Work flow

[Jeff2909]

I would like to know if anything may be writen in stone on what you should do first, as far as processing prior to doing all these wonderful things to your photo. Like should you adjust levels, USM, Noise reduction. What order do you do it in. I would like to her some options on this. Thanks Jeff

[Mary]

Hi Jeff
I don't think anyone has it written in stone but the class that was offered had a pretty good outline. Someone also posted a site that had the work flow nicely laid out. I will try to find it and post that in this thread.

The steps I have adopted (just what works for me)
1) Resize image from 72 dpi to 200-300
2) Crop (I don't want to adjust bad or unwanted parts of photo)
3) Levels
4) Color adjustments
5) Last thing sharpen

Others will have suggestions I am sure. :)

[Mary]

I found the post - it was from Norm who found it:

From the "Adobe Help Center."

As you work on your photos in the Editor, perform the following tasks in the order listed:
Specify a color management option
Specify color management options. (See To set up color management.)
View the image at 100% and crop if necessary
Before making any color corrections, view the image at a zoom percentage of 100%. At 100%, Photoshop Elements displays the image most accurately. You can also check for image defects, such as dust spots or scratches. If you plan to crop the file, do it now to save on memory requirements and to ensure that the histogram uses only relevant information.
Check the scan quality and tonal range
Look at the image’s histogram to evaluate whether the image has sufficient detail to produce high-quality output. (See To view a histogram.)
Resize your image, if necessary
Resize your image to the size that you need if you are going to use it in another application or project. If you are going to print it or use it in a Photoshop Elements creation, you generally don’t need to resize it. (See About image size and resolution.)
Adjust the highlights and shadows
Begin corrections by adjusting the values of the extreme highlight and shadow pixels in the image (also known as the tonal range). Setting an overall tonal range allows for the most detail possible throughout the image. This process is known as setting the highlight and shadow or setting the white and black points. (See About Levels adjustments.)
Adjust the color balance
After correcting the tonal range, you can adjust the image’s color balance to remove unwanted color casts or to correct oversaturated or undersaturated colors. With some Photoshop Elements Auto commands, both the tonal range and color are corrected in one step. (See Adjusting saturation and hue.)
Make other special color adjustments
Once you have corrected the overall color balance of your image, you can make optional adjustments to enhance colors. For example, you can increase the vividness of color in your image by increasing its saturation.
Retouch the image
Use the retouching tools, like the Spot Healing Brush, to remove any dust spots or defects in the image. (See To remove spots and imperfections.)
Sharpen the edges of the image
As a final step, use the Unsharp Mask filter to sharpen the clarity of edges in the image. This step helps restore detail and sharpness that tonal adjustments may reduce.(See To use Unsharp Mask to sharpen an image.)
__________________
Norm

My Gallery (http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/gallery/viewgallery.php?user=284)

[Jeff2909]

Thanks Mary I will take a hard look at yours and norms. I am pretty close to what you are doing, I have ever resized An image yet but I will try it out. Again thanks so much:)

[apasskey]

Hi Jeff - Are you in the service? I think Heidelberg will give you lots of opportunities for great photos. Have you been to Wiesbaden?

[Mary]

Hi Jeff
all my photos come into my computer at 72 dpi which I think is lame so before I work on them I change the resolution. Then of course I only work on a copy of the background layer so if I goof I can always start over without messing up the "negative". Let us know how you sort it all out.:)

[Jeff2909]

Hi Jeff - Are you in the service? I think Heidelberg will give you lots of opportunities for great photos. Have you been to Wiesbaden?
Hi Andie I am retired now working for the military. I spend a lot of time on the road over here and you are right Heidelberg makes for some good shots. So how do you know Heidelberg? Jeff