A complete digital photographer’s guide to raw imaging Philip Andrews, Yvonne J. Butler, Joe Farace AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON • NEW YORK • OXFORD PARIS • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, UK 84 Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 8RR, UK Radarweg 29, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, The Netherlands 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA 525 B Street, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101-4495, USA First edition 2006 Copyright © 2006, Philip Andrews, Yvonne J. Butler and Joe Farace. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved The right of Philip Andrews, Yvonne J. Butler and Joe Farace to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone (+44) (0) 1865 843830; fax (+44) (0) 1865 853333; email: [email protected]. Alternatively you can submit your request online by visiting the Elsevier website at http://elsevier.com/ locate/permissions, and selecting Obtaining permission to use Elsevier material Notice No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, in particular, independent verification of diagnoses and drug dosages should be made British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN–13: 978-0-240-80752-2 ISBN–10: 0-240-80752-9 For information on all Focal Press publications visit our website at www.focalpress.com Printed and bound in Canada Layout and design by Karen and Philip Andrews in Adobe InDesign CS2 06 07 08 09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS III Contents Preface IX Introduction X Dedication XII Picture credits XII Section One: Raw Basics 1: Raw School 101 1 6. Applying sharpening and noise reduction 29 What is raw? 3 7. Setting the ISO 32 An extra processing step 4 8. Establishing exposure 34 Behold the new negative 6 Exposure essentials 36 Why bother with raw? Why not just stick Shooting tethered 41 to JPEG? 8 Raw versus non-raw capture workflow 45 When only the best will do! 9 Raw capable cameras 46 Making the switch 9 Other considerations when capturing raw 47 Raw as a learning tool 10 Advantages of shooting raw 11 Raw disadvantages 12 3: Downloading Raw Files 49 Proprietary and open raw file formats 13 Camera to computer 51 A little more background information please! 15 Card reader to computer 52 I’ll be back with you in a byte 15 Connections 53 Working with high bit files? 16 Operating system-based downloads 55 Eight or sixteen? 17 Windows step by step 55 EXIF? What is EXIF? 18 The Microsoft Raw Image Thumbnailer sRGB color space: you pays your money and Viewer for Windows XP 57 and takes yer chance 19 Macintosh step by step 60 Perfection? 20 Camera specific download 61 Nikon’s download manager 61 2: Shooting in Raw Mode 21 Software specific download 62 Photoshop Elements and the Adobe Getting set to shoot in the raw 22 Photo Downloader 62 Changing your workflow to Photoshop and Bridge 66 accommodate 22 Adobe Lightroom 67 Implications for capture variables or camera parameters 23 Aperture from Apple 68 Step by step: capturing your first raw picture 24 Shooting tethered – capture and download in one step 70 1. Enabling the camera 24 2. Determining pixel dimensions 26 3. Picking bit depth 26 4. Adjusting color settings – saturation, white balance and color space 27 5. Managing the tones – contrast control 29 I Raw Workfl ow from Capture to Archives: A Complete Digital Photographer’s Guide to Raw Imaging 4: Raw Editor Round-up 71 Figuring out what is best for you 72 How to choose: raw converter selection criteria 72 Raw software common features 74 ‘What are my options?’ Editor round-up 82 New developments 82 Doing it yourself 82 Nikon Capture Editor 84 SharpRaw 85 Capture One 86 Raw Shooter 87 Adobe Camera Raw (Bridge, Photoshop and Photoshop Elements) 88 Bibble 89 SilverFast 90 Aperture 91 Lightroom 92 5: Establishing a Raw Workfl ow 93 What is a digital raw workfl ow anyway? 94 Establishing a workfl ow that works for you 94 The ‘Convert then Edit’ approach 95 Full raw workfl ow options 96 More details later 96 Workfl ow components 96 Basic workfl ow components 97 Workfl ow timesavers 98 Step by step synchronization: synchronize settings across images 98 CONTENTS  Section Two: Processing Raw Files 6: Camera-based Converters 101 8: ACR, Photoshop and Bridge 135 Camera based converters software 102 All roads lead to Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) 137 Advantages and disadvantages of a Keeping ACR up to date 137 camera-based system 103 Back to the future: using the File Different levels of support – the Nikon system 104 Browser in CS 139 Basic features 104 A Bridge to image making – Photoshop More sophisticated control 106 CS2 142 A hybrid approach 108 Raw enhancements before Photoshop 143 What’s new, pussycat? 145 Show Workflow Options 146 7: Processing with Photoshop The right hand side 149 Elements 109 Settings? Not more settings? 149 Adobe Camera Raw: ACR score card 110 Step by step: to save a settings subset 151 Anatomy of the Camera Raw dialog 111 The Adjust tab 152 Making tonal adjustments 118 Who is this Kelvin guy? 154 Sharpening, Luminance Smoothing and Pro’s no clip tip – exposure 155 Color Noise Reduction 121 Pro’s no clip tip – shadow 155 Save to DNG 122 The Detail tab 157 Differences between Adobe Camera The Lens tab 158 Raw (ACR) in Photoshop/Bridge and Super Curve 159 Photoshop Elements 125 Calibrate, calibrate, dance to the music 161 Processing with Photoshop Elements and Adobe Camera Raw 126 Converting to black and white 162 Opening 126 Transfers: gateway to Photoshop 163 Rotate 127 Step by step: processing with Photoshop, Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw 166 Adjusting white balance 127 Opening 166 Tonal control 128 Rotate and Straighten/ Color strength adjustments 130 Crop 167 Sharpness/Smoothness and Noise Adjusting white balance 168 Reduction 131 Tonal control 169 Output options 132 Color strength adjustments 170 Save, Open or Done 132 Lens corrections 171 Curve controls 172 Fine tune color with calibration 173 I Raw Workfl ow from Capture to Archives: A Complete Digital Photographer’s Guide to Raw Imaging Sharpness/Smoothness and noise reduction 173 Output options 175 Save, Open or Done 175 9: Beyond ACR basics 177 Technique 1: curves provide advanced tonal control 178 Quick start Curves summary 179 Technique 2: Color fi ne tuning with the Calibrate feature 180 Technique 3: Applying raw conversion settings without opening fi les 182 One step further... 183 Managing ACR settings 184 Technique 4: Correcting color fringes and vignetting 185 10: Stand Alone Converters 187 Pixmantec Raw Shooter 188 Conversion and processing using Dx0 software 189 Capture One and iView 191 The iView MediaPro/Capture One Pro workfl ow 192 CONTENTS II Section Three: Complete Raw Workfl ow Options 11: Lossless Image Enhancement 13: Lightroom Walkthrough 215 Comes of Age 195 What is Lightroom? 217 But how does it work? 196 Enough talk, let’s get to it! 217 What happens when I want to print or The workspace 218 create a slideshow? 198 The workfl ow modules 220 State of play 198 Library 220 Develop 222 Slideshow 224 12: Bridge and Photoshop Print 225 Combine 199 Where to from here? 226 Options for screen output 200 Instant slideshows 200 14: Aperture Step by Step 227 Portable slideshows 201 Aperture core components 229 Exporting to other fi le formats 202 Auto or manual adjustments? 231 Automated conversions using the Image A manual approach 232 Processor 202 Aperture in action 233 Printing from raw fi les 203 Output options 235 Producing a contact sheet 203 Picture package 204 Printing individual photos without conversion 205 Making changes to an embedded fi le 206 But you can’t edit a Smart Object. Not true! 206 Tonal and color changes via the raw fi le 208 Convert to gray 209 Adding texture 210 Reintroducing some color 212 When you have no choice but to rasterize 213 III Raw Workfl ow from Capture to Archives: A Complete Digital Photographer’s Guide to Raw Imaging Section Four: Raw File Management 15: Organizing Your Raw Files 237 It starts in-camera 238 And continues when downloading 239 Organizing and searching software 240 Grouping and keyword strategies 242 Now we can search 244 In action: managing raw fi les within Bridge 244 16: Protecting Your Raw Assets 251 Decide what to back up 252 Making your fi rst backup 253 Back up regularly 256 Store the duplicates securely 257 Which format should I use for back ups? 257 Backup jargon buster 259 Backup hardware options 259 Versioning your edits 260 Save me from myself 260 Versions and Photoshop Elements 261 Photoshop CS2 and versioning 263 Aperture and editing versions 266 Last appeal 266 Glossary 267 Index 283 PREFACE IX Preface These days it seems that trying to stay ahead of the game as a digital photographer is like trying to catch the wind. You gradually build your skills and knowledge and no sooner do you get a handle on the best workfl ow for your style of image making and the industry changes, not only the goal posts, but the very game you are playing. Shooting raw is such a change for the quality conscious photographer. The way we photograph and process our images has, again, changed for ever. Choosing to shoot raw over other capture formats is not just a matter of changing the fi le type on your camera, it requires a change in the way that you think about your photography. No longer are we condemned to allowing our camera the lion’s share of decision making when it comes to converting the basic picture data that is recorded by the sensor. Choosing to shoot raw is an act that rightly repositions the photographer and his or her skills at the very center of the picture making process. This book is a celebration of the return of the photographer as the master of the whole process – from capture to archive. So join myself and the other authors as we show you the skills, techniques and knowledge that you need to reassert your rightful place in this ever changing world of photography. Philip Andrews