Saturday, September 22, 2012

How to Put Post Processing to Work for You

By Matthew Rivers


Fundamentals of Post Processing

Although post processing can be a great way to experiment with creativity, it also has the possibility of consuming all of your time. Thus, improving the post processing workflow will allow you to focus on what's most important. When you can concentrate on delivering quality photographs, you'll be headed in the right direction.

While many feel that using post processing to adjust photographs is the cheater's method, you'll find that it is actually a great tool to learn from. As you take the time to observe your photos and figure out how to improve them, you'll gain insight into how to improve your photography when you're out in the field. In this way, you can learn invaluable lessons in improvement in a rather short period of time.

By using post production to its full advantage, you can learn some important lessons about similar mistakes that you tend to make in shooting. By identifying your weaknesses, you can quickly work to start new habits that will make a difference. It is your attitude towards improvement that will give you the greatest edge in your photography.

Post-Processing Tips

Most of the time, I would first suggest that we work on the streamlining of the post production process. However, I've found that there is one element of far more importance, which is focus. As you shut out all other distractions, you will be amazed at how you have cut down your post processing time already. Do this first before examining other ways of improving your workflow.

Next, when you can finally jump into the details of workflow, it will be helpful to customize your workspace. When you have all of your equipment laid out in a way that works best for you, you'll be amazed at the time you can save. Not only that, but as you find the tasks that you often repeat, and learn to group them together, you'll find you've saved yourself a lot of time in switching from one task to another--a key to great workflow.

Also, learning keyboard shortcuts can help to greatly improve your workflow. Although it may seem like a little thing, it can be an effective time saver over the life of your career. Hence, by taking a few moments to learn from the help menu, you can reduce your overall time spent in your editing program.

Finally, it can be incredibly effective to focus on improving your photography skills. As you do this, less time will be needed in editing and you will have effectively reduced your post production time. This is an important and worthwhile goal for every photographer that will not only reduce the time spent, but also serve to greatly enhance your photography, allowing you to focus on what's most important.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment