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Raw Files / Photo Editing

Discussion in 'Questions and Answers' started by dolfan22, Jun 24, 2010.

  1. dolfan22

    dolfan22 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    Hoping I can get some tips or ease of use pointers.

    I am a long time photographer and just changed some things , and want to import raw files to my computer to edit and not lose quality from them being converted.

    What is the best way to do this ? I use Photoimpact x3 mostly , but tend to load photos directly from my camera to Picasa initially. This converts the file to a jpeg. Should I get a specific card reader ? Loading from my camera ( Sony A series ) takes a long time to load to picasa for jpeg images. So I want something that is quicker but don't want to sacrifice image quality.

    Has anyone used Paintshop photo pro x3? If so , would you reccomend it?

    Any input greatly appreciated. Basically looking to get raw or raw/jpeg images to my computer/photo program so I can edit them in a bigger size for better end result photos.

    Thanks in advance.
     
  2. jdang307

    jdang307 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    San Diego
    Get lightroom 2/3 and don't look back.

    Aperture may be similar but I don't have experience using it.

    Lightroom will allow you to import your raws,a nd keep them that way. THey then allow you to make non-destructive edits. They do this by keeping another file of changes you make to the raw file, and then render it. Don't like the line of changes you made? Reset it, and you're back at your raw file. It also has great cataloguing and organization tools. I'm nwe at photography and at post processing, but I've tested some programs and Lightroom is it. Capture One, DXO and photoshop are others I have used.

    For really creative stuff, I import into Photoshop.
     
    dolfan22 likes this.
  3. dolfan22

    dolfan22 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    Thanks for the response.

    I will look at lightroom. So , I can transfer the raw image to lightroom , render as desired then save as a tiff and do the creative stuff ( brushing , cleaning up background ) in photoimpact?

    I want to be able to end up with a higher quality end photo than photo editing a jpeg initially , but want to be able to have that similar result. IE cleaning up distractions , touching up flaws etc.

    Good thing it is the off season and there is some free time !

    Cheers
     
  4. jdang307

    jdang307 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    39,159
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    Nov 29, 2007
    San Diego
    Sorry I've taken so long to answer here.

    Yes Lightroom will actually help you import the files directly to your computer (or like me, I like to transfer myself, then tell Lightroom that the files are there). Play with the exposure, white balance, contrast etc. all in lightroom. Real easy to do to. The great thing about Lightroom is the batch adjustments. Have a bunch of shots that all need the same adjustment? Adjust one, then sync them with the rest of the photos you want.

    Also great are presets. I can literally import a raw, adjust my white balance, then apply a preset and bam, I have a pretty cool looking photo. Im' not the best photographer, again, and a bunch of these shots are out of focus but here are a couple hundred NYC shots I took, all processed within Lightroom in probably 30-45 minutes.

    http://josephdang.smugmug.com/Travel/New-York-City/12339197_GV2xz#881390271_4Uedo

    Still getting my feet wet but it's really fun!

    My workflow now is to transfer files to a newly created folder by me. Tell Lightroom where those photos are (it's easy, Lightroom will let you tell it where it is, or import them directly from the camera/card for you). Adjust white balance, exposure etc. Then, I either mess with contrast, vibrance, curves etc., or apply a preset, or other adjustments I learned online. 95% of my work is done in lightroom because I'm lazy, it's fast, and I'm not that good with photoshop yet.

    Then, if I want to, I will export into photoshop. You can do this directly, or export as a Tiff, then have photoshop open it. I usually do this to try some new stuff, or apply local contrast enhancement and/or sharpening.

    Again, the great thing is the nondestructive editing to the raws. The raws stay as they are. You can reset all adjustments to the raw just by hitting reset. I suggest giving LR3 a test run, they have demos I think you'll be surprised by how easy it is to use. Esp. if you know how to process in a real editor already, something, I don't know how to.

    http://lightroomkillertips.com/

    Good site for tips.
     
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  5. dolfan22

    dolfan22 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

    Thanks for the reply and insight , love the link as well. Unfortunately things have gotten very hectic here so , this is on hold for a month or so , at least in depth . Appreciated tremendously.
     
    jdang307 likes this.

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