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* Digital Photography Workflow Mini-FAQ
Note that the information below is an extremely brief
introduction to the topic of digital workflow. This information may or may
not be relevant or appropriate to your needs.
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Digital workflow is the process or sequence of steps that is
traversed to move a captured image from a camera to it's final end
use. Steps along the way can include:
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making a copy of the files on the CF card (or other camera
media) to a hard disk or other storage device
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evaluating the images (delete rejects, apply ratings,
labels, or other 'quality' stamps)
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applying a naming convention to the files (default in-camera
file naming conventions are currently fairly limited in that they usually
only include a sequence number and some sort of vendor designation along
with a file format type for example the name: DSCN1038.JPG.)
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applying meta-data to the files (i.e. adding copyright,
photographer contact, image description or other information that will make
the image data-rich)
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converting captured images to the file format of choice
(currently, there is significant debate about the merits and use of vendor
camera RAW image formats; for many end users convenience will drive the file
format selection - whatever is easiest to use will top the list - anything
else will be used when the need arises/dominate)
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creating backup copies of the files for online, off-site or
long term storage
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adding data for the new images to a master database or image
management tool/system
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processing images use (i.e. preparing versions of the files
for web, print or other presentation usage)
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delivering the final image to clients, family or friends
(i.e. printing snapshots for the family, sending out a DVD with press ready
images, transferring files to clients via electronic means)
Digital media immediately increases post-production time - you
simply will have more images to screen/select. If you only take a handful
of images then you won't typically be concerned with organizing how you handle
your images. On the other hand, if you are now generating
several hundred or thousands of images then it can be quite a time saver if you
develop your own process for handling images. How easily can you put your
hands on negatives/slides/prints from 5, 10 or 15+ years ago? Can you
generate a list of all images of your family pets? Or a list of all of your
'best' images? How about a list of all images taken in 2002? A list
of all unpublished images? A list of all published images?
Meta-data is data about data - All of the information that
already exists in your image files and any that you add after you create the
file is meta-data; for digitally captured camera files it usually includes EXIF
data as well as information that you might add as you edit the file.
Why add more information? - simply put, value. Data (in this case,
an image) that is data-enhanced has increased value as long as the quality of
the added information is good. In addition to speeding up file searches
(provided you use some indexing tool that takes advantage of meta-data) adding
appropriate meta-data to your images decreases the long term maintenance.
The 'life expectancy' of any optical medium is speculative, not
proven by the actual passage of time. In the same manner that slides,
negatives and prints will age (and possibly/most likely deteriorate) today's CD/DVD
ROM discs will also eventually fail or degrade. The more you use your CD/DVDs
and/or the more you expose them to 'poor' conditions, the more likely you will
encounter disc failures. The quality of the discs that you use will
also affect the real life that you extract from the medium.
The image format that is chosen for long term storage of images
is what will determine how easily your images may be used in the future.
If the vendor formats keep changing (which is what we are seeing from the camera
makers) then you have to keep changing your software in order to work with the
images. If you archive your files using an vendor neutral, industry
standard file format (i.e. TIFF or JPEG) then the chances are good that
software 20 years from now will be able to read/use the files. A nice
'feature' of film/slides is that you have something physical to work with and
from which you can still get high quality images from.
The books found here cover
workflow for both general and RAW file format uses.
Digital Photography Vocabulary
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meta-data: data about data
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EXIF: Exchangeable Image
File Format - typically includes information generated from your camera when
you capture an image; usually includes information like the image exposure
settings, ISO information, lens information, etc. In general it could
contain any information that the camera is capable of recording about the
image capture process.
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TIFF - Tagged Image File Format - a cross platform
image file format; widely supported in current image editing software
programs; a 'lossless' format; files tend to be large
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JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group - an images
file format that compresses files by throwing away 'excess' data; a 'lossy'
format; file size depend on JPEG quality levels
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RAW - generally speaking this refers to any vendor
specific (i.e. proprietary) file format used to store images. Most
cameras provide file format choices that offer various benefits. For
many professional users the RAW format provided by their camera vendor will
be the preferred format due to the amount and quality of data that these
file formats support
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