Workflow debate

[Beyder28]

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Ok so I have heard many versions of the proper order that needs to be followed for the adjustments done in post processing. For instance, some say that you should reduce noise before you do anything else and use the sharpening tool in LR or Aperture (or Nik software plugin) last. And in between those two should be all the color adjustments (WB, saturation, contrast, etc.) which also should follow a specific order. I would just like to know what some of you more experienced processing guys have to say about that.

[prunelle]

That's an interesting question. I'd never imagined that there should be a better order in doing these things!

 

What i do first (in Camera Raw) is reducing the noise and enhancing the sharpening. After that, I take care of the light, contrast, clarity and so on. After that I open the photo in PS9, check the levels, change the profile into sRGB, take a look at the sharpening, add my watermark and save the photo into jpeg.

[robert blu]

You can find are many suggestions here. Personally I import in LR3 (with keywords!) check the jpgs and choice the interesting files, The go to their DNG version and make all necessary variations (WB; exp, etc etc), usually no or very little sharpening. Than export with preferences according to desired use (web, shop printing or myself inkjet printing). Later I delete from disk all the no more necessary jpgs (and the not accepted dng of course.

robert

[delander †]

If you are working in the RAW converter of your choice I'm not sure that it matters in which order you carry out your edits. When you convert your file into a picture ie tif or jpg then the converter will apply all your adjustments, in what order I dont know and does it matter?

 

Once you start working on a tif or jpg in Photoshop then the order affects the outcome.

 

I generally only sharpen after I have resized the image to the the dimensions of my print.

 

I have purchased a couple of books and then use them as a starting point for developing your my skills.

 

Jeff

[Beyder28]

One of the main things was written about was that you should do noise reduction before sharpening since the the noise reduction makes the image look soft afterwards. Another thing is that you want to adjust WB first before touching the hues, vibrancy, etc. since you will get different results with color if you do WB adjustments last.

[pgk]

I generally only sharpen after I have resized the image to the the dimensions of my print.

As sharpening requirements depend on how the image is to be output, sharpening should be left until the very last. I adjust my files and then store the adjusted file. When I want to output it (print, book, powerpoint, whatever), I resize, then sharpen accoring to both size and the output requirement (easy with Powerpoint as it will look pretty much as it does at 100% on screen, a lot trickier with output to printing press).

[Jeff S]

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I make global adjustments first, followed by local adjustments (carryover from my darkroom days). So, things like WB first (even for b/w prints). But, even here, rules are meant to be broken. Sometimes after all the local adjustments, for instance, the whole print needs a touch more brightness or something else (again, same was true with the darkroom print). Whatever it takes.

 

George DeWolfe (in his book, 'Digital Photography Fine Print Workshop') provides some useful guidelines...just ignore the plugs for his proprietary tools; the rest is still worthwhile.

 

One of the great things with LR (or similar software) is that adjustments to the RAW file are non-destructive and changeable. So, experimentation, practice and personal taste rule. Some people like noise (as some in the film world liked grain); some not so much.

 

Jeff

[delander †]

One of the main things was written about was that you should do noise reduction before sharpening since the the noise reduction makes the image look soft afterwards. Another thing is that you want to adjust WB first before touching the hues, vibrancy, etc. since you will get different results with color if you do WB adjustments last.

 

 

You are right it is most convenient to do a white balance adjustment before you adjust hues etc. With regard to noise reduction I usually accept the values suggested by the RAW converter. When LR 3 (and ACR) came out noise reduction without loss of detail was greatly improved.

 

In today's RAW converters there are so many controls that one can find oneself going around in circles.

 

Jeff

[Manicouagan1]

I suspect that the optimal sequence for steps in a workflow is dependent on details of the algorythms used in the software. What is best for one application may not be best for others. I use Apple Aperture, that program does the the processing in a fixed sequence:

 

1) Raw demosaicing and a stage of sharpening which is camera specific.

2) Despoting and retouching

3) Noise reduction

4) White balance shift for image as a whole

5) A series of adjustments that shift the curves/histograms and color balance for the image as a whole

6) Sharpening

7) Dodge and burn and other local changes

[Ecar]

LR (unlike PS) applies non-destructive changes, so the order in which you do them doesn't matter from a users' perspective.

When you export (say RAW to JPEG), however, changes are indeed applied by LR in a given order. Don't know what such order is, although the answer might be somewhere on the Adobe site. Hopefully they are doing the *right* thing?

On a side note, I find the Aperture sequence posted above interesting - and a bit surprising. On PS, I'd normally do 1-4-5-2-7-3-6. Oh, well, as long as the final image looks good...

[250swb]

Other than very mild sharpening at the ACR stage (I leave it at the default settings) so the image looks nice to work on all final sharpening should be left until you know the size of the image to output. Save the processed file as an aRGB or PhotoPro TIFF with all your corrections etc. Then if you want a JPEG for posting on LUF change to sRGB, resize, and sharpen that. If you want a 30"x20" print resize your TIFF and sharpen according to what suits that size of image. A blanket sharpening even done at the end of post processing does not work at all sizes.

 

Steve

[iLikeLeica]

You can find are many suggestions here. Personally I import in LR3 (with keywords!) check the jpgs and choice the interesting files, The go to their DNG version and make all necessary variations (WB; exp, etc etc), usually no or very little sharpening. Than export with preferences according to desired use (web, shop printing or myself inkjet printing). Later I delete from disk all the no more necessary jpgs (and the not accepted dng of course.

robert

 

so you separate out the JPG & DNG when importing in LR3? standard you don't see those right?

[wda]

Ok so I have heard many versions of the proper order that needs to be followed for the adjustments done in post processing. For instance, some say that you should reduce noise before you do anything else and use the sharpening tool in LR or Aperture (or Nik software plugin) last. And in between those two should be all the color adjustments (WB, saturation, contrast, etc.) which also should follow a specific order. I would just like to know what some of you more experienced processing guys have to say about that.

A safe rule is to follow the logical layout order of the adjustments in the Develop Module in LR. However, all adjustments are stored as instructions and are not applied until you export the file. If I need to apply sharpening, I tend to do it in CS4 before delivering the file to printer or client.