So many programs so little time…
Photoshop, Lightroom, PaintShop Pro, Gimp, Aperture, Phase One, DXO Optics, Tiffen Dfx, Photomatix, Oloneo, Topaz Labs, On1, Nik Software, Picassa, MS Paint…
Did I miss any? Of course I did, there are so many to choose from how could I have listed them all?
Just like Photography gear (read the article on Squashing Gear Lust) there are many options for editing your photographs. Quite frankly it is a mess when you think about it. You can actually own too much Post Processing Software. While many believe the more the better, this thought process could lead you to a life of post processing Anguish.
After a reader subscribes to my HDR Family email list, they receive an email. It asks them a series of questions, one of them asks what their most urgent question is about Photography or Post Processing. Do you know the number one response? Workflow. Photographic Workflow and how to make the best image in the sea of programs that exist.
I do a lot of Webinars with Topaz Labs because I really do enjoy their software. I also do a bit of work with On1 because I like Perfect Effects a lot! However, I will go on record saying you don’t need every piece of software every company creates to make great photos. You don’t need the latest and greatest and quite frankly, owning them and using them will not make you a better photographer, period!
What will make you a better photographer is understanding what fits where in the puzzle of Workflow. Understanding this will save you a ton of time and money! So how exactly do you do that?
1. Build a Workflow Road Map
This is the most critical element to draft out in its entirety before you get any new software. I have a very specific workflow Road Map that I follow on every image I process. Below you will find a very rough version of the more elaborate Road Map that I have put together in the upcoming Zone Systems Master Class. The idea behind the Workflow Road Map, Blue Print, or Theory is to structure a system that outlines the important steps every photo should go through. Here is a look at mine:
I don’t want to get too technical with what happens where, because that is a whole blog post of its own! However, look at each step and look at how I have placed an emphasis on where certain programs fit in. I know for a fact where every program fits in my puzzle and 9 out of ten times I follow this structure to a T. The other 1/10 of the time is when a Plugin like DeNoise will work its way into the Pre-Processing on a stubbornly noisy image.
2. Delve Deep into the Programs
One thing I am often asked after a Topaz webinar is how I know the programs so well and use them so creatively. I don’t really know how to answer this any other way than say, I spend a great deal of time in them, dissecting them, experimenting with them and seeing how well my brain will connect with them. I don’t watch other peoples YouTube Tutorials on Topaz or On1 Plugins. I don’t do this to be vein by any stretch of the imagination.
It is kind of like the music I listen to when I am working. I only listen to music with no lyrics. My favorite artist is Brunuhville. The problem with lyrics is they start to make their way into my thought process. While I am writing posts or creating email content if I hear lyrics I will start typing them.
The same thing happens if I watch others YouTube Tutorials on post processing software. Their impression and workflow with the software will get permanently embedded in my brain and I may only use the software like they do.
The other problem with watching others workflow tutorials is that it does not allow me to personally connect with the software. I know this sounds odd, but I am a firm believer that our brains will connect with the way certain plugins are structured over others.
Perfect example… I really enjoy the way Topaz Plugins are laid out. Every Plugin is structured the same and you know what to expect going into them. On the flip side, I had to take an entire month of just using On1’s Perfect Effects to see how I could fit it into my workflow, map it to my brain, and then teach someone else how to fit it into theirs in HDR & Perfect Effects 9.
You need to take the time the plugin deserves to see if it will fit 2 things. One your brain structure and two, into your Workflow Road Map. Every reputable company offers a free trial… try BEFORE you buy!
3. Plugins Are a Means to An End…
The one thing I despise most about Plugins and their marketing tactics are… One Click fixes. In photography post processing there is no such thing as a one click fix and any preset that has been created has been made with only a couple of images in mind. No two images contain the EXACT dynamic range so no plugins will ever be perfect for the image you are using. This is where artistry comes in.
I want you to stop thinking of yourself as just a photographer, you are now an artist. Just a photographer would be one who knows the trade technically and can create technically perfect images, a mechanic of sorts. If you are reading this you are well beyond the title photographer and well into the title artist. It looks like this:
- Main Title: Artist
- Sub Category: Photographer
Accepting this will allow you to accept that all plugins are, are a means to an end. They are not the end all be all… you, the artist, are! You make the artistic decisions, not a preset. If you ever buy a software plugin because you want it to create one click fixes, you are in the artistry for the wrong reasons.
Presets are great when you use them as a base and build upon them. Next time you click a preset, look at the adjustments and modify them to match your image, create your own preset from there and apply them to like images in your series of photos.
4. Get On Without Them
When all else fails, thinking minimally will be your best asset when you approach photo post processing. I have a strong feeling that I could unplug myself again because of my familiarity with Photoshop. It is the most powerful editing tool on the planet and, for the most part, pretty much anything a plugin can do, Photoshop can do. Plugins just make it more convenient and a bit easier. You can get on without them.
One thing a lot of people tell me via email and social media is that they refuse to purchase Photoshop CC for the Cloud aspect. On the flip side, they would be willing to spend $100-200 on the next Plugin suite. That purchase is close to 2 years of Photoshop CC, the program with endless possibilities. So inevitably you could just be buying yourself a very expensive crutch!
I don’t say this to promote Adobe, they don’t pay me for that. I have the liberty of being free from all companies as I am not bound by a contract with any one of them. This gives me the luxury to support whatever program or Plugin company that I think is really beneficial to the artist.
When it really comes down to it the most important editing tool you need is Photoshop. I know Lightroom has a ton of capabilities, but it is still a crutch. It does not have the limitless potential that Photoshop allows you.
Photo post processing is a lot like Manpower Assessment. It is not about the Manpower you have available to complete a task it is about the Power behind the men (and women). You can have all the valuable plugins in the world, but if you don’t know how, and most importantly when, to use them they are worthless.
Your homework, if you don’t already have one… Build a Workflow Roadmap!
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For Blake, it's all about the art and process synergy. He dives deep into complex topics and makes them easy to understand through his outside-the-box thinking so that you can use these tricks in your workflow today!
You hit it right on the nose in my opinion. I used to always break the chops of a friend of mine. He was obsessed with buying all the J.C. Whitney catalog auto performance “plug-ins” and parts. I would say that if he bought enough of them, his car should start producing gasoline rather than consuming it 🙂
Thanks for this great companion piece to your “Gear Lust” article. I am looking forward with anxious anticipation to your “Master Class”.
Thanks for all you do for us,
Vinny
I wish PS would start producing photos for me, especially of places I have never gone!
This article is right on target. I am so glad you wrote it.
I know photoshop quite well, but want more pop and a newer look in what I am doing, which is why I am looking at your website. I don’t want to do HDR particularly, but am looking to add something to my post processing.
Your thought processes seem to be a good fit to mine.
Thanks for adding. Some plugins can help you with the pop, but Color Grading in Photoshop can be just as effective.
“The same thing happens if I watch others YouTube Tutorials on post processing software. Their impression and workflow with the software will get permanently embedded in my brain and I may only use the software like they do.”
I’m certain you are not advising us to stop watching YOUR tutorials, right? 🙂
Of course not 🙂
You have expressed exactly how I feel out pluggins and Photoshop.
I have had the discussion many times about Photoshop vs Lightroom. Others would tell me Photoshop is too much to learn, Lightroom is more intuitive and does everything Photoshop does. There is a reason why Photoshop costs a lot more than Lightroom.
I used many tutorials, from a website that features experts in the field, to get my feet under me with such a comprehensive program like Photoshop. Tutorials can be helpful but you must be selective about them and not totally rely on them.
The same with pluggins. I don’t buy a whole suite of pluggins just because it is less costly. I will investigate what all the pluggins do, decide which ones will benefit my style and buy accordingly. Use the tutorials to get my head around technically how the pluggin works and then play with it. This way I limit the amount of pluggins I have.
Your tutorials on the zone system is a perfect example. You teach how to use the system but it is up to the individual to use this information as they require.
Great information. Keep up the great work!
Thanks! That is great input. Don’t get me wrong there is definitely a time and a place for plugins, that I agree with. But the battle comes with knowing when to use them.
I am very much like you, I tailor myself to certain plugins within the suite and others seem trite. IT is all about the brain mapping though, because someone else will see a plugin fit them perfectly that we thought was trite.
Plugins being to adapt to workflow, that is when they are successfully used. I think you alluded to the same thing there.
I used to think that I needed every plug-in from Topaz and Nik to get my photos looking better. I realized very quickly that my photos are very different from the example photos they use with the plug-ins they are trying to sell. Once I got that through my thick skull, I got to the point where I only use 2-3 Topaz plug-ins and only 1 Nik plug-in, and alot of the time now I don’t even use that many. Sometimes I work with OnOne Perfect Effects but usually I get good results before going into Perfect Effects. Your article was very accurate. Each person has to come up with their own workflow and must be able to adjust their workflow as they work with it. My workflow changes are not as often as they used to be.
I am also really looking forward to your “Master Class”.
Awesome, and very well put. Workflow in Photography is very much like the wake up routine. We all do it, but we all do it a different way, some eat breakfast before going to the gym, some don’t go to the gym, some drink coffee, I drink tea. Regardless, we all wake up we all go to work and ironically we all get the job done. We just do it in different ways.
I like how you described workflow changes. I used to change weekly, because I relied on multiple plugins. The more I simplified the programs and learned them better the less my workflow bounced around.
I applaud the effort you put forth in producing these tutorials!
There’s one aspect of anyone’s workflow that often gets tossed aside. It’s an essential part, but has nothing to do with the creative process, so it probably gets pushed down on the priority list of “important” things to do.
I’m referring to organization of your work.
As time go on and your images multiply there will come a point when you want to reach back and touch one from the distant past. If you haven’t started and maintained a good organization method then you’ll likely waste a lot of time and get very frustrated searching for that desired image.
Being a tad obsessive and compulsive I have a natural tendency to stay organized in my life. But even I found it hard to keep my images in good order. For a long time I just used Photoshop for my post processing and relied on Bridge to organize things. Once my inventory got beyond 50,000 Bridge was no longer efficient. Bridge is just a simple browser. Yes, you can keyword and tag, but its search ability is limited. You can’t search across multiple drives or even folders for that matter.
I resisted looking at Lightroom for a long time, But I finally did and now my organization is almost effortless. Lightroom has a true database. Thus it can be queried (searched) in many ways. It offers a lot of flexibility for cataloging images. You can easily customize many aspects so it works for your individual needs.
Because Lightroom’s Develop module is the same as ACR, all preliminary workflow can proceed as if you started out in Photoshop. It’s just that before you start the editing process you have the ability to organize you images up front, and never have to be concerned about how to them.
Now that Adobe lets you have both Lightroom and Photoshop for just ~$10/mo, with continuous updates included, it’s in my mind a unparalleled photo software bargain. I won’t argue the pros or cons of buying vs. renting software, it’s a personnel preference thing. For me, Lightroom and Photoshop blend together smoothly in my workflow.
I am a software junkie, and have lots of third party plug-ins as well as standalone applications. But I do basically follow Blake’s flow, including the Zone Systems, reserving the others for a specific quality I’m trying to achieve. It’s just that I organize as my step one.
I found that I have 6 years of images cataloged in a way that Lightroom does not like at all. Due to my cataloging I refuse to revamp my images just for the sake of using Lr. It would be a mess if I were to use Lr now.
I have a very refined cataloging process that I do on my own. There are folders of images from shoots and folders within those folders and sometimes folders within those folders. They are very organized so I can find them easily, but from what I gather Lr does not play well with this process.
I am lucky that I am organized up front and can recall any image I have taken, even if it were 6 years ago. I know not everyone can do this, it is a luxury of mine.
Thanks for adding Lr to the discussion.
I’m not a super expert on Lightroom’s cataloging weaknesses but I believe you can simply “Add” your already organized folder structure and images into a Lightroom Catalog without disrupting anything. Lightroom doesn’t care what you already have in place. It will take what you have and work with it. You will still be able to navigate your folders from within Lightroom the same as you do now. However, you will immediately gain great flexibility for additional searching using many parameters:
date
file type
keyword
label
camera
camera serial number
lens
focal length
shutter speed
aperture
ISO speed
flash state
GPS data
location
city
state
country
creator
copyright status
job
aspect ratio
You can combine multiple criteria. You can apply constraints, like + not, etc.
Going forward, adding keywords gives you a powerful means to search (you can always go back and add keywords to old images, but that takes time).
If you have developed an organizational method that works for you, then great. But I have to believe it requires some memory process that you must apply to find a given image or perhaps more importantly a series of related images. But how are they related? Similar subject but different location? Different location but same time of day? Similar subject and location but different months? All subjects at 18mm? Images at ISO 800 and f8 after 6pm? Easy to do with a LR search.
I challenge you to create a simple folder system that lets you, by memory alone, swiftly and easily locate multiple images. That’s why relational databases were invented.
Blake, I urge you to open up to the possibility that there just might be an better, more powerful yet easy, way to organize. Download that free Lightroom trial ASAP and have at it 🙂
John – you are absolutely correct.
I find it kind of strange that people can laud P/shop over LR as a means of processing their images due to the breadth of features it provides, can then square that away with not using a true database management system with its inherent breadth of capabilities over a non-database managed system.
Personally I find using a combination of both to provide the optimum level of control wrt to managing and processing.
Being a Nikon user, my journey began with Nik plug-ins which became a part of Capture NX2, and then it migrated over to PS. For a period of time, Silver Effects was the best BW converter out there. Then I loaded up with onOne, followed by Topaz, Alien Skin and others. Recently I have become a big time user of Macphun’s Intensify and Tonality Pro. What has happened to me is that I have ended up cherry picking from each of these plug-ins. I have more and more refined the tools that I use from each of these manufacturers. I love Nik’s Control Points feature, onOne’s Perfect Effects is great for housing textures, plus it introduced me to Photomorphis; not to mention that Perfect Resize has time and again proven to be a godsend. Topaz has become a great playground with Simplify, Impression and Glow; it is my go to noise reduction software. These days, Macphun’s Tonality Pro is my primary BW program. I am finding that I go deeper and deeper (and not broader and broader) with the tools that I use. It’s the fine woodworking chisel vs. the axe approach. And it has meant saying goodbye (or at least putting on the back burner; sorry about the mixed metaphors) tools that once were used daily. Making decisions about what I am going to let go of have proven to be just as significant (and as hard) as what I am going to use.
I like that, very well said. I think when you begin to delve into the programs and really understand them they start to adapt better as you have come to find out.
First of all, thank you for the fantastic tutorials!
I had the pleasure of attending an Ansel Adams lecture back in the seventies.
I struggled to learn the zone system for years, I understood the concept and turning that into a reality with film and print was another challenge… Now that we are Artist/Photographer and are in the digital realm, that concept seems to be much easier than years ago thanks to your method of the Photoshop Zone System! I wonder what Ansel may have created today if he had our tools?
I would give anything to (1.) have gone to an Ansel Adams Seminar and (2.) know what he would do with photography in this day and age. What a brilliant thinker!
As usual another enjoyable read. However, your comment regarding LR as crutch is way off the mark. I know you don’t like LightRoom and I’m not suggesting you use it. But, this comment only comes from not using or understanding how the program works. Camera Raw is number 2 in your workflow. LR has all the functions of Camera Raw in preparing a photo for processing using PS or other plug ins such as Topaz and others you use. It also organizes photos and you never lose your original photograph, no matter how many times you post process. I’m not going to go into a lengthy explanation, but Blake, your irritation about LR is showing. 🙂
I understand where you are coming from but I disagree to an extent. Lightroom is AWESOME for cataloging that is what we do know. However, it does not force you to go into Photoshop for further edits on your photos, that becomes your decision. ACR on the other hand does require you to process further in Photoshop, unless of course you say done, then it closes.
ACR is the gateway into Photoshop on a RAW or TIFF image. Lr, is a stand alone, not required as a Gateway to Ps. This is where I see a disconnect.
Photoshop is the epitomy of photo editing, hands down, no limitations. What I mean by Lr being a crutch is people become comfortable with Lr as the primary editing tool. I have seen this happen to many who have switched. They are primarily Ps users, then they get Lr, and then they convert and start using Ps less and less. Which is great for most.
Me, however, I know this would be a crutch. I would like to think I am an innovator in Ps, I come up with new ways to do things all the time in Ps. That happens because of the need to speed up workflow in the most efficient manner without being held down by limitations.
So when I think of Lr, it is a crutch with rhinestones on it. I don’t mean that in a bad way, I just know that I would become reliant upon it. That is the last thing I want for my workflow. There isn’t much in the way of innovation with Lr as it stands now (until they add some serious layer and blending options). It really is just a pretty version of ACR with cataloging (VERY effective cataloging).
I think you are an hard working and dedicated photographer and generous with your knowledge.
My workflow starts with my camera, I try to get the optimum image quality from it prior to post processing. This is how I am sure you work and it saves a great deal of time on the computer. After all the most important aspect of photography is capturing a good image requiring a minimum of work.
I am not a lover of LR., I don,t produce thousands of images so Bridge works well for me and I have no difficulty finding any image I want. One thing that I beleive is important is to be ruthless about is deleting images [if in doubt through it out} it’s easy to clutter your hard drive with images that might some day come in but never do. Everyone finds there own way of working and if it works for them thats only thing matters.
Plugins have there place in the work flow but are there to refine an image rather soup them up. I have see the way you work with them which is subtle generating good results and thats the way I like to work. Believe me I have had fun in the past using them and can honestly say I have created some pretty horrific results but in pushing them to the limits i have certainly gained a greater understanding of them.
Thanks, Barry! I agree with you about many things:
1. Get it right in camera. That is a great point. It all starts with that, editing a bad photo is essentially polishing a turd.
2. Be ruthless about deleting, I love that! I am very hard on myself and only keep the really good ones, because the others are just a waste of space. I do keep a lot of the not so good ones, but I am very liberal about what I delete.
3. Plugins for refinement. Great point. I use them at the end to get a creative effect. Sometimes I will use them before the end, but on rare occasions anymore.
Blake, I am not a photographer but use Photoshop for artistic projects using photos I take or by others.
Do I need PhotoMatrix at this point? I do own several other plug-ins, like Topaz.
I would say probably not. It is a very specialized program typically only for HDR
Thanks for the great advice! Try Amelie’s soundtrack when you’re working… works a treat for my creative juices to start flowing.
Sweet! I’ll do that!