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Archive 2016 · Getting back into things - digital workflow advice

  
 
vkalia
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Getting back into things - digital workflow advice


Hi everyone -

I've been away from photography for a few years - bit of a lull - but have recently started to get back into things.

My workflow is still going to involve using Photomechanic to ingest/filter my shots. But the last version of LR i used was 3.x. As of now, i am contemplating switching to Affinity (well, i have purchased a version) as an alternative to LR/CS, but depending on what you guys suggest to my other questions below, may bite the bullet and get a LR license after all.

I see that LR has added masks to it - so it should pretty much replace PS for everything, except plugins, right? Or can you use PS plugins with LR? [eta: apparently, LR doesnt do masks]

Basically some of the questions i have are things like:
- what are the current best practices are, in terms of noise removal (I used to use Noise Ninja a while back) & sharpening (is High Pass still a good option or is there a killer new technique?)
- what are some of the better plugins out there
etc. etc

If there is a website or even book that you guys recommend for getting up to speed, that'd be great.

TIA!



Mar 21, 2016 at 11:37 AM
hugowolf
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Getting back into things - digital workflow advice


Yes, for me it is Lr 99% of the time and Ps 1% at most. Lightroom doesn't have layers. You can mask off areas to selectively apply modifications.

No, Ps plugins will not work with Lightroom. I rarely have to deal with noise, and Lightroom noise reduction has been fine for me.

Brian A



Mar 21, 2016 at 03:09 PM
RAF09
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Getting back into things - digital workflow advice


Check out Adobe's site, you can see what's new in PS and LR. Thirty day trials of each. A lot has changed since LR3. Noise reduction and sharpening in both PS and LR are greatly improved. You could also explore trial versions of DXO 10 and On1Photo Suites as alternatives to Adobe products. Lots of YouTube vids on all of them.


Mar 21, 2016 at 05:23 PM
nolaguy
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Getting back into things - digital workflow advice


I love Lightroom and it's a sound steak knife, but PS is still the scalpel. I very rarely bring an image into PS but, for example, LR's masking tools are not as controllable as PS's.

For tutorials I generally suggest lynda.com.



Mar 21, 2016 at 09:43 PM
vkalia
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Getting back into things - digital workflow advice


Thanks for the advice, all.

I was hoping to avoid going down the Adobe cloud route but when i compare prices, it actually is a lot more economical than buying outright. I think i'll give that a go.

I shoot mostly wildlife/nature and have recently started to get into street, so i dont really need a high-volume, super-fast workflow. In the past, I've found Lightroom adequate for underwater and wildlife, but for nature and street, i prefer going into PS and then doing a lot more area-specific processing, which works best with masks and layers for me.

So right now, my options are PM > LR > PS or Affinity. I could live with that, i suppose, especially if LR has good noise reducing tools.

Will also check out lynda.com.

Appreciate the advice!

(On a different note - for the first time in nearly 2 decades, i had to refer to a camera manual to try to figure out what the various customization options on the Fuji XT1 mean! With a Canon, it is pick up and go ).



Mar 22, 2016 at 02:47 AM
Dustin Gent
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Getting back into things - digital workflow advice


If i have to use a noise reduction program, I use Niks' DeFine and really like it. Just have to dial it in depending on the photo/settings.


Mar 22, 2016 at 08:13 PM
Paul Mo
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Getting back into things - digital workflow advice


nolaguy wrote:
I love Lightroom and it's a sound steak knife, but PS is still the scalpel. I very rarely bring an image into PS but, for example, LR's masking tools are not as controllable as PS's.

For tutorials I generally suggest lynda.com.


Aye, this and the clone tool in Photoshop. I also use Photoshop for a fair bit of basic graphics work such as laying up clipart images in groups to teach vocabulary - flattened, saved as jpeg and sent into a Word .doc. El cheapo business cards also get made in Photoshop. PS is a very useful thing.



Mar 23, 2016 at 04:31 AM
John Webb
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Getting back into things - digital workflow advice


Use LR for cataloging images and then basic global color and exposure corrections, basic raw sharpening and noise reduction. When working on a image about 5-10% of time spent in LR.

Once basic corrections made, image brought into CS6, Initial action is noise reduction using Nik Dfine. Will then proceed with all the adjustment to finish the image. This includes using layers and luminosity masks to fine tune exposure and color adj on a local level using Tony Kuyper's TK4 panel. All pixel manipulation, clone, heal, liquify, transformations done in PS. When working with portraits will use frequency separations to enable working on the detail (high Freq layer) or color (low Freq layer). Normally will open either the Nik Color Effect or Alien Skin Exposure plug-ins to then finish the image. Back into PS for final sharpening and any cropping before saving the final output. Sizing and saving the images for web done in CS6 while I prefer to print out of LR.

Could probably do without LR as I used Nikon Capture and ACR prior to LR3, but PS is where 90% of my work is completed.





Mar 23, 2016 at 07:31 AM
OntheRez
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Getting back into things - digital workflow advice


You're gonna get about a million suggestions on this question. Most will reflect the user's tools and experiences. Your past experience with Ps will stand you well. You haven't noted what sort of photography you do so the answers can vary depending on what you shoot, do you have deadlines, and a variety of other things.

Lr has gotten to the "usable" level now. I use it for intake and first (and sometimes only pass when on deadline. It's catalog isn't the greatest, but probably the best compromise currently available.

I'm holding out against "mafiaware" so still have Lr 5.7.4 and CS6. Haven't found real limitations from this set up though I do use a lot of plugins. I have been playing with Affinity and am impressed. I think for those who do photography (as opposed to graphing designers) may well find it quite capable.

My best advice is get a set of typical files and try the free trials of several tools. There are really a number of them out there: Capture One, DXO, etc.

The Internet has a billion advice and tutorials. Lynda.com has them organized. Also Adobe's learning site is good.

Robert



Mar 23, 2016 at 09:07 AM





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