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The editing phase of the digital workflowfl is really a two-part process. One aspect includes the selection, choice and cropping of images – this may be done before or after processing, depending on workfl ow specififl fics, and is distinct from content editing. Some Raw processors offer the means to select and compare
processed or pre-processed images, and users will make the first part of their editing selectionfi in the Library module of a workfl ow productfl such as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.
The second aspect – content editing – has to be done using image-editing software. This will include heavy retouching (some can be done in certain Raw processors, but not all) and any layering or composite imaging where parts of different images are brought together to make a final composite.fi
Cropping, picture straightening and rotation may all be part of the general editing stage, though it is technically better to incorporate this during processing. This is to minimise image degradation from progressive image editing.
Far better to get as much as possible done during Raw file processing.fi
Who does the editing?
More often than not the photographer is not making the fi nal selection. They will not be responsible forfi the selection of the final image that will appear in the fi published advertisement, for example. It may be that the editing is done quickly in the studio with the art director and photographer working from a computer monitor or using a laptop with images from the location shoot. This may be done using the View or Library module of the Raw fi le processor or using a dedicated fi asset manager that can prepare a catalogue of Raw fi les for comparison, selection and marking.
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It will then be left to the photographer or digital
assistant to work up final production fifi files from a smaller selection of images. It may be that a ‘look’ needs to be applied to a batch of images, or the batch colour-matched, before a selection is made. A small handful of images will then be presented to the client and a fi nal choice made. Word may come back down fi the line that some content editing is required to change a prop or to alter a garment colour. The file will then fi be progressed to the next stage of content editing and passed back to the client for final approval. fi Basic workfl ow: Editingfl
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Editing software and techniques
Content editing is the domain of Adobe Photoshop (and similarly capable products such as Corel’s PaintShop Pro). These products work with image layers and can be used to change the content of an image dramatically. A classic example is substituting one sky for another or a studio-photographed model placed against a background from an exotic location.
Layering not only permits powerful image adjustment, but also the creation of complex blended composite images made up from multiple image sources.
Although this work is usually in the hands of digital specialists, you need to hold on to your photographic appreciation for textures, lighting, scale and perspective if you attempt to create a composite image yourself.
Often, these images are littered with clues as to their origins, such as unbelievable shadows or poor cut-outs. Good masking and accurate cut-outs are time consuming and many of these tasks are handled by specialist pieces of software working within Photoshop. For the photographer considering image workfl ow, it may be worthwhile paying to have suchfl work done on images by a specialist. Skin and portrait retouching is one such specialism.
Aesthetics vs ethics
A question of ethics is raised due to the power of these programs to change images yet keep them looking believable. There are three major users of image-editing software: commercial photographers, social photographers and journalists. Each field has its own acceptable-use fi policy, which may simply be accepted practice or adherence to a published set of guidelines.
The easiest to discuss is photojournalism.
Images can be technically improved and enhanced (if necessary) in order to better see content, to overcome technical limitations (such as lens distortions), or photographic defects (such as sensor dust spots). The content of news images should never be altered.
There is a grey area with imagery for features and for magazines. For instance, celebrities may be moved closer together in images, ostensibly to fi t the page layout. This may be acceptable fi in some contexts, but the practice rapidly moves into indefensible territory. Retouching images in the fi eld of social photography is an accepted fi practice – a recommended ‘rule of thumb’
is to remove temporary blemishes, but leave the freckles and laughter lines. These rules change if the intention is to create a makeover image.
Image reality almost disappeared in some sectors of the advertising industry – female faces and body form are regularly distorted. The question here is not the industry standards, but the wider social implications. The answers are not for this book, but the individual photographer should consider questions of design responsibility, image integrity and honesty.
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Images destined for the Web need to be treated in quite a different way (regarding resolution, colour and sharpness) than images headed for the print media or for fine-art printing. When preparingfi files for output, you must be prepared to ask fi
questions and not make assumptions about subsequent use. For example, if you are preparing an image for a book jacket illustration, you need to know if you are expected to deliver the job as an RGB file or handle the colour separationfi yourself to produce the requisite four-channel CMYK file for four-colour printing.fi
If you are required to make the separations what profile are you expected to use? You willfi also need to know details or ‘mechanicals’ which include items such as the line screen used for printing; common sizes for magazine part-page advertisements and the amount of bleed or image overhang needed.
Web output
Images destined for the Web need a different profi le (sRGB) from those commonly used by fi photographers (Adobe RGB (1998) or Pro Photo).
The images will display at screen resolution and should be resampled to 72 pixels per inch at their native size. Continuous colour images can be saved in either JPEG or PNG formats. Although their use is getting less and less frequent, GIF images do not have continuous colour but feature 256 colours that best reproduce the image (an image of a red rose will store 256 reds and pinks for example).
Some fi ne art printing requires – for best quality output – fi that the files are sent to the printer at a resolution of fi 360 pixels per inch. Some photographic labs offering large format printing will supply printer profiles for fi you – ask if they are not offered as part of the service.
If the supplier says you do not need a profile or does fi not understand the question, find another supplier.fi Basic workfl ow: Optimisation for outputfl
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Print output
For printing in books and magazines, it is usual to supply images that have a 5–95 per cent tonal range and not a 0–100 per cent range as the latter shows paper white holes and inky solid blacks instead of natural highlights and shadow detail. All these rules may seem arbitrary and obscure to the newcomer, but whatever the rules, the professional photographer has to find out andfi supply their work in an appropriate format.
Sharpening
It is recommended that digital files are sharpened fi two, possibly three times throughout the workflow. fl The fi rst being capture sharpening, you can then fi apply sharpening creatively and finally you should fi apply output sharpening. Files destined for different