My RAW workflow

Recently I've changed my workflow from shooting JPEG to only RAW. I find it saves me time because I can edit multiple files at once in C1Pro. The only downside is that only 108 RAW Canon 20D images fit on a 1GB card. You'll need extra cards or a Photowallet for shooting a full-day wedding or when you're on holiday...

As you're probably aware using RAW also makes it much easier to correct whitebalance and exposure and the quality is the highest possible.

My workflow varies slightly but this is mostly what I've done.

My "workflow"
1. Get images to computer: Acdsee PRO
The nice thing about Acdsee is that it can automatically rename images to the date of the original shot, using EXIF data. The Pro version now (finally) supports colour management (and thus Adobe RGB). This version can also display RAW files in a decent timeframe. However, I don't use it for that.

2. Back-up the un-edited images to external drive
If the images are important I use a Lacie drive for this purpose. At the end of the workflow I replace these with the edited version.

3. Delete below standard and duplicate images: Phase One C1 Pro
First I used Photo Mechanic however I find that I can sometimes only properly compare images after doing some editing first.

4. Edit image and export RAW to JPEG: Phase One C1 Pro
This is still the best tool out there by far. Once you know how to use it, it saves an enormous amount of time and the quality is the best. I use it for all the common stuff cropping to 2x3 and 3x2, improving exposure contrast, saturation, sharpness and some curve stuff. I export to AdobeRGB because this is the widest (i.e. best) color space.

5. Removing noise: Noise Ninja
This is the best tool out there but it takes forever. It automatically loads the profile for your camera and for ISO setting that was used. It can produce an entire directory at once. For a 1000 pictures it takes a couple of hours and it crashes sometimes. The computer also becomes unusable while it's working.

Before I used RAW this was one of the first steps I did because then this provides the best result (before any editing has been done). You do need to make sure you don't let Noise Ninja apply the sharpness again if this has already been done. Their sharpening is good though.

6. Review images: Camera Bits Photo Mechanic
Photo Mechanic is the fastest tool for viewing (RAW) images and all the pro's use it for that reason and for some of the other unique features. You can also use it to assign the AdobeRGB colorspace to you images if you have Canon 10D (which doesn't record this color space properly).

7. Editing phase 2: Adobe Photoshop CS2
For all edits that can't be done in C1Pro I use Photoshop. Obviously, this is the default application for this kind of thing. For me it's mostly retouching, advanced exposure corrections, lens blur. Before I used RAW I did everything in Photoshop.

8. Converting to Black and White: Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0
A batch process in Photoshop opens each photo and converts it to black and white. I currently mostly use the B&W Tonal Enhancer. The B&W conversion is very impressive. See my other article on Black and White conversion.

btw. Creating actions in Photoshop can be quite confusing. You need to tick the "Override Open" and the "Override Save As" boxes. Make sure you back-up your images before you use it.

9. Converting to sRGB: Adobe Photoshop CS2
It's safe to assume most people don't have a viewer that displays Adobe RGB correctly. Furthermore most (even professional) printing Labs can only print sRGB. At best, they will convert your image to sRGB if you provide them with an AdobeRGB image. I've created a batch process in Photoshop because I have not been able to find a tool that does this, which I find strange.

10. Burning on a DVD disc: Ahead Nero.

11. Creating a CD cover: Adobe Indesign or Ahead Cover Designer

12. Putting it online: Gallery
Gallery is a very powerful online Gallery that you'll need to host on webserver. It has its own user management. Gallery is not an easy thing to setup. It uses PHP and I would advise using something different if you're not a geek like me.

Alternatively, check-out Jalbum. Very easy to create sharp looking HTML galleries. It even includes an FTP publishing feature. If all else fails, you can always use Flickr, off course

For really showing-off your abilities you should consider using SimpleViewer. I created this gallery with it. To generate this I used Picasa because I couldn't get the PHP to work.

13. Backup again
The folder structure I use is on my drive and on the backup drive is D:\2006\2006-12-30 example title\.jpg. This ensures that folders are sorted correctly and it's quick to retrieve files.

14. Printing
The format that comes out of a Canon DSLR camera is 2x3. This is perfect for prints that are 10x15. Unfortunately for 13x18 it's not so great.

In Amsterdam we happen to have a semi-professional printing lab called keycolor that prints 13x19 which matches better so less has to be cut off by the printer. The same place also happens to deliver the best prints that I've seen and it's only slightly more expensive. They use a Fuji Frontier printer, which is apparently the best printer currently.

The future
Hopefully the soon to be distributed Adobe Lightroom will combine everything into one or at least most of the steps.