glenerrolrd
Workshop Member
See this link for DxO s approach to an integrated workflow with LR.
http://www.dxo.com/uk/photo/dxo_optics_pro/workflow/working_with_adobe_lightroom2
Some ground rules to keep this on point (should anybody care to)....
1. its a given that some of us believe that using C1,NX2,DxO or other raw developers may in some or all instances provide superior conversions to what can be obtained in LR.(This may not be supportable but thats not relevant).
2. LR provides a decent tool set for DAM and is likely to get better overtime(not better but a good alternative for most on this forum...your situation maybe different ).
So with those two givens ....I think DxO has done a great job of laying out the thee basic approaches to the workflow.
A few things to consider:
1. Raw conversions are done on raw formats only. If its raw the convertor will convert it....if its a TIFF its been converted and the process is baked into the file.
2. No matter which way you do this you will have a raw file and a TIFF for every file that goes thru the external(read not LR) editor.
3. Thinking through the DAM considerations is as important as getting the conversion optimized. What happens to the selection flags,ratings,key wording and meta data needs to be considerated.
If LR will not convert you raw file ....you have one option....you have to convert and send a TIFF to LR. You can do as much or as little in the other Raw Processor as you like. (there is some discussion about whether you can use the raw convertor to create a .DNG which then makes the raw file standard enough for LR to process....this appears to make the most sense if you believe that LR will eventually be able to handle your raw format. I am ignoring this alternative ...as I want the proprietary conversions).
Beware that in LR there are several places to export a file .
1. In the Library module you can output your selected files and specify original and you will get just the original file (and in some instances a sidecar with metadata).
2. In the Develop module you can specify an external editor and pass a converted file and then reimport the result.
DxO has added some functionality to support all three alternatives. For example LR could export a TIFF and DxO would use the TIFF to go back and get the raw file.
I have gotten quite a lot out of looking into this because it really gets at the heart of what happens when you marry an independent product (like the NIK software) with LR. To change the image ..you have to store the conversion someplace. It looks like the conversion has to be either "baked in " (as in create a TIFF) or it has to end up in the .lrcat .
I apologize to all that have contributed great insights and debate over workflow. There are good arguments to be made . Using an integrated workflow has great benefits ..but you change to match the workflow..on the other hand you can get into big problems overtime trying to manage a set of independent products.
Roger
http://www.dxo.com/uk/photo/dxo_optics_pro/workflow/working_with_adobe_lightroom2
Some ground rules to keep this on point (should anybody care to)....
1. its a given that some of us believe that using C1,NX2,DxO or other raw developers may in some or all instances provide superior conversions to what can be obtained in LR.(This may not be supportable but thats not relevant).
2. LR provides a decent tool set for DAM and is likely to get better overtime(not better but a good alternative for most on this forum...your situation maybe different ).
So with those two givens ....I think DxO has done a great job of laying out the thee basic approaches to the workflow.
A few things to consider:
1. Raw conversions are done on raw formats only. If its raw the convertor will convert it....if its a TIFF its been converted and the process is baked into the file.
2. No matter which way you do this you will have a raw file and a TIFF for every file that goes thru the external(read not LR) editor.
3. Thinking through the DAM considerations is as important as getting the conversion optimized. What happens to the selection flags,ratings,key wording and meta data needs to be considerated.
If LR will not convert you raw file ....you have one option....you have to convert and send a TIFF to LR. You can do as much or as little in the other Raw Processor as you like. (there is some discussion about whether you can use the raw convertor to create a .DNG which then makes the raw file standard enough for LR to process....this appears to make the most sense if you believe that LR will eventually be able to handle your raw format. I am ignoring this alternative ...as I want the proprietary conversions).
Beware that in LR there are several places to export a file .
1. In the Library module you can output your selected files and specify original and you will get just the original file (and in some instances a sidecar with metadata).
2. In the Develop module you can specify an external editor and pass a converted file and then reimport the result.
DxO has added some functionality to support all three alternatives. For example LR could export a TIFF and DxO would use the TIFF to go back and get the raw file.
I have gotten quite a lot out of looking into this because it really gets at the heart of what happens when you marry an independent product (like the NIK software) with LR. To change the image ..you have to store the conversion someplace. It looks like the conversion has to be either "baked in " (as in create a TIFF) or it has to end up in the .lrcat .
I apologize to all that have contributed great insights and debate over workflow. There are good arguments to be made . Using an integrated workflow has great benefits ..but you change to match the workflow..on the other hand you can get into big problems overtime trying to manage a set of independent products.
Roger
