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01/28/2007 11:42:39 AM · #1 |
I'm a total newbie when it comes to post processing, and looking for suggestions as to how to improve my basic workflow. I sort in Picasa, use Irfanview to crop and resize, and GIMP for anything more than that. (I edit mostly on an old laptop running Win98, so can't use Photoshop until I get around to building a new box that can run XP or Vista). I don't shoot RAW yet, so everything is done to a jpeg file. Here's my current flow:
1. Crop in Irfanview; save as 100% jpeg; open in GIMP
2. Adjust levels (use slider bars to bracket blacks and whites, then adjust midtones until I see what I like).
3. Adjust saturation (usually bump Master about 20-30%; occassionaly bump individual colors)
4. Adjust brightness and contrast as needed
5. Save as 100% jpeg
6. Resize/resample to 640 (or 720) pixels in Irfanview (which resharpens after saving); save 100%
7. Resave file at highest % I can to stay under 150 or 200kb
Anything else I should be doing as part of my normal workflow, or anything I should be doing differently?
I haven't quite got the hang of selections and layers yet (like I said, I'm a newbie), so most everything I do is applied to the whole image. I've tried to mess around with Curves, but don't really know what I'm doing so its just kind of a hit or miss thing to see whether I like what I accidentally did to the image. |
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01/28/2007 12:02:05 PM · #2 |
I also use GIMP and its far better than the first program I used (photo deluxe I think). I'm still learning also, and am interested in what photographers better than myself have to say about it. Like you I tend to adjust saturation before brightness/contrast. Looking through my notes I don't have a pattern for when I adjust the levels in my workflow. I am curious however why you use a separate program to crop and resize? You can do both of those in GIMP, and its my understanding that its usually better to adjust the full-size photo and then resize. I also sharpen after scaling down. I've also read that each time you save your photo, you lose some quality so the fewer times you have to save it the better.
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01/28/2007 03:14:53 PM · #3 |
I use Irfanview to crop and resize only because I use that program to view and sort my finalists to decide which to priomise and eventually enter for a challenge. Since croppnig is sometimes part of that decision, I just crop in Irfanview; resizing comes after I've decided which to enter, so I just do that in Irfanview too, rather than re-opening the GIMP.
You're right about minimizing saves, but I figure the multiple saves probably won't have any impact on pic quality for purposes of challenges, since I'm compressing my jpegs down from about 2300 kb to 150 kb anyway. For prints, I would start over and do everything in GIMP with only one save. |
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01/28/2007 03:32:42 PM · #4 |
Well mostly I tend to do all adjustments in the GIMP, including the final sharpen pass. I also usually add a border to the pic. Here's my typical workflow:
1. Download to Picasa (I use Picasa to manage collections only).
2. Choose one, export (straight).
3. In the Gimp, all sort of corrections, but I almost allways use curves (or levels), USM, sometimes a bit of minor cloning if allowed. Sometimes I also use colour balance.
4. Resize in the GIMP to a little less than the limit (700 px or 620px), using the Cubic option.
5. Sharpen (20~30)
6. Add border
7. Save in best quality possible.
That's it. |
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01/30/2007 12:40:41 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by pacpinto:
3. In the Gimp, all sort of corrections, but I almost allways use curves (or levels), USM, sometimes a bit of minor cloning if allowed. Sometimes I also use colour balance. |
Can you explain how you adjust curves and USM in GIMP? I've tried, but my results end up making the picture look worse (and way overprocessed). |
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01/30/2007 01:43:08 PM · #6 |
Try this:
Grokking the GIMP
It's an online (or downloadable) how-to for using the GIMP. Very Helpful. Can't promise that any of it will be legal for basic challenges, tho.
Sara
PS - Other helpful GIMP sites:
GIMPGuru Tutorials
A list of Books about the GIMP
GIMP User Group
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01/30/2007 02:00:10 PM · #7 |
I do use picasa to organize stuff.
I do basic editing in picasa but i dont save changes neither export.
When i like the quick effects in the image.. i open the original (locate on disk) with gimp, save as xcf (so i can handle layers and stuff), do all that kind of transformations to the image.
When i know its ok, i resize, and save as jpeg. (the xcf is the original one).
I never work straight in jpg (lossless format).
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01/30/2007 02:02:10 PM · #8 |
I also use GIMP as my main photo editor and I use a workflow similar to  pacpinto. The main difference is that instead of exporting the file I'm going to edit, I simply right-click on the image thumbnail and choose "Locate on disk," which takes me right to the existing file. Once I then have the file open in GIMP, I save it in GIMP's native .xcf format and begin working from there.
Originally posted by EstimatedEyes:
For prints, I would start over and do everything in GIMP with only one save. |
Hmm...You may want to modify your workflow a bit. It seems quite ineffecient to have to re-edit your files every time you want to make a print. Instead, why not just do all of your editing in GIMP from the start? You can then save in the lossless .xcf format and maintain all layers, masks, etc.
Also, another thing I like to do is duplicate the layer every time before I adjust things like Levels, Hue/Sat, etc. I might end up with a background layer, Levels layer, Hue/Sat layer, USM layer, etc. Then I can always delete layers or mask off certain portions to my liking. This is my current solution to the lack of adjustment layers - only problem is it makes for large .xcf files when I end up with around 5 or more (pixel) layers per photo.
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02/04/2007 01:35:42 AM · #9 |
Bump...I know there's more GIMP users out there.
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