What things to do when you convert

For pp I have corel paint shop pro ultimate. I am new to pp and when I open my raw images I think they look good but are there any general rules on what adjustments you will want to make on Almosf every image? Also is there any good info on using layers? I am completely lost when I read these threads and they are talking about using layers for almost all adjustments. Thanks.

Since you haven't said otherwise, I assume you are shooting jpgs. If you know that you will be post-processing every image, I would use the Neutral or Faithful Picture Styles with their parameters turned down to the minimum. The reason is that any processing done by the camera is "baked in" and very hard to reverse if it turns out to be excessive. For instance, sharpening needs to be appropriate for the subject and can create unsightly artifacts if overdone and is impossible to undo. Contrast also needs to fit the scene contrast and if overdone can cause the loss of data in the highlights and shadows to the point of clipping.

Jpgs are limited in the amount they can be edited and by starting with a soft, flat one you maximize the amount of editing you can do. But the best platform for editing is a RAW (CR2) file, with which you are literally starting from zero, because no editing has been done by the camera.

As for using PSP, there are hundreds (thousands?) of excellent tutorials available and even if most are about Photoshop they apply to PSP as well.
Two sources I particularly like are:
http://www.ronbigelow.​com/articles/articles.​htm and
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/ the Understanding Series at the bottom of the page.

Sorry! I do shoot raw. When I got my xti I joined this forum and was told to shoot raw and shoot manual and have done so since that time

Ronin1 wrote in post #10165867
For pp I have corel paint shop pro ultimate. I am new to pp and when I open my raw images I think they look good but are there any general rules on what adjustments you will want to make on Almosf every image? Also is there any good info on using layers? I am completely lost when I read these threads and they are talking about using layers for almost all adjustments. Thanks.

A very good resource for getting the basics of Raw processing down is the Canon software, Digital Photo Professional (DPP). This software shows by default your in-camera settings that would be used to create a jpeg -- basic settings for White Balance/Color Hue, Contrast, Saturation, Sharpening, and whatever settings for Noise Reduction, etc, you have made in your camera.

This way you can "eyeball" the more common adjustments and then change them as you will.

You can use DPP to help you "model" a shot and then go back to PPP to relicate those settings and improve on them.

Seriously, that is I believe good advice for someone starting out in Raw processing with any Raw converter. You may end up liking one converter more than others but I don't think you will find one that gives you a better "starting point advantage" than DPP.

Sorry, my fault.
Note to self: Read slowly and concentrate. You are lousy at multi-tasking.

About the only thing I always do to a RAW image is capture sharpening, thats because the digital capture in camera softens the image slightly. Everything else is dependent on what I see in front of me when I open it in Photoshop.

I find DPP very awkward to see the result of adjustments, so tend to wait until PS to do virtually everything.

Thanks for the replies. I read one of the links that tzalman posted. I found that it was very informative. When I read the articles it seems easy enough. That was until I opened up some images in PSP ultimate 2. I played with levels, curves, histograms, and attempted to use layers to perform different tasks. I was just doing something wrong. For example I took an exposure of a lady in the woods wearing a white dress. The overall exposure was dark, and I wanted to lighten the dress, and attempted layers and playing the levels. I must be missing something.

Ronin1 wrote in post #10169292
Thanks for the replies. I read one of the links that tzalman posted. I found that it was very informative. When I read the articles it seems easy enough. That was until I opened up some images in PSP ultimate 2. I played with levels, curves, histograms, and attempted to use layers to perform different tasks. I was just doing something wrong. For example I took an exposure of a lady in the woods wearing a white dress. The overall exposure was dark, and I wanted to lighten the dress, and attempted layers and playing the levels. I must be missing something.

While you'll hear a lot of recommendations about post-processing techniques, and many of them are actually good and worth-while things to learn and practice, you also find out there are no actual rules.

For example, Richard/Lowner above prefers to do the majority of his processing after his Raw conversion, I strongly prefer to do as much as possible if not all in my Raw processor and normally just convert to a jpeg for a specific output, such as the Web, some type of sharing, etc. I also print from my Raw processor for anything up to 13"x19" prints.

So, I encourage you to learn to get the best out of your Raw processor, even as you learn to work well with a pixel/graphics editor -- get the best of both worlds!

If you haven't seen it, check out our RAW Conversion Thread, where a bunch of folks have contributed examples using various Raw processors to show what can be done to make your Raw images "all that they can be".