See the presentation slides

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2. Photographic (digital) Workflow
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Although Adobe Photoshop handles processing HDR images, even saving them in an HDR file in radiance format and tone mapping the image to a low dynamic range so that we can display and print it, the tools it provides are not as easily usable as the tool of my choice, Photomatix from HDR Soft. Typically, one would select 3-5 photographs exposed 2EV’s apart ranging from -4 to +4 in RAW format. Then Photomatix opens these RAW format files and processes them to generate one HDR file that cannot be directly displayed on a normal monitor because of the great range. This file can be saved in one of the available formats in 32-bit, which is not a bad idea at all. Then, using the second component built into Photomatix, one creates a tone mapped version that has a dynamic range that is suitable for displaying and printing, with or without further adjustments. Tone mapping is a required step until either we can all afford an HDR monitor, not very likely at $20K; or the price of that beast comes down. Essentially, without tone mapping this process is currently not of much use.

One of the capabilities of Photomatix is to create a pseudo HDR file from a single RAW image file. It does not do this by some form of trickery, but by converting the full range of RAW format to an HDR file. With today’s digital cameras with their 14-bit image capture, there is quite a bit of information that can be used if properly processed. It is a matter of choosing the portion of the dynamic range in processing and tone mapping that portion to the usable spectrum of luminosities. When we develop a RAW file in a program like Lightroom, or Photoshop Adobe Camera RAW we are doing exactly that. So, why bother using Photomatix for this purpose? The answer lies in first, being able to see the full dynamic range, albeit in small sections at a time in a small view port; second, the tone mapping in Photomatix works really well with problem images. Take a look at the following images (click to enlarge):

They are, the original RAW file, Lightroom processed, Photomatix processed. You may think that I purposely did a lousy job in Lightroom, but trust me, I tried to retain a similar dynamic range as I saw in the Photomatix processed image and some tonality in the sky. My attempts to add a more pleasing brightness to the whole image resulted in the sky being washed out, at least partially on the right side of the image. I know, I could have used the gradient fill available in Ligthroom 2, selectively brighten certain parts, etc. But I wanted to keep the adjustments to a set of global adjustments, affecting the entire image in both programs.

The process is quite straigth forward if you have Photomatix. If you don’t, you can download a trial version that is functional for 30 days I believe. So, here is how I do it in general and my settings for this image.

1. Start Photomatix, you will see its spartan interface. Don’t let that fool you, more powerful parts are a few menu clicks away
2. From the menu, follow ?File/Open” and point to the RAW file you wish to process

Photomatix will load the file and process it according to the parameters set in the settings. At the load time, there are no more selections, it’s simple. After it is done, it will present the pseudo-HDR file and the small HDR viewer. The second image in the small gallery below shows the screen capture at this stage. Note that the HDR viewer is displaying the area pointed by the arrow in the middle of the image. At this stage, if you like you can save your image as an HDR file in Radiance format. Photoshop can open this 32-bit image file if you like and you can process it in Photoshop. I prefer to tone map in Photomatix because the controls are more powerful and also much easier to use. Whether you save it at this point or not, click on the “Tone Map” button on the tool bar.

Tone mapping interface has quite a few controls. My intention is not to present a full tutorial on what these controls do, so I will present you with the initial screen with the default settings, then show you the completed version with groups of settings following that. If you carefully review the following small gallery of images you will get an idea how tone mapping works. You can even get help from an article written by John Paul Caponigro on a recent issue of Digital Photo Pro magazine. He explains the HDR process using multiple images, but you will understand what these controls do.

When you like what you see, click on the “Process” button to tone map the image and save it as a TIFF file. The bit depth and the color space are determined by the preferences. Clearly, this image is not finished to reflect my vision for it. But I will start in Photoshop with an image that will have full range of information in the shadows and the highlights as well as midtones. From there, I will take it to where I want this photograph to go.

Take a look at the gallery now, it will give you a general idea about what is possible in a non-standard RAW processing engine. So, next time you have a difficult image, consider giving Photomatix a try. It may actually save the day.

[Show as slideshow]

Images list: 1. Photomatix screen, 2. RAW image opened and processed, 3. Tone mapping with default settings, 4. Tone mapping as I applied it, 5. HDR settings, 6. Tone settings, 7. Color settings, 8. Smoothing settings

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1. Don’t Bruise the Pixels
2. Atmospheric FX by JP Caponigro
3. Photographic (digital) Workflow

Everything that is important in analog photography remains the same in the digital work flow, only the tools change. We can follow the same work flow I have outlined above for film-based photography in the digital domain, in fact I personally do exactly that. In fact, the more experience you have with the traditional film photography and darkroom techniques, the more digital tools will make sense to you, they are derived from the darkroom and film tools of yesteryear.

Know, or be willing to learn how to photograph

No digital camera I know comes with a “great photograph” button, I wish it did. You, the photographer, still need to develop your eye, learn the rules of composition, know the effect of exposure, and exposure adjustments. There is no difference between the digital and the film photography while you photograph. None.

Know your equipment and tools

The fact that digital photography does not require a darkroom does not mean that we can produce better photographs using computer software. Remember the adage GIGO, garbage in, garbage out. Digital photography can produce better photographs from ordinary snapshots, just as good as I can play the violin using digital music tools. (Ouch!)

Camera gear

In terms of the knowledge of the camera gear, the digital domain is more demanding, there is more to know and know it well. The film-based camera has fewer settings beyond the shutter speed, the f-stop, the light meter. The digital camera, on the other hand has myriad of menus, settings, image formats, compression settings, image sizes, white balance, and so on. The first step in producing high quality photographs is to know your camera and know how to choose your lenses depending on the circumstances. There is nothing in the digital workflow that will fix the mistakes you make here. Yes, there are ways in which we may be able to extract a little more information from the digital image under some conditions, but the same is true for film by using push or pull processing with the accompanying adjustments in exposure.

The software

Just as the film-using photographer chooses his or her film, the developing method, which is particularly important in self done B&W developing, the digital photographer needs to choose the software to use to “develop” the photograph. Some software is already embedded in the digital cameras, without this software no digital camera can produce images. Even if you decide to let the software embedded in your digital camera to develop your images, you still need to learn, and carefully use the different settings the camera offers. These include, but are not limited to the image format, compression, contrast, sharpening, color balance, and so on. Of course, you may decide to do these steps using an external software which may give you greater control on their implementation.

Know how to make the best presentation for greatest impact, in print or on screen

The proof of good photography is in its presentation, slide (screen for digital) or print. This too is not different from film photography. Remounting a slide for better composition, sandwiching a couple for creative expression, poring over a print in the darkroom dodging, burning, local developing show markedly superior results when done right. Likewise, doing the same in digital domain makes eminent sense. Conceptually, there is no difference in the presentation and the path we follow to come close to an ideal image.

Suggested workflow summary

1. Capture the maximum amount of information in camera
2. Shoot in RAW format if your camera allows
3. Allow minimal processing in camera in JPEG format
4. Copy the image to your computer
5. Review and delete
6. Renaming is a personal preference, I leave the original names and directories
7. Never edit the original image, leave it intact
8. Convert RAW with care like developing film
   • a.Convert to TIF if using external RAW converter
   • b.If using ARC (Adobe Raw Converter) built into Photoshop CS, CS2 and Photoshop Elements, save the converted file in Photoshop format
9. Study the image very carefully, have a vision for the finished product
10. Always use nondestructive editing
11. Save your layered file in Photoshop format not in TIF, more efficient
12. Correct geometry, crop
13. Global edit, color correction, tonality
14. Local edit, color, tonality
15. Sharpen, never sharpen until ready to print
16. Print
17. Dry (yes, dry!)
18. Present

Related posts:

1. Don’t Bruise the Pixels
2. Single File HDR, really?
3. Sharpening Workshop