workflow for large number of images

Adobe Creative Suite 4 (ID CS 4 Photoshop CS 4, Bridge; I also use Adobe Lightroom; all of this on a Windows XP machine.



Book of about 400 images; text will be page numbers, a few chapter divisions, and an index.



For a sample print, I used only a few images repeated on several pages with page and layout modifications. This went all right, but since I did not have a defined workflow, the process no doubt took a lot longer than it needed to.



Probably a short answer is not possible. However, any guidance would be appreciated.
workflow for large number of images
If the layout is going to be consistent, a lot of your work can be done with master pages and place-holder frames for the images (and for captions, too). Page numbers are automated by putting them on the master page as a current page number marker in a text frame.



Peter
workflow for large number of images
Thank you Peter; master pages seem like the best way to start. I doubt if the layout will be consistent; might be two or three images on a page, but the margins will and should stay the same.



I make most of the adjustments in Lightroom. For the sample book I had LR open the image in PS, there I changed the color space to CMYK, sized it, and then put it into a folder. Then I went to ID to place the image. This was cumbersome even for the three images I used; it seems that this method could become confusing with 400 images;



Will Bridge help with the workflow process?



Do I need to use TIFFs?



vasi

You can drag from bridge right into the ID layout if you like. You can drag as many images at a time as you like, and use the place command the same way, i.e. if you have a whole folder full of images, select them all. You'll see a thumbnail for each one as it is read to be placed, and if it isn't the one you want, press an arrow key for the next/previous image available. Esc removes the image from the place cursor.



No need to use TIFFs. PSD is fine, and even JPEG will work if the quality is high enough.



Peter

Oh good, that will probably makes this faster; thank you.



I supposes the quality will be enhanced if I start with a RAW file in Lightroom, make adjustment, export to PS, change the color, export as a PSD; is that about right?



I am tempted to start with a JPEG; I doubt if I'll lose enough to notice in a book. I used JPEGS for the test book, so I guess I'll find out.



Thank you,



vasi

In terms of workflow, there is a tremendous difference between starting with a RAW image and a JPEG. The decision to use a RAW workflow starts before you shoot your images. A RAW image file is analogous to a film negative. There is a tremendous amount of flexibility that you have with RAW images that you don't if all you get from the camera is a JPEG file. Certain sharpening, color and contrast transformations, and sharpening have already been applied. Given that most digital SLR cameras provide between 10 and 14 bits of RAW data per colorant and JPEG is normally limited to 8 bits of data per colorant, with JPEG you have already lost much of the ability to get detail in highlight and shadow areas. But it all depends upon what type of images you are shooting under what conditions and the all important ''what is good enough'' for your purposes. Saving processed images as JPEG is fine
only if you plan no further edits since JPEG is a lossy format. Every time you open and edit, there is a finite amount of image degradation. Either layered TIFF or PSD can losslessly save your processed images although TIFF's LZW compression typically can give significantly smaller file sizes than PSD; either format can be placed into InDesign documents.



- Dov

I agree that a RAW image allows the best image quality. I'm shooting RAW and JPEG simultaneously; JPEGS to upload to a web page for review and selection. I need to learn how start with RAW and work from there.



What I am doing now might well be considered practice and learning. I am designing a book of my images, and most of those were shot in JPEG for a variety of reasons; convenience and storage among those.



Now for my confession: I don't know much about starting with a RAW file; there, I said it. I just bought Photoshop, along with ID, and have a tutorial dvd for it.



Until now, I have had no reason to use a RAW image; JPEGS served me fine and they required less work. So, now I need to learn how to process a RAW image. Point me in the right direction, is there perhaps a dvd? I've not used RAW because in Lightroom, the images look better in JPEG; becaue they do not contain the camera settings, and that's my problem, I don't know what to do to make them right, without looking unnatural. I've tried and just give up and go back to the jpeg.

RAW isn't something you quickly learn the night before having to produce a book. You need to learn how to shoot RAW with your camera, how to process RAW with either Lightroom or Photoshop. I believe you can find tutorials for RAW along with those products as well as on Adobe's website. But it takes time to experiment and get your workflow right. It is just like learning to develop your own negatives and print those negatives in a darkroom as opposed to sending your film out to the drugstore (or maybe something better).



- Dov

Yes, I agree; somehow my initial question caused topic on RAW; and I do indeed have a lot to learn. However, for the book I am staring this weekend, all I have are JPEG files. I'll ask more about RAW later.



I really do appreciate the information on RAW; I do need to learn how to work with RAW.



vasi