Your own workflow 2 - Continued

The visit to Selsey Bill went ahead and I shot 160 images. I did delete a couple throughout the day but only when I found them to be really bad. This was because I had enough memory card space to carry on shooting and I find it easier to assess the shots on the computer monitor rather than the small display on the back of the camera.

I also spent time checking the histogram on location as I have rolled this exercise partially into the histogram exercise. Below is an image of the Canon RAW converter and image viewer with shots from the day.

Images in the Canon RAW converter (click for larger image)

I ended up with a number of shots that range from the record shots to artistic blurs and slow shutter speed work, which I am very interested in at the moment.

I created the receiving folder structure as planned in the flow chart and carried out a backup of the drive as soon as I had all the RAW files copied from the camera card.

At the moment I am still editing the images so I will come back to report on that aspect of the workflow when I have completed this. I edit most of my images down to display on Flickr but keep the Photoshop files in full size as I occasionally print these out for entry into the camera club competitions or exhibition.

Your own workflow 2

For one of my TAOP projects I spent a little time in Selsey Bill, a sea-side town on the South coast of the UK. I have another visit planned with a friend as there was a good variety of stuff to shoot and it will be interesting to visit at a different time of year. This day out will be the ideal subject for exercise 2.

The planning for this workflow starts at the equipment checking stage. Importance is placed on battery life and memory card capacity to sustain a day's worth of shooting - I am anticipating a large number of shots. It may be necessary to delete some of the shots during the day.

With this shoot the majority of the work will start when back at home. There will be many images to check over and maybe edit.

Below is my flow chart for this shoot.

(click for larger image)

The trip is planned in a weeks time after which I evaluate how well the workflow functioned.

Your own workflow 1

In this exercise we are tasked with creating & documenting our own workflow. This workflow will later be put to use and tested in a couple of projects.

It has become more important to have a good workflow in place. A digital camera is capable of producing a large number of images very inexpensively. In this digital age we also have complete control over  the editing & processing of image and the way we make it available for viewing, i.e. the internet, digital slide show or print. We also have to consider the fragility of a digital file over a printed photograph. Our workflow has to cater for the storage and security of the digital image.

Although the editing, processing and storage part of the workflow may be the same or very similar for any type of shoot, the first part of the workflow which deals with the preparation of equipment may vary.

This first workflow is for a small, time limited project such as a portrait shoot. I have using been a workflow that has slowly been forming without any deliberate planning so this is an ideal time to maybe firm this up and get it down on virtual paper.

Using the portrait session as the objective, the workflow actually starts even before charging the batteries. First a location is needed. I keep a list of possible locations and now also take a snapshot with my phone or compact when I come across a new one. This location scouting is a continuous process.

In this workflow the second thing I would need is a model or subject. This could be from among friends, family or from a modelling agency. As the shoot is going to be limited in time I will try to make a mental note or a printed list of poses I wish the subject to try out. 

Next comes preparation of the equipment which is noted on the chart. This completes the first part of the workflow. Everything now stops until the arranged time of the shoot.

(click for larger image)

At the shoot itself I must concentrate on the subjects poses and lighting to make sure I get the shots I need. All I can do here is check the camera screen (histogram) to make sure things look ok.

Back at home the last stage of the workflow cycle is the selection, storing and processing of the images. I use Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP) as my RAW processor (I always shoot in RAW). DPP is used to transfer the images from the memory card to a newly created folder on the PC. I arrange my RAW images in a folder structure which is split into years followed by months or events, a month if the images are just random images or an event if the images all hail from the same occasion.

The RAW folder structure (click for larger view)

I usually perform the RAW adjustments in DPP and then transfer the image directly to Photoshop for any special effects editing and final output processing for print or web. The Photoshop files are also saved into a similar folder structure as the Raw files but I name the Photoshop files with a sensible name rather than the image number.

This outlined workflow will now be put to the test to carry out one of the upcoming exercises in the course.