Help establishing simple workflow...

[Sassie]

Just getting acquainted with PSE 5 and would like some help with my workflow.

Have started shooting RAW. Also have lots of JPEGs to edit.

My goals: To 'tweak' photos in Elements and upload to online printing service to produce prints, calendar etc. And to begin porfolio. Nice quality matters to me.

I would like clarity in establishing a simple workflow - particularly regards to file formats, at what stage to save and in what format. I particularly would like guidance in knowing what boxes to click/unclick in the saving options.

Can someone also confirm if I've got these steps right so far:

1. For RAW - tweak exposure setting in RAW editor then click open to full edit rather than save at this stage. Then once finished in full edit, save as TIFF - but what settings/size/resolution etc do I save as? Planning for 6x4 prints but might want a few larger ones at later stage. Do I need to convert to JPEGS to upload for online printing?

2. For JPEGS - do I save as TIFFS before editing to try and retain quality (as JPEGs are lossy) and then edit? Or do I just edit JPEGs and save as JPEGs? Are there any advantages of converting JPEGs to TIFFs?


As you can see I'm a bit confused, so any help to get me started would be appreciated.

Many thanks,
Sassie

[baycruisers]

Can someone also confirm if I've got these steps right so far:

1. For RAW - tweak exposure setting in RAW editor then click open to full edit rather than save at this stage. Then once finished in full edit, save as TIFF - but what settings/size/resolution etc do I save as? Planning for 6x4 prints but might want a few larger ones at later stage. Do I need to convert to JPEGS to upload for online printing?

2. For JPEGS - do I save as TIFFS before editing to try and retain quality (as JPEGs are lossy) and then edit? Or do I just edit JPEGs and save as JPEGs? Are there any advantages of converting JPEGs to TIFFs?


As you can see I'm a bit confused, so any help to get me started would be appreciated.

Many thanks,
Sassie

When I finish a shoot of some kind I create a new subdirectory on my external HD and download the images to the Raw subdirectory of that directory using a card reader:

NewShootDirectory (empty; it's a place holder)
Raw Images
Working Copies
Print Ready

When I start working on an image I copy (not move) it to the Working Copies subdirectory. That way I have a fresh copy in the Raw directory in case something goes wrong. I tweak in ACR and then open in PSE/CS3. I save as PSDs in the Working Copies subdirectory, not TIFF, but that's just personal preference.

When I'm satisfied with the image I Save As a JPEG in the Print Ready subdirectory. Be sure you don't continually edit and save as a JPEG. That degrades the quality of the image rather quickly.

Hope this helps.