Recommended Photo Work Flow

brihi51

New member
Hi, I am re-assessing my photo work flow. Can you recommend a work flow that works best using a combination of the software's below. I currently use Lightroom and Picasa. • Picasa • IrfanView • Opanda • NX2 • Lightroom 5 Regards, -BrianP Regards, -BrianP
 

aroy

Senior Member
I normally use Nikon Capure NX-D, and it suffices. I adjust exposure levels and shadow details, sometimes change colours a bit, and then export to jpeg. In case there is a need to crop, I crop.

I do not Photoshop or try any extra effects. My aim is to get it right in the camera itself.
 

FastGlass

Senior Member
I import into Lightroom 4. There I put things into folders, collections etc... I also do 90% of adjustments to photos in lightroom. If I need to do more advanced photoshopping, I export into Elements 10 and do it there. When done, I export back into lightroom. As far as getting it right in camera. Can't be done as far as dynamic range goes. Digital cameras only see about 12 stops of light compared to what we see which is about 26. Shooting against a bright background or bright subject is always going to need some kind of adjustments. Try shooting a bride in a white dress against a black background.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Personally, I'm of the strong opinion that if you have Lightroom then you should use that as the centerpiece of your workflow management. Use it to import and catalog your photos, and then invoke whatever external editors you need from there. NX2 is redundant, less versatile, and going away, so dump it. As for the rest, you should be able to right click on an image in LR and "Edit In" the particular application, with the image returning to LR when you are done, potentially as a new file to the catalog.

I don't use Picasa, Opanda or Irfanview, but I'm assuming they'd work as easily as PS, PSE, Nik and/or onOne, all of which I have.
 

hrvojexyz

Senior Member
I am mostly using only Picasa.Its not very powerfull tool, but it gets (simple) jobs done.
Resize, crop, simple (but good enough) retouching, exporting..

Unfortunaly I dont have enough time to really get into more compley like Lightroom, but Ive heard its good.
 

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
I've been hesitant to weigh in on this because I don't use any of the software in your posted question. I have Picasa and IrfanView. Out of these two, I have used IrfanView some and it is ok. It was fairly easy to use for JPG processing (used mostly to process for web pages). Picasa is, for me, just a program that in some ways confuses my workflow. Ha! I haven't been shooting RAW until just recently, but now that I have been, I am using RAW Therapee to fix the RAW images. Gimp is the other program I have been using for a little while now. For me the learning curve on it is a little steep, but as I learn more about it I like it. I guess you will notice a theme here: RAW Therapee and GIMP are both "Free" and I like free. Ha! I believe once I learn to use them, they will be just what I need. Having not used Lightroom or PS, I really can't compare with them, but I feel GIMP and RAW Therapee are good replacements for the price. Ha!
 

aroy

Senior Member
I've been hesitant to weigh in on this because I don't use any of the software in your posted question. I have Picasa and IrfanView. Out of these two, I have used IrfanView some and it is ok. It was fairly easy to use for JPG processing (used mostly to process for web pages). Picasa is, for me, just a program that in some ways confuses my workflow. Ha! I haven't been shooting RAW until just recently, but now that I have been, I am using RAW Therapee to fix the RAW images. Gimp is the other program I have been using for a little while now. For me the learning curve on it is a little steep, but as I learn more about it I like it. I guess you will notice a theme here: RAW Therapee and GIMP are both "Free" and I like free. Ha! I believe once I learn to use them, they will be just what I need. Having not used Lightroom or PS, I really can't compare with them, but I feel GIMP and RAW Therapee are good replacements for the price. Ha!
If you like free, then download the Nikon Capture NX-D beta. It is free and works beutifully for RAW.
 

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
If you like free, then download the Nikon Capture NX-D beta. It is free and works beutifully for RAW.

Aroy, thanks. I just looked at the info on this software and find that because it is "Beta" it will be eliminated this summer when the official version is released. No mention of what the cost will be on the official version. Ha!
 

aroy

Senior Member
Aroy, thanks. I just looked at the info on this software and find that because it is "Beta" it will be eliminated this summer when the official version is released. No mention of what the cost will be on the official version. Ha!

It will be free, and you can download the software from July 15th onwards.
Nikon | News | Nikon will release the official version of Capture NX-D, its new RAW image processing and adjustment software application, for free download beginning July 15, 2014
 

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team

Oh great! I downloaded the "beta" and it is definitely fairly easy to use. RawTherapee on the other hand has/is still giving me some problems getting colors, etc to what I want. Using the Capture NX-D beta, I was able to fix a very underexposed photo so it was salvaged. Ha! Thanks.
 

aroy

Senior Member
Oh great! I downloaded the "beta" and it is definitely fairly easy to use. RawTherapee on the other hand has/is still giving me some problems getting colors, etc to what I want. Using the Capture NX-D beta, I was able to fix a very underexposed photo so it was salvaged. Ha! Thanks.
I am using this software ever since I bought the D3300 in March this year. Till date processed over 7,500 images. I am loving the software and as you have noticed, recovering images from under exposed regions is what makes my day.
 

JJM

Senior Member
Currently I am saving JPEG to one card and RAW to the other. I post both to the comp and go through the RAW images and identify the subject (usually travel/landmarks) name them, and these are automatically saved in alphabetical order within the folder and the folders are in alphabetical order. I then import the folder of named images into Lightroom. When I have processed the RAW file in Lightroom it is saved as a JPEG which means I now have 3 copies of each image. When I post the enhanced images to Flickr I can only do about 100 at a time. Therefore should I only import 100 at a time to LR? Once the second 100 is imported, being in alphabetical order they merge with the first 100 and then it is difficult to know which I have posted to Flickr and which not. Is there any foolproof way to use LR and post the enhanced images to Flickr without getting tied in knots?
 
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