Workflow

The first thing you should do is copy the image on the disc to your hard drive. Keep the disc safe as your backup so should you wish to reload the image you can.

In order to process an image you need image manipulation software such as Photoshop or one of the other programmes available.

Any digital file that comes out of a camera tends to look quite flat in its raw state. With a few simple steps a digital file can be improved upon to brighten the colours, add better contrast and give the image a sharper look. The images we send out have had very little done to them often nothing. We assume that the purchaser has a little knowledge of what to do with them. In essence the workflow we follow to prepare an image is as follows

OPEN IMAGE>CROP>COLOUR & CONTRAST CORRECT>ADD ANY CHANGES>SHARPEN>SAVE

1. Open the images with your chosen image manipulation software.
2. Crop the image to the size you want it. We use the Photoshop crop tool for this purpose and usually enter the values into the pre set boxes then the image is always constrained correctly.
3. Colour and contrast correct. There are various ways of doing this but it is advantageous to have a well calibrated monitor to do it acurately. Photoshop provides several methods, auto levels, auto contrast, auto colour or you can do it manually using the brightness/contrast menu to do this.
4. Add. At this point you can carry out any changes that you want to make such as lightning shadow areas or darkening highlight areas use the tool pallette. There are thousands of things that can be done to the image anyone who has used Photoshop will know that the list is endless.
5. Sharpen. The final but very important stage is to sharpen the image. Sharpening should always be the last thing you do especially if your manipulate your image in any way.
6. Save the image selecting a quality suitable for the final use of this particular copy.

A FEW TIPS:

1. Images for web sites, blogs etc need only be set at 72dpi, this is screen resolution and any larger is just a waste of bandwidth and just slows down your web page when someone tries to read it. Also your web page host may automically resize large images when you uplaod them so if you prepare your images within their requirements they will look better.
2. For e-mail, again, keep it small 6x4 ins x 72 dpi will produce an image file of around 60 to 70 kb, this will send very quickly. If the recipient has a dial up connection they will appreciate this as large files can take a long time to download.
3. Saving images for web, select a medium jpeg setting to help make them download quicker.
4. When you crop your image, do so to the size you are going to have it printed or the size you plan using it.
5. If you want to print the full frame then you need to set up the image at 71/2 x 5 inches, 9x6 inches or 12x8 inches selecting any other size will mean that the full frame will have an area cropped out. Keep the resolution at 300dpi especially if you are having prints made by a photolab.
6. When saving an image for prints save at the maximum jpeg you have, your prints will look better for it.
7. Sharpening, in my experience all digital images will require a degree of sharpening applied to them prior to final use. Personally I use the photoshop 'unsharp mask' tool from the filter menu. Settings are: ammount 100%,Threshold 3, Radius 0.7 this is good starting point and usually gives a good overall look without causing any artifacts to form. Don't overdo the sharpening though it can easily look false.
8. If you are printing from your own printer try and get your monitor screen set what your printer out puts.
9. Make sure your printer is well maintained, clogged print heads will result in colour faults, lines, etc
10. Know your printer, it is important that you select the correct settings when making photo prints. Your printer may have dialogue boxes that allow you to sellect anything from the type of paper to quality of print required so consult your user manual.
11. Use a decent photo paper to print on.

OPEN IMAGE>CROP>COLOUR & CONTRAST CORRECT>ADD ANY CHANGES>SHARPEN>SAVE

Any questions just ask via e-mail.