About Workflow

By: Marty Kesselman

4/1/2010

Workflow is a term used to define the steps one takes to produce a fine art image. In its
simplest form, the process of preparing a picture can be broken into three categories;

1- Capture
2- Development/Darkroom or Digital Darkroom processing
3- Presentation to the viewer

Capture:
In the “Capture” process you are trying to capture the initial image on your film or digital
media. To do this you need to see the image you are trying to capture. The process of
seeing is something that you develop yourself. This capture process can be a record of a
trip, or an event in your life, a portrait of a family member, a striking landscape or a
purposeful effort that you have set out to create as an image for art’s sake.

Many things can go into the preparation process, choice of camera and equipment, choice
of clothing, choice of time of day, lighting to consider, etc. This process is not one that I
will discuss in great detail in this note.

Instead, I wish to point out the major objectives;

1- Try to create, in the camera capture process, the best image you can.
2- Consider the composition (what will be recorded), and lighting (how the subject is
illuminated).
3- Try to get the technical issues resolved (exposure, focus considerations).
4- Achieve the highest quality image available to you during this stage. This is your
only opportunity to store the data you need to create your final image.
a. Take many shots of the same subject
b. Move around the subject for different views
c. Modify the lighting or move to change lighting direction
d. Play with lenses and choices of exposure and focus to get different effects
e. Once you leave you are usually finished and the opportunity to return to
do it again may never be available to you.

Number “1” “Get the best Image” basically tells it all. The remaining items simply
highlight some of the ways to do that. Keep in mind that when using the digital process,
the data is contained in digital packets that describe the color and brightness of each tiny
point in the image. You want as many points as possible, with the data recorded in
highest fidelity, very little distortion, or clipping, as it is described in digital cameras that
run out of recording capability in either the bright or dark areas. Check your histogram to
see what the camera recorded.
Shoot in a mode that stores the most data for you. For film it would be a choice of film
type. For the digital camera it is saving your data with the most resolution and largest file
size. Shoot in RAW if you are able to and utilize the added post processing capabilities it
provides.

Development/Darkroom/Digital Darkroom Processing:

This is the process of bringing the camera image into the arena of the post-processing
efforts. The term development is the process of bringing the stored image on your film to
a level of quality suitable for final processing in the darkroom. The term has been
adopted in the digital photography arena to describe the process of establishing the image
captured into a form that provides the highest quality image for final processing and
presentation. The darkroom or digital darkroom effort is the step in the workflow that
will transform the image stored to an image for presentation to the viewer. Both of these
steps are crucial to providing a positive outcome to presenting an image for final viewing.

1- Image evaluation: This effort involves examining the original images (proofs) to
determine those image attributes that will bring the image to the domain of a
photograph or a piece of art.
a. Composition is key to achieving such a photograph
i. Review your images and pick those that you feel have the potential
to be photographic pieces of art
1. Look for story telling, mood, subject interest, use of
lighting, use of color or lack of color (B&W).
2. Check for image balance in the frame. Does the image
require cropping?
b. Technical attributes: The image should exhibit all the good technical
attributes that make for an excellent image or a piece of art.
i. Lighting considerations:
1. Are shadows too dark?
2. Are bright areas too bright?
3. Is the quality of the light correct for the subject (soft/hash)?
ii. Choice of selective focus: This is usually achieved during the
capture process. This is why it is important to experiment while
you are at the site taking the original images.
iii. Exposure or use of dynamic range of the media:
1. Usually it is useful to employ most of the dynamic range of
the photographic capability of your film or photo paper/
digital range in the computer. Special effects are
sometimes created by limiting the range that is used to
create mood.
iv. Background considerations:
1. Is the background important to tell the story?
2. Is it best to use the background to make the subject more
obvious?
3. Does the background help or hinder the image?
v. Color fidelity and choices of color change if desired:
 1. In general; true color or real looking color is most
comforting to the viewer.
2. Some images will work well with a strange color for things
that most people will recognize.

2- Processing in the darkroom/digital darkroom:

a. All of the items discussed in the evaluation process above must be
revisited here.
i. Composition:
1. Cropping may be required
ii. Technical Issues:
1. All of the technical issues must be executed at this stage of
the workflow process.
a. Correct lighting and exposure issues
i. Dodge and burn
b. Enhance contrast to bring attention as required.
c. Consider background effects and try to execute
them, using masks and special techniques available
to you in the darkroom or at the photo-processing
lab.
d. Color integrity.
iii. A vignette (slightly darkening corners) may be a good way to keep
the viewer’s eye inside the image area.

Presentation to the viewer:

You have basically finished your image and now are ready to prepare it so that someone
will view it. You must consider now how it will be presented. This will dictate how
large the image should be. Will it be projected or presented on a piece of paper in a
frame? Will you be sending it to people using the Internet and have it presented for
viewing on their monitor? Will it be a slide show?

All of the different outputs may require special additional handling. The digital imaging
process is different from the photographic process and consideration of image resolution,
color space and printer profile may be required to prepare an image for printing. In
general the Internet and digital display will require .JPG file format and will tolerate a
relatively low resolution of 72 dots per inch (DPI). Digital printers put many small dots
on the paper. To achieve a smooth tonal gradation a relatively high resolution is
required. Most digital printers will work well with 240 to 300 DPI. This is considerably
more than that required by a digital monitor, digital projector, or TV screen. As a result
the image size may require adjustment to accommodate the print size and resolution.
Always consider the amount of interpolation (guess work) that your software must do to
enlarge an image. Try to minimize the amount of interpolation required by first changing
the resolution in such a way that the original image pixel size is not changed. When
resolution falls below 240 DPI to achieve image size, you must use the interpolation
capability of your software. Research the algorithms provided and choose the method
providing the smoothest tonal transitions with the least artifacts.