RAW processing advice sought

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

In article <iut4e11igjt0cj8d85jargv8dt8fv7leq0@4ax.com>, Alan Bremner
<alan@domain.invalid> wrote:

> I am shooting exculsively RAW with my Canon 350D, importing with ACR
> into Elements 3, and would like the advice of more experienced
> photographers as to what settings to experiment with. What processing
> do you do in the RAW processing application and what do you undertake
> after import in your editing software? As a newcomer to RAW processing
> I'm confused by the plethora of options and am having trouble finding
> a consistent workflow.

Most often, all I have to do is bring up the shadow level a bit and
that's it. Sometimes I might tweak the exposure just a little.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

In article <g3g5e1p3s3poj657p0b9m13qlm1l3369sa@4ax.com>, Alan Bremner
<alan@domain.invalid> wrote:

> Thanks, Randall. Do you apply any sharpening or noise reduction at the
> RAW import stage?

I'm on a Mac (not that that makes any difference), but after bringing
up the shadows to 15-30 (depends on the scene), I might clean up any
dust boogers or little things like that. Then I use the Unsharp Mask,
save as a TIFF, then send it to the lab.
I used to do photography for a living so I can usually crop in the
camera and get exposure pretty close. No noise reduction...nothing
fancy.

I use a professional lab in Seattle. The supply Java-based software -
corrected and uncorrected. Print prices are less for uncorrected, of
course. I use uncorrected since my monitor is calibrated well enough
(no perfect, just close enough). After you've cropped your images and
selected services like mounting and spraying, it ZIPs the files and
FTPs them to the lab along with your account information. Pretty
simple.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

On Sat, 23 Jul 2005 16:29:00 -0700, Randall Ainsworth
<rag@nospam.techline.com> wrote:

>> Do you apply any sharpening or noise reduction at the
>> RAW import stage?

> I'm on a Mac (not that that makes any difference), but after bringing
>up the shadows to 15-30 (depends on the scene), I might clean up any
>dust boogers or little things like that. Then I use the Unsharp Mask,
>save as a TIFF, then send it to the lab.

Nice and simple. I like that approach. :-)

> I used to do photography for a living so I can usually crop in the
>camera and get exposure pretty close. No noise reduction...nothing
>fancy.

I try to get it right first time too. Cropping 35mm transparancies
wasn't an option and old habits die hard.

> I use uncorrected since my monitor is calibrated well enough
>(no perfect, just close enough).

I was shocked at the improvement when I calibrated my monitor. It made
a huge difference to how I preceived my images.

Al
--
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Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (More info?)

Alan Bremner <usenet01@ajbremner.co.uk> wrote:

> I am shooting exculsively RAW with my Canon 350D, importing with ACR
> into Elements 3, and would like the advice of more experienced
> photographers as to what settings to experiment with. What processing
> do you do in the RAW processing application and what do you undertake
> after import in your editing software? As a newcomer to RAW processing
> I'm confused by the plethora of options and am having trouble finding
> a consistent workflow.

I've found that with Camera Raw 3.1, I can do pretty much everything I
need to right in Camera Raw, and Photoshop proper is reduced to a dust-
removal tool and preparation for print (sharpening, etc). The addition
of Curves to Camera Raw was the clincher; that's got to win some kind
of award for Best Thing To Happen To Photography Lately. It certainly
makes upgrading to CS2 well worth it, as it turns out.

So at this point, for the usual case, I'm doing all tonal adjustment
and color correction in Camera Raw, then just hitting "save" in
Photoshop unless I have to remove some sensor dust or something.
In terms of post-processing, Photoshop proper is now the Big
Hammer that gets pulled out when something needs it, not the tool
to use every time. It's funny how Photoshop is pretty much now
a plugin for Camera Raw rather than the other way around.

--
Jeremy | jeremy@exit109.com