whos up for another photoshop question?

[spoiled_momma]

so what are the things you should do to every photo when editing and in what order? like should you crop first then do contrast or what? or does it even matter?

thanks

 

[Anewman]

so what are the things you should do to every photo when editing and in what order? like should you crop first then do contrast or what? or does it even matter?

thanks

Well I dont believe that there are any rules, what works for some may not work for others.

FOR ME
It really depends on the pictures, MOST should require no cropping(that is the goal) and very little levels/curves.

But I shoot RAW and the very first thing after burning the original files to DVD, I take ONE representitive file from a group of pictures(grouped by type of light) and make all the adjustments needed and then APPLY to all the images shot in that same type of light. I hate the AUTO setting in ACR so they are all unchecked.

So Say you shoot a wedding, and end up with 3 groups. 100 pictures INSIDE church(NO FLASH), 100 pictures outdoors(SUNLIGHT) and 100 pictures in the Hall(FLASH or MIXED LIGHTING). Take one image and adjust the raw file, and apply to all the other files in that same group. So now when I open all the other files in that group I should at least have a decent starting point.

Once I have the image in PHOTOSHOP(not ACR) I might do a quik levels/curves adjustment and hit one of my actions depending on the size print needed and that file is done. Should take about 30-60 seconds per image shot from start to finish.

But others may have a work flow that works better for them.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

there is no particular order. However the following is what I tend to do

1. get rid of the digital noise, if there is any
2. fix levels, if need be
3. fix shadows (fill-in light emulation), if need be
4. Auto colour balance
5. Safe it
6. Crop it (and re save under a different name)

 

[mhutchinson]

I haven't noticed a difference in which order I edit in. But I never edit and edited picture, I always go back to the original and reapply edits. If you monitor the histograms you will see that every time you save an edited picture there is always a slight degredation to the image quality. So by repeatedly editing the same image over and over you will slowly degrade final quality that you may have been after in the first place. I found it is always better if you start over with the original.

Mike