DPP - Part 1 - Exercise 1 - Your own Workflow - 1

Exercise 1 - Your own Workflow - 1

The purpose of this exercise is to devise and put into practice a workflow that suits a personal short photographic assignment.

I've broken this down into 3 smaller workflows:

 - pre-shoot workflow
 - shoot work flow
 - post shoot work flow


Pre-Shoot Workflow:

I confess that whilst doing one of my early TAOP exercises that I had forgotten to remove my SD Card from the card reader and replace this in my camera and reformat it. Fortunately as a result of advice in the past I always kept a spare card in my camera bag. On this occasion after having a few seconds panic I was able to rely on a back-up card thanks to this advice and discipline. In itself this was a good experience to value the importance of workflow.

Shooting Workflow:

I rarely use the jpeg images straight out of the camera as I always process the RAW files. Jpeg images lose data. For this reason other than an average default in camera processing position I do not amend this subject to shoot. I note that Ken Rockwell always uses jpegs as he says he takes so many images. Its horses for courses hence work flows are individual to the person

Its critical that flexibility be catered for during the shoot. This allows for changing circumstances such as weather, local environment, elements not considered. However most of all flexibility as part of the image creating activity is a must. Change things not originally considered, take advantage of things not considered, experiment and be creative.

On this particular shoot I taken at Symonds Yat Rock whilst location meant I had to be a bit light with equipment being carried I had not fully considered considered the number of people on location this meant patience (even considering time limit) and taking advantage of what was available rather than worrying about what wasn't. I expect this may be better phrased as "seizing the opportunity". 

I've learnt a long time ago that its far easier to delete images when you have too many than to find put when performing the Post Shoot workflow that you have too few. For this portrait shoot using my D700 camera I purposely put on the MB-D10 power grip which with the D3 type battery gave me a very rapid number of shutter actuations per second - up to 8. I think anyone with a camera has experienced the image with the great pose, sharpness and composition but to find the image no good because the subject has blinked at the wrong time. This grip increase my chances of avoiding this situation have having more keepers to select final images from

Post Shoot Work Flow

With some advantages that being a part-time student gives I have recently purchased Adobe Photoshop CS6 at a student reduction.

Bridge tells me I have taken 116 images, many due to the rapid shutter actuations - too many is better than to few :D

I have detailed my work flow below but like the other 2 before it I expect these will evolve as I progress through this module.

Going through my images I've rejected those I don't feel of the right quality or that I have captured a better image of that particular location / lose. Adjusting the view in Bridge now to only show those left I have 13 (13 pairs of jpeg and RAW)

2 of my final processed images. I like these as some emotion is captured in the images, the first perhaps more of a posed image, the second is more candid. The relationship between photographer and model / subject is very key to obtaining quality images and capturing part of their character in an image:

Exercise Learnings

a) It was very beneficial for me to work through the workflows and to document them. This made it a much more thought out process. I'm very sure that now I have this I can adapt and review it as my knowledge and skills increase. I will print this and put it up to remind me of all the activities for each of the work flows I've documented.

b) I think there is enough flexibility in my workflow to enable me to be flexible. I have learnt this form previous experiences. A little rule of thumb with plans..."plan for the best expect the worse". This means plan for the ideal situation but be willing and able to adapt the plan / workflow to account for unexpected situations. For me the unexpected was the varying light you'll see in image one I have used fill in flash; and also the number of people at the beauty spot. This could have through me but with patience it was OK. I also think having a biggish camera and lens with hood people may think you aren't just a happy snapper and have some purpose with your work. If you respect them they respect your working space and are also happy to let you finish a few images before they walk on

c) Having a workflow means having purpose about the planning, shoot and post processing activities. This helps slow you down and spend time getting what you wanted. Of course also be happy to take advantage of situations

d) I'd like to learn and understand much more about the digital workflow and get some structure to my approach. Its there in a small way but I want to really develop this area

e) A big learning is the star awarding to perceived quality of image and applying meta data to images. I need to do this much more. As my my library of images grow I cannot rely on memory or folder names for recalling images / image types. This I've learnt is a definite weakness currently

f) This exercise has identified this as yet an area to improve - this is good, always trying to improve