Starting with Film, Resolution & Scanning
Important things about scanning and printing, other than starting with a very good original (not always a choice with old photos):
Here is where I have really taken some time to experiment with my scanner. I spent a couple of hours just scanning some photos at different dpi and output sizes. Since I had never before done that, it was always a mystery as to why the scans came out the same size for printing even if I had used higher resolution. It is suggested that once you know how large in inches you want your output image to be and what resolution you will need for the paper and printer you are using, you can use the New file window in Photoshop to calculate the amount of information you will need in your scan. There are some formulas given as well on p. 44. I did find a great scanning and printing resolution calculator where you can put in your information and then have it figure the size of your scan. Scanning and Printing Resolution Calculator
The scanning exercises have been nearly priceless for me. I now approach the scanner as my friend! I realize that before scanning i need to know my goals for the scan! Here are the results of my scanning exercises using an old photo of Lauren when she was about 10 months old. I know now I can have some fun with the resized 300 dpi even though the quality is grainy. It will be a perfect subject for a smudge painting!
It is suggested in the book that when scanning for the web, to still use the highest resolution and for a large print. It can then become a master image. When using for the web, simply flatten and resize in these steps:
Basically, scanning at high resolutions gives you a higher quality image with which to work, so why not!
Starting with a Digital Camera, Digital Photography for Photoshop, File Formats
Ideas to remember:
My curiosity about the 12 bit RAW image lead to this explanation: 12 bit images
I also read enough to find that my camera is very slow in recording RAW files. Olympus C-8080 WZ
Exposure & Histograms
I have never, ever used the Histogram in my camera at the time of shooting an image look at the histogram in the camera! I had to spend time finding just how to access it. Shooting RAW and using all the wonderful tools in ACR have also been alien to me. 16 bit images? No idea.
I have gathered much information about my own camera, Lightroom and ACR and I feel it has been time well spent. As example, my camera manual is just a few page leaflet with very basic information. However, there is a 263 page manual on line through which I learned how to access the Histogram in the camera. I have placed the link to the manual in the sidebar menu.
What I have learned:
Raw is wonderful but has a downside for me. It takes what seems a very long time to process the photo! 15 or 20 seconds. Tried TIFF and the same thing. But, I think it is worth it when I want photos that are for 'fine art'! The rest of the time, jpeg will do! Need the speed.
Here are some experiments I have tried using RAW and ACR:
File organization with Bridge and Lightroom, Import, Naming, Ranking & Rating, Keywords
All of these are fairly self explanatory and quickly understood. I have chosen to name my files by the subject or a descriptive term followed by the filename given by the camera. At the time of import, choosing some keywords, and ranking and rating will save much time later when searching for a certain image, or looking through for cream of the crop images.
Converting to DNG
I have set up my preferences in Lightroom so that all RAW (ORF the Olympus format for RAW) to be converted to DNG. There is also a free DNG converter at Adobe and a great explanation of what DNG (Digital Negative)is.
Developing Raw files with Adobe Camera Raw
This is not an overnight learn! I had a great time experimenting with it all...learned that cropping, rotating, straightening and just about anything can be done to the photos in the ACR window. Learned a bit more about the histogram, clipping of lights and darks, fill light, recovery, exposure and so many other things! It is a virtual darkroom in there! And, the similar tools in Lightroom work in much the same way as they do in ACR (same engine under the hood).
‘What to do in ACR and Lightroom’ versus what to do in Photoshop or the pixel editing software of choice
Well! It all comes down to the processing decision...Lightroom is for moving many images along the development process while Photoshop is for making an image a star, with Layer Adjustments, lots of filters, blending modes and so on! Bridge can make slide shows but at the moment I feel that Lightroom's are more easily done and offer a classier outcome. I also find adding my information, changing it, etc, outputting it so much easier, faster than Bridge.
There is still a lot for me to uncover, but so far this chapter has me headed in the right direction!
Images and work are © R.Joanne Johnson unless tagged as images being used from The Creative Digital Darkroom website.
