THE DIGITAL WORKFLOW BY MICHAEL SMYTH This tutorial is designed to outline the necessary steps from digital capture, image editing and creating a final print. FIRSTLY, BE AWARE OF WHAT CAN AND CAN T BE DONE PRE AND POST CAPTURE: WHAT CAN PHOTOSHOP DO? Photoshop allows you to enhance, adjust, optimise and add creativity to your images. Using some basic rules you can maintain the quality of the original capture whilst being free to enhance and create magnificent works of art. WHAT CAN T PHOTOSHOP DO? Photoshop can t fix poor exposures, particularly over exposure cannot be repaired if you have burnt out highlights. Photoshop cannot add detail or sharpness that isn t already there. A soft image will always be soft. Take time to get the image capture right before you try to fix it in Photoshop. FIVE STEPS TO QUALITY IMAGE MAKING The chart at the back of this tutorial is my graphical depiction of all of the steps necessary in the image creation process. Take time to study the steps and the interconnections. STEP 1: GETTING THE CAMERA SETTINGS RIGHT By getting the camera settings right in the first place you have the best chance of having a decent image to work with. If possible shoot in RAW format for ultimate quality and flexibility. BASIC CAMERA SETUP OPTIONS: If shooting JPEGs: Image size set to largest pixel count Colour space set to Adobe RGB (if available) Compression set to lowest compression = highest quality Sharpening set to off or lowest setting Tone Curve (contrast) set to none, standard or low contrast ISO setting set to lowest usable setting (don t be lazy, use a tripod!) Noise reduction set to On (use both high ISO and long exposure NR) White balance use manual presets for maximum colour control. If shooting RAW: Image size ISO setting Optional set to largest pixel count Keep to lowest possible set white balance for initial previews RAW vs. JPEG capture: why Raw is better A RAW capture (it isn t an image until processed in RAW conversion software) is like having a roll of film before processing. You have options for adjusting all of the important parameters of the image whilst you can see what these changes are doing to the image. The following is a comparison of a Raw and JPEG capture (The RAW and JPEGs have been processed for optimum quality): Page 1
The most important areas where RAW capture is superior to JPEG are: Bit depth White balance Noise reduction Sharpening Colour space Non Destructive Page 2 The sensor captures 12 bit data, JPEGs reduce this to 8 bit (4096 levels of tone to 256). You can convert to 16 bit Photoshop images to retain maximum image information. In the RAW conversion accurate white balance is applied. With JPEGs, you have limited ability to modify the white balance post capture. All images have noise, by reducing it in the conversion the important details are retained without degrading the image. In the latest version of Adobe Camera RAW there are powerful new tools that allow maximum detail extraction from the image capture. When converting from RAW you have 4 colour spaces available. (srgb, Adobe RGB, ColorMatch RGB and ProPhoto RGB). All of the adjustments and settings applied to the RAW data are non destructive and exist as separate files (XMP data). You can re process an image as many times as you like with no loss of data or quality.
STEP 2: GETTING THE IMAGES INTO YOUR COMPUTER PHOTOTUTOR.com.au Download your images using Bridge, Lightroom or Adobe Photo downloader. Immediately make a backup copy of your original images onto a separate hard drive, CD or DVD. Make 2 copies to be sure. Always store your images in a separate folder from your program information Never, Ever store images in My Documents or My Photos (part of Windows). If you have a problem with Windows or have to go back to a restore point, you will lose all or some of your images. Preferably store all of your images on a separate hard drive from your program files (C drive), an external hard drive is ideal. Establish a systematic method of handling and labelling photos. Bridge and Lightroom have extensive keyword options for tagging and rating images. Use them. I use a system where I have one folder called Backed up Images Every original image file is stored here in a sub folder by shoot, place or other label that suits. All images I work on are placed into a separate folder outside of the Backed up Images. I label this as XYZ Folder Developed and the year (e.g. Antarctica Developed 2008 ) When I back this up onto DVD I then move this entire folder into the Backed up Images folder so I can tell instantly which images are backed up and which are not. Back up on a regular basis. STEP 3: SETTING UP PHOTOSHOP There are some important things you should check in Photoshop to make sure you are working with the best settings. Set the colour settings as follows. You should be working in Adobe RGB colour space. This is the most critical area as images brought into your computer will be handled by Photoshop all the way to the printer. For detailed instructions on how to set up Photoshop correctly, see my tutorial titled Colour Managed Workflow Page 3
STEP 4: BASIC IMAGE PROCESSING PHOTOTUTOR.com.au The options available for editing your images will depend on the version of Photoshop that you have. If you have CS3 or CS4, you have the option of opening all file types via the Adobe Camera RAW interface. Here you can fine tune the White Balance with one click. If you shoot RAW you have a large number of options available to adjust and maximise the quality of your capture, including setting Black and White points, mid tones, Vibrance, Clarity, Sharpening and Noise Reduction to name but a few. For more on RAW processing, see my tutorial titled RAW Processing. Once you have your image open in Photoshop you should carry out all other adjustments and enhancements on Adjustment Layers. Here is the CS3 interface. The layers stack is shown enlarged at right: Adjustment Layers allow the maximum amount of creative input and selective application to images via the Layer Mask, Blend Modes and Transparency. Never Ever apply filters or treatments to your base image (Background layer) especially Artistic Filters. Make a duplicate of your base layer and apply the Artistic filter to the copy, then reduce the opacity to suit. Choose an appropriate blend mode combined with the opacity to ensure the filter does not overpower your image.. Use adjustment layers to selectively apply Levels, Curves, Hue/Saturation etc to parts of your image. Use the Layer Mask to paint in or out the areas where the adjustment is to apply. This is repeatable and reversible. For a more detailed explanation of the use of layers, see my separate tutorial titled Non Destructive Image Editing using Layers Apply Sharpening twice only (1) at capture and (2) prior to printing. (You may skip (1) if using JPEG capture). Use with discretion. Apply Noise reduction on a duplicate layer and adjustments to Opacity for maximum control. using a layer and/or plug ins (such as Nik Dfine, etc). Page 4
STEP 5: SAVING AND PRINTING Always save your image with the layers intact for future reworking. Save as layered TIFFs or Photoshop files. Backup these images separately from your originals. When printing make sure your adjustments have not pushed the image data out of Gamut. Use the Gamut waring to check for extreme adjustments and correct if necessary. To check to see if you have pushed tones or colours out of Gamut, go to View>Proof Setup>Custom and select the paper and printer combination you are using from the drop down box (e.g. SPR1800 Premium Glossy). By ticking on and off the Preview button you can get a reasonable idea of how the image will look when printed. The easier to access Gamut Warning (View>Gamut Warning) is not really representative of current wide gamut printers. Follow the basic tips below to ensure optimum printing quality. Do not sharpen images excessively during processing. The following are the steps to take with a finished image to achieve the best quality inkjet prints: Step 1: Complete all image adjustments and save the file. If all work has been finished, flatten all layers before saving to save file space (optional I always keep my files with all layers). Step 2: If necessary, convert the colour space for the file to Adobe RGB (This is not really necessary as the Adobe Conversion engine will convert your image to suit the printer profile). Step3: Determine the print size for an A4 print I usually print at 270 x 180mm to allow some margin around the print. Go to Image>Image Size. Ignore the Pixel dimensions box. Make sure the boxes for Scale Styles and Constrain proportions are ticked. At this stage DO NOT tick the resample Image box as we want to see what the native resolution of the image at the output size will be.. Enter the width or height for the printed image. Note the resolution of the native file. As shown opposite, the native resolution is 364.2 pixels/inch For inkjet printing the image will be resampled by the printer driver to allow for the printer s native resolution. As we have no control over how the printer will carry out the resampling, the preferred method is to do the resampling first in Photoshop. Before clicking OK on the resize dialog box, choose a resolution to suit the printer. Page 5 Now click on Resample Image. Epson printers prefer to work in multiples of their native resolution, which are multiples of 120 dpi (120, 240, 360). Usually you will print at either 240 or 360. If downsizing (reducing the resolution, choose Bicubic Sharper as the method as highlighted opposite. If up sampling (increasing the resolution) choose Bicubic Smoother. You should avoid resizing by more than 10% in one step.
Step3: continued - There is no benefit in printing at higher than 360dpi (image resolution, not the printer settings) and you should avoid a print resolution below 200 dpi as the image will be soft Enter the new resolution and click on OK. Your image file is now at the correct size and resolution for printing. Step 4: The next step is to apply specific sharpening to suit the printer output. Note: The amount of sharpening we apply here will look horrible on the screen, but will print beautifully. Do not use the monitor to judge the amount of sharpening to be applied. First create a duplicate of your flattened image by dragging the layer onto the new layer icon at the bottom of the layers palette. Choose Luminosity for the blend mode and set at about 70% opacity. Next apply an Unsharp Mask (or Smart Mask) using the following settings: Sharpen amount 320 Radius 0.6 Threshold 4, then click OK to apply. (This is for an A4 print) The dialog box is shown below. After making a test print, you can adjust the opacity up or down to fine tune the amount of sharpening to suit your particular image and taste. Step 5: The image is now at the correct size and resolution, with appropriate sharpening for printing. DO NOT save the file with these settings. You are now ready to print. If your monitor is correctly calibrated you should be able to print using the following method without major adjustments. (you can make minor brightness and colour adjustments to your final print using additional adjustment layers). Print settings will vary depending on the version of Photoshop you are using. For CS3 use the following (this is a simplified version): Clicking on the Page setup menu takes you to the printer dialog box. Make sure Photoshop is set as the option for colour handling, with the printer type and paper set as the printer profile. The most important thing is to make sure the printer dialog box is set to allow Photoshop to handle the colours. Make sure you have told the printer NOT to colour manage (Photoshop is doing this) and choose the printer settings for highest quality, select the correct paper profile and click OK. The preview will look horrible! but have faith, it should print beautifully. Page 6
This is the CS3 Print menu: Once you have the settings correct note that the print size and resolution is shown at the bottom, click on print to go to the printer dialog box. This is for an Epson R1800. Your printer will probably be different, but the principle is the same. Examine your print carefully, if halos are visible around edges in your image you will need to reduce the opacity of the sharpening layer applied in Step 4 above. Experiment and tweak as necessary to suit your setup. For a more detailed explanation of how to set up an Epson Printer for optimum results, download the step by step instructions from Epson here: ftp://ftp.epson.com.au/pub/epson/tech Tips/RGB%20CS2%20Windows%20Workflo w.pdf Page 7 This is for CS2, but the steps are similar for later versions of Photoshop.
10 TOP TIPS FOR BETTER IMAGE MAKING: PHOTOTUTOR.com.au 1. Capture images in RAW format if possible, leave all critical decisions until you can see their effect. Use JPEGs as the second best option with all camera settings minimised. 2. Always work in the largest possible colour space (assign at processing time in RAW) or setup in camera for JPEGs. As a minimum use Adobe RGB. 3. Save images in layered TIFF or Photoshop format (.PSD) with layers intact as long as possible. 4. Calibrate your monitor for consistent results. With a properly calibrated monitor your images should look the same on any device (e.g. Data projector). Once your monitor is calibrated, setup your printer using Photoshop to manage colours. 5. Set up your printer correctly: let Photoshop manage colours, make sure you have all printer profiles installed for the different paper types. Do calibrating with the printer manufacturer s paper to establish a baseline. If you have an Epson printer you can download a PDF with suggested settings. 6. Don t over sharpen during processing. Apply sharpening for printing and don t save. Don t print too large. Remember a larger image will magnify the faults in your image. 7. Always carry out image adjustments using Adjustment layers. Use Levels only for selecting the black and white points. Use Curves for tone mapping. Always set the blend mode to luminosity for Levels and Curves. 8. When shooting aim for the 4 essential elements: A Good tonal range with highlights not overexposed keep highlights as far as possible to the right. B Use the Histogram to confirm exposure. C Ensure correct focus and depth of field D Hold the camera steady or use a tripod 9. Get the composition right in the camera, avoid cropping as you lose valuable pixels. Shoot alternative compositions including landscape and vertical. Digital film costs nothing. 10. Be creative, experiment and don t be afraid to break the rules Michael Smyth 2008
THE CHART BELOW SETS OUT ALL OF THE STEPS IN THE IMAGE CREATION PROCESS