Wedding photographers... what RAW software?

dewey · Mar 13, 2007

So I have been using lightroom for a while and I'm happy with it. I just started using Capture One LE because I got a free copy with a Sandisk card I bought. I haven't used it for an entire shoot yet. I like Lightroom more, but I think it's because that's what I'm used to, and CaptureOne is still new to me. It seems slower and it seems harder to go start to finish with it. Again I'm still learning it... don't freak out you Capture One addicts.

SO....

The question is who uses what for weddings? I typically use Lightroom & Photoshop. I'm open to changing my workflow if it will increase my speed or increase the quality of my postprocessing without adding alot of time. I'm working on processing a 2800 photo wedding today and speeding up processing is on my mind... go figure. :lol:

Thanks for sharing.

Big Mike · Mar 13, 2007

I use R.S.E. and Photoshop. I haven't tried Lightroom or Capture One, so I can't say anything about them.

I like the RAW workflow of R.S.E. (which I'm guessing is close to Lightroom)...but my Photoshop workflow is too slow.

Do you use any actions in Photoshop? That's the time/effort saver. I think I'm still too attached to editing every image individually based on what I think it needs...rather than getting close enough and batching a whole lot of files.

Let us (me) know when you figure out a way to stream line you processing. I've read plenty about people's workflows but it's always a matter of personal taste.

dewey · Mar 13, 2007

Great point on individual vs. batch treatment Mike.

I "grade" photos on how much pp I will give them. Reception candid shots get a basic automated correction - not much input from me and no Photoshop - just lightroom. Formals and the important reception shots get individual treatment as needed in Photoshop. I have an action that opens adjustment layers and makes minor changes which is a real timesaver.

Big Mike · Mar 13, 2007

So your action that opens adjustment layers...does it just create the layers and save the image for you to come back and edit individually? Do they automatically do a basic adjustment in the action or is it just to open them?

I'm thinking that I could probably do that. It seems that I always create a levels layer and then a curves layer. The levels adjustments are similar but not the same for each image. The curves adjustment is almost always a slight S curve...so I could probably automate that.

One thing that I don't like (or haven't figured out) with R.S.E. is how to list more than one category, once I have rated all the images. For example, I go through all the images and tag them with a 1, 2 or 3 (not counting the garbage). Then I go ahead and start the edit/convert process on the #1 files. Then I switch to the #2 group of images and basically do the same adjustments on the images as I did for the #1 pics. The #3 pics may or may not even get converted....but if I'm going to convert both the 1 & 2 images...why do I tag them separately in the first place?

I think I'm rambling so I'll shut up now.

dewey · Mar 13, 2007

My default action opens the image, creates an adjustment layer for curves, levels, sharpness and contrast and hue / saturation. It makes a minor adjustment to each because as you mentioned it's frequently the same sort of adjustment. It then closes and saves the PSD for later tweaking. It's a set it and go to lunch action. :lol:

I have tweaked this action a bit from time to time - I have one for reception candids because they're normally a little dark. I have one for formals to be a little easier on the skin tones.

I find that on about 50% of the images I dont mess with them.. I leave it as is. The other 50% I find I have to adjust more or crop or clone something or dodge/burn etc. When I've edited them all I have another action that opens each PSD, flattens and resizes them and saves them as a JPG for web proofing. Again an action that is fast like the snail.

Not sure about RSE - I would hope there is a way to do that!

Big Mike · Mar 14, 2007

Excellent, thanks for the run down. I've messed around with making a few actions like that...but I haven't really committed myself to doing it properly yet.

dewey · Mar 14, 2007

Sure... when I get a chance I will post those actions here. One REALLY cool thing I use in lightroom in the built in web proofing. With a few clicks I can build web pages with numbered proofs. What's really neat is if I catch a mistake I can toggle back to editing mode and fix it, then toggle back to the web mode. On top of that Lightroom will dump the finished web pages on my website (built in FTP). I love that and it's a real time saver.

It's like a chinese menu... my clients can email me back and say I want a #24 , a #9, a #92 extra spicy :lol:

Do you do proofing online? I'd be interested to fond out how others do it.

I've considered things like collages.net but I don't want to pay someone else a % of my sale for something I can do just fine.

Big Mike · Mar 14, 2007

I don't have a real web site up and running yet...and it will probably just be a basic site, for now anyway. I haven't really nailed down how I want to work my proofing process. I'm only just starting out as a primary wedding photographer so I guess I'll work these things out as I go.

I've been reading up on what others thing of those on-line proofing and print sales sites. I like the idea of not having to process the orders myself but then you do have to give up a percentage.

Actually, I'm still trying to figure out what my main sales focus will be. Should it be selling prints or selling the files? I recently put together my price list for this year and I made packages that include either a print credit or the files on disc.

Digital Matt · Mar 14, 2007

I'm not a wedding photographer, but I use C1 LE for my raw workflow and I love it. Use whatever you are comfortable and gives you the best results.

davyhsieh · Mar 14, 2007

I use Capture One Pro 1, and it is really useful. In Taiwan we shoot a thousand photos per day, need a quick software to do it.

danalec99 · Mar 31, 2007

Bridge/ACR for RAW
Russell Brown's Image Processor for batch conversion to TIFF
Russell Brown's Jpeg 1-2-3 (for 3 different Jpeg sizes in one go) for batch Jpegs, coupled with Actions, if needed.

guitarkid · Apr 30, 2007

Dewey, when your clients call and say they want photos, how do you get them out to them? your printer? what do you do. i don't want to pay a lab a % of my prints but i do it. i work with digilabs.net and i LOVE them. can't be easier or better and the prints are simply amazing. you upload your proofs direct to their servers via their software and the photos along with pricing are just there after your upload. you set your prices. i do nothing else. clients visit their proofs, click what they want to order and they print and ship direct to them. same as pictage but they are really pricy and i can't afford it. after working with digilabs.biz though, they are all i need. good luck.
steve

zendianah · Apr 30, 2007

guitarkid said:
Dewey, when your clients call and say they want photos, how do you get them out to them? your printer? what do you do. i don't want to pay a lab a % of my prints but i do it. i work with digilabs.net and i LOVE them. can't be easier or better and the prints are simply amazing. you upload your proofs direct to their servers via their software and the photos along with pricing are just there after your upload. you set your prices. i do nothing else. clients visit their proofs, click what they want to order and they print and ship direct to them. same as pictage but they are really pricy and i can't afford it. after working with digilabs.net though, they are all i need. good luck.
steve

Hey there ... Does digilabs charge you a monthly for online proofing? I'm using Pictage to try them out. They have an intro offer of 49.00 a month for 2 months than 99.00 a month. I believe that anyone can go to digilabs? Is that true? I would love to hear more about digilabs. Thanks... Dianah

guitarkid · Apr 30, 2007

i was very close to going the pictage route but i found them to be a lot of fluff, and this is coming from a few other photographers i know. i'm sure they are great, they're huge, but it's also money i don't have each month.

i would highly recommend digilabs. they have MANY services and are so helpful. i call them all the time. during printing of some shots, the head of the lab calls me last week to recommend cropping in a different way for a particular shot and wanted to know if i wanted 8X10 or 10X10 and what style border I wanted for effect...wanted to run past some ideas before doing the run. they spent a lot of time with me on the phone answering all the questions i have. there is just so much to their services, i can't say enough great things about them.

i'm on the $150 a year plan and that gets you unlimited photo uploads and galleries and all their services included...they also take 17% of each sale. may sound steep but it's not much considering what they do and what the prints look like. they do have a monthly plan which i think is around $25 a month and they take no commission on sales. this would be great for me if i had a lot of clients. there are a couple different pricing options on their site. yes, anyone can sign up.

a quick rundown: once i have all photos edited, i open their software (which is updated monthly and free for download from their site. they always email saying when something is new.) i import all hi-rez jpg's into their software when i'm done editing them. once they are in the software i hit SEND TO WEB. it walks you through creating the gallery name, date, etc. the software resizes the images to smaller web-based files which still look great and it takes about 5 minutes on broadband. after that i just click on my proofs link from my website....and all the photos are there!

have a look:

http://web.sendtoprint.net/proofbook/galleries.asp?CouponID=SAR

i choose my pricing structure and all photos are automatically linked to the pricing. they have MANY printing size options and other features to choose from that clients can order. prints can be direct to actual canvas...looks amazing. they have 3 different print styles: matte, luster and metallic. the metallic finish is just amazing and the photos really pop. you pick and choose what you want to offer clients and set the pricing. after the upload, i copy all hi-rez photos to DVD and mail off to the lab...this is used for when clients order...they will print from these hi-rez files. you can also ftp these hi-rez files to their servers but it's money...maybe $20 a month...not bad, but not necessary. mailing a DVD is only a dollar and there is no charge for them to take it in.

if you want to order the spiral-bound proof book for the bride all you have to do is click the ORDER PROOFBOOK and it submits the order to the lab from the software...you enter your credit card number before submitting. the order is submitted and you get the book in a week or so.

they have separate software for drag and drop hi-rez wedding album design as well. these books are amazing looking...all hard cover, photos are part of the page.

sorry for the long email. there is also an admin logon where you type in your username and password to view all your galleries, set pricing, s/h pricing per order, you can see who viewed your galleries and how many hits each got, etc. this is web-based, no special software required.

they are at www.digilabs.biz

in the end, it's who you love working with. for me, the search ended here. i love how it's only $150 a year and you only pay if someone buys prints....and it's only 17% of the sale. they print, package and ship to purchaser's via fedex.

good luck,
steve