Photography, chapters 6 & 7

File Types .CR2 (.CRW) .NEF .PEF .DNG .EPS .GIF .JPG .PNG .PSD .TIFF RAW – pure data, 24 bits (8 red, 8 green, 8 blue) DIGITAL NEGATIVE – raw open source ENCAPSULATED POST SCRIPT – text/image for publishing SMALL WEB FILES – flat graphics COMPRESSED PHOTOS – for easy send, 8-bit (lossy) COMPRESSED PHOTOS – improved GIF (lossless) PHOTOSHOP DOCUMENT – preserves layers UNIVERSAL HIGH QUALITY – on any computer (lossless)

Color Space Adobe RGB (1998) sRGB Working Space for digital images if you plan to Print your images Working Space for digital images if you plan to post your images on the Web

Photo Management Workflow CAPTURE DOWNLOAD ORGANIZE EDIT OUTPUT ARCHIVE RAW directly into a folder on your HD and/or Import into LR LR (&BR) will organize your metadata alone use workflow application to sort out images – LR (BR) save images for print in set size, flattened, 256 dpi as TIFF output finished work into new folder, do not overwrite original

Photo Processing Workflow 1. IMAGE SIZE 2. TONES 3. COLORS 4. ADJUST PARTS 5. RETOUCH 6. SHARPEN decide final output and work in that size or larger (17x22) in Develop Module in LR or using Adjustment Layer in PS first set white balance, then Curves and Levels In LR use Adjustment Brush, in PS work in Masks dust removal, imperfections a little in processing, then as needed in printing (too much can cause increased contrast or lower dynamic range)

Channels If you look at the preview thumbnail to the left of each channel's name, you'll notice that each channel is represented by a black and white version of the image, and that the black and white version is different for each channel. The reason they're different is that each black and white version represents how much of that color is being mixed in to create the colors we see in the photo, just like a painter mixes colors to create more colors. Lighter areas in the black and white version mean that more of that color is being mixed in, while darker areas mean less is being used. A blue sky, for example, would use lots of blue and very little, if any, green or red, so the sky in the Blue channel's black and white version would appear much brighter than it would in the Green or Red channels.

Channels RGB BLACK & WHITE CMYK 3 black and white layers that measure luminance of each color – red green blue, - that combined create the full color spectrum can adjust the proportion of each channel that ends up in the final image and convert to Grayscale Mode or you can use a single channel from RGB and duplicate it as a new document and convert to Grayscale Mode cyan, magenta, yellow and black are printers ink that combined create the full color spectrum - represented as separate printing plates at a book presss

Histograms / Levels

Histograms / Levels BLACK-POINT SLIDER WHITE-POINT SLIDER MIDTONE SLIDER CHANNELS EYE-DROPPER if the black-point slider is to the left of histogram data, then the darkest areas of the image will not be black – move to data graph if white-point slider is to right of data, the lightest areas will not be white – move it into the data graph move left to darken and right to lighten all channels can be adjusted independently using Levels, or Levels can adjust RGB eye-dropper tools, let you set the black, white, mid tones by selecting them and then selecting spot in image

Curves OUTPUT EXISTING BLACK POINT WHITE POINT MIDTONES vertical axis horizontal axis lower left top right area between

Single Bend Curves The simplest form of a nonlinear curve is accomplished by moving a mid-tone location toward the upper left or lower right corner, forming a basic arc with a single bend. Essentially, your black and white points remain fixed while your mid-tones become lighter or darker (aka: brightness). Also note that one end of your tones will take on more contrast while the other end will lose contrast due to the change in slope of the curve (remember: vertical = high contrast, horizontal = low contrast). This can be used to brighten or darken the overall image if you want to maintain your highlights and shadows at their current values.

Double Bend Curves Also known as the “S-Curve”, this curve manipulation pushes one section of tones brighter and another section of tones darker (aka: contrast). Again, you can maintain your black and white points, but you also maintain some middle tone where the curve crosses the diagonal. On the note of contrast again, be aware that you will sacrifice contrast in one area to gain it in another. This can be used to raise or lower the contrast of the overall image with a focus on the mid-tone areas. The bright/dark tone changes of the highlights/shadows are amplified by the mid-tone slope change — so it doesn’t take much to really change the contrast.

Notice that I used a double bend curve to increase contrast Notice that I used a double bend curve to increase contrast. Combine that with a single bend curve to increase brightness. And combine that with a linear adjustment to set my black and white points. I’ve also placed several extra points on the curve in order to bend it into the shape I wanted while maintaining a smooth transition.