Ok, let me lay out where I am at. Here is my current workflow and tools
I mostly work in a job oriented way - basically one job is shot, processed and completed - at that point it is archived off the main system. So here are the steps and tools: Capture in RAW with camera Create folder for job (numbered and named ex: 0350-SmithWedding) Load raw pics into directory (OS copy) Cull technical rejects (BreezeBrowser) Batch Rename images (BreezeBrowser) Raw convert (Silkypix) Generate gallery - not everytime, based on job requirement (BreezeBrowser) Upload to my website (Core FTP Lite) Create/upload ordering pages - not everytime, base on job requirement (Darkroom Core) Process orders - edits, send to lab, etc (Darkroom Core) Archive to DVD (whichever burning software is on my system) This general flow has served me pretty well for quite a few years. The one piece of software that has changed on occasion is the Raw converter. That change has been brought about by cost or compatibility. I started out with Capture One LE, later tried Lightroom and Raw Shooter, but ended up buying and using the full blown SilkyPix. I have been using it for quite a while now. I have reached a point where I am going to have to spend some money on updating SilkyPix, so I felt it prudent to look around again at the options to see if this is the best approach for me. In the workflow I have outlined, remember that I tend to do event type jobs (weddings, sporting events, portrait sessions, etc). This means that a larger number of images are keepers (various poses, different people in the same pose, etc) rather than a fine art style where there may be a large number shot, but not very many keepers. Also, once the event is completed, there is not much need to keep the images on the immediate system. If there are any images that I think would be worth the portfolio, I have a folder for those - but that is not really where the issue is. I am sure that Lightroom would be one of the tools recommended, so I will let you know why I didn't pick it the first time around. I had two big issues with it - one was speed - it took a long time to get everything loaded and catalogued before it was really ready to do the work of conversion. Since I already have software and process that does that portion, this ended up being duplicate work that was wasted, as Lightroom was not the end tool - I mostly needed it to just do the raw conversions. I guess #2 has already been stated - Lightroom was trying to do too much for me. I already have software to manage the rest of my workflow. Now, I should state that I haven't really played around with it since version 1 - only a quick look at 2, so perhaps things have changed. So if anyone has read all the way through, I would be grateful for any ideas and suggestions as to where to head with my Raw conversion needs. Right now it seems like SilkyPix, Lightroom and Bibble are the choices that are available. My system is Windows 7 - so needs to be compatible with that. -- Best regards, Bruce -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
