After a year of photography, I’m an amateur bird photographer still trying to settle on a postprocessing workflow. This year, I have used PhotoLab, Topaz, Radiant, Pixelmator Pro, Affinity 2, and DXO PhotoLab on a Mac. Since PhotoLab 9’s release, I’ve uninstalled Topaz and Radiant.
My usual workflow is to open an image in PhotoLab, and do all that I can there. If I need to remove an object, I use Affinity 2, and then I use the NIK 8 Sharpener Output utility for a final tweak if it looks good.
My question about workflow is really basic to the process. Does the order in which I do various processes matter? For example, is it better to crop before adjusting exposure?
Is there a standard order that generates the best results, or can one work with exposure, crop, color work, sharpening, etc. in any order without a difference in results? In my experience, the order has not seemed to matter, but perhaps it does and I’m too close to see it.
Horizon, Perspective changes should be done prior to using a Mask as they don’t always shift with the image.
I like to adjust the whole image, and finish with cropping. That way I can create/use Presets if I have a sequence of similar pictures, then I Crop to create some different views of the image.
Generally speaking, DxO set the order in which various adjustments are actually applied to the image. The major exception to this is what @LVS pointed out. Masks do not rotate or distort.
You could argue that cropping should be done first so you don’t end up trying to balance light, colour, etc in areas you’re not going to use.
But probably the best single bit of advice I’ve taken to heart on the order of processing is the penultimate step for any image should be… walk away for 30 minutes. Sometimes when you come back you will hit export. Sometimes you will say to yourself “what was I thinking?”
Personally, I tend to focus so much on protecting highlights that my images are just too dark. Another trick that can help with this aspect is to view a batch of processed images in Library view. You’ll soon see if any are obviously darker or lighter (or weird colours) compared to the rest.
Not part of the workflow, but ensure you have a well calibrated monitor that is not too bright. Most calibration software/hardware allow you to measure and adjust the brightness of your monitor.
Thanks for the calibration tip, Keith! I bought a Datacolor Spyder Pro last month and I’ve used it on my 2021 MacBook Pro. Its monitor was spot on. I’ve got an old Apple Monitor that is obviously not using the same colors as the MBP, but I’ve not yet calibrated it. I am curious to see how far off it is.