Workflow - RAW

[Big Mark]

For those of you who shoot in RAW, what is your workflow? What I've been doing seems terribly inefficiant. Here's my process:

- Use Canon Zoom Browser to download RAW files to desktop.
- Open Files in Zoom Browser to view full screen and make first round of "cuts"
- Go to "Edit Raw Photos" in Zoom Browser and adjust the Contrast, White Balance, Brightness, etc.
- Save the corrected images back to the desktop as .jpg's. Close Zoom Browser.
- Cut the Raw images from the folder and save them to my external hard drive for backup (or if I want to come back later and make .tiff's for printing)
- Copy the .jpgs to "my pictures"
- Open Photoshop Elements 5 (Organizer)
- Caption and tag .jpgs and use Photoshop Editor to crop, take out redeye/blemishes, etc. if needbe.
- (As needed) backup jpgs and RAW files to DVD

I just downloaded the RAW plugin for Elements 5.0 last night, and actually like it's interface much better than Zoom Browser's, but it won't let me convert to jpeg, only TIFF.

The other option I've got, but havent yet tried, is Canon's Digital Photo Pro. Any suggestions??

[allrightnow]

For those of you who shoot in RAW, what is your workflow? What I've been doing seems terribly inefficiant. Here's my process:

- Use Canon Zoom Browser to download RAW files to desktop.
- Open Files in Zoom Browser to view full screen and make first round of "cuts"
- Go to "Edit Raw Photos" in Zoom Browser and adjust the Contrast, White Balance, Brightness, etc.
- Save the corrected images back to the desktop as .jpg's. Close Zoom Browser.
- Cut the Raw images from the folder and save them to my external hard drive for backup (or if I want to come back later and make .tiff's for printing)
- Copy the .jpgs to "my pictures"
- Open Photoshop Elements 5 (Organizer)
- Caption and tag .jpgs and use Photoshop Editor to crop, take out redeye/blemishes, etc. if needbe.
- (As needed) backup jpgs and RAW files to DVD

I just downloaded the RAW plugin for Elements 5.0 last night, and actually like it's interface much better than Zoom Browser's, but it won't let me convert to jpeg, only TIFF.

The other option I've got, but havent yet tried, is Canon's Digital Photo Pro. Any suggestions??

Tiff is a better file to save your images in anyway although the original RAW files are probably better than that. JPEGs degrade as you open, work in them and save them.

[Big Mark]

right, but Tiff's arent practical for storage, they're 10 times larger and more difficult to share with others as not every computer can view them (out of the box, anyway). Really once my photos hit .jpg, they're really just for viewing on the PC. What little printing I'll do I'll go back to the RAW file and create a tiff.

[LarryD]

i shoot in raw.

i pull them from the card into lightroom and assign keywords as they are imported.

i'll go through the images and flag any that i know don't make the cut (closed eyes, flash didn't fire, know i have a superior image a few frames later, etc.). i delete those from the HD and out of lightroom immediately.

i'll go through the remaining images and assign the 5-star images -- the best ones.

i'll go through the 5-star images and make some of them 4-star.

i'll process (crop, tone, adjust, etc.) the 5-star images in lightroom and export as tiffs.

i sharpen or reduce noise in photoshop and save as jpegs to put on zenfolio (10MB max file size). for work, i keep them in tiff.

[Big Mark]

So do you only keep your 4 and 5 star pics? Do you treat "Work" pictures differently than "personal" pictures?

[LarryD]

So do you only keep your 4 and 5 star pics? Do you treat "Work" pictures differently than "personal" pictures?

not yet.

i keep all my pics on a 300GB external hard drive.

i've only got 43GB remaining though. once that gets dangerously close -- and i get a free weekend -- i'll mass delete. i've done it in little doses -- probably 50GB or so.

gina's going away with the kids for a week, but that's not until july. not sure i can wait that long.

not sure what i'm saving them all for. i rarely print. most of what gets printed gets printed in a magazine or other publication.

[Big Mark]

you could always just get a compact flash card reader and cut and paste, then use whatever cataloging software you prefer. Really the only reason i use ZB is to convert the RAW images.

a side note: after positng this I installed DPP (also a free app with my XTi) and have been using it for RAW conversion (essentially removing ZB from my workflow). It doesnt give me quite as much control as the RAW app in PSE, but more than ZB - and still allows me to save as jpegs.