Patience Please.

[oops]

My previous post about Photoshop v6 produced many good ideas about what one should really have to do it right but I am still back where I started.

With the recent surge of new D30 buyers, I'll bet there are many watching this thread with interest. We have invested more lately than we had ever dreamed would happen but here we are.

We want to produce the very best images with what we now have at hand, and in many cases this is Photoshop LE. Once we get more proficient with Photoshop LE, get many post-editing hours under our belts, and fill the microdrive a few times we will no doubt be in a position to consider more "serious" editing software. Also, we will be more financially able to make an informed decision. But that is in the future.

Due to the nature of this forum it has greatly attracted the pro and serious amateur in the past and has a vast wealth of information for beginners as well, especially for us "serious newbies" who must play a fast game of catch up with the D30. Pekka's recent work work with linear sharpening is very exciting if you have the tools with which to implement them, which many of us don't. I have printed the links and information for a later time.

Has anyone developed a "as good as it gets" workflow for D30 post-processing using only the sofware supplied with the camera? Not the stuff in the manuals but an effort equal to Fred and Pekka's efforts? I for one only shoot RAW so I will always have these for later when I am able to apply the Photoshop6 workflows. Thanks.

[philgabe]

Oops,

Photoshop LE and Elements do not support actions and you probably don't have all the plug-ins to do some of the fancier manipulations described by Pekka & Cie. That doesn't mean that you can't develop a workflow that achieves excellent results. You'll have to be a little more patient since there's less automation involved, but I suggest you do something along these lines.

1. Get the best image you can from the camera: shoot RAW at the lowest ISO setting you can get away with (making sure the exposure is such that you won't get imaged ruined by hand shake). Use the custom settings of Low-Low-Normal for contrast-sharpness-saturation. If you use flash exposure, make sure that you exposed your pictures properly. Check the LCD and the histogram once in a while to ensure that everything is good.

2. If you follow step 1, the amount of editing required will be minimal to achieve excellent results: convert to TIFF-adjust the levels-adjust the curve for contrast (instead of a straight line, bend it into a slight S)-adjust color balance if necessary (red and cyan often benefit from a little tweaking)-apply unsharp mask (300%-500% at 0.1-0.2 radius for pictures with lots of fine details, around 25% at 1.5-2.5 radius for pictures with little details such as babies close-up portraits). And that should do it.

I'm not against the idea of using the best tools to get the best possible image, and it can be fun in-and-of-itself to use all the fancy actions and plug-ins around, but it's insane to believe that if you're not using them you can't produce absolutely beautiful image. That's certainly what software companies and other commercial people want you to believe, but in my view it's absolutely absurd. If your picture is exposed properly, adding a bit of contract and a little sharpening to the D30 is all it takes.

Cheers

Phil

[oops]

Phil,

How can I (we) thank you enough. You gave an information filled response that has helped me greatly!

I did not realize the radius could go below 1.0. I have shot some pics of my best friend Dahx (a German Shepherd) that came out horrible at 1.0 due to his high degree of contrast. Your 0.1 @ 325 nailed him perfectly.

Thanksgiving is over and I have several very special family shots that look fantastic to my untrained eye due to your help.

Thanks again!

[nitwit3]

Philgabe knows his stuff...even I, who is probable 3 days in learning ahead of you (he said smiling) learned from that post. You can't beat this forum...the posters are wonderfully helpful.

I've learned quite a bit from Pekka's photographs. He does a pretty fair amount of fair to poor light photography and honestly, that's what we are going to be shooting in most of the time and it's difficult for the beginner as well as the higher level shooters. Good luck, this forum has helped me get through a difficult learning curve.

The Nitwit