Part 16 - Photoshop, Lightroom or Aperture

The last two posts covered the topic of organizing digital image files. The capabilities and search flexibility of programs like Adobe's Lightroom and Apple's Aperture have brought a new level of image organization and retrieval to the individual photographer that was previously the exclusive territory of sophisticated corporate image storage systems.

What's currently muddying the waters are the enhanced editing features that these organizing programs are bringing to the market. The question now being asked is: "Do I need a dedicated photo editing program, like Photoshop, or are the editing features now included in Lightroom and Aperture enough for my needs?"

This post will lay the basic groundwork towards making that distinction apparent, and ultimately help in making your "buy - no buy" decision. The best place to start is to understand the editing features these new programs offer. I will use Adobe's Lightroom for my examples, but similar features and tools can be found in Apple's Aperture. (These editing tools will be briefly described in this post. How and when to use each of these editing tools will not be covered in this primer.)

Main Lightroom Workspace

Shown above is Lightroom's primary workspace. The various modes of Lightroom are located at the top of the screen as Library, Develop, Slideshow, Print and Web. The previous two discussions took place in Library Mode (yellow box). This mode contains the organizational features of this program including keywording, metadata, image ranking, film strip, preview area and the image search function.

But even in this Library Mode some limited image status and editing operations are available. So, as an image is selected (click on image in central preview area or on an image in the film strip at bottom), an image histogram is displayed (shown in yellow) and several coarse editing functions become active (shown in green box). The histogram in Lightroom displays the levels for all the primary colors (red, green and blue) as well as the secondary colors (cyan, magenta and yellow) for a more detailed look at the digital make up of the selected image.

Quick Develop Function in Library Mode

Here are the controls available for coarse image corrections in Library Mode. These controls are not nearly as elaborate as their sister function in the Develop Mode, but they do provide a quick way of making initial adjustments to individual or groups of selected images. For example, if a particular group of your images have a slight green cast, all of the images can be selected at once and their white balances adjusted to add more magenta (magenta is the opposite of green) and reduce the green cast. In the same way, a group of images that are too dark can be lightened as a group using the coarse exposure control.

To make more critical corrections, Lightroom users select the Develop Mode in the top bar of the main workspace.

Lightroom's Develop Mode Workspace

Although the above picture is small, it does help orientate you to the Develop Mode workspace in Adobe's Lightroom. Here a picture was selected in the Library Mode to be adjusted. "Develop" (see green box) was selected from the top bar to reveal this image editing workspace.

Lightroom's Histogram and Treatment Tools in Develop Mode

That's better. In this close up view of the right-hand side of the Develop Mode workspace, the first of Lightroom's editing tools can be seen. Again a histogram is always visible and will reflect -- in real time -- any changes you make during image editing. Among the tools available are:

• White balance control (color temperature and tint)
• Recovery, fill light and blacks
• Brightness and contrast
• Presence (controlling overall clarity, vibrancy and saturation).

All of these tools are represented as sliders to allow precise control of the adjustment. Any adjustment made using these tools is immediately reflected in the large preview image in the center of the screen.

Tone Curve, Hue, Saturation, Luminance, Color and Grayscale control panels

The editing tool bar on the right of the screen has its own vertical slider to provide access to more editing options. Here the Tone Curve is shown as well as the slider controls for Hue, Saturation, Luminance, Color and Grayscale. Again each slider control allows for very precise control and any adjustments are previewed immediately on the large center-screen image. A helpful feature is available on several controls that makes visual adjustment much easier. In the above example, Saturation is shown to be active. Notice the small circle to the left-hand side of the word Saturation. Clicking on this button converts your pointer/cursor to an on-screen saturation tool.

Cursor Saturation Tool Example

Here's the cursor saturation tool (within the green circle) as it appears on the large preview image. I can now be very specific about the color that I'm adjusting. In this case, the cursor is located on top of a yellow portion of the sunset. With a combination of click/hold, I can drag the cursor up or down to increase or decrease the saturation of the yellow in the entire picture. While performing this operation, the sliders in the Saturation portion of the tool bar will move to reflect precisely the change being made. Pretty cool. This feature is available with several of Lightroom's image editing tools.

Detail and Lens Correction Options

The final two editing controls in the right hand options bar are "Detail" (for precisely controlling image sharpness) and "Lens Correction" (to adjust for or simulate imperfections common to lenses). The sharpening functions of Lightroom are very precise and flexible. See the Sharpening post in Part 13 of this iDarkroom primer for more information.

Cropping, Red Eye and Straightening Controls

Immediately below the large central preview image are the controls for setting the preview image (i.e. full screen, side-by-side before and after view, etc.). In addition, a Red Eye function is available as well as all cropping and straightening functions. Cropping and straightening are very intuitive within Lightroom and performed in real time with guidelines on the large preview image.

Lightroom's Pallet of Preset Effects

The final feature to be mentioned in this primer are Presets. Adobe has included a selection of predefined effects that can be applied to any image (shown above). The presets in Develop Mode are listed on the left-hand menu next to the large central preview image. As the user passes the cursor over each optional preset a small preview image is displayed (red box above) to provide visual feedback on the effect each preset will have on the selected image. In the example above, the preset labeled "General - Grayscale" is selected and all of the Lightroom corrections required to convert the selected image to a grayscale (B&W) image are applied. The result is immediately shown in the center-screen image.

Lightroom as well as Apple's Aperture - not covered here - also have significant additional features that make them a nearly universal imaging product:

• Slideshow production including music and multiple export options
  
• Web gallery production including a broad selection of gallery styles
  
• Extensive Printing Options offering unique printing formats for numerous purposes including contact sheets and fine art layouts.

The distinctive feature unique to Lightroom and Aperture is contained in how all the corrections made during editing are applied to your original digital file.

They aren't!

In photo-speak, all of the actions (regardless of how dramatic or extensive) that you make during image editing are NOT applied directly to the original image. This is called non-destructive editing. Although you see the changes being made on-screen -- before your very eyes -- all corrections made are held by these programs as a set of instructions that are applied when the image is subsequently viewed, edited, exported as a new image file, viewed as a slide show, or printed. The original file is NEVER altered. The corrections are contained in a small text file that becomes permanently associated with each image file in your collection. (Consider this information as "image editing" metadata.)

Unlike the standard procedure of saving an original file, making corrections and then saving the new edited image under a new file name to preserve the original, Lightroom and Aperture save all that hard drive space and file organization chaos by maintaining a very small text file that allows these programs to apply the corrections within the program each time the image is accessed.

Then which type of program should a photographer choose -- a dedicated image editing program like Photoshop or an all-in-one software package like Lightroom or Aperture? Much of the answer is determined by the photographer and the images he/she wants (or is required) to produce. Although it's highly likely that a professional photographer's computer will have both types of programs, it is also becoming more and more frequent for these photographers to do the majority of their work in Lightroom or Aperture.

Why is this?

Most working professionals -- especially commercial and studio photographers as well as photojournalists -- have become extremely proficient at capturing a technically and compositionally accurate image in the environments they typically encounter. Their need for extensive image editing is minimal. However, their need for organizing and editing speed as well as the ability to meet tight deadlines is extremely high. So a typical workflow (under "normal" conditions) for these pros might be something like:

• Download all images from camera's storage card and generic metadata into Lightroom or Aperture
• Review all images and determine images to be used for the assignments (selects)
• Apply image-specific metadata to selected images
• Perform any corrections that can be applied to all images
• Perform any corrections necessary to specific images
• Export images in required format (with Lightroom corrections applied)
• Transmit images to their editor or client.

Remember this is only an example. Each photographer has his/her own personal workflow. But they will generally include similar steps. For these pros or any skilful photographer, Lightroom or Aperture is capable of performing all the steps in their workflow. So, many photographers have drifted to using Lightroom or Aperture the majority of the time.

However, other photographers in the industry or in the non-professional ranks -- including fine art photographers, architectural photographers, photographers shooting for illustrations or advertising, etc. -- have a critical need of performing fine adjustments throughout the entire image. As a result, stand-alone imaging programs like Photoshop are a necessity in their work.

The strength of dedicated image editing programs like Photoshop is found in the almost limitless image control they provide to their users. Unlike Lightroom or Aperture where the corrections made are almost always to the entire image, Photoshop-like programs allow control over the individual components of a digital image -- down to the individual pixel level. Layers can be applied. Actions can be utilized. Cloning can be achieved. Delicate masking can be accomplished. HDR and panoramas can be accommodated. Paths can be constructed. Text can be introduced. These are some of the options not currently available in Lightroom or Aperture that are considered essentials to the work of many photographers.

In the end, the photographer must choose based on his/her image editing requirements. Because of the different strengths of each type of program, both are likely to be found in a photographer's iDarkroom.

It will certainly be interesting to watch the evolution of Lightroom and Aperture as Adobe and Apple continue to add more and more dedicated image editing program features. Who knows, we may be heading towards an all-in-one software solution.

Which would I recommend?

That's tough. But if I were just starting out -- and understanding the importance I place on keeping digital images organized and accessible -- I would probably buy either Lightroom or Aperture first. Putting organization considerations aside, the editing features of Lightroom and Aperture are extensive and certainly powerful enough for newcomers.

I would learn the ins and outs of these programs including all the image editing tools and functions. Then when I had conquered the tools and as my finances allowed, I would purchase a dedicated image editing program like Photoshop to cover the full range of my editing needs. Virtually everything I learned while using Lightroom or Aperture would transfer to shorten the learning time associated with most dedicated image editing programs.

Part 15b -- Organizing, Storing and Retrieving Image Files

This article is a continuation of Part 15 - Organizing, Storing and Retrieving Image Files.

The last post explained how to import images from your camera or stored on your computer's hard drive into image management or organizing software -- in this case, Adobe's Lightroom. Once the images have been imported, the next step is to provide the information that these programs require to organize the individual images and make their later retrieval a simple matter -- regardless of how many images you have in your entire collection.

Adobe Lightroom's Workspace

Seeing the entire Lightroom workspace is difficult using images that fit within the blog template. So sections of the workspace will be enlarged in each segment of this post.

The picture above shows the entire Lightroom workspace. I've attached descriptive words (in yellow) to this full workspace view to highlight the areas that are common to most image management software.

• Library Mode: Only the organizing and storage features to this class of software will be discussed in this post. For Lightroom, these functions take place in the Library mode -- shown in white lettering at the top of the screen. Other modes in Lightroom include: Develop, Slideshow, Print and Web. (These modes are topics for future articles.)
• Thumb Nail Window: In the center of the workspace is the area reserved for larger thumbnail images of the images in either the folder you've selected or as a result of an image search you have performed.
• Image Folders: The left hand menu bar displays a complete list of the image folders you've created and stored in Lightroom. In this section resides the folder created in the last post.
• Scrolling Filmstrip: At the bottom of the workspace is a film strip that can be scrolled to show all the pictures selected. Users can scroll through their images quickly using this feature. Clicking on any filmstrip image will result in showing a larger thumbnail in the center pane for closer inspection.
• Keywords: This is the area that displays current keywords associated with the selected image. Additional keywords that are specific to this image can be entered in this box.
• Metadata: This area is reserved for displaying and modifying the metadata of the selected image. (Click here for the discussion of Metadata in Part 14 of this iDarkroom blog.)

The "folders" pane (circled in yellow) in Lightroom's workspace

It's probably becoming obvious from these descriptions that we are now at the level of organizing each INDIVIDUAL image. The importing accomplished in the last post provided a basic gross organization of the images. All files were placed in a folder unique to a particular shot or event (shown in "folders" pane above). At the same time, images were provided metadata and keywords that were common to ALL images in this folder. Now we can describe individual photographs to identify what makes each unique. It all begins with information entered in the right hand column of panes.

Lightroom Histogram Pane

The top pane contains a histogram of the image that is currently selected. Although this histogram won't be altered, it does provide a graphic that is several times larger than your camera's version as well as an opportunity to take a closer technical look at the exposure made in the field.

The pane for viewing, changing and adding keywords

The keyword window below the histogram shows any keywords that are currently associated with the SELECTED image. These initial keywords were assigned to this image (and all others in the group) by the photographer when the file(s) was originally imported into this folder in Lightroom. Now's the time to enter words that specifically define this image. For example, this folder contained pictures of landscapes, people, scenery, water falls, babbling brook, towering trees, sunrise, etc. taken at the Old Grist Mill in Clark County, Washington in 2008. So every picture in this series shares these keywords. The picture that is currently SELECTED is of a waterfall in the park. By adding the keyword "waterfall" to the list for this image, it's now different from all the others. This is the first step in locating this image two years from now. Enter keywords that identify/describe this particular image.

Lightroom's Metadata Pane Showing EXIF Metadata

As explained in Part 15a, two forms of metadata are commonly associated and travel with each image -- EXIF and IPTC. The picture above shows the EXIF metadata (as selected in the yellow hightlighted pull down menu). This information isn't editable. EXIF data describes exactly how this SPECIFIC picture was taken (i.e., camera name, f/stop, shutter speed, ISO, shooting mode, etc.). Instead of taking notes, the camera records this important reference material automatically and includes it with each picture file. You'll see later that you can even use this information to find particular pictures. For example, if you wanted to locate all pictures that were taken with your Nikon D200, you can do that based on each picture's EXIF metadata.

IPTC Metadata Window

You might not be able to read all the "fill in the blanks" in this picture, but you can see there's room for lots of information that's specific to this picture. IPTC metadata was originally created with photojournalists in mind. Here all the information about the photographer, the assignment, location, dates, captions, etc. can be entered. You may not need all this information for your photography, but several fields are useful for everyone -- like photographer's name, address, date, etc. You decide what information is important and use these fields to permanently assign this data to THIS specific image.

These are the critical data entry areas and information required to make later retrieval of a specific image a snap.

You mean I have to do all this work for every picture I take?

If you want to maximize the effectiveness of your image organizational software the answer is YES. But, don't panic. Software manufactures have included shortcuts to speed up the process.

Metadata Synchronization Button in Lightroom

The "Sync Metadata" button at the bottom of Lightroom's workspace is one of Adobe's methods for making your metadata life easier. By selecting one image that contains all the metadata you've entered and then selecting all others that require the same information and clicking on the "Sync Metadata" button, your metadata is automatically entered into the fields you specify. For example, in the "waterfall" example above: If you had taken 20 pictures of the waterfall, then you only need to enter the data into one of the waterfall images, select the remaining images and let the "Sync Metadata" feature automatically write the information into the other 19 picture files.

Every program has shortcuts for entering metadata. Check out data entry shortcuts when you are evaluating different software programs.

Most programs also include a few additional options that make the initial job of organizing, sorting and editing pictures even easier and faster.

As hard as it is to believe, not every picture is a winner. But instead of trying to determine which pictures to save before importing them, I recommend you import EVERYTHING. Good and bad. It's actually much easier to make these decisions at the same time you are entering keywords and metadata. Any image can be selected and deleted at any time. So, import everything to save time.

Additional options for classifying or editing your newly imported pictures include:

Color Labeling

These features are presented in the order suggested by Adobe for Lightroom. Color labeling can be used to quickly review ALL of your images. You can apply a color coded label to any of the thumbnail pictures to indicate their importance to your project. (Notice the "red image label" applied to the picture above surrounds the thumbnail picture.)

"Pick" Flag Applied in Lightroom

Once you've made your first cut by color labeling important pictures, you can then make final selections by selecting a "Pick" flag. The flag (upper left corner of thumbnail picture) indicates that this image is your "pick" for final use.

Lightroom's Star Rating System (circled in yellow)

At the bottom of each thumbnail image is a series of stars. Choosing "stars" ranks your images from poor to best (5 stars usually indicating best). It's your call. Rank the image according to your photographic taste. You will also be able to search and sort images based on these star rankings.

Notes: Additional information available on the thumbnail images includes:

• the size of the image file and its sequence number in all the thumbnails being displayed (shown in green circle)
• the file name and the f/stop and shutter speed used for this picture (shown in blue circle)
• information showing if the image has been altered in any way using the program's image editing features (shown in the red circle).

All of this information is customizable. A list of items to display with each thumbnail is available for you to customize these "corner" information displays.

At this point, you've created a complete database of images that can be quickly searched to find individual or groups of pictures that meet your search criteria.

The Lightroom "Find/Text" Menu

Let's walk through one simple search. In Lightroom in Library mode, the Find function is located on the left hand scrolling menu. For this search, I'll look for an image based on a specific keyword, "Clark County". From the "text" pull down menu, I select "Keywords". Notice I could have searched for pictures based on many choices -- title, filename, metadata, etc.

The "Find/Text/Rule" pull down menu

Next I tell Lightroom to search for keywords that match all the keywords I entered from the "Rule" pull down menu. Then I type in "Clark County" in the text field below the "rule" line.

Completed "Find" with results of the search

The results of the search appear almost immediately (this search took less than one second). All of the images found that match the keywords I entered are displayed in the thumbnail window and in the filmstrip at the bottom of the workspace. The details of the search are shown in the yellow circled area. I performed this search on my Grist Mill folder and 65 images matched my request. (I could have searched on multiple folders or the entire picture collection as well.)

The searching features of these programs are extensive and fast -- making it virtually impossible to lose a file that has been properly identified when brought into the program.

For most photographers, these sophisticated image organization programs are worth their weight in gold. Finding a single image among thousands has been a photographer's nightmare since George Eastman was a kid. Today, we can attach image-specific information and permanently include it with the picture. And then leave the grunt work of finding the files to our computers. It's not a miracle, but it is a godsend.

Is this just for professionals? Well, imagine your daughter is getting married and you're in charge of creating a scrapbook of images from delivery room to college graduation as a wedding keepsake. If you had been entering your family pictures into an image management program for all those years, just typing in your daughter's name as a keyword would display her entire photographic history. Pretty cool.

The amount of information you add to your images and the ways you rank your files are totally within your control. However, whatever choices you make, be consistent -- forever. By standardizing your importing and organizing process you have defined your own image management "workflow".

Finally, don't forget that the Lightroom process I have described is only ONE software solution on the market. Check out others -- like Apple's Aperture -- to determine which is most comfortable and usable in your iDarkroom.

But wait! There's more! Although the organization that these programs bring to the chaos of managing thousands of individual images is well worth the price, there's more to most of these programs. Future iDarkroom articles will discuss why many professional photographers are using these programs to perform the majority of their digital image editing and enhancement as well.

As always, if you have questions or comments, please drop me a line.

Part 15a - Organizing, Storing and Retrieving Photo Image Files

It's called "Film"

Back in the "olden days" (pre-2002) when I was the Director of the Time-Life Photo Lab and before the company's conversion to digital photography, we would process hundreds of rolls of film each day for the organization's 135 magazines. It wasn't unusual for Sports Illustrated to shoot 600 to 800 rolls of 36 exposure film at major sporting events like the Super Bowl. This shooting pace using multiple photographers resulted in 21,000 to 28,000 images that had to be down-selected, edited and eventually stored. It was a huge, deadline-driven workload and responsibility for each magazine's photo editor and staff.

It would seem the organizational and storage challenges couldn't get more complex. Then digital cameras and the advantages of digital editing entered the scene.

The new "film"

There is little argument among most photojournalists that digital photography has given them more flexibility and options. At the same time, the old 36 pictures per roll of film limitation has "bitten the dust". With camera storage cards of 8, 16, and 32 gigabytes available at reasonable costs and the ability to use and re-use these devices for years, the number of images that can be taken at any event has increased dramatically. (That's about 200 RAW files on each 4 GB card or the equivalent of more than 5 rolls of traditional film.) The result is "digital film" that is nearly free but even more images to organize, store and retrieve.

Regardless of your photographic status -- beginner to pro -- the challenge is the same. What do I do with all these image files?

It didn't take long for manufacturers of imaging software like Adobe and Apple to recognize the problem (along with considerable input from professional photographers) and the sales potential for a software solution. Today, there are many options for bringing order to this chaotic situation. Every solution has it own strengths and weaknesses.

I will use Adobe's Lightroom features to highlight possibilities that the majority of these image file organizing applications bring to our craft. I recommend you read this overview to understand the basic features of image organizing applications and then research available software that is in your budget range and fulfils your organization and storage needs.

Adobe Lightroom's Desktop
Yes, I know it's a small picture. I'll zoom into the important areas as necessary.

Features common to most image organizing software include:

• ability to import images from folders on your hard drive or camera storage card
• ability to place imported images into specific locations that can be cataloged and stored
• ability to add to, alter and edit the metadata attached to each image (see Part 14 of this iDarkroom primer for a discussion of metadata)
• ability to rank your images (from good to bad)
• ability to search and display all images being stored
• minor to major capability to perform image adjustments -- usually a non-destructive process where changes you make are recorded without altering your original image
  
• ability to print a selected image
• and optionally, the ability to produce an on-screen slide presentation and/or on-line picture gallery.

This post will focus on the organizing and file storage features of programs like Lightroom and Apple's Aperture.

Lightroom functions are selected from bar menu in upper right hand corner of workspace

The image file organizational features of Lightroom are contained in the Library mode as highlighted in the image above.

Importing Images Into the Library

Typically pictures can be brought into these programs in two ways:

• from a location on your computer or network (i.e., from a folder or directory)
• directly from your camera or card reader.

Using either method in Lightroom produces an import menu as seen below. All of the remaining discussion in this post takes place on this menu.

Lightroom's Image Import Screen

The selections you make on this screen set all the import parameters. Like similar programs, Lightroom's import feature contains these basic common elements:

• thumbnail images of the pictures to be included and excluded (based on the user's selections) during the import
• navigation menu for selecting the storage location on your hard drive
• a method to allow the user to alter the filenames as they are being imported
• a metadata entry box.

Organization Begins Here

I have created a master folder on my desktop that contains all the images imported to Lightroom. Besides having everything in one place, this arrangement makes it much easier to backup all of my image files by copying this single folder to another hard drive or CD/DVD. Inside this folder are individual folders -- one for every shooting event.

Lightroom's window for selecting storage location for imported image files

Creating this dedicated folder in the main Lightroom image folder is accomplished from the import menu -- Copy to/choose button. From the menu, I select my "LR_Image_Storage" folder (highlighted in yellow above). Then, selecting the "New Folder" button, I name the folder that will contain the images to be imported (highlighted in green above) -- in this case Sunset Falls.

Note: Other file import location options are available in Lightroom (i.e. importing and erasing original copies or importing from current location without moving files to a new folder). However, the options described in the last paragraph are most typical and common to similar programs.

Moving on. Normally, when files are copied, the filenames remain unchanged. In Lightroom and similar programs, the file names can be optionally changed as the files are imported. The "File Naming" options are shown in the drop down menu shown above. This option allows you to choose a naming convention that you prefer for your images. In this example, the "Filename" selection is chosen -- meaning the original file names will NOT be changed.

File Naming and Metadata Information Selections

After selecting the template for File Naming, the remaining options concern information that will be applied as metadata to EVERY image imported.

Develop setting: I have never used this option. This drop down menu allows special effects to be added to EACH image as it is imported (i.e., toning, changing to black and white). Since this setting affects every image imported, I have never had a reason for using this option. Normally, leave this set to "None".

Metadata: Again, any choice made here is applied to EVERY image imported. From this menu, any template that has been defined can be selected. In my case, I have set up a predefined template that contains my name and copyright information. This is the information I want applied to every imported image. The template is called "TEH Generic" and is selected above in yellow.

Keywords: This space is provided for entering "keywords" that are descriptive and common to EVERY image being imported. The words you enter here (separated by a comma) are a major component for organizing and retrieving specific image files later from the thousands of files on your hard drive. Take your time with this step and choose your keywords carefully.

Almost done. Make certain the image you want to import has been selected. In Lightroom, images are selected in the check box above each thumbnail preview (shown in green circles). Click the "Import" button.

So, what's going on inside the computer?

• The image is copied from the camera's data card to the folder "Silver Falls" inside my main folder "LR_Image_Storage"
• The name is changed to the format I selected (in this case I asked for the original file name to be used for the copied file).
• The original image files on the data card are erased -- if I selected that option.
  
• The metadata I specified and keywords are saved along with each individual image.
• Thumbnail images are created to be used when viewing the pictures in Lightroom.

All of this import process can take some time depending on the number of images being imported. Be patient. The program will tell you when the process is complete.

We've taken some big steps in organizing our photographic life. This import has laid the foundation for eventually being able to find any image among thousands in record time. So far, everything that's been done has been applied to EVERY image being imported. The next article in this blog series, Part 15b, will show you how these software programs take this organization process to the individual image level to make image retrieval quick and easy.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Part 14 - Photographic Metadata

As a prelude to Part 15 - Image Organizing and Storage, this post will present the basics of metadata and the important role it plays in the workflow of today's digital photographer.

Metadata is data that describes other data. In the case of photography, metadata is descriptive information about a digital image. There are two types of metadata associated with digital images.

EXIF Metadata

This data consists of the technical camera details permanently associated with each image. This information is collected and recorded along with the image the moment the picture is taken and store on the camera's data card.

Adobe Lightroom's EXIF Metadata Screen

Most imaging programs like Adobe's Lightroom, Bridge and Photoshop, as well as Apple's Aperture, can display the EXIF information included with every digital picture. As shown above, all the technical details, aperture/shutter settings, lens, flash, GPS data, etc. of this particular picture have been captured in the EXIF metadata. This information is invaluable to photographers not only as technical documentation, but also for evaluating and learning from each shooting experience. This is much easier, quicker and more precise than the notebooks we carried with us in the past. EXIF metadata is usually not editable.

IPTC Metadata

IPTC is the acronym for the International Press Telecommunications Council. The name hints at the purpose of this data. As digital photography became more and more prominent in the press, it became necessary to devise a system by which photographers and editors could attach the journalistic specifics to each image. The data is attached to each image file after the pictures are taken -- called post-production.

Adobe Lightroom's IPTC Metadata Screen

The screen above shows the type of information included in IPTC metadata. This information provides the important assignment, photographer, location, caption, copyright and photo description details that are critical to news gathering and photojournalists. Again, this data is created and saved after the photographers' images have been downloaded to their computers. IPTC information is editable.

So where is all this data stored?

Currently, metadata can be stored in three locations:

• It can be incorporated in the photo image file in the case of JPEG and TIFF files.
• It can be included in a file that's attached to the original image file (called a sidecar file) as in the case with RAW image files.
• In the case of IPTC metadata, it can also be stored in the IPTC metadata generating software.

Metadata has become more and more important as photographers and software manufacturers seek solutions for managing the huge volume of image files being generated by digital cameras.

The next two posts, Parts 15a and 15b, will explore the topics of organizing, storing and retrieving your valuable digital picture files. Most importantly, these next two posts will help you get started with the organization of your images before they become too massive.

I hope this metadata discussion has been helpful. If you have questions or comments, let me know.

Part 6 - Which Digital Imaging Software Is Best?

Understand from the outset that I will not be answering this question. I will share with you the software that I use and will be most frequently cited in this iDarkroom blog. I will also let you know the reasons I selected the software I use. In the end, the choice of software is a personal decision. Fortunately, most major software producers now offer you the opportunity to try and then buy. You wouldn't buy a car before test driving it. Today, your software decisions can be made taking the same precautions.

So, I started with Adobe Photoshop long before it had any numbers or letters (CS3) after its name. We've had a long and mostly friendly relationship. There's a lot of "comfort factor" and "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" in my resistance to software change. Within the last 2 years, I have added Adobe's Lightroom to my imaging software suite. For me, this is the perfect imaging duo.

I am also an avid Macintosh user. (Strange for a guy who used to work at Hewlett Packard.) Apple's Aperture software is the competing product to Lightroom. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about Aperture. And I know photographers who are die hard Aperture users. My Lightroom decision was initially based on a self-imposed requirement. Because of the photographic instructional presentations I make, I wanted all my programs to be compatible with both Macs and PCs. At the moment, Aperture is limited to Macs only.

Knowing what I now know after using Photoshop and Lightroom together for almost 2 years, I would strongly recommend that new photographers just entering the iDarkroom take a serious look at Lightroom or Aperture as their first imaging software purchase. I make this suggestion for several reasons:

• They both have the editing/correction features that first time users most need.
  
• Both have extensive image file cataloging and management features (affectionately known as DAM -- Digital Asset Management -- in the industry).
  
• They both cost less than Photoshop.
  
• They are relatively easy to learn (compared to the more complex and extensive Photoshop).
  
• Much of Lightroom's look and feel is shared with Photoshop.
• Lightroom is tightly integrated with Photoshop.

The last two reasons are important if you ever decide to break into the piggy bank and purchase Photoshop. With the recent release of Lightroom 2, even more features have been added.

For me, Lightroom (and the same can probably be said of Aperture by its advocates) has made my photographic life much simpler. These programs bring instant organization and simplification to the photographer's worst nightmare -- cataloging, consistent metadata/keyword usage, and image retrieval. This DAM capability allows you to:

• Import your images from your data card, enter metadata (see definition at end of this blog) and preview your images in record time,
• Group images based on your criteria,
• Sort instantly through thousands of images and be presented with only images relevant to your search by using keywords and the incorporated image rating techniques.

Shown here is Lightroom's Library Screen. In this case, I asked for all pictures of Alaska. I was presented with 1,000 pictures that were Alaska specific in thumbnail previews in the center of the screen - like a traditional contact sheet.

For the beginning DSLR user, keeping track of all those digital files can be overwhelming. (Consider the wedding photographer who may take 500 or more images at each event.) Here's a way to organize all your images as well as all the information about each image and to have the files always at your fingertips.

If that isn't enough these programs provide extensive image editing capabilities:

• Histograms of each image
• Color Correction
• Exposure Control
• Option to apply the same corrections to "batches" of images
  
• Contrast Correction
• Hue, Saturation and Luminance Control
• Sharpening
• Cropping
• Image Straightening
• Red Eye Reduction
• Special effect filters/plug ins
  
• and more.

In Lightroom's "Develop" section, I have complete editing and correction control with the array of tools at the right and bottom of the image. Notice the excellent histogram in the upper right hand corner -- complete with "out of limit" indicators.

Best of all, you are working in a "non-destructive image editing" environment. Your original image is never altered and always available. Any image editing changes you make are placed in a separate file and applied to the image each time you view the preview, export the file or print the image. In this way, making multiple copies of a file as you make creative changes is no longer necessary. Lightroom "remembers" your corrections, but doesn't alter the original image in the process.

There are other features in both programs (Lightroom and Aperture) that are gravy to the main cataloging and editing features most of us require:

• Ability to produce slide shows
• A multitude of print output and formatting options
• Options for using the images on the web
  
• Ability to export (single or multiple files) to specified file formats and image sizes
• And so on...

As your skills and confidence grow, you can always move to an advanced image editing program like Photoshop.

(But between you and me, because I'm pretty careful about how I compose and expose my images, Lightroom's image editing capabilities have caused me to rely much less on Photoshop. Don't tell Adobe.)

But don't take my word for it. Do the "try then buy" thing. Check out Adobe and Apple's websites for their features, specifications and photographers' testimonials then download the trial versions. And decide for yourself.

The good new is: Whether you ultimately decide on Photoshop, Lightroom, Aperture or other high end editing software, they will all have more capability and flexibility than you will need for quite some time.

Metadata definition: Metadata is text information either automatically or manually entered and included with every DSLR image. This information provides a complete history of the image (camera, model, f/stop, shutter speed, date, etc). In addition, information can be included about the photographer, captions, copyright and the all-important KEYWORDS. This data is contained within the image file and is available for use and modification by editing and cataloging software. See Part 14 of this iDarkroom Primer for a more complete explanation of Metadata.

I hope my experience with image editing software has answered some of your questions. If you have questions or comments, you know where to find me.

Part 4 - Calibrating The Photographic Workflow

You get up in the morning. Take a shower. Brush your teeth. Eat breakfast. Read the newspaper or your on-line news feed. Get in your car. Go to work. Do those things at work that bring home the bread. Get in your car. Drive home. Eat supper. Play with the kids. Watch TV. Go to bed. And it starts all over again the next morning. This daily routine (which varies only slightly from day to day) can be likened to the recent photographic catch phrase -- workflow. When something disrupts your daily workflow, like a car that won't start, not only does your workflow change, but you are forced to take steps that will return your routine or workflow to its normal status.

A photographer's digital imaging workflow might go something like this:

1. Take the picture.
2. Download the picture to a computer.
3. File the image in a digital cataloging/editing program (for example, Adobe Lightroom or Apple's Aperture).
4. Perform necessary image editing/enhancement (this could be the same program used for cataloging or specialized editing software like Adobe's Photoshop or LightZone by Light Crafts).
5. Make prints or digital files as requested by customer.
6. Deliver prints or proofs to customer.

Like your personal daily workflow, if any single component is "out of synch" in the photographer's workflow, time and materials are wasted to solve the problem before normal production can resume. In the photographer's workflow components falling "out of synch" are often the result of color management issues.

Calibrating the components of a photographer's workflow is the first step towards higher productivity, fewer final print surprises and profitability. Nothing burns up a photographer's profit quicker than endless reprinting to achieve the results he/she and the customer expects. As you are discovering, quality ink and photo-quality paper represent a large portion of your iDarkroom expense.

So, how do you minimize these expenses? It starts with an understanding of the variables that were presented in the previous posts and a calibrated production system.

This post begins a discussion on calibrating the first and most important window into your photography -- your color monitor. To be intentionally blunt: If you don't calibrate your computer's monitor, the chances of making a final print that matches your monitor is in the same realm as winning the state lottery. Well... probably not that good.

You saw from my airplane TV monitor example that exactly the same monitors from the same manufacturer produce entirely different color images. Time changes all things. But you know this. That's why you take your car in for a check up every 3,000 miles or so. To bring it back as close to factory specs as possible.

Why would a color monitor be any different?

Monitors are even more touchy than your car. The accuracy of a color monitor (calibration) should be checked at least once each month.

There are methods of visually calibrating your monitor, but a dedicated hardware device is more accurate and reliable. Fortunately, a variety of monitor calibrators are available with prices for every budget. X-Rite’s Huey® color monitor calibrator is shown below attached to the monitor of an iMac®. Investing in a good monitor calibrator is essential to accurate color management. If your computer and monitor are your first iDarkroom purchases, then make a monitor calibrator your SECOND purchase.

X-Rite’s Huey® Color Monitor Calibrator is an inexpensive starter device to calibrate your monitor and ensure more accurate color rendition on your computer display. (The calibrator is the black rod in the center of the display.)

Monitor calibration is a straightforward and very quick process for bringing the monitor back to its original specifications. This monitor "tune up" is accomplished by the calibration software that comes with the calibrator. A small file is created at the end of the process that allows your monitor to display colors correctly. This file is called an ICC Profile and will be discussed in the next post.

Although there is disagreement among printer manufacturers, I believe the same routine color calibration is needed for printers. Printers are mechanical devices and are subject to wear and tear that invariably has an impact on color consistency and predictability. I no longer work for Hewlett Packard, but I have become a firm advocate for printer calibration. The current Photosmart B9180 and B8850 13"x19" pigment printers from HP have built-in color calibration capabilities. I believe printer calibration will become a standard user feature in the future.

Whatever you decide, the printer is the third of the essential purchases for your iDarkroom. Watch for my post on the basics of ink jet photographic printers.

With the monitor and printer calibrated, the next post, Part 5, will cover those little files that control how color is displayed on your monitor and reproduced on your printer.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, you know where to find me.