SEim Effects LIghtroom PResets, Photoshop Actions, Effects

As a photographer I shoot in the RAW file format. I find more flexibility in post production, and ultimately a better image quality with less hassle. When I was still in the Jpeg camp, I was told to shot RAW mainly because it was faster to edit! While using Jpeg I never quite got it, and felt my Jpeg workflow worked fine. Then I tries RAW! I soon realized that it was not only faster, but also had better quality. Now I know there’s some debate on this issue, but I feel I can get great images easier with RAW because there’s more information on the file to work with. It just makes sense.

Having said all that there are still Jpeg shooters. In a poll on Pro Photo Show we found that raw shooters currently make up for about 75% of photographers towards the advanced and pro end of the market. Of course the closer you come to consumer shooters the more Jpeg you’ll see

This article is not so much about the details of which is better however. We’ll save that for another day. The situation in question is editing images in speedy workflow programs like Adobe Lightroom. Lightroom has revolutionized photo workflow because it’s fast, and batches are a snap. There are similar products like Apple Aputure, but for most pro’s it’s not a suitable alternative because while Lightroom has the ability to make image presets that can be applied at any time, Apurture does not.

Presets allow you to add effects and settings to images with a single click, or even apply them to hundreds of images. This is priceless when it comes to the photographers creative workflow. Also this type of workflow is non destructive to the photo, meaning that you can make edits, and reset them to original at any time. Your changes are stored as a separate file, and are not locked to an image until you export a new file with those settings applied

In my experience I have found that Jpeg responds totally differently to these edits than RAW files. Not so long ago you could not use a Raw style editing process on Jpeg, because the software did not allow that type of non destructive editing on a Jpeg file. However; advancements in camera raw and the introduction of programs like Lightroom in the past few few years have changed all that. The issue that now cases hassles is that an automated preset that looks amazing on a Raw file may well make a Jpeg look horrible, overexposed, to contrasty, etc. The reason for this is unknown to me, but Jpegs defiantly seem more fussy about their edits than RAW files do.

As many of you know I produce Lightroom Presets for my worklow, as well as to sell here on Seim Effects. These presets which were designed with RAW files in mind do not respond well to Jpegs. From my reserch in this matter (and nobody seems to be talking about it) it seems the only solution is to make a seperate preset for RAW and Jpeg. This is rather a hassle especially for those who shoot both. Even the presets that Adobe includes with Lightroom have this RAW/Jpeg problem.

On my part I’m looking at the possibility of remaking Power Workflow for Jpeg users since I need to cover all aspects for photographer who buy my products. This does present a problem for the photo world however since most presets are designed with RAW in mind. Will nearly everyone switch to RAW? Or do companies like Adobe need to train their software to better handle Jpeg files? I think raw works better, but some pro’s and most consumers will continue to shoot with Jpeg. I myself intend to gain a better understanding of the core variables in the files and how to best edit them in an efficient manner. As for Power Workflow presets configures for Jpeg files! I’m working on it and I’ll keep you posted

Your thoughts and ideas are welcome! Gavin Seim

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 30th, 2008 at 6:50 am and is filed under lightroom, presets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.