What is your Post Processing Workflow?

[Jake Shoots Birds]

Camera set color space to Adobe RGB
Shoot raw of course

Just for others who read this, if you're shooting Raw then the color space makes no difference in-camera as the sensor is likely capable of capturing colors beyond either sRGB or Adobe RGB, and does in the raw file. Color space matters more when you create a JPEG for viewing or printing as monitors and printers may be limited as to the colors they can recreate so you want to make sure that what you're producing is what others will be able to see as you see it.

 

[Frank Stellitano]

Just for others who read this, if you're shooting Raw then the color space makes no difference in-camera as the sensor is likely capable of capturing colors beyond either sRGB or Adobe RGB, and does in the raw file. Color space matters more when you create a JPEG for viewing or printing as monitors and printers may be limited as to the colors they can recreate so you want to make sure that what you're producing is what others will be able to see as you see it.

Oops, been so long since discussing this topic, I forgot. Thank you for the correction.

 

[Ferenc MÓGOR]

Send RAW files from camera to PC via wi-fi using EOS Utility. Open and convert RAW files in Adobe ACR, import to Photoshop. Save final images as JPG in a sub-folder to the same folder where RAWs reside.

 

[Chris Summers]

Everything I shoot is perfect right out of the camera!

OK, just kidding. I import into my lightroom catalog from the card or cards via a reader. I made the decision some years ago to create DNG files and delete the RAW ones afterwards. I then cull the folder from within Lightroom to remove obvious bad shots but I am not overly critical.... sometimes shots have potential with all the new software out there. And sometimes I bracket exposures that I may do something with later so only the mistake shots get x'd and deleted. I then flick through them and hit the 1 star for all the shots I want to work on, go back and work on them and if I am satisfied I hit the P key which flags them. Sometimes I use 3rd party software like Topaz or Luminar Neo but not always. If I am sharing my picks on social media or to an album on Flickr I typically save as a jpeg with the longest side at 2000 px and 100PPI which is fine for that. If I am printing of course a higher res file is saved.

I'd add that I am big into renaming images pretty much once they are in Lightroom. Goes back to when I ran my studio and was shooting film. I still use a naming system that I used with my business based on the year, job or project number, sequence number and brief description. When you have 100,000 images or more it helps to be organized.

The important thing is to build a workflow that works for you and be consistent. What others do or the "experts" say is irrelevant.

 

[PKM-UK]

I am an enthusiastic hobbyist, so have no-one to please but myself (and, of course, Karen ). I do all of our processing.

My typical workflow (it can vary) is - we shoot raw -> Import to Lightroom Classic (renaming/ group key-wording/ weeding etc...) -> 'keeper' raws via plug-in -> DxO PhotoLab Elite (initial basic processing, inc. colour rendering, lens profile, noise reduction and other adjustments as needed) -> export as DNG -> Lightroom Classic (tweaks) -> [* Anything Else] -> Lightroom Classic (image specific key-wording/ export as jpg).

[* Anything Else can be 'nothing', but may involve: DxO FIlmPack/ ViewPoint/ Nik Collection, Adobe Photoshop (including Tony Kuyper TK8), Topaz Labs DeNoise AI/ Sharpen AI/ Gigapixel AI/ Photo AI, Studio 2. It depends on where I take things creatively]

All keeper raws and final jpgs are retained, non-keeper raws and most interim DNG/ TIFF files are deleted. My data back-up strategy can be found Here.

Phil

 

[Only RF]

Cull files using Canon's DPP to delete unwanted files. Import into Lightroom Classic while using an ISO adaptive preset specific for each camera. Texture, Clarity, Dehaze, Sharpening, Detail, Masking and Noise reduction automatically apply for each files ISO. Then in LrC depending on edits required.

Event editing. I don't shoot for cash anymore so a larger amount of files to edit for a charity, etc. I select all the files, flip the sync switch to Auto Sync and press Auto. Each file is analyzed independently. I then I go through each file and pick a profile, level, crop verify exposures, etc and then export.

Hobby editing. Decide on which file I want to work on. Does it need to go to a 3rd party app? If no then I go to a) - If yes then I go to b)

a) Press Auto and go over it to make sure I'm happy. Select a colour profile further fine tune in far more detail than I would for an event edit.

b) Send the file one file to Topaz Photo AI and one to DXO PureRaw. Back in LrC the best app gets the job. No two files are the same so sometimes PAI does better and sometimes PR does. Then follow step a).

 

[Only RF]

An edit after Adobe Denoise was released. Changes for hobby editing, I removed PureRaw off my OS and don't really see the need for Topaz Photo AI anymore.

Cull files using Canon's DPP to delete unwanted files. Import into Lightroom Classic while using an ISO adaptive preset specific for each camera. Texture, Clarity, Dehaze, Sharpening, Detail, Masking and Noise reduction automatically apply for each files ISO. Then in LrC depending on edits required.

Event editing. I don't shoot for cash anymore so a larger amount of files to edit for a charity, etc. I select all the files, flip the sync switch to Auto Sync and press Auto. Each file is analyzed independently. I then I go through each file and pick a profile, level, crop verify exposures, etc and then export.

Hobby editing. Decide on which file I want to work on and I run the file through Denoise. Press Auto and go over it to make sure I'm happy. Select a colour profile further fine tune in far more detail than I would for an event edit.

If it needs some de-blurring then I send it to Topaz Sharpen AI. I don't use that often as I delete most of the OOF files when I do the first cull.

 

[ACEkin]

I have been using Lightroom as the intake engine for many years now. I have prepared import presets for each camera I use so their images go into specific camera folders. As part of the import preset, a brief copyright notice is added to the metadata. I try to add keywords as the first step, if they were of the same type, I add the keyword or words in the import stage.

I move from global to local adjustments, starting with the white balance, tonal structure, angle, and perspective correction, cropping, sharpening, and slight noise reduction if necessary. Then as necessary, I make local adjustments using masks. In the past, that step required a roundtrip to Photoshop but after the new masking feature in Lightroom, I try to do it there. I only export an image to JPEG if I have a specific use for it, like publishing on my site. I do the printing from Lightroom if I need to print.

I keep a calibrated monitor and pay attention to my editing environment. I believe the environment in which we edit our work is quite important. I have written on these subjects on my Web site which I have been maintaining for about 20 years. Warning: It can be a time-sink with close to 700 articles! I am not putting links here, but if there are specific questions or topics of interest, I will be glad to point in that direction.