for uploading to flickr and the tiffs are for archiving. ~I key word tag in lightroom and store on the hard drive in a file named with the date. Hope that helps.
 
I'm similar to toothie,
I mainly shot RAW, import to aperture, then export as what ever file type or size is require. When I use my canon 1d I have 2 cards, one saves RAW, and another saves as a JPG with medium compression, (Just in case one card goes bad). Aperture also backs-up files for me.
 
Shoot in Raw. Import into Lacie Bigger external HD via Lightroom. All files are stored in date order. Keywording is done after/during import to LR and is how I find things afterwards. All Raws are kept however some get converted to TIFF for work in Photoshop then stacked with RAW.

Create jpgs for web which get destroyed as soon as they are uploaded.
 
Looks like Lightroom user have similar work flows.

Me I import to LR. Then burn to DVD. Images are stored as Year then Shoot ID.. Files renamed to identify them within the shoot. ( This is normally a batch rename) then add keywords if required.

Back up to another hard drive

Lightroom catlogue backed up weekly or after a major shoot. I wish Adobe would let you back up on exit , not on start up
 
Interesting! A lot of RAW-only shooters. I think that might be the way to go. In terms of space-saving and hassle reduction. In some ways it's nice to have the JPEGs ready to go, but if I'm going to post-process at all, then I may as well just process RAW.

Thanks for the contributions so far!

Anyone else?
 
Stumble out of bed, scratch b*lls, take a brief look in the mirror, shower.............

I have got the wrong jist on this thread?
 
tiler65 said:
Stumble out of bed, scratch b*lls, take a brief look in the mirror, shower.............

I have got the wrong jist on this thread?
Click to expand...

I hope you don't pee in the shower, that's like trying to process a JPEG! :nono:

Back on topic... :rules:: does anyone shoot in RAW and JPEG?
 
I do.

I find them useful when I'm trying to open a file in photoshop. Windows does not see the thumbnail pic and sometimes I want to go straight to PS3 rather than go through Bridge for everything.

Also some of my tog buddies only use jpegs so I can share pics without having to convert.

For filing I have a folder for each year, four sub folders for each quarter and all my shoots are either named or I have a few generic ones for our little 'un and the pets.

Have an external hard drive and also back up to DVD for the more major shoots.

My real problem with my workflow is here!
I access TP on my lappy and do all my editing on a desktop so I have to move files to upload them. Small price to pay though.
 
Shoot photos in RAW, dump to hard drive....forget I ever took them, then burn to DVD when I'm running out of space again....must have 2k of pictures I havent touched! :(
 
RAW only these days, and no need to shoot jpg aswell as PreviewExtractor can extract the jpgs embedded in the Raw files if needed anyway. Dont usually bother though, I save all original Raw files to external HD, thenprocess and save as jpgs those I want to use for printing or uploading in a folder within the orignal raw folder - each folder is named according to location and date of shoot.
 
I upload RAW files to Bridge, rename all files with the prefix yyyymmdd,plus original file name - this makes it easy in the future to organise into chronological order. I then open Lightroom and choose import into same folder. I check through the photos, and do basic changes to exposure etc. I can then see which ones are absolute rubbish and delete them. The ones which are OK I choose open with CS3 as PSD files. I then do any further work on them, flatten layers and save as jpeg.

The one thing that annoys me about Lightroom is that changes made in Lightroom are not carried over to RAW files when viewed in Bridge. This means that you always have to open Lightroom and then open in CS3 if you want to keep the edits which you did in Lightroom. Maybe I am missing something as only just started using Lightroom.
 
depends on how many photos i've taken.

but lets look at the 100+ i took today:

cut and paste all files (raw) from card to a new folder with the name of the event and the date after it (this is in my 2008 folder in mypics). this is on my external hardrive.

then open up bridge and scanned through them all flagging the best ones with a flag.

then go through those ones doing pp in camera raw on them untill i like them, i removed a few unneeded ones from my selection.

that was it for today, but i sometimes open photos up in CS3 for a lot of processing (e.g. mono)
 
With my canon I shoot raw and use DPP to process and save jpeg as required then save unaltered raw file to HDD and burn to cd so I have alway got my unaltered raw image to go back to. I also use neat Image and PS3 for manipulation and adjustments.
 
I shoot in Raw only. Only exception being if client needs files directly after shoot, or if printing is done on site, then ill shoot jpg and use picture styles to manipulate the sat/col/contrast etc. But I hate shooting jpg:bonk:

Conserning the pp work, i dump on harddrive, backup to external drive, and burn dvd. Import to lightroom, adding keytags etc. do neccesary tweaking, and export as jpeg. If i need to do some work in ps cs3, then i export as dng/tiff, do the required work, and then save as jpg.

I only backup the RAW files, although i am looking into converting the raw's to dng, and then wiping the raw's as dng is a lossless compression, and takes up less spacethan the raw's
 
hillwalkinggirl said:
The one thing that annoys me about Lightroom is that changes made in Lightroom are not carried over to RAW files when viewed in Bridge. This means that you always have to open Lightroom and then open in CS3 if you want to keep the edits which you did in Lightroom. Maybe I am missing something as only just started using Lightroom.
Click to expand...

Lightroom saves your changes in it's own data base. Bridge can't access that. You could try saving the LR changes as XMP files. The problem is I'm not sure if bridge can read all the info in those files. It's something I know a number of comments have been made about this on the Adobe web site.

Also you can do all the renaming within LR you don't need to go to bridge at all. Using the F2 key in Library module lets you rename files with numerous options. You might find that easier
 
I might be wrong, but if you use .dng files the changes get saved within the file as opposed to RAW with its separate file for the changes made, so it might be possible to change WB/saturation etc in lightroom, and if opened in cs3 the changes would be noted.



Chappers said:
Lightroom saves your changes in it's own data base. Bridge can't access that. You could try saving the LR changes as XMP files. The problem is I'm not sure if bridge can read all the info in those files. It's something I know a number of comments have been made about this on the Adobe web site.

Also you can do all the renaming within LR you don't need to go to bridge at all. Using the F2 key in Library module lets you rename files with numerous options. You might find that easier
Click to expand...
 
Shoot in RAW, Import into Aperture, Process in Aperture, Open in external editor i.e. CS3 to do some more fine tuning and then resize for flickr or save for the edited picture to be save in aperture.

Interesting to read some of other peoples workflows. Nice to see where i'm going wrong.

Josh
 
I always shoot in RAW, when i get in i put them all in a file marked `raw` on my external hdd. From there i process the photos i feel deserve it and then save them as jpeg to a file marked `May 08` (obv` this changes by the month and year) again this is on my external drive. I use an external hdd as i have more than one computer so i can easily move my shots around.
 
I shoot raw + large jpeg. For a normal shot will browse jpegs in windows, see what I like. If it is exposed ok etc open with photoshop, save large jpeg at 12 quality into its own folder, then do an 800x533 jpeg @ 10 quality without logo, then a 800x533 @ 10 quality with logo. Then put the raw into the same folder for any future needs. If exposure or white balance is off I will open the raw and process the same.

If I am doing and HDR shot I will find the 3 or whatever shots, take the raws, open with photoshop and covert to 16bit tiffs. Then open these in photomatix and process saving as tiffs, then open in photoshop to tweak. Save tweaked tiff in new folder and add; large 12 jpeg, 800x533 jpeg @ 10, 800x533 jpeg @ 10 with logo. Put original jpegs and raws into folder with these new shots.

I find lightroom too slow for me.
 
Marcell said:
I might be wrong, but if you use .dng files the changes get saved within the file as opposed to RAW with its separate file for the changes made, so it might be possible to change WB/saturation etc in lightroom, and if opened in cs3 the changes would be noted.
Click to expand...

Yes I have just tried this and the changes are saved in dng files. The only trouble is that your file folders then get bigger and bigger with more and more versions of the same file. It's a shame that Adobe haven't integrated the databases, so that the update details could be accessed in both programs.
 
O I C.

I knew there was a catch:bonk:

Jimmy, try faststone viewer to view raw files straight from windows dir, and the simply right click on photo and click on "edit with" ----> either cs3 or lightrrom etc
 
Now to buck the trend !!

Being new to the world of DSLR I started saving in jpeg format in DPP. I decided to change to RAW, but when I converted to TIFF & saw the size of files decided to go back to jpegs ( at least for the time being )

I use DPP to date all photos & will transfer to external HDD when internal drive starts to groan.

Unlke you guys, I can't afford £*00 on Lightroom & CS2/3 to tinker with RAW files, I make do with PSP8 & Elements 2 -which I will upgrade, when funds permit ( lens first - S/W second ) :bonk:
 
Bazzer, If you tweak your raw's in dpp, and they dont need any other tinkering, then why do you save as tiff's? Its unneccesary, as long as you keep your raw files bcked up. Tiff's only good if you do various changes in various programs, and needs to save alot before the final product.
 
I shoot in RAW, plug camera into Main PC and import into Lightroom. Lightroom is set to copy RAW file to my NEGATIVES drive and a DNG file to my PHOTOGRAPHY drive. Here I work on the pictures and Time Machine (part of Mac OS) backs up BOTH these drives to two external FW800 RAID arrays! I then copy the photography root directory to my Apple server too and do a further backup to DVDs which I keep at work!

I don't like loosing things!

I don't keep every picture I go through the negatives drive to remove duplicates and rubbish.
 
OK, heres a question regarding keywords - bearing in mind I only use CS3 and Bridge, is there a way to batch keyword an entire folder of images using this combination of programs?

I am asking because as I now have loads of storage space, I am thinking of recataloging to get rid of some duplicate stuff and various other rubbish, but with some 30000 files or more, my plan to keyword everything could keep me away from the camera for a long time :help:
 
LadyLens said:
OK, heres a question regarding keywords - bearing in mind I only use CS3 and Bridge, is there a way to batch keyword an entire folder of images using this combination of programs?

I am asking because as I now have loads of storage space, I am thinking of recataloging to get rid of some duplicate stuff and various other rubbish, but with some 30000 files or more, my plan to keyword everything could keep me away from the camera for a long time :help:
Click to expand...

On the Mac version of lightroom you just select all the pictures under library and in the right hand pain add a keyword or two and it changes all of them. I would guess it works on the PC too
 
cowasaki said:
On the Mac version of lightroom you just select all the pictures under library and in the right hand pain add a keyword or two and it changes all of them. I would guess it works on the PC too
Click to expand...


Yup Works on a PC as well. Don't forget you can use the " Spay Can" to apply keywords as well.
 
I have 3 workflows depending on what's been shot... kids in studio, wedding, my 'own' stuff

The studio though I'll mention as many here are getting into their own studio type shooting, and many too for clients...

Shoot jpeg - yep I said jpeg - no need for raw here

Open in Bridge, delete rubbish (be severe) - I typically shoot 50-100 images per shoot, and as many as 80% make it to the client's viewing (if you're new to this sort of work, expect to show perhaps 30%, but you'll improve)

Open a couple in Photoshop, tinker with levels, then set up as an action for Levels, Contrast, Sharpening (Lab Mode, and some Gaussian Blur) add 8cm white border resize to 72dpi

Open all in batches of 7-10 for 'Grey Mopping' & crop (typically less than 20secs per image)

Import into ProShowGold, front & rear titles and contact info, images onscreen typically 4 secs with a 1-1.5 sec fade - cut DVD

Retitle template PSD file for DVD cover, drop in a few sample images, print

Print DVD image onto disk

Stuff in envelope with standard pricing, order form, letter, referral sheet & any special offer

PP takes about an hour per client for all above, and NONE of the images has any PP other than an action. They are only treated to any individual work with a print, etc. order

HTH someone - :shrug:

DD
 
Quick question: if I shoot a picture in RAW and JPEG simultaneously, I often find the JPEG looks better straight out of camera (better saturation, brightness, etc). If I start shooting solely in RAW, would a simply conversion to JPEG produce the same image as if I had shot a JPEG in-camera?
 
Don't shoot RAW and jpg. Normally jpg only. Processing consists of copying onto a P2000 on the move, downloading to PC, open batches in PS, delete the rubbish, resize the keepers, maybe a sharpen, batch the whole lot to a new folder, make web gallery and publish.
 
dod said:
Don't shoot RAW and jpg. Normally jpg only. Processing consists of copying onto a P2000 on the move, downloading to PC, open batches in PS, delete the rubbish, resize the keepers, maybe a sharpen, batch the whole lot to a new folder, make web gallery and publish.
Click to expand...

Do you find processing JPEGs works ok, then?
 
Albedo said:
Do you find processing JPEGs works ok, then?
Click to expand...

I don't do a lot of processing. I'm taking so many shots that if it's bad it usually just get's binned. I might tweak levels/shadows/highlights if it's a decent shot but otherwise I don't really bother.
 
My camera is always connected to my laptop, and I shoot via the laptop. I save in both RAW and JPEG, both to the laptop and the camera (so four copies of the same thing).

Once home, I'll check I have everything on the laptop, and then copy the whole folder over again (so now I have six copies). Once I am happy, I will delete everything on the camera (so back to four copies).

I only ever work in RAW, using PSE6, using the new, copied folder (so the original images are not touched). Once I'm happy with an image, I save it as TIFF for the client. If I want to share it (on here for example) or if I want to send a proof via email, I also save it as a small(ish) JPEG.

Once everything is done, I save one copy (of RAW, TIFF and JPEG as required) to disk and on the hard drive (in a new folder, clearly named with date/client etc. Looking to get a external hard drive to save them to as instead of the hard drive.

I delete any image which is not 100% right. What's the point of keeping anything you will never use? It just clogs everything up.

Backup, backup, backup..........
 
Shoot in RAW

Back up files to external harddrive

Import to LR from local drive using clients name as the folder name

Edit in LR and CS3

Export to TIFs for images over 8x10 and JPEGs for images 8x10 and under for printing

I never delete files for some reason. I may delete them from LR during the process of eliminating shots I think a client probably wouldn't want, but I always save the RAW files on the external.... just in case. :)
 
i see you have a tonne of feedback here. i will just quickly say i shoot raw tethered on my 30d with my mac so the files save automatically, then i sort them into good and bad and transfer the good to my pc. then i use bridge to bulk edit them. and go on to do all my post production in photoshop with individual photos.

raw is definately the way forward. its a tool that can save a good photo from the recycle bin. i swear by it.
 
hillwalkinggirl said:
I upload RAW files to Bridge, rename all files with the prefix yyyymmdd,plus original file name - this makes it easy in the future to organise into chronological order. I then open Lightroom and choose import into same folder. I check through the photos, and do basic changes to exposure etc. I can then see which ones are absolute rubbish and delete them. The ones which are OK I choose open with CS3 as PSD files. I then do any further work on them, flatten layers and save as jpeg.

The one thing that annoys me about Lightroom is that changes made in Lightroom are not carried over to RAW files when viewed in Bridge. This means that you always have to open Lightroom and then open in CS3 if you want to keep the edits which you did in Lightroom. Maybe I am missing something as only just started using Lightroom.
Click to expand...

Found the answer to my problem:thumbs: I now do basic edits in LR then go to metadata; under metadata status there is now a message "metadata status has changed" Click the symbol to the right, and it then gives you an option to save changes to disk. This then updates the changes into Bridge. If you have been messing about in Bridge and Lightroom it advises you of conflict and asks whether you want to cancel (so you can sort out which is the one you want to keep).:woot:
 
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