Typical Work Flow

[Aggie04]

I was just curious as to what is everyone's typical workflow in PS.

PS Elements has that nifty quick fix button, but I want to start doing things the "RIGHT" way.

Thanks!

[Silvernic]

I would love to see some too if anyone is willing. I think I go about it a different way every time.

[Elsaspet]

I'm definately not the PS pro, but here goes:
1. SAVE AS!!!! LOL
2.CROP
3. ADJUST COLOR
4. ADJUST LEVELS
5. ADJUST CONTRAST
6. CURVES (IF NEEDED)
7. FIX FLAWS
8. UNSHARP MASK

Hope that helps!
Cindy

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by Elsaspet

I'm definately not the PS pro, but here goes:
1. SAVE AS!!!! LOL
2.CROP
3. ADJUST COLOR
4. ADJUST LEVELS
5. ADJUST CONTRAST
6. CURVES (IF NEEDED)
7. FIX FLAWS
8. UNSHARP MASK

Hope that helps!
Cindy

Mine is pretty close to Cindy's. I'll add:
9. add copyright to file info
10. save as tiff
11. resize for web (600x4x0)
12. unsharp mask again (80%, 0.5, 0-1)
13. save as jpeg - quality 80

[DeLeon]

very good tips.....about how much time do you think you spend on each individual image? I find that I spend too much time in post and forget what I even did to the photo....

[Justin]

Good thread. I've been trying to get down a work flow as well, not having much luck yet. I have a buddy in Santa Monica who is pretending to be an Aerospace Engineer while secretly making money selling his beautiful automotive photos, mostly MINI Coopers. Here's his suggestion:

1) Open photo in Photoshop (in my case Photoshop 7)
2) Image > Levels > Adjust RGB together (mostly the center slider under the
hump)
3) Image > Levels > fine tune R,G, B independantly (mostly the center slider under the hump)
4) Image > Color Balance > Mid Tones (adjust all three sliders), Shadows (adjust all three sliders), and finally adjust the Highlights (all three
sliders)
5) SAVE
6) Image > Image Size (Resize)
7) Filters > Unsharp Mask (35%, 1.3 pixel, 0 threshold)
8 ) SAVE FOR WEB > adjust image compression level to produce an image in the 150 to 200 kb file size area > USE A NEW FILE NAME

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by DeLeon

very good tips.....about how much time do you think you spend on each individual image? I find that I spend too much time in post and forget what I even did to the photo....

I'm really trying to get my post time to under 10 minutes per image. That way a typical TFP shoot takes me no more than 2 hours total in post. Right now I'm at 15 minutes or so. We can all dream, right!

[MicWayWal]

I can't believe this. There are some very basic steps everyone is leaving out of workflow. Maybe everyone is assuming this but you still need to say it. I have been working with digital and PS since 1994. If you don't do a few things BEFORE you work on the image you may not have an image to work on one day.

Before you open PS
1. Before you work on any image, make a backup copy of all your original images.
2. Store them on removable media and away from your computers best at a remote location. Never use them again unless needed.
3. Mass produce copies of each image in jpg for easy viewing.

Now you are ready for PS production for your selected images
4. Make a layer above the background layer. Ctrl+Alt+J The alt lets you name the new layer. When you work on an image, work on a layer copy. NEVER EVER work on the background layer. Use it to compare to the new adjusted layer.

Then on the new layer(s)
5. Adjust levels manually (Ctrl+L)
6. Adjust color balance manually (Ctrl+B)
7. Do necessary cropping, adjustments and retouching.
8. Always save as PSD file. Make sure your preferences are set so all layers will be saved. This lets you go back at a later time and make corrections without having to redo the whole image.
9. Make a jpg of the corrected image.
10. Save both copies PSD and JPG to seperate media and store at a remote location.

If you want speed here are some tips:
- Get the keyboard out from under your desk and learn the keyboard shortcuts. It will cut your time in half from mouse hunting. I can complete an image in about 3-5 minutes even with minor retouching. I then have an image that is ready to print and one that is ready for the web.
- Use multiple computers. I have three PC's on my desktop and two of them are for PS only. No waiting for the computer to process. I go to the next computer while one "works" on an image.
- Buy and use as much memory for you PC as you can afford. 1gig is almost necessary these days.
- Learn what works in the real world. You will be told many things by PS professionals. Most of it is hogwash. Technically correct but most of it is not necessary. Only do what matters. You will not learn that in a PS class. You will learn this in the real world school of hard knocks. Learn what the pros do and what they don't do.
- Learn how adjustment layers work. This has been the biggest time saver. When you use adjustment layers, anything can be redone in seconds from a saved PSD file.

I could list more but I have got to get back to my PC is have some images to finish.

[MyKey]

As done for most events I shoot:

1) Save and backup all orig. RAW files (Both Canon and Nikon) yes I said Nikon please do not hurt me :)

2) Flag all images I like from the event and place all flagged images in one folder (both done by using the broswer in PS) (Only done once for the event, by far the most time consuming part of the entire process)

3) Using Browser in PS - Auto Sort by Date Created (Places multi-camera files in order by the date and time stamp.

4)Open up one image using PS-CS Raw Converter, up the contrast, shadows, exposure and adjust white balance as needed.

5) Darken the edges

6) Open up file in PS

7) Copy background layer so I can apply PS work to layer and not orig. image

8 ) Apply a light blur action to image

9) Darken corners again if needed

10) Save as PSD or TIFF, Large JPG, and Small JPG (all done with an action)

11) I have all files on 3 hard drives and DVD backups which are stored off location, and Cody has files on his harddrive at his residence.

Thats about it. I do this will about 20-50 pictures per event to give the client a small sample from throughout their event. The rest get printed in order in a proof book so they can order images later if they like.

Most of these steps are either one clicks through the program or actions I have created to help speed the process along. All in all it takes about 2-5 mins per image.