Vol 5 November / December 2019
Nature and Outdoor • Travel • Architecture • Photo Illustrations
P h o t o g r a p h y
solutions Creating a Work Flow for Consistency and Speed Destination Photography Mentorship Programs: A Video Introduction
A William Manning Photography Publication
2020 Travel Schedule
Destination Photography Mentor More than a Photography Tour
2020 Locations: Oregon Coast Great Smoky Mountains California Redwoods Palouse Iceland Mt Rainier Bulgaria
Every participant receives 3 one hour sessions on editi 2 critiques after they return home from a Destination P Each session begins with a scheduled time for one on o participants a live view of my computer screen to dem techniques.
Join me in 2020
Learn more at www.willi
rship Programs
ing and processing their work and Photography Mentorship Program. one learning via Skype. This gives monstrate work flow and processing
iammanning.com
Great Smoky Mountains
More than a Workshop
Destination Photography Mentorship Program
Springtime on the Beautiful Oregon Coast
April 25-May 1, 2020 All Inclusive Photography Tour
Join William on this beautiful journey of the Oregon Coast
Every Destination Photography Mentorship Program is filled with photography on location. Every participant receives hand home your mentoring continues with 3 one hour sessions of one on one learning focused on editing and processing plus 2 c Skype. This gives participants the opportunity to ask questions and learn through live conferencing.
Pounding Surf, Rugged Sea Coast, Stunning Landscapes an
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ds on instruction in the field. After returning critiques sessions. Each session takes place via
nd Awesome Sunsets
William’s Comments: November/December Photography Solutions The year is winding down. It has been a great year of traveling, teaching and shooting assignments. I’m busy year round but August through December is an especially busy time for me. These months is when I get 70% of my assignment work photographing new architectural projects. It’s also a wonderful time of year to be out teaching workshops. For these reasons I am behind on Photography Solutions.
Consistent Workflow The November/December issue of Photography Solutions focuses on Creating a consistent workflow for processing photography. I have included screen shots of all my preferences for the main software programs I use such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. I offer these setting to my readers as a guideline for setting up your workflow.
Destination Photography Mentorship I’m introducing a new program called the Destination Photography Mentorship Programs. After talking to many photographers over the last couple of years it seems once they come home from a photo tour or workshop they are overwhelmed with the information and don’t know where to begin their processing. This is the beauty behind my Mentorshop Programs. Every particpant gets 3 one hour sessions of one on one learning via Skype and 2 critique sessions. This offer is good for up to 90 days after our photo tour on location.
2020 Photography Tour Schedule My 2020 photography tour schedule is open for registrations. I have a fun filled schedule. Every location offers an abundance of incredble photo opportunities. I will be adding a couple fall tours in the next couple of weeks. Take a look at what I have to offer and join me in 2020.
Feedback I am always open to hearing from photographers who read Photography Solutions. I need your feedback. This is the only way I can grow this publication. Send questions, comments, let me know what you want to learn or read. I would also like to know if the destinations I’m offering are of interest. Please share Photography Solutions with your camera club, photo friends, share on social media. Help me get the word out. Any sharing you give me is greatly appreciated. Send questions, comments and/or requests to:
william@williammanning.com.
Creating A Workflow for Setting tool preferences can save you from frustrations and free up your time for more of the fun stuff, like creating awesome photos. Text and Photography by William Manning Š
r Consistency and Speed Great photography doesn’t just happen. It’s the combination of many things, good subject, great light, timing, and credit should be given to experience, knowledge and talent. The ability to recognize a good situation and knowing the potential is key to building an amazing library of images. I believe photographers who know and master their processing tools and can bring that knowledge into the field are the ones who consistantly create awesome photography. This knowledge opens doors to situations in the field we may otherwise pass up. For this reason, I emphasize to my workshop participants the importance of finding tools they like and master them. I use a lot of different tools, Photo Mechanic for editing, Adobe Photoshop for processing raw files, Adobe Lightroom for cataloguing and numerious others for special effects. These mainly consist of Nik Viveza, Nik Color Effects, TK Actions, Topaz Denoise, Topaz Sharpen and a few plugins within the Topaz Studio suite. There are others but are used on a limited basis. Processing photography is where endless creative options come into play. I believe this is where the magic begins. This is where the photographer breaks away from the pack. It’s where your talents shine and your work becomes your identity. Processing photography can be time consuming. Regardless of how in-depth you want to take your work, from easy and get in done quickly or fine tuning every detail. Setting up tool preferences saves time and allows consistency throughout your workflow. I have created screen shots of my preferences for each of the tools I use. You can use these as guidelines or create ones that suit your needs and/or hardware limitations.
Photo Mechanic Photo Mechanic is a front end photo ingesting, tagging and editing tool.
To open preferences in Photo Mechanic, go to the top menu bar. Under Photo Mechanic go to Preferences from the drop down menu. PreferencThere are several options for ingesting and editing es will open and the first window opens up named your photos. Adobe Lightroom is popular amonGeneral. I placed a red square around items I begest many photographers. I like Photo Mechanic lieve to be the most important. Keep in mind these for it’s speed. It’s much faster than Lightroom and are my preferences and items I deem to be most when I have hundreds of photos to edit, time is ev- important to me. Feel free to change anything erything for me. I can tag and rate images instantly you feel will be better suited for your work flow. with Photo Mechanic. I do use Adobe Lightroom but as a library for searching my finished images. 1. General Window
Note: I cropped the following windows because items not shown were left at their default values or they are personal choices that have no effect of performance of Photo Mechanic. 2. Contact Sheet Tab
Note: The labels option give you the opportunity to show information important to you. Simply type as shown with brackets and the information you want to see. Use semicolon to seperate the information in each line. 3. Files Tab
4. Raw Tab
5. Launching
6. IPTC/XMP Tab
7. Preview Tab
8. Raw Tab
9. Color Management Tab
I believe color management is one of the most important workflow settings to have set consistantly throughout all apps, (Not all apps give you the option of setting a color profile). If your color profile changes from one app to another you’ll get a photoshop warning when you bring that file back into Photoshop. If you get this warning simply change the setting in Photoshop under Edit - Convert to Profile. It’s not the end of the world but does consume time.
Example of Photo Mechanic Window
I use Photo Mechanic because it loads photos fast. I am all about fast when it comes to editing. I want to dive into the fun stuff like processing the photos and being creative. Once my photos are loaded I can tag and/or rate the photos I want to process or take a second look.
file). I then go to the pull down menu, (Filename shows as the default setting), and choose Color Class. This will seperate all my processed files from the raw files. Keep in mind this happens because I put a color class on the finished file (ex: blue label illustrates above).
When I am ready to process the photo I simply double click the photo and it opens up in Adobe Camera Raw (Photoshop). If you follow my preferences in the following pages your photos will do the same. Once I’m finished processing the photo in Photoshop, I Save it, and it automatically saves back into the same folder as I opened it but as a tiff file not a raw. The raw file will remain untouched in the original folder.
I can now rename my files by going to the pulldown menu under File. I use a number system which can be set once the Rename window appears. I also label my photos in Photo Mechanic under the Image pulldown menu. Choose IPTC Stationary Pad and a new window appears. You can now label as needed. You can load the same labels to multiple files if needed.
Once I have my photos processed I place a Color Class on it (processed photos show up as a tiff
Once photos are numbered and labeled I move these files into my Lightroom Library.
Adobe Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is the industry standard for photo editing. It is a powerful tool used by both photographers and designers. Although it is not the only tool for editing photography, it is without doubt the most popular for the photographers wanting to take your photography to the next level. Some photographers find Photoshop to complicated and don’t want to take the time to learn the powerful features. Most photographers will never use Photoshop to its fullest capabilty. Photographers willing to learn and master this tool find their work stands out amongest the crowd. Layers and masking alone 1. General Window
opens endless possibilties for creativety. Below are my Photoshop preference settings. You can use these or create settings that best suite your creative needs. There is no right or wrong settings only helpful settings. I have left a few preference windows out because the default is what I use or will likely never use such as the 3D settings. Keep in mind once you make your changes in the preferences panels, you’ll need to restart Photoshop before you see the changes take place. To find your Preference Panels go under the Photoshop CC drop down menu and you’ll see Preferences.
2. Interface Window
3. Files Window
4. Tools Window
5. File Handling Window
6. Export Window
7. Export Window
8. Performance Window
Note: I left the Scratch Disks Window out of this illustration. I use the default which should be your computer harddrive. If you have external drives hooked up to your computer these can also be chosen as your scratch disk if you so desire. 8. Cursors Window
9. Units and Rulers Window
Note: The Unit and Rulers window is left out here. This is simply choosing colors to represent guides and rulers. 10. Plug-Ins Window
Note: The remaining windows; Type, 3D, Enhanced Controls and Technology Previews are all left at their default values.
Adobe Lightroom Adobe Lightroom has become the favorite for many photographers. This tool does it all and is easy to learn. I personally find editing my raw files in Lightroom to be fairly slow but for processing (Develop) photos and building and storing a photo library is easy and quick. These two functions is
where Lightroom shines. I have already mentioned I process my photos in Adobe Photoshop which opens raw files in the Adobe Camera Raw. Adobe Camera Raw and Adobe Lightroom are practically the same thing. Lightroom’s Develop module is easy to learn and will do almost everything most
photographers will ever want for processing their photography. Photoshop allows for more creative, detailed and precise processing of photography but has a learning curve that many photographers don’t have the patience or interest in learning. If you simply want an easy to learn program to process your raw files then Lightroom is your tool. I should mention, Lightroom will allow plug-ins which opens a whole new world of creativity and in some cases replaces the need for Adobe Photoshop. The following screen shots are from my Lightroom preferences. Use these as a guideline and alter settings that suite your needs. Settings in the red boxes are my settings and what I deem important. Some of these may be Lightroom’s Default settings.
1. General Window
2. Presets Window
3. External Editing Window
4. File Handling Window
5. Interface Window
1. General Window Under catalog Settings
2. File Handling Window Under catalog Settings
3. Metadata Window Under catalog Settings
Topaz Studio Most Plug-ins don’t have a preference panel. Topaz Studio is one exception. The preference panel to the left is set at the default options which is how I use Topaz Studio. I hope these preference panels are helpful in setting up your worksflow. These will truly save you time and headaches as you continue to process more photos and grow your library. If you have any questions please feel free to call or email.
Destination Photography Mentorship Program
The Great Smoky Mountains May 4-9, 2020
Join William on this beautiful Springtime Photography Mentorshi
Every Destination Photography Mentorship Program is filled with photography on location. Every participant receiv home your mentoring continues with 3 one hour sessions of one on one learning focused on editing and processing p Skype. This gives participants the opportunity to ask questions and learn through live conferencing.
Beautiful Mountain Streams, Verdant Green Fores
Learn More
ip Program.
ves hands on instruction in the field. After returning plus 2 critiques sessions. Each session takes place via
sts and Stunning Appalachain Landscapes
Destination Photography Mentorship Program
Redwoods and Southern Orego May 26-31, 2020
Lea
Join William in the Land of Giants beneath the towering red
Every Destination Photography Mentorship Program is filled with photography on location. Every participant receiv home your mentoring continues with 3 one hour sessions of one on one learning focused on editing and processing p Skype. This gives participants the opportunity to ask questions and learn through live conferencing.
Towering Redwood Forests, Blooming Rhododendrons, Rugged
on Coast
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dwood trees.
ves hands on instruction in the field. After returning plus 2 critiques sessions. Each session takes place via
d Seascapes, Pounding Ocean Surf and Beautiful Landscapes
Destination Photography Mentorship Program
Palouse: The Photog June 15-20, 2020
Learn More:
Join William in the incredible Palouse for a Photography Me
Every Destination Photography Mentorship Program is filled with photography on location. Every participant receiv home your mentoring continues with 3 one hour sessions of one on one learning focused on editing and processing p Skype. This gives participants the opportunity to ask questions and learn through live conferencing.
Beautiful Rural American Landscapes, Rolling
graphers Palette
entorship Program.
ves hands on instruction in the field. After returning plus 2 critiques sessions. Each session takes place via
g Hills of Vibrant Colors and Endless Patterns
Destination Photography Mentorship Program
Summer Landscapes and Wildflowers on Mt Rainier August 1-7, 2020
Join William in Colorful Mt Rainier for a Photography Mento
Every Destination Photography Mentorship Program is filled with photography on location. Every participant receiv home your mentoring continues with 3 one hour sessions of one on one learning focused on editing and processing p Skype. This gives participants the opportunity to ask questions and learn through live conferencing.
Wildflowers, Waterfalls, Old Growth Forests, St
r
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orship Program.
ves hands on instruction in the field. After returning plus 2 critiques sessions. Each session takes place via
tunning Landscapes and Majestic Mt. Rainier
Arches National Park, Utah
Near Devil’s Garden
The Last Frame: This photo was created using my Canon 5D with the 24-70L series lens. I processed the photo with Adobe Photoshop after merging the rock formation and the desert shrubs. The rock formation sits approximately 100 yards from the