Questions about general workflow.

I used to shoot film when I was in the military, but stopped for a while. Now that i'm married and have wonderful new daughter, I took the DSLR plunge. I'm curious about how most of you do things, i'm still so lost when it comes to this (though I am a huge computer geek and understand most software intuitively and build/repair my own and friends systems).

Do most people tend to go and

1: compose the best shots you can, then quickly size up what you have by looking at thumbnails/quick view in windows and toss the garbage

2: Open in capture nx2 and/or lightroom (which one is best for nef files viewing/editing)

3: Do you convert the file to jpeg or do you retouch the picture first? Which of the two programs above are better for either converting/retouching?

4: When you're done and you have a jpeg (or is tiff better?) do you have a file for the new file type and keep the un-edited nef...or do you have the un-edited raw file, the retouched raw file, AND the jpeg/tiff.

5: Is there a great tutorial for using lightroom 4 for an extreme newbie that will show the basic putting files on the computer to editing/saving your work?

Sorry for all the questions, I just have so much I don't know when it comes to this.

1 - I don't trash anything until I see it on the big screen.

2- Both are fine, I like LR-4 myself.

3- I import and convert to DNG and store my files as DNG files. NEF is a proprietary file form whereas DNG is supported by Adobe and others making DNG a more viable long term file form.

4 - DNG. DNG is a much better file system than NEF because it contains the metadata within the file itself. NEF files do not actually contain the metadata, instead it is simply "attached" to the file (I'm sure I'm not using the right words but the premise is the same) and may be displaced over time whereas the metadata is part of the DNG file.

5 - Yes, see Adobe TV and the Adobe Lightroom page. That will direct you to a huge library of free video tutorials.

Great questions that everyone struggles with at the beginning of their DSLR journey. I'd suggest looking in the Computers and Software Forum for general info. Here are a couple specific threads that you might find interesting:

• http://nikonites.com/computers-software/784-work-flow.html
• http://nikonites.com/computers-software/3633-preferred-burning-software.html

Cool, thanks guys

DW_ said:

1 - I don't trash anything until I see it on the big screen.

2- Both are fine, I like LR-4 myself.

3- I import and convert to DNG and store my files as DNG files. NEF is a proprietary file form whereas DNG is supported by Adobe and others making DNG a more viable long term file form.

4 - DNG. DNG is a much better file system than NEF because it contains the metadata within the file itself. NEF files do not actually contain the metadata, instead it is simply "attached" to the file (I'm sure I'm not using the right words but the premise is the same) and may be displaced over time whereas the metadata is part of the DNG file.

5 - Yes, see Adobe TV and the Adobe Lightroom page. That will direct you to a huge library of free video tutorials.

Click to expand...

This. Except I don't convert to DNG.


For a Lightroom tutorial check out the calendar at CreativeLive.com. They have an upcoming Lightroom 4 course that is free to watch live if you can be available during those hours.