M240/MM Digital workflow tutorials / guides /software - where to start?

[Winedemonium]

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I know Ming Thein has some tutorials online, as does Thorsten Overgaard.

 

I have Aperture installed on an iMac, and no other software, though I have access to some via my M240 purchase.

 

I am open to the digital processing tools that might be recommended, together with the tutorials / videos, etc, that will help me develop a well disciplined digital workflow.

 

I have a basic understanding, having been taught, how to use an "analogue" darkroom - processing film and making wet prints. But in digital I have been lazy, and only really played around in Aperture ("ooh, what does this slider do?" You get the idea!). I've probably learned some bad habits as a result.

 

I am now using an M-240, and considering also buying the MM. I guess the files may require a different approach. Overall I am looking for something I would call a "natural look", rather than the over-saturated, over-contrasty, etc images some of these tools tempt you to make. I have never used Lightroom, Photoshop, Skin FX (?), etc, etc.

 

I'd like to develop an end to end workflow to deal with raw/dng files, processing, and publishing to web format as well as printing, and then keeping tidy - filing / backups, etc. The whole kit and caboodle

 

Any recommendations please?

 

Thank you.

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[sanyasi]

I am sure you can develop a workflow with Aperture, but I would recommend starting with Lightroom or Photoshop for the simple reason that there are far more resources out there.

 

I used to use Lightroom, but I now work in Photoshop. Having said that, where I would begin is Adobe Camera Raw, where you can now do most of your processing unless you are doing heavy duty design and compositing work. Lightroom is built on the Adobe Camera Raw engine and that engine is where you start in a Photoshop workflow.

 

For resources, I highly recommend Martin Evening's Photoshop for Photographers. It has a significant section on Adobe Camera Raw. I assume his Lightroom book contains similar information. I just bought the new edition. It is available as a Kindle book, as well as in paperback. I have now read the book several times and learn new stuff each time.

 

I also recommend Julia Kost's website. http://www.jkost.com/lightroom.html She works for Adobe and has lots of bite size tips and pointers. I'd also consider a one-year subscription to Scott Kelby's website. http://kelbyone.com The video's are very good. This appears to be a redesigned website since I last used it.

 

Also, if you have questions with Photoshop and I assume Lightroom (don't know about Aperture), just type the question in Google. I nearly always get two or three short videos that answer the question. In fact, type Lightroom and workflow into Google and you may get some good stuff.

[Duane Pandorf]

I was a long time Aperture user and when I bought my Leica M-E I switched to Lightroom since the two companies work together in creating the camera's standard profile and lens profiles.

 

It was a big change for me and I found George Jardine's Lightroom tutorials to be very good.

 

IMO, there's more to it than just the "developing" part but following a "complete" system from image ingestion, cataloging, keywording, etc.

 

George covers all of it.

[Jeff S]

I also use LR (and no longer much PS), and concur about books by Kelby and Evening, as well as videos by (Julieanne) Kost.

 

As a foundation, regardless which editing tool ones uses, it's obviously good to understand basic digital concepts, particularly as they differ from traditional film/darkroom concepts, e.g., bit depth versus zones, digital color management, etc. If you skipped any of that, then these tutorials provide some basic overview, and of course there are myriad resources that go deeper into various concepts.

 

If you go the LR route, this LuLa article by Charles Cramer links some film concepts to LR 4 (which uses the same processing engine as the current LR5), as well as offers some parallels to PS.

 

There's no teacher like experience, but having a good grounding in the basics might save a lot of time, and books like Kelby's will also provide a lot of helpful hints and shortcuts (and some bad humor) that you wouldn't even think to ask.

 

Jeff

[esquire53]

I still use Aperture, even so slowly use more and more Capture One.

Capture One is in my opinion the better raw converter, but I like the file management and workflow of Aperture better ...

As for MM, the first step with Aperture, create a profile with a lower boost value in the RAW fine tuning section.

Aperture default is 1.0, I typically use 0.75 to 0.85

 

If your exposure is right, you can do well with just adding a little curve and/or levels. I use less and less Silver FX 2

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[abrewer]

I usually recommend to digital newcomers they go with Lightroom, or if they have experience using Photoshop just continue with it.

 

PS has a significant learning curve, one you can avoid by using Lightroom. Lightroom also guides you through a step-by-step approach to editing which is a big deal when you're not certain what to do next.

 

As usual, all of this software overlaps in function, and 80% of what you can do on one you can do on the other, so you can always switch to another software at some point in the future without extreme difficulty.