An introduction to our ‘Digital workflow’ tutorials

Our primary aim for our Photoshop tutorials is to show you how to use Photoshop to transform your photographs into powerful and compelling images, but mastering a variety of Photoshop’s tools and techniques is only a part of the story, a story that wouldn’t be complete without a discussion of digital workflow. In these tutorials we will be discussing a wide range of supplementary topics – from optimising exposure, through processing your RAW files, to the long term storage and retrieval of your images – all of which will provide you with a detailed guide to establishing an efficient and effective digital workflow within which to embed the post-production of your images.

PART ONE (published on 31st January 2008)
In part one of this series we concentrate on two interrelated topics, both of which will provide you with the knowledge you need to maximise the quality of your initial images. First, we discuss the benefits of shooting RAW images rather than in-camera JPEGs. The topics covered in this section of the tutorial include: colour conversion; setting white balance and colour temperature; initial sharpening, the application of tone curves during RAW conversion, adding contrast and saturation, the importance of bit-depth, why you should avoid JPEG compression, and the benefits of preserving your latent images, i.e. your original RAW data. Second, we discuss two issues relating to optimising your initial exposures: i.e. avoiding the loss of data through overexposing an image; and how to ensure that your exposures capture the maximum amount of data.

PART TWO (published on 8th April 2008)
In part two of this series we cover three main topics. First, we discuss choosing a workflow model; i.e. whether to use a range of stand-alone packages or an integrated solution such Aperture or Lightroom. Second, we briefly discuss importing, categorising and organising your images. Third, we cover a variety of techniques you can use to help you decide which of your images to work with, and which to delete.

FUTURE ISSUES
In subsequent tutorials in this series we will work through a range of further topics including: RAW processing (pre-sharpening, setting white balance, adjusting white and black points etc); Choosing a RAW processor; Colour management; Post-production within Photoshop; Noise reduction; Output (e.g. web and print); and Digital Asset management (i.e. storage and archiving).

Please note that some parts of this series will be published as supplementary tutorials, alongside a given month’s image based tutorial, while other, more complex sections, will be published as the sole tutorial for that month.

How to subscribe

Our Digital workflow tutorials are currently only available to our annual subscribers and lifetime members.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION
For £25.00 a year you can take out an annual subscription. This will give you access to all our tutorials, various members’ offers and our dedicated forum.	£25.00
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP
For a single payment of £75.00 you can take out a lifetime membership. This will give you access to all our tutorials, various members’ offers and our dedicated forum.	£75.00
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Further information

To find out more about our other individual tutorials please click any of the following images. Alternatively, you can visit our main tutorials page for further information on: our annual subscriptions and lifetime memberships; next month’s issue; and our current members’s offer. You can also read through our sample tutorial on Tonal Range and the Curves tool.