I’m surrounded by my own photographs all day long and sometimes I take them for granted. In the world of business it can feel like you’re only as good as your last image and then it’s time to move on to the next. But lately I’ve been taking time to look back a bit more at some of the photos …

This is it, the final chapter of the digital workflow series. Today we finalize our files and talk about how we deliver them to our client.
When we left off last week, our files had been completed in the working stage, saved as layered psd files. All the retouching and color-correcting had been done to the files at full resolution and …

Last week we processed our selected RAW images into TIFF files. This week we will convert them to Photoshop psd “working files”. If you process RAW images in an Adobe product you may be skipping the TIFF step entirely, going straight from RAW to psd. This week is where the roads converge once again and most everyone gets back on …

Last week we selected files from a shoot for processing…
Now that our RAW files have been selected for processing in Phase One’s Capture One software, we will output these “selecteds” as high-resolution TIFF files. At this stage of the game we we want to create the best possible uncompressed TIFF files that we can. Here are the basic settings that …

Digital Workflow, Stage 2: image selection
Last week we looked at archiving RAW files from a shoot. There’s an important point I failed to mention that should be throw in. When I initially back up my RAW files only the blank frames or total disasters get discarded. At this initial stage I don’t like to “chimp” much to make space on …

Digital Workflow, Stage 1: backing up digital captures
Shooting great photographs means little if you don’t handle your files properly. I’d like to share the outline of my digital workflow, one refined over the past few years at the photo studio. Workflow is a process that takes time and experience to implement and understand. We’ll be taking it a step at …

In earlier discussions we’ve looked at video of how to read a histogram and read why RAW files hold more information than JPEG. I’d suggest checking those entries out, if you haven’t already.
To date I’ve stressed proper camera exposure so file manipulation will be reduced in post-production (especially important when shooting JPEG). Speaking in general terms, the less an already …

For the real tech lovers:
The recent DIYPhotography.net post on the very cool DIY Alex Spiderlight also pointed to my earlier battle of the bulbs shootout post, to illustrate some bulb options and comparisons for Alex Campagna’s creation. There have been technical questions raised about the spectrum of light delivered by the various bulbs and their ability to faithfully record color. …

There are lots of great reader comments on the tech article pages (the camera meter / histogram video, the battle of the bulbs shootout, studio color management, etc.). A couple of times it’s been pointed out that shooting RAW files (instead of JPEG) is advantageous for everything from color balance to exposure. This is very true. So before tackling …

Today’s tech section is a chance to tie up some loose ends started over the last month or so. A little stick-in-a-can (from the DIY lighting videos) and a little bulb shootout follow up are on tap.
I’ve been promising stick-in-a-can and screen info and here it is:

The screens are made using 1″x2″ lumber. These are the kind of “L” brackets …