My workflow is to take the exposed film into the lab. Get back proofs and negs. Put negs in neg pages labeled as to the job or personal by date. Put proofs in proof book. Hand to client. Done.
Bruce Friday, December 6, 2002, 8:25:29 PM, you wrote: WR> This just in. Sure looks complicated. WR> William Robb >>was wondering. In what format do you archive your D100 photos. WR> NEF, .tiff >>or .psd? WR> Well, I'm still working on my total workflow, so it's still a WR> work-in-progress, but here's what I'm currently doing. WR> Shoot in NEF. Transfer images to computer from the CF card using WR> a ZiO! WR> reader using USB (going to upgrade to a USB 2.0 when one finally WR> ships). I WR> use Windows Explorer to do the transfer -- takes about 9-11 WR> minutes to WR> download a full 512MB CF card. WR> I create a folder structure on the hard disk this way: WR> Top Folder = Job Name (I use year/sequential number eg: 02-335) WR> Then I create four folders inside that, so the structure looks WR> like (for WR> example) WR> [02-335] WR> ....[File] WR> ....[NEFs] WR> ....[Prints] WR> ....[Proofs] WR> I put the NEFs into the [NEFs] folder. I then use ACDSee to WR> rename the NEFs WR> to (eg) 02335-0001...023350-xxxx. The reason I use a four-digit WR> frame WR> number is so I can kee WR> p scanned films in the same numbering sequence, where WR> the first two digits of the [xxxx] would be roll number, and the WR> last two, WR> frame number. For scanned images, I wouldn't have NEFs of WR> course, but TIFFs. WR> Then I use Bibble to make (smaller) JPEGs from the NEFs which WR> are placed in WR> the [Proofs] folder. They keep the same relatively file name as WR> the WR> original NEFs. I then use ACDSee to make a contact sheet of the WR> JPEGs. Then WR> I use ACDSee to resize those JPEGs even smaller @ 72ppi and put WR> them into WR> the [File] folder. (More on this later.) WR> Now I can burn a CD with the NEFs (so I've got something backed WR> up off the WR> hard disk). If it's a client job, I'll probably make two copies WR> at this time. WR> After reviewing the contact sheets and making some selects, I WR> start up WR> Photoshop 7 and open the first (NEF) image I want to work on. I WR> use either WR> the Bibble filter or the Nikon Capture filter, depending. (Right WR> now, I've WR> left out the step of possibly using NC to change things like W WR> B, tone, WR> etc.) Once opened, I *immediately* save it as a PSD file into WR> the [Prints] WR> folder. As I work on the image, I make intermediate saves as a WR> PSD into the WR> same [Prints] folder with a suffix -- eg, the first PSD might be WR> 02335-0019.psd, and the intermediates would be something like WR> 02335-0019a.psd... 02335-0019b.psd, and so on. Yeah, this folder WR> gets some WR> pretty large files -- the first PSD is usually at least 35MB or WR> so, and WR> after some editing, easily can get to 50MB or more. WR> If I'm doing some cropping for different print sizes, I use the WR> Crop Tool WR> with Output PPI set to 360 and Bicubic intepolation. So if I WR> want to make WR> an 8x10, an 11x14, 4x6... whatever, I've got various crops WR> pre-established WR> for those sizes. I then save the image something like WR> 02335-0019a810.psd, WR> 02335-0919a1114.psd and so forth. WR> (An aside: The above is for when I need to make prints to a WR> "standard" WR> output size, as for portraits, commercial work, etc. For my own WR> "art" WR> work, where I WR> 'm printing to a standard 13x19 or 8.5x11, I let the printer WR> driver do the interpolation and don't worry about resizing the WR> image WR> myself, unless I've performed a pretty radical crop.) WR> I do as much editing as possible in 16-bit mode, and only WR> flatten to 8-bit WR> for those functions which don't currently work in Photoshop at WR> the high-bit WR> setting. WR> If I'm printing something standard with white borders, I put my WR> Copyright WR> info ( (c) John W. Albino--All Rights Reserved) into a Text WR> Layer WR> positioned just below the image area itself. (I make the image WR> proportionately smaller than the paper size, so I have a white WR> border WR> created by making the Canvas Size the same as the Paper size.) WR> The last thing I do before printing is USM-ing, and the settings WR> I use WR> depend on my mood, the subject, colors, textures, and all the WR> rest. I WR> sometimes save this image also, if I know I'll be making more WR> prints soon, WR> with a "p" suffix to indicate "This is how it printed" -- eg, WR> 02335-0019ap.psd, WR> or 02335-0019a810p.psd and so forth. WR> Eventually takes up a lot of disk space, and maybe sounds too WR> much WR> belt-and-suspenders-ish, but, as I've said, I'm still working on WR> the whole WR> process. WR> Periodically, I also burn these folders to CD also... generally WR> need a CD WR> for each step -- one for NEFs, one for Prints, etc. WR> Back to the [File] Folder -- this is purely a U.S. thing, but WR> most of us WR> are now trying to register all of our images as Unpublished with WR> the U.S. WR> Library of Congress for maximum protection. You've probably seen WR> this WR> mentioned on some of the other lists we're both on. Anyway, the WR> reason to WR> have relatively small JPEGs to file is both to save space on a WR> CD as well WR> as make them undesirable for someone to steal. Periodically, I WR> burn a WR> couple CDs with the [File] folders from several jobs and make an WR> index WR> sheet from each, and send it off to the Library of Congress. WR> I'm currently using Photoshop 7, ACDSee 5, Bibble 2002, Nikon WR> Capture 3.5, WR> DigitalPro, and Pa WR> intShop Pro 7 for various uses along the way. DigitalPro WR> ultimately can be a great cataloging tool, but I haven't WR> completely figured WR> out exactly what my long-term workflow is going to be. WR> --
