What image editing programs do you use? Most of my photos are HDR so my current workflow begins with Photomatix. I love the newest version, 4.1.1. I think it is a huge improvement over previous versions. Then, depending on what I want to do, I pull the image into Adobe Lightroom 3 adjust it and export for the web. This is a very simplified explanation of my current workflow. Having used Photoshop and GIMP in the past, for me, it is easier to process in Lightroom instead of taking the photo into Photoshop. Have you had this experience?
Today’s Photo: Challenger RT
I have not had time to make it to any car shows lately. I hope to be able to make it to at least one more before the summer is out. I know there is one in October that I will make a huge effort to make. It was great fun last year.
I was walking around the car show in Cartersville and having trouble finding cars that I wanted to stop for. I made my way through the show just to see what was there and then began my trip back through. This time with the camera at the ready. I was hard pressed to get good shots of complete cars due to the number of people walking around. However, this is not that great a problem. There are always wonderful close-up shots to take of all the detail in these beautiful cars.
I posted this Old Roadster which was from the same car show. And while you are exploring, this was last Monday’s daily photo.
Curious, do you import RAW images into PhotoMatix, or do you export full-size JPG from Lightroom/Aperture/et al first?
Kris, mostly I have been using RAW. However, I am testing the quality of the JPG processing through Photomatix. It imports and processes the files much faster, but I am not sure of the quality of the end product. I save out using the 16 bit TIFF.
I’ve been trying what Trey Ratcliff suggests- export jpg from Lightroom into Photomatix, process, clean in PS, then export from Lightroom to the web. I need to remember to I sometimes need to reduce CA in Lightroom first before exporting.
The Challenger has long been one of my favorite cars. My uncle use to own a new one in ’70. What a car.
I have tried that too. However, I want to retain the most quality that I can for later prints. I have not done any comparisons yet, but I find it hard to believe that JPG can retain a sufficient amount of quality and detail. For the web I think it is great, but I am not so sure about later printing.
[…] Here is another photo where I used the rule of third’s for the composition: The Bench. And don’t miss last Tuesday’s daily photo. […]