Post Processing. The plumbing of photography.

 

Adobe Building in Santa Fe. Pretentious Plate #1

Camera: Leica DLUX 8

It's funny to think about but for most event projects it takes a lot more time to post process the images that it does to actually shoot the photos in the first place. At least it does for me. I can't automate everything so a lot of frames get individualized attention. I'm always trying to get the skin color on the faces of people who play too much golf without sunscreen to look good. We usually start out with a huge magenta and red cast and work our way back to whatever constitutes a good approximation of normal. I haven't really found a great way to automate that process with presets as everyone's complexion seems different and we'll end up tweaking the file in the end. 

I took about 1,500 photos over the course of this last week's project in Santa Fe. Nearly every single frame had a person or people in it. Since I was not working as a photojournalist I wasn't duty bound to keep my hands off the Lightroom buttons provided specifically to help people look just a bit better than they might have in the moment. I'm sure everyone I photograph is inherently beautiful. I'm equally sure that long days, longer evenings, and maybe a shot or two too many of Kentucky Bourbon might have impaired the overall presentation of some folks, in the moment. These people might need some post production help to reassemble their usual good looks...

When I'm working on a multi-day project I try to stay focused on "file preservation." I don't erase bad photos from a memory card while in process. If I'm using single card slot cameras I try to download files to both a laptop SSD and an external SSD during every break. And I try not to ever re-format a card until I get back home and get all the images backed up on the official office computer as well. Since I hate to take chances I also put all the files from the conference onto a 256GB memory stick and packed it into the case that's traveling home on a truck. I guess I was being paranoid about the possible gamma rays at altitude when flying.

When I get home the first thing I do is fire up Lightroom Classic and start the edit and import process. Just for reference, when I say "edit" in the context of photography I don't mean color correction or sharpening or anything like that. Those are processing steps. When I use the words "edit" or "editing" in conjunction with importing files what I'm talking about is a "yea" or "nay" about a photos inclusion or removal from the process. . Edit means the file either passes inspection and is imported or it sucks and is cast out, never to be seen again. Edit = chosen or rejected. It's easy to do in Lightroom. When the import menu opens all the images have check marks under them while in the "Library" mode. I click "uncheck all". Then I go file by file and the ones I like get a check mark while the ones I don't want don't get a check mark. Some people use a "starred" rating method but I'm more binary. In or out. No middle ground. 

When the edit is figured out the importing into a catalog begins. If you are organized and believe in leaving behind a legacy for other people to pick through later you might consider adding metadata to your images. I usually just put in copyright info and move on. I "copy" while importing and Adobe kindly gives me the option to make and additional copy of the files in a second location. One set goes on one drive and is also backed up on a second drive.

When I start post processing in the "Develop" mode I tend to keep a reference color portrait image open in a window on my monitor so I have a more objective reference than my own memory as to what constitutes "pleasing color" in a portrait. At a glance I can tell if my eyes and color awareness are starting to drift. The reference portrait brings me back to a somewhat rational thought process regarding what humans look like. 

I started the post processing (color, cropping, contrast, repair) yesterday morning. I worked on and off with the files for most of yesterday; up until dinner time. I resumed the process after swim practice this morning. I took breaks whenever the cup of coffee got cold. I have now finished with the fine-tuning and  retouching and have exported my event files as large, low compression Jpeg files. It's 1:07 in the afternoon. After lunch with family I'll upload two different folders to Smugmug.com for my client's convenience. If they need stuff while on the run they can easily download individual files. I'll send along a complete folder for each day. Once everyone is back from their breaks (post event recovery) I'll send along all the images in both folders via WeTransfer.com. I might also call my client and arrange to meet for coffee and hand over a physical memory stick at that time. Face time is always fun.

For me the project is complete. The last thing left to do is to send over an invoice and fuss with my internal accounting. 

I missed swimming during the week. I hate to miss more than a day or two in any given week. When I got back in the water this morning I could feel the deprivation. In the awkward feel of the strokes, the extra effort required to go fast, and the fatigue that comes from working late and traveling on planes. But damn! It sure was great to be back in the water and moving with focused attention at the break of dawn today. Keeps me feeling young....

That's all I've got in the moment.