The Art of RAW Conversion Optimal image quality from Photoshop CS2 and leading RAW converters. Uwe Steinmuller, Jürgen Gulbins Publisher: Steinmueller Photo Find us on the World Wide Web at: www.outbackphoto.com Uwe Steinmueller Jürgen Gulbins
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Copyright © 2005 by Uwe Steinmueller and Jürgen Gulbins. 1. EDITION MAY 2005, CS 200505-0. NOTICE OF RIGHTS All rights reserved. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recorded, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the authors. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact the authors at the address given above. NOTICE OF LIABILITY The information in this e-book is distributed on an “As Is” basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, the authors shall not have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or danger caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software products described in it. TRADEMARKS Throughout this e-book, trademarks are used. Rather than put a trademark symbol in every occurrence of a trademark name, we state that we are using the names in an editorial fashion only and to the benefit of the trademark owner with no infringement of the trademark.
Contents
Preface
1.6 1.7 2 2.1
2.2
Introduction Introduction to RAW files or digital negatives How to use this book, how this book is organized Using PCs and Macs Computer configuration What are RAW files? What are the RAW file advantages? Digital camera artefacts Color aliasing / moirés The digital negative/slide Some strategic reasoning Which RAW converter to use
1-1 1-2 1-3 1-3 1-4 1-5 1-11 1-11 1-12 1-13 1-14
Basic Color Management Understanding the different color modes RGB color model LAB color model CMYK color model Grayscale mode Color spaces Understanding color management Why you need to understand color management The challenge The solution ICC-profiles What is a color management system? Color working spaces Visualization of color spaces Color space mapping Creating device profiles Camera profiles Printer profiles
2-2 2-3 2-3 2-4 2-5 2-5 2-6 2-6 2-7 2-7 2-7 2-8 2-10 2-11 2-14 2-15 2-16 2-17
III
Contents
1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5
2.3
2.4 3 3.1
Contents
IV
3.2
3.3 3.4 3.5
3.6 3.7
Profiling your monitor Calibration by eye Hardware based calibration Calibration settings Calibrating and profiling using Eye-One Display 2 Photoshop color and monitor profile settings
2-17 2-18 2-18 2-18 2-19 2-23
Basic RAW workflow Setup the camera for RAW file photographs Set your camera to RAW mode Exposure, Exposure, Exposure Optimize exposure using your camera’s histogram “Expose to the right” rule Color channel clipping The "before/live" histogram Correct white balance (WB) for optimal color quality Understand objective and subjective white balance Adjust your camera’s sensitivity: selecting the right ISO Camera to computer: enter the digital darkroom Manage your image storage Computer transfer and organizing your photos Renaming Securing your valuable photos: Backup Setting up your digital darkroom Browse and evaluate your RAW files Essential image corrections White balance (WB) Tonality Exposure, Contrast & Brightness Adaptive tonality controls Color corrections Advanced image corrections Extra workflow support
3-2 3-2