Creating your Workflow....
To more experienced photographers digital photography is fun and to newcomers most the time it is full of surprises. I was discussing photography with Fred and he was saying, "It looked so simple when discussing the new camera with the sales guy in the shop. Nobody told me I need editing software, a second camera battery and in my case not only a new PC but also PC training . I can understand that many people are lost when taking up digital photography for the first time. It can be a little scary to say the least. I am sure many readers can tell his or hers own story when thinking back to the first few weeks with the new digital camera. I read of a guy who took pictures until the memory card was full and for months he believed, that was it, the camera is now full.
Its not rare to hear about people not knowing what to do when the memory card is full. In one case I was told the person thought he had to go buy a new camera. In this short article I will discuss what you typically might have to plan for as you get to know your camera better.
Typical questions one hear from folks who are new to digital photography, are:-
Do I need a PC?
Do I require special software?
What happens to all the images I take?
What is the difference between RAW and JPEG?
Do I need to set-up my camera for "best" settings?
What is dynamic range, noise, should I care about these terms?
Then there are a host of technical terms making things even more complex. Should I worry about sensor size?
I think what makes digital photography so scary too many folks, is the fact that its so different to the old style film photography. I was sitting in a coffee shop looking at two older ladies having fun with their mobile phones. I could not help thinking, look at the two girls taking pictures of each other, they most probably uploading pictures of their coffee break onto Facebook, while tweeting away on the side.....;-)
Well looking a little closer I could see the girls were trying to understand how to use the camera in the phone. They would try a setting, take a picture and then see if they did it right. It was only after some time plus with the help of a young waitress that they managed to take the pictures. I could not help thinking...wonder what will happen to those pics?
In a similar way there are loads of people that buy a new digital camera not knowing what the differences really are between old style analog photography and digital photography. Let's discuss digital photography and while doing that I will answer the above questions, trusting that it will help you to develop a better understanding of what digital photography really is all about.
Lets Look at Workflow
What is workflow and what would you recommend?
By now you most probably know that the memory card replaced the film role in your old film camera. Just like the film role the images needs to be removed from the memory card when it gets full. To do that one connects the camera with a cable to a PC and then one can transfer the images on the memory card to the PC. In the PC one can correct the color of the images by editing them, one could save the images in a catalogue or one can decide to print some or all of the images that was on the memory card. This process of taking images, downloading them to a PC, editing or printing the images, preparing the camera for the next shoot, is all part of a typical workflow for a digital camera owner.
Do I need Editing Software?
Should one buy editing software in addition to what was supplied with the camera? This is a question with no clear answer. Most of the supplied software is really good and in many cases all you would need for the lifetime of the camera. In most cases they both PC and MAC ready.
The reason for having software is threefold. First one typically correct exposure, color or other problems during the post processing phase. Secondly one would use software to organize all the images one take. Finally one would use software to prepare slideshows, print images or preparing photo books for example.
The question should one buy software in addition to what was supplied is at first more a case of learning. Digital photography has a steep learning curve and one should do everything possible to make the learning less complex. For example Photoshop Elements is one of the most widely used software packages, it answers all three questions we discussed plus it can do much more. The biggest advantage is that one can find loads of training videos on the web, covering almost all aspects of Elements. This makes it really easy to learn and to master the software. My personal favorite website for learning Elements is “The Elements User”.
Pixelmator (above icon), a surprisingly flexible image editor combined with the installed software (iLife) on the Mac is an interesting alternative. Again the learning curve on this option is really made simple in so many ways. Maybe not as well documented as Elements but better integrated with the Mac PC is the photo editing software Aperture 3. Its an outstanding solution. I have V3 on my PC and the more I use it the more I love it.
Do I need a PC?
My first reaction would be, yes without a doubt. On the other hand, that is not completely true. One can manage without a PC, especially if you live in a bigger city with large food stores, camera shops and large medical supply outlets. These stores normally offer image printing services. They will also transfer your images from the camera memory stick to a CD plus they will include a image summary sheet if you ask. With this kind of service there are no big difference between film and digital.
Printing the images in a store is one option. Having your own personal computer is another option. Different to the old days, digital photography is a combination between, taking the images, editing them, and filing or cataloging them. Digital photography enables the photographer to have more input in the image editing process . I can recall the days I had to ask the printing machine operator to use my preferred settings when developing my film role. If they made a mistake then the negatives would always be incorrect.
Should one edited images or not, is today still an open question. I believe digital photography is so different to the old film days that one should compare the two formats. Optimizing digital images many traditional photographers believe should not be allowed. As said, personally I think a little different and the reason is simple. The nature of digital photography is such that without processing the RAW data coming of the sensor, no image will not be usable. The image out the camera therefore was edited using a build in camera processing sequence. This processing sequence was designed to suite many different "image" situations and are therefor tuned very neutral. Keep in mind that the camera has only limited space and computing power.
Do I need to Organize?
The digital images the camera save on the memory card is as important as the negatives you had in the old film camera.... How many of us did not plan and years later your old analog or film picture collection is in a mess. It is of utmost importance to have a good image organizing plan, whether its for an iPhone image collection or for a digital camera image collection.
For example if you decide to use a Mac then you will have access to one of the most powerful editing plus organizing solutions on the market, iPhoto. Many would disagree I know but lets look at iPhoto a little closer and I think you will agree its a awesome solution.
First its a 100% Mac integrated solution and its therefor easy to drop a image into a Pages document, a mail or any other document you might be working on. It has face recognition that helps the user to build simple and logical cataloging rules. Then it also has GPS functionality that helps the user cataloging a image based on where it was taken. Mac's basic image software, iPhoto has great editing functions plus the ability to do simple but effective RAW editing. Its very fast to work with even when the image collection gets larger. The above are basic, there are many more functions in iPhoto.
Having listed the basic functions for iPhoto, basically pointed out what one would look out for, when deciding on buying a image organizer solution. In addition both Aperture and Photoshop Elements has great build-in organizers. Nowadays we also need to consider building a collection of video recordings. More and more cameras has build-in HD capability. The quality of video has improved dramatically and therefore the enthusiasm for taking video with a digital camera.
Differences - JPEG and RAW?
Today the most widely used image format is the so-called JPEG format. Digital images can be saved in a number of different file formats (TIFF, JPEG, PNG, PSD, GIF) each with its own benefits. The JPEG file type was developed in the early web days. It was developed as a method of compressing or reducing the file size. It made it easier to mail or upload and download images. For the beginner my advice is to work with JPEG files for at least one or two year before going to the RAW format. Taking a step by step approach learning all the different and oft new techniques is far better than trying to do all at once. Two things I will recommend you. Set the JPEG format to super fine mode (less as possible compression) and always shoot in both JPEG and RAW mode. That will help you to go back and edit keepers once you mastered post processing techniques.
Unique camera settings?
Cameras use different levels of in-camera image editing. Compact cameras will apply more sharpening to make the image look snappy. Advance compacts are more neutral and SLR cameras tend to have minimum editing or sharpening done in the camera. Keep in mind that the camera has only limited processing power, it was not really designed to perform unnecessary editing steps. Depending at what stage the user adjustments are made in the camera will determine if the changes are degrading the image file quality or not. When using PC image editing software one can take better care not to negatively impact file quality. How does it happen that the image file are damaged? When working with JPEG files one should always work on a copy and not the original. The JPEG format further compress the file every time it is saved therefore degrading the file.
Often people think one can correct so called image "problems" by adjusting sharpness, contrast and saturation in the camera. Any experienced photographer who mastered good image editing techniques will never "correct" an image using these adjustments. First these adjustments does not get applied across all three channels equally and secondly they most probably destructive of nature. I think important is to really establish if there are serious image problems with a camera. Personally I do use a few camera setting unique to my own style in my camera, but I will not try to alter or correct the image quality in the camera. . It is far better to take the JPEG in its default format and to do a few adjustments using the PC.
In one instance I can accept when photographers adjust the image in the camera. That is when photographers specialize in the art of photography and perfecting the image in the camera. Mid and pro range SLR cameras are very flexible today and its possible to tune these cameras to nearly fit the photographers needs perfectly. The adjustment as described is typically not to correct a camera image weakness but rather to have the image reflect the photographer's style, similar to what other photographers will do on the PC. Even in this case I personally prefer to do these changes in my post processing workflow on the PC. Doing it in the PC I find is just so much more flexible.
Dynamic Range, Noise, Jaggies... ?
These are all valid challenges and arguments the modern photographer has to live with today. Its well worth doing additional reading when doing digital photography. Again when starting with photography, my advice is to ignore all these popular forum and magazine created problems until you more comfortable using your camera. For example people are spending a lot of time to discuss the dynamic range of different cameras. Typically SLR cameras differ between 8,7 and 11,3 stops in terms of dynamic range. The human eye can cope with as much as 16 stops and a really bright summer day can go as high as 20 stops. That means each and every camera has a limitation and in relation to a real life situation, the differences between cameras are small. Therefor if I read somebody complaining about a camera not having a good dynamic range and that he or she looses images base on dynamic range then all it tells me, this person are on the wrong track and the chances are he or she will never learn the correct techniques to optimize dynamic range. Its like with all things in life, if you focus on the negative then you miss the opportunity to see the situation in the correct perspective.
Most of these popular arguments has similar answers to the one above. Fact is that the digital image sensor is not perfect yet. To me that makes digital photography more interesting, it creates great opportunities like HDR techniques or taking panorama pictures. Digital photography has many different disciplines, it starts with taking the images, in most cases people use a PC to upload and organize their images and in my opinion one of the most rewarding aspects is the positive results one gets when working on editing digital images. Never before was it that possible that one could tune an image to really look like the day I took that image. If one go one step further then one move into the creative realm and the fun is even more.
The secret is to stay focused, believe in the choice you made, the camera you bought is great and work hard to get to know and to master the different aspects of digital photography.