HDR Workflow – Part 6

Friday, June 15, 2012 – Hello everyone!!  Hope you had a great week!!  Last thursday marked the final day of the spring semester and since then I have been doing a little research on professional printers, website hosts, and relaxing a bit :).  I did get out and shoot in a new area in Palos Verdes near Malaga Cove and I will post that later on.  So I think that with any multi part series I should put this one to rest for the time being.  What I have learned in processing a single TIFF file made from a RAW is that you

Single TIFF to RAW

1. Make adjustments in ACR (Coolest thing I have learned was the Graduated Filter!!)
2. Save the file as a TIFF
3. Open the TIFF in Photomatix and Tone Map the file
4. Save the Tone Mapped file
5. Open the Tone Mapped file in Imagenomic’s Noiseware and reduce noise
6. Save the file again as a TIFF with the extension _filtered instead of overwriting the original file
7. Open that file in photoshop and make adjustments
8. Save PSD file
9. Merge all layers and sharpen
10. Re-Size (if applicable)
11. Save the PSD as a separate file rather than the one saved in step 8

and that’s it for TIFF to RAW.  For multi RAW HDR (the proper way) these are the steps I took.

Multi RAW HDR

1. Merge and Tone Map files with Photomatix
2. Once you have made all adjustments click process the and save the file as a TIFF
3. Open Imagenomic’s Noiseware and reduce nosie
4. Save the file again as a TIFF with the extension _filtered instead of overwriting the original file
5. Open that file in photoshop and make adjustments
6. Save PSD file
7. Merge all layers and sharpen
8. Re-Size (if applicable)
9. Save the PSD as a separate file rather than the one saved in step 6

and that’s it!!  If there is anything I have learned from this process it is to check my preferences, make sure my software is updated, and continually strive for improvement in both technique and workflow.  I have learned a lot from my venture and am happy that I took the time and energy to improve upon my skills.  Oh and as promised here is the picture I took earlier this week on Monday.  I am not sure if I like it or not but I know that I like certain aspects of the photo such as the texture.  Check it out and lemme know what you think 🙂  Take care guys and have a great weekend!!