Any Primers for shooting RAW and Post Processing?

[cayenne]

Hi folks,

I've posted a few times here, and as mentioned, I'm about to buy a 5D Mark III.

I'm likely going to start with Aperture as my post processing tool.

Is there a good primer out there anyone knows of, to read through and get a grip on the process for shooting RAW, and then processing them? I've never done this before, and would like to start studying up on the workflow and process for this.

Something that gives settings on the camera to use...and then things you want to do once you are in post.

I'm hoping for something online, a good primer with examples maybe?

Thanks to all in advance!!

cayenne

 

[RLPhoto]

I cant help with Aperture on Mac but I use Lightroom & photoshop combo. I think its better to use All adobe products as things just work and transition smoothly from one programs to another with no fuss.

Oh, and Dont abuse the clarity slider too much... Thats very tempting for new RAW tweakers.

 

[cayenne]

I cant help with Aperture on Mac but I use Lightroom & photoshop combo. I think its better to use All adobe products as things just work and transition smoothly from one programs to another with no fuss.

Oh, and Dont abuse the clarity slider too much... Thats very tempting for new RAW tweakers.

I'm not looking so much for step by step with a particular tool (adobe vs mac)...but more on general workflow.

How you best set your camera for RAW that can be best processed in post.

Then in past, what things you try to change..contract, color families...etc.?

Sure, I'd enjoy something Aperture specific....but right now, just looking more for the thought behind shooting and processing RAW with a DSLR like the 5D mkiii......

Thank you,

C ;D

 

[RLPhoto]

I cant help with Aperture on Mac but I use Lightroom & photoshop combo. I think its better to use All adobe products as things just work and transition smoothly from one programs to another with no fuss.

Oh, and Dont abuse the clarity slider too much... Thats very tempting for new RAW tweakers.

I'm not looking so much for step by step with a particular tool (adobe vs mac)...but more on general workflow.

How you best set your camera for RAW that can be best processed in post.

Then in past, what things you try to change..contract, color families...etc.?

Sure, I'd enjoy something Aperture specific....but right now, just looking more for the thought behind shooting and processing RAW with a DSLR like the 5D mkiii......

Thank you,

C ;D

OK, Here is my basic workflow.

1. Capture the RAW files

2. Download the images into an external NAS as CR2 Originals and A DNG Copy on a seperate drive. I name my folders by Date Shot so like "4-5-15_ProjectXYZ" and the files are renamed the same as the root folder like "4-5-15_Projectxyz_IMG_XXXX" <-----------This entire step in done in Adobe lightroom 3

3. Create a Collection in lightroom for the shoot

4. Rate and Reject good and bad pictures.

5. Edit the 1-4 star photos in lightroom, The 5 Star photos move into more advanced editing in Photoshop CS3

6. Export the final files as highest quality 8-bit JPG's for web use or 16-bit TIFF for commercial clients.

7. Collapse on the couch after frying my brain for 6 hours after a shoot.

Hope this helps.

 

[cayenne]

I cant help with Aperture on Mac but I use Lightroom & photoshop combo. I think its better to use All adobe products as things just work and transition smoothly from one programs to another with no fuss.

Oh, and Dont abuse the clarity slider too much... Thats very tempting for new RAW tweakers.

I'm not looking so much for step by step with a particular tool (adobe vs mac)...but more on general workflow.

How you best set your camera for RAW that can be best processed in post.

Then in past, what things you try to change..contract, color families...etc.?

Sure, I'd enjoy something Aperture specific....but right now, just looking more for the thought behind shooting and processing RAW with a DSLR like the 5D mkiii......

Thank you,

C ;D

OK, Here is my basic workflow.

1. Capture the RAW files

2. Download the images into an external NAS as CR2 Originals and A DNG Copy on a seperate drive. I name my folders by Date Shot so like "4-5-15_ProjectXYZ" and the files are renamed the same as the root folder like "4-5-15_Projectxyz_IMG_XXXX" <-----------This entire step in done in Adobe lightroom 3

3. Create a Collection in lightroom for the shoot

4. Rate and Reject good and bad pictures.

5. Edit the 1-4 star photos in lightroom, The 5 Star photos move into more advanced editing in Photoshop CS3

6. Export the final files as highest quality 8-bit JPG's for web use or 16-bit TIFF for commercial clients.

7. Collapse on the couch after frying my brain for 6 hours after a shoot.

Hope this helps.

Thank you, that does help a bit.

Any more details...like what you do for edition and correcting your 5 star images on the post side?

I've been reading with video, that you set the camera to settings (Cine style?) that when viewed originally...look to my eye..terrible, but this is done to capture the most information...for tweaking and correction in post.

Is there a comparable set of setting for the camera for stills and RAW...so that you can do most of your stuff in post, lightroom in your example?

Thank you,

C

 

[RLPhoto]

I cant help with Aperture on Mac but I use Lightroom & photoshop combo. I think its better to use All adobe products as things just work and transition smoothly from one programs to another with no fuss.

Oh, and Dont abuse the clarity slider too much... Thats very tempting for new RAW tweakers.

I'm not looking so much for step by step with a particular tool (adobe vs mac)...but more on general workflow.

How you best set your camera for RAW that can be best processed in post.

Then in past, what things you try to change..contract, color families...etc.?

Sure, I'd enjoy something Aperture specific....but right now, just looking more for the thought behind shooting and processing RAW with a DSLR like the 5D mkiii......

Thank you,

C ;D

OK, Here is my basic workflow.

1. Capture the RAW files

2. Download the images into an external NAS as CR2 Originals and A DNG Copy on a seperate drive. I name my folders by Date Shot so like "4-5-15_ProjectXYZ" and the files are renamed the same as the root folder like "4-5-15_Projectxyz_IMG_XXXX" <-----------This entire step in done in Adobe lightroom 3

3. Create a Collection in lightroom for the shoot

4. Rate and Reject good and bad pictures.

5. Edit the 1-4 star photos in lightroom, The 5 Star photos move into more advanced editing in Photoshop CS3

6. Export the final files as highest quality 8-bit JPG's for web use or 16-bit TIFF for commercial clients.

7. Collapse on the couch after frying my brain for 6 hours after a shoot.

Hope this helps.

Thank you, that does help a bit.

Any more details...like what you do for edition and correcting your 5 star images on the post side?

I've been reading with video, that you set the camera to settings (Cine style?) that when viewed originally...look to my eye..terrible, but this is done to capture the most information...for tweaking and correction in post.

Is there a comparable set of setting for the camera for stills and RAW...so that you can do most of your stuff in post, lightroom in your example?

Thank you,

C

Welcome to the magic of post-production where your mistakes are made better or Your best is made Great. I cannot possibly explain every single post technique but i usually do skin smoothing & dodging and burning.

As for video I recommend Marvels Cine Style Picture control, It will give you more headroom is post at the cost of slightly less defined skin tones. Here is an example of a production i did as DP using Marvels Cine Style.

"Posesiva y Celosa" - Conjunto Invernal De Oscar Ochoa


As for RAW, Its just sensor data with no settings applyed to it. No WB, Sharpening, Or anything... you must develop it using lightroom to your tastes.

Have fun, and PM me if you need answers to specific questions.

 

[cayenne]

I cant help with Aperture on Mac but I use Lightroom & photoshop combo. I think its better to use All adobe products as things just work and transition smoothly from one programs to another with no fuss.

Oh, and Dont abuse the clarity slider too much... Thats very tempting for new RAW tweakers.

I'm not looking so much for step by step with a particular tool (adobe vs mac)...but more on general workflow.

How you best set your camera for RAW that can be best processed in post.

Then in past, what things you try to change..contract, color families...etc.?

Sure, I'd enjoy something Aperture specific....but right now, just looking more for the thought behind shooting and processing RAW with a DSLR like the 5D mkiii......

Thank you,

C ;D

OK, Here is my basic workflow.

1. Capture the RAW files

2. Download the images into an external NAS as CR2 Originals and A DNG Copy on a seperate drive. I name my folders by Date Shot so like "4-5-15_ProjectXYZ" and the files are renamed the same as the root folder like "4-5-15_Projectxyz_IMG_XXXX" <-----------This entire step in done in Adobe lightroom 3

3. Create a Collection in lightroom for the shoot

4. Rate and Reject good and bad pictures.

5. Edit the 1-4 star photos in lightroom, The 5 Star photos move into more advanced editing in Photoshop CS3

6. Export the final files as highest quality 8-bit JPG's for web use or 16-bit TIFF for commercial clients.

7. Collapse on the couch after frying my brain for 6 hours after a shoot.

Hope this helps.

Thank you, that does help a bit.

Any more details...like what you do for edition and correcting your 5 star images on the post side?

I've been reading with video, that you set the camera to settings (Cine style?) that when viewed originally...look to my eye..terrible, but this is done to capture the most information...for tweaking and correction in post.

Is there a comparable set of setting for the camera for stills and RAW...so that you can do most of your stuff in post, lightroom in your example?

Thank you,

C

Welcome to the magic of post-production where your mistakes are made better or Your best is made Great. I cannot possibly explain every single post technique but i usually do skin smoothing & dodging and burning.

As for video I recommend Marvels Cine Style Picture control, It will give you more headroom is post at the cost of slightly less defined skin tones. Here is an example of a production i did as DP using Marvels Cine Style.

"Posesiva y Celosa" - Conjunto Invernal De Oscar Ochoa


As for RAW, Its just sensor data with no settings applyed to it. No WB, Sharpening, Or anything... you must develop it using lightroom to your tastes.

Have fun, and PM me if you need answers to specific questions.

Thank you VERY much for the insight and replies!!!!!

I now have more to go on....and more to research!!


Again, thank you,

cayenne

 

[Razor2012]

Good job, I like how you did the vid. Something I can look forward to trying someday.

 

[pdirestajr]

I'd suggest shooting RAW + jpeg at first if you have no experience editing raw files. The jpeg can act as a "proof" of how the camera suggests it should be processed. Some may be perfect as is, others may need help if exposure is off. Then others you may want to go in a completely different creative direction.

You are paying a premium price for the latest technology and processor, you may as well take advantage of it and see what it has to offer!

At the least, you can compare processed jpeg to RAW, then reverse engineer what is being done behind the scenes- great way to learn.

 

[expatinasia]

I fully second pdirestajr's post above.

Depending on what you need the images for, many cameras these days do an excellent job producing amazing .jpeg

I find that more often that not, the .jpeg saves me a lot of time in all areas of post production.

 

[phemark]

I have a question exporting from RAW in LR.

At the moment Im trying to shoot in RAW, do my corrections in LR and then do one of the three options, and I just want to know what are the best export options there (i.e. if there isnt any difference between 100 and 80 quality setting, maybe i can use it and save a lot of HDD space?)

What settings should I use if I want to:

1) Save jpgs(?) for print.
2) Save jpgs to keep.
3) Save jpgs for web upload.

Im guessing that for 1) and 2) I need to save full res jpgs, but not sure about other settings. It looks to me that jpg quality doenst change at all when comparing quality at 80 or 100 (bus size differs alot). So what setting here do you recommend to use?

Thank you

 

[phemark]

Any tips on this, guys?..

I have a question exporting from RAW in LR.

At the moment Im trying to shoot in RAW, do my corrections in LR and then do one of the three options, and I just want to know what are the best export options there (i.e. if there isnt any difference between 100 and 80 quality setting, maybe i can use it and save a lot of HDD space?)

What settings should I use if I want to:

1) Save jpgs(?) for print.
2) Save jpgs to keep.
3) Save jpgs for web upload.

Im guessing that for 1) and 2) I need to save full res jpgs, but not sure about other settings. It looks to me that jpg quality doenst change at all when comparing quality at 80 or 100 (bus size differs alot). So what setting here do you recommend to use?

Thank you

 

[bycostello]

prefer lightroom 4 myself.... adobe got loads of vids telling u how to use too..