# Workflow, what do you do?



## P_R (Nov 4, 2013)

Hi, 
There may be a thread about this already, but I could not locate it after quite a bit of searching. If there is could someone please direct me? If not, here is my question:

What is your workflow after a shoot?
Plug in camera, down load with DPP / EOS Utility / Lightroom / PS / other?
Then do you apply a macro to do basic bulk processing, such as renaming, storing the files.
What about editing the RAW (or JPEG) individual shots?
And any special processing - noise reduction for example.

What I do is plug in 1Dx, use EOS Utility (just started using that once I got the new body) to upload files to the computer.
Then I use DPP to select which files I want to keep. Those go into the collection tab.
From there I edit the files - crop, sharpness, colour etc.
Once happy with the change, save into JPEG or TIFF.

But this method is time consuming and error prone and of course inefficient. Is there a better way?

P_R


----------



## ereka (Nov 4, 2013)

P_R said:


> Is there a better way?
> 
> P_R



Yes - Lightroom


----------



## neuroanatomist (Nov 4, 2013)

I use a card reader (FW800 or ExpressCard/34) for faster file transfer. I would need to remove the card from the camera regardless, because I keep the images on the card as a backup until they are processed and stored on external drives.

I used to use DPP - I found the process to triage images to be like something from the dark ages (aka Win3.1) and editing images in DPP reminded me of medieval torture (aka Wordstar, and yes I know I'm dating myself a bit).

I detailed my current workflow in this post:
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=11751.msg209592#msg209592

Light room would probably be the easiest option. However, I prefer to use the best tool for the job, as opposed to a universal tool that is very good at many things. I find the optical corrections in DxO Optics Pro to be the best for RAW conversion, and Aperture to be slightly better for library management (including better integration with the Mac OS).


----------



## alexturton (Nov 4, 2013)

Here is my workflow:

Import all pictures into Lightroom. Managed in date stamped folders
Delete naff pictures 
edit raw files of the remaining 
Optional: use PS, perfect photo suite, topaz etc... As needed for edits. 
Once edited all export as JPEG to iPhoto. 
Move raw folder onto external hard disk. 
Upload from iPhoto to Flickr, Facebook, etc as necessary.


----------



## unfocused (Nov 4, 2013)

I'm curious about this too. I've been doing a lot a portraits lately and, once again, it makes me wonder how anyone can make a living at this given the time involved. Here is what I mean:

Adjust the file in Raw to get the exposure, contrast, blacks, whites, etc. best for the face. 
Export as a smart object.
Copy that smart object and take it back to Camera Raw for some adjustments to the rest of the scene. (For example, I don't like the person's arms to be brighter than their face, so I may bring the exposure down a bit on the rest of the scene)
Take that smart object back to Photoshop and use a layer mask to paint in or out, blending the two files.
Copy and merge those layers.
Make a duplicate layer (for safety sake) and go to work on the face with the healing brush to reduce large blemishes
Take that cleaned up file and send it to OnOne's portrait software to whiten the teeth, brighten the eyes, and smooth out the skin.
Bring it back to Photoshop
Go into Nik and tweak the contrast, etc. to make the image pop. 
Go back to photoshop and look for anything I've missed or that needs fixing. 
Save the file.

Go to Nik's Silver Effects and make a black and white or toned version of the file.
Save that file.

Go back to Nik's color effects or OnOne's effects software and make a "trendy" version (pseudo instagram).

All in all, even with a good file this can take more than 1/2 an hour. Do that 30 times over and you've invested the equivalent of two-three full days of work just on the post processing.

So, I wonder how do the professionals out there handle this and make it pay?


----------



## CanonLITA (Nov 4, 2013)

My workflow (personal use) is:
1. upload from card reader to specific folder (eg 2013.11.04 - Event Title XYZ), each within a "year" folder (in each "year" folder there is also a folder with the same name (eg 2013) there the extravagantes images are copied (eg taken with the iPhone and not related to any particular event); if an event lasts more than one day, I prefer to still have single folder and the initial day is used for the name;
2. synchronize folder in LR so that the new images are imported (and new folders are created) in the catalog;
3. delete images I don't need to keep (flag as reject and the batch delete so I only have to confirm deletion of the original file once);
4. edit (or promise I will) and flag.

So, I have a couple of questions myself.

1. In my "flagged" smart collection I can quickly find (in LR) my favorite shoots. I tend to export (i) all of them as small jpegs to be uploaded into mobile devices/cloud, and (ii) few of them as tiffs to be printed out at the lab. Is there any workflow/trick/IFTTT receipe that could help me to automate the jpeg export/upload? (other than switching to Aperture)

2. Assuming I have a safe backup strategy, which files should I backup to be super safe? Original CR2s along with LR catalog (where I understand all the edits for all the pictures are stored) or a newly created DGN? In the latter case, will each single file include all its specific edits also preserving the original raw?

Thank you


----------



## AmbientLight (Nov 4, 2013)

This is what I do:
1) I shoot in RAW+JPEG almost all the time, so having both is my usual starting point.
2) Since I dislike removing my CF cards from my cameras when there is no need I always transfer data using an USB cable.
3) Transfer to my Macbook Pro is always performed using EOS Utility. It is set to pop up automatically once I connect a camera, so I only have to click a button.
4) First check of images is performed in DPP. I sort out useless JPEG copies and any images I initially dislike.
5) I add the shooting location to each image folder as a minimum information.
6) At that point I copy the directories onto a portable hard disk. From there the JPEGs get copied onto a windows laptop I use for preview purposes.
7) From the Macbook Pro I delete all JPEGs.
8 ) What remains gets uploaded into Adobe Lightroom and gets processed (crop, color, contrast, noise reduction, etc.).
9) I export images as JPEGs and provide them on memory stick(s).

For backup I simply copy what's on my portable hard disk onto two other hard disks stored at different locations. Using only hard disks or SSDs helps avoid data loss such as is entirely possible with DVDs, although the risk of data loss is still fairly low using DVDs, except if you store them in the sun or on a heated surface.

I don't apply any ratings nor do I use favorite image folders outside of Adobe Lightroom. What I like about my workflow is the ability to view out-of-camera JPEGs on a Windows PC in comparison to what I get out of Lightroom. Sometimes this makes me rethink the way I processed an image.


----------



## Rienzphotoz (Nov 4, 2013)

"Is there a better way", is a difficult question to answer, coz all our needs are not the same ... but this is what I do:
1. Use USB3 card reader to download my images to 2 External Hard disks
2. Keep the original images in the memory card until the next shoot
3. Fire up Lightroom and import (using "Add photos to catalog without moving them")
4. Basic editing in Lightroom ... PS6 for a bit more complex stuff
5. I use "Sync" a lot for similar images & make further adjustments if needed (this really speeds up editing for me)
6. Sometimes I use Aperture to see if I'm getting a better look (sometimes it does).
7. Once my editing is done, copy paste the catalog in both the external hard disks.

Might not be as efficient as some of the more efficient folk here but it works for me.


----------



## Jeffrey (Nov 4, 2013)

Not being the Freddy Photoshop sort, I download the images into Lightroom, trash the bad ones and reduce the shoot down to 30-50 images that I keep in electronic form on two external hard drives (one at home, one elsewhere except when updating them). I then select 3-5 images that I really like and send them out to a professional post processing and printing company for them to deal with. I prefer to shoot instead of process/edit.


----------



## V8Beast (Nov 4, 2013)

Here's my straight-out-of-the-stone-age workflow:

1) Preview RAW images in ACR
2) Delete images I don't like
3) Perform basic color temp, contrast, noise reduction edits in ACR
4) Save all CR2 files
5) Edit images that require additional editing in Photoshop
6) Dummy down all images to jpegs, as my clients' FTP servers are way to slow to handle 126mb TIFFs
7) Images that require more extensive editing get saved as TIFFs, while images that require minimal post work on Photoshop get stored as CR2s and jpegs. 

I don't see the point in wasting disk space by saving everything as a TIFF for files that require very little post processing. The bulk of the edits are stored in the CR2 file already. In the rare instance that I want to retouch an image in the future, I have the CR2 file to fall back on, and only have to "repeat" minor tweaks I previously made to the file in Photoshop. Again, for images that require more extensive work in Photoshop, I'll save them as TIFFs, as repeating that work in the future would be a major PITA. 

I know it's about as ghetto of a workflow as you can get, but it works for me


----------



## Roo (Nov 4, 2013)

Like a few others, I tend to import through DPP and quickly scan for the shots I want to keep. I then import the ones I want to process into lightroom adding keywords and using a preset I created to get the ball rolling. I then go over each one and adjust the settings until I like the result. 

The problem I have now is with LR5. My preset uses lens corrections and auto tone and worked fine in LR4 but for some reason in LR5 auto tone now over exposes every shot...by a lot. Anyone else found this?


----------



## Steve (Nov 4, 2013)

CanonLITA said:


> My workflow (personal use) is:
> 1. upload from card reader to specific folder (eg 2013.11.04 - Event Title XYZ), each within a "year" folder (in each "year" folder there is also a folder with the same name (eg 2013) there the extravagantes images are copied (eg taken with the iPhone and not related to any particular event); if an event lasts more than one day, I prefer to still have single folder and the initial day is used for the name;



This. Oh my god, this. So many people I know just plug in a camera and let LR or whatever autodump files wherever. I don't know how anyone finds anything without a consistent naming structure. I do the Year->Location->Date format with a separate subfolder for portfolio images organized by style/subject. Then I can archive by year and everything is nice and organized. 

Also, everyone should look into a USB 3.0 or PCI card reader if you don't already have one. It is so much faster than plugging in the camera. I don't think any Canon body supports USB 3.0 so, at least for now, a card reader is an order of magnitude faster for dumping files.

That said, my flow is thus for the bulk of my photos (wildlife, primarily):

Dump files from card reader to appropriately labelled folder
Go through them in Bridge, discard OOF/bad, Rate the decent/good
Determine which are worth working on
Copy those to a working RAW folder (I always preserve untouched .CR2's)
Open in DPP and zero out all presets
Fix WB and Crop
Export as TIFF
Open in PS
Denoise with Topaz Denoise 
---This is why I zero out in DPP. Topaz works best on an unaltered RAW file and DPP allows it to get better results with less NR
Detail & Sharpen, Curves, Saturation, Cloning, etc until satisfied with final image
Save as TIF with Layers
Save for Web as large and small jpegs

This is just for photos I want to make look as good as possible. If they already look pretty great out of camera and I'm just gonna throw em up on facebook or something then I'll do edits in ACR or DPP and export as jpegs.


----------

