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Newbie Workflow Help!

T

tonyroth

Guest
Hi All --

I have been focusing most of time learning how to work in the digital darkroom on the actual "developing" stage and pretty much ignoring the need to have a streamlined and well organized overall workflow. As a result my hard drive is a total mess, I have files in various stages of "development" scattered all over the place and I could really use some advice!

Here is what I know. I know that I like the C1 demosaicing better than LR but that I need to sometimes use lighroom for spot removal, dodging/burning, etc. I also want to ensure that I keep an archive of all my DNG's that I choose not to throw away in an original unaltered form so that I can use them in the future (as all of these software tools evolve) as well as my final processed images.

One thing I do not know is if I bring my images initially all into LR, how do I get them over to C1 and back to LR? Also, does LR alter my images or can I confidently use LR as my permanent unaltered DNG archive?

So, does the following flow make any sense?

- Import directly into LR
- Export DNG into C1
- Export TIFF (why not DNG?) from C1 back into LR
- Process for final output in LR based on the TIFF (with LR adjustments, if any)
- Save all processed files somewhere (not sure where??)
- Backup LR and I will always have an archive and back up of everything I need

Does this make sense?

I would really appreciate some help!

Many thanks.
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
Hi Tony

Thought I’d add just a small suggestion as I’m unsure of your exact workflow. I save my files in two places; one I keep as an archival while the other is the one I work from. The archival is just that, a digital “vault” for all my images. The other is my working files from where I open either in C1 or CS4 or Canon Digital Pro depending of course which camera I’m using. I try never to use an image directly from the archival files instead if needed I’ll copy the file and move the copy to the working file thus keeping the digital negative pure. I also keep the archival files and working files on separate disks.

I can’t respond to LR as I don’t have any real experience other than trying it and finding not to my liking. Instead I use C1 and CS4 and only Canon if I’m working in IR. The one comment I’ll make is your question of backup and that goes back to having a “pure” digital file.

I know I haven’t answered your initial question(s) but I do hope I helped at least a little.

Don
 
T

tonyroth

Guest
Don -- Thank you, yes that does help, it answers one of my questions, which is that I should not rely on any of these programs to keep faithful copies of my original dng's but instead should store those in a true archival folder that I never directly work from and backup religiously. Many thanks, tony.
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
Glad to have been of some help. Treat your digital files like negatives and keep them in a safe place. Only difference is never work directly off of one rather make a working copy.

Cheers

Don
 

Scargos2

New member
If you export out of C1 in DNG, your corrections will not follow. That's why you would export in Tiff to save your corrections, going to another program.
 
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