Workflow

Ste Manns

Ste Manns

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In this months Pro Photo magazine there is an article about starting up in business, and part of that article mentions Workflow, and how getting it right is crucial, I've read the same elsewhere many times.

I keep hearing this word Workflow, of course I know to what it refers, vaguely at least, but nowhere have I seen any in depth article or how to or any help whatsoever to be frank. To me it's no good banging on about something so obviously important and never once saying how its done, not even a rough guide :shrug:

So, I ask you, what are your thoughts on the nitty gritty of workflow? I understand it will be different depending on alsorts of issues, but surely there is some consensus? I don't know, maybe there is a basic "how to" out there I'm missing? A guide on where to start and so on. For instance, image sharpening. I've seen people say you should sharpen this way, and others say it's better to sharpen another way. Yeah alright you are always going to get this kind of thing but for someone like me who is reasonably competant with a camera but only beginning with PP it drives you up the wall!

I work with a Mac, have Photoshop CS4 and also Lightroom 2, Canons DPP, and not a clue where to start, workflow wise. I'm getting the hang of doing PP (a bit at a time) but always wonder am I doing things the right way round, is the result the best it can be (notwithstanding my basic PP skills) or am I doing something which I shouldn't be?

I've bought books on Photoshop etc but they aren't really going into this in any great detail, they are good at telling you how to do a specific thing but not suggesting good practices for workflow. Where/how do you guys learn this stuff 'cos I'm beginning to fret over it and that's annoying!
 
My workflow isn't perfect but it works well for me. I was in the same position as you but just did my thing until I found something that worked.

Import into LR
Go through and delete the crap
Go through again and touch up each one as necessary, if happy then mark with a 5, if any Photoshop work is needed then mark with a 4.
Go back and do all the Photoshop work, then mark with a 5 if happy.

Once I have all my 5s I export as required.
 
It isn't just me then?

I don't as yet have a set routine and would like some help on this. I'm quite happy working out how each step is done myself (like I said I have loads of books :D) but would appreciate the guidance. I realise each shot has its own requirements but there must be a recognised way of doing things or I wouldn't keep hearing about workflow!
 
Thanks to lightroom my workflow is nice and simple now.

Download raw files to a folder named for the job/shoot onto my 'Photo Store' hard drive (1tb and filling fast)
Import the folder of new raws into Lightroom
Create a collection of the new imports
Put the collection into its correct group (landscape, events, etc)
Go through and rate the shots from 1-5 (1=fun, 2=delete, 3=ok, 4=good, 5=excellent)
I then go through the 4 & 5 star shots and process them
I then go through again, normally the next day, and see if any of the 4's should be 5's
Upload 5's to gallery for client or flickr if they are just for me (all with Lightroom plugins, which also resize, sharpen and watermark the photos as they export).

Done.

Compared to how I use to do it, shooting raw and jpeg, going through jpegs to pick which raws I would process in photoshop and doing them one by one, then changing mind, then having to go through and resize, sharpen and watermark them one by one it is a life and time saver!
 
If you need some help getting your workflow sorted have a look at http://www.d65.com/

FWIW, I use Lightroom for everything, it keeps it simple.
 
If you have Lightroom on your computer it effectivly "forces" you into a good workflow, as Jimmy states above.

The only addition I would suggest is that to organise you photo's into folders before you import. i.e. By year, by client and then by shoot id if multiples for the same client.

Don't forget to include a robust backup routine within your workflow. ( but that's a whole separate subject)
 
Putting the files into a folder first is an absolute must, otherwise they get put into all sorts of folders and subfolders and it can be a nightmare to sort it all out after.
 
Chappers said:
The only addition I would suggest is that to organise you photo's into folders before you import. i.e. By year,
Click to expand...

Oh yeah forgot that bit, the folder on my photo store drive is in the month/year it is was shot too.
 
Thanks for the input so far.

I already back up religiously after a lot of precious memories were lost due to an over exciteable dog, a cup of coffee and a hard drive (my first three years with a DSLR for a start)

Does nobody have a checklist they work through at all? Lightroom doesn't seem to force me into any particular workflow - I can go straight to print after import and then realise I've forgotten to water mark the image for instance :shrug: Now that's my own fault but the point being there's nothing to stop that happening. After your replies I'm thinking I should come up with my own step by step checklist and tweak it a bit after some input from you guys. It's just the way I hear/see articles like the one I mentioned saying how important it is to get the right workflow, yeah that's great but what is the right workflow :bang: To me it's like saying there is a right way to bake a cake and then not telling you how to actually do it :thinking:

I do apologise if this seems a bit daft to anyone by the way, but it has been driving me more nuts! than usual
 
You can get Lightroom to put a copyright message on you image using the identity plate. You've got a number of options in the overlays panel.

I think you are going to have to fine tune your workflow to suit your particular needs, every one is different. Dont forget to add a Copyright preset to the import part of your workflow. This will tag your image with the copyright info in the IPTC header.
 
I work top to bottom in the Lightroom import module, then go through the images making selects and rejects in the library window. Add any meta data to the selects. Then I move to the develop window and work through that top to bottom.

I only ever output images as I need them so don't really count that in my workflow.
 
Ste Manns said:
Thanks for the input so far.

I already back up religiously after a lot of precious memories were lost due to an over exciteable dog, a cup of coffee and a hard drive (my first three years with a DSLR for a start)

Does nobody have a checklist they work through at all? Lightroom doesn't seem to force me into any particular workflow - I can go straight to print after import and then realise I've forgotten to water mark the image for instance :shrug: Now that's my own fault but the point being there's nothing to stop that happening. After your replies I'm thinking I should come up with my own step by step checklist and tweak it a bit after some input from you guys. It's just the way I hear/see articles like the one I mentioned saying how important it is to get the right workflow, yeah that's great but what is the right workflow :bang: To me it's like saying there is a right way to bake a cake and then not telling you how to actually do it :thinking:

I do apologise if this seems a bit daft to anyone by the way, but it has been driving me more nuts! than usual
Click to expand...

I also know exactly what you mean. I have just ordered a couple of books (on LR2 and PS4) in the hope of sorting this out.

There must be a set-up process for LR too. i took some test photos as RAW +Jpeg, when I imported them into Picasa it showed two versions of each photo, one that looked `finished`(jpeg) and one that looked a bit drab (RAW). When I imported the same folder into LR, there was just one of each photo and it `appeared` to be finished. Went through various menus but couldn`t find how i changed the import so I could see the RAW files.

As mentioned above, people also talk about plug-ins that do various things, where do these come from.

Another `issue` I have is how when making changes on the screen how do you know what they will look like in print? (if you don`t print them yourself).
 
Some great information many thanks to all.
Dave
 
I do it slightly different, i import exactly the way the others have said, but then i go through each import and place any photos i think are good and put them in a quick collection, when thats done i save the collection in the relevent place then go through them again removing any i don't think make the grade.

I then process the raw files individually. I tend to finish of my very best in cs4 because i have not been able, as of yet, to create the exact look i want in lightroom. I then create an output folder to place all finshed photos.

Maybe its not the most streamlined, but out all the methods i've tried it suits me the best.

It is a difficult thing to say which workflow to use, as some people use different programs (capture NX etc) but best thing to do is to try out some of the methods mentioned then work out which one works best for you.
 
workflow is a standard business concept that has been picked up by photographers, but the concept is the same - it basically says 'what is the process I go through', and that can be just whenusing an eiditing programme or everything from winning business through to delivering prints.

So you need to decide what you think you need.

I have a workflow for winning business (you might say it's just knowing where to advertise or show my work and when but it's still workflow)

I also have a workflow for processing my shots from my weddings, and in this case it's a little unusual as I have two editing machines so the workflow is designed so that I can edit 1000 shots or more rapidly without waiting for my tools to load up
 
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