Workflow (File Management)

[wormmeshi]

I've seen lots of posts and tutorials about workflows as far as processing a photo (editing). That I can do. The part that seems to confuse me is how to manage the files. Here is a few variations of workflow that I've used, but am still not happy with. Any input or advice would be appreciated.

When I first started shooting in Raw:
1. Copy files from card to hard drive with card reader into RAW folder.
2. Edit and convert Raw files with ACR and save as jpeg.
3. Move the jpeg files on the hard drive into a pictures folder that is a watch folder for the organizer.
4. Open the organizer, the new jpeg photos import and then are tagged.

First problem is that if I want to edit a photo again from organizer, I either have to edit the jpeg or go back to the Raw folder, find the file and open it. Also about this time I learned about the Adobe DNG file format, which seemed like a good choice to make sure I could always open my Raw (digital negative) files in the future. Are other people saving to DNG?

So then I would simply save the Raw to DNG and then save to jpeg but still only import the jpeg file into organizer. So now I have one more file but still the same problems.

Now here is what I'm trying:
1. Import the Raw files from the card reader into the Organizer and add metadata.
2. Once in the Organizer I can delete bad photos and add tags.
3. Then open the Raw files in ACR and save as DNG. (Here is where the first problem occurred. The DNG does not save in a version set with the RAW so now I have two of the same picture.:(
4. Edit photo and save as jpeg. (Which does save as a version set)

So now all 3 files are in the Organizer but not really the way I want.

Here is what I'm thinking of trying:
1. Copy the Raw files from the card reader into a Raw folder.
2. Use the standalone DNG converted to batch convert all these files without editing.
3. Move the DNG files into a Pictures folder and import them into the Organizer.
4. Then open the DNG files in ACR, make edits and save a jpeg in a version set.

Now I don't get the Raw file in the organizer and maybe that's ok because the DNG seems just as good (I think). So I can save and backup the Raw files as a separate thing and they are in the as shot state without the xmp sidecar.
I have the DNG and jpeg in the organizer and if I need to edit a photo again I can just start over with the DNG. That was the thought anyway and the reason I didn't save to a TIFF file. Anyone have good reasons to use a TIFF?

WOW that was a long post, I told you I was confused.:confused:

Thanks, Wormmeshi

[Juergen D]

Why DNG? Import the RAW image into Organizer, edit and save as PSD or TIFF in a version set.

Juergen

[wormmeshi]

I understood DNG to be a future proof Raw format. That's why I was using it. I supose I could convert to DNG, put them is a seperate folder and go ahead and import the Raw into Organizer.
When I was shooting in jpeg I used TIFF for the edited files. Now it seem like one more large capacity file that I would have to convert to jpeg to send to someone anyway. I agree it would be easier to edit.

[Juergen D]

Adobe was pushing the DNG format for awhile, implying that RAW would suddenly disappear and could not be read by anyone anymore... something like that.
As long as there is software around that can convert RAW to JPEG or TIFF or some other format, provided by the camera manufacturers or even Adobe, I do not see any reason to start archiving images in DNG format.

Juergen

[GaryK]

James

I have to agree with Juergen.:eek::D

I would use the process you are trying to use, but without the DNG conversion.
It is/was a good concept (DNG), but until you have all the major camera manufacturers onside, there will always be different formats to contend with.:)

[wormmeshi]

Thanks GaryK,

I guess I got a little to excited about DNG.

Now I just have to decide if I've save my Raw files as PSD, TIFF or JPEG. What do you think?

[TonyW]

Most of mine I just leave as RAW along with the sidecar file that has the ACR edits in it. It's only if I do significant edits outside of ACR that I bother to save them in any other format and then it depends on what I might be using them for. JPEGs much of the time. PSD's when it's a special image that I've done a lot of work on. I'm finding ACR4.1 is so good that I'm doing less editing outside of ACR - mostly just cropping and I don't usually bother to save crops.

Tony

[NickLewis]

I think that the question of archiving RAW files is a tricky one that is going to require attention in years to come.

At the moment I'm just keeping my (Canon) camera RAW files, and not also keeping DNGs. I haven't seen anything, other than pious words, that leads me to believe that the DNG format will necessarily have greater longevity than Canon's proprietary format.

That said, I have slides sitting on my shelves that are 30+ years old, and are still perfectly accessible. I don't feel confident that contemporary photo files will still be accessible after 30 years of software and hardware changes. Some early NASA planetary images are already effectively lost, I believe. (Mind you, whether I'll still be around to access them is also a moot point....)

I suppose all that any of us can do is keep ourselves informed so that we don't get caught out, especially if we're not updating hardware and software regularly as the years go by.

But given the rate I'm now shooting, the growing size of any conversion task, should it become necessary, does bother me.


Nick