noob to .raw processing. teach me the ways

[genera_lee]

so i've had a nice camera for a while (sony a6000, which i've learned the idosyncracies of and really like), and i've dabbled a bit shooting in raw for landscapes, vehicles, etc. i've recently been disappointed with my shots because i've realzed i dont have fast enough lenses in the right focal lengths to get the shots i want, nor do i have the skills to process the way i want to. I finally got a nice-ish 24mm f/1.7 lens and i'm ready to up my processing skillsets.
i just picked up lightroom, and i've been using rawtherapee, as well as learning gimp a little bit.

what resources have yall used to learn processing?
are there any best practices i should be looking at for keeping everything organized?
any tips or advice on anything i'm missing?

maybe this will be helpful for other people too who are just getting into shooting raw and want some direction on how to manage their content post shutter-click

 

[Mitchell Baltuch]

so i've had a nice camera for a while (sony a6000, which i've learned the idosyncracies of and really like), and i've dabbled a bit shooting in raw for landscapes, vehicles, etc. i've recently been disappointed with my shots because i've realzed i dont have fast enough lenses in the right focal lengths to get the shots i want, nor do i have the skills to process the way i want to. I finally got a nice-ish 24mm f/1.7 lens and i'm ready to up my processing skillsets.
i just picked up lightroom, and i've been using rawtherapee, as well as learning gimp a little bit.

what resources have yall used to learn processing?
are there any best practices i should be looking at for keeping everything organized?
any tips or advice on anything i'm missing?

maybe this will be helpful for other people too who are just getting into shooting raw and want some direction on how to manage their content post shutter-click

The best place to start is with the tutorial videos that Adobe makes available on their website. They do a great job of teaching you the basics o of post processing. Also, a number of photos that have YouTube channels have vlogs about using Lightroom. Thomas Heaton and Chris Eyre-Walker come to mind.

 

[LoneWolfOutdoors]

I use Lightroom for my photography and love it. There are tons of youtube videos out there for different ways to use it.

As for the organization, it would depend on HOW you want to use it (lots of videos on that too). At the very least I would fill in the metadata fields on the right side of the screen, and also assign keywords (location, rig, camp... whatever). From there you can add flags or stars. You also have the option of creating collections. I use the collections feature for the images I have sold or listed for sale.

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

 

[genera_lee]

thanks for the pointers on organizing. i know the processing will have a lot to do with my own personal style as i develop it (unintentional film pun, that i'm sure is played out) but i've been struggling with what to do about getting all my content sorted to start with.

 

[LoneWolfOutdoors]

thanks for the pointers on organizing. i know the processing will have a lot to do with my own personal style as i develop it (unintentional film pun, that i'm sure is played out) but i've been struggling with what to do about getting all my content sorted to start with.

If you're just starting out focus on keywords. That makes finding what you want so much easier. I've got almost 30k images in my lightroom. I would be lost without them.

I also break down my folders on the computer itself. Depending on how much you shoot will dictate how far to break down the folders. I have it something like this...

2019

01 - Jan

Date and name of shoot (subject)​

this way I don't have to scroll through the whole list of shoots to get to something in September. I just click the year, and Septemeber, and then I have all my shoots from that timeframe.

 

[Quicksilver]

I had never shot in raw until I watched Michael's video on using Lightroom. The basic steps he demonstrated will make your photos so much better, and gives a great starting point from which to develop your own style.

 

[Boort]

@genera_lee

i just picked up lightroom, and i've been using rawtherapee, as well as learning gimp a little bit.
what resources have yall used to learn processing?
are there any best practices i should be looking at for keeping everything organized?
any tips or advice on anything i'm missing?

Awesome camera and lens they will provide a great foundation for your images.

About 3-4 years ago I moved from GIMP/Hugin/Darktable or RawTherapee to Lightroom/Photoshop CC. Prior to that I was still shooting 645 Film and using an actual darkroom.

RawTherapee is very mush like LR they both handle the same parts of the workflow. Both provide "development" of the Raw file into the image that you will edit further. Each are non-detructive in that the original raw files remain untouched allowing you to try out many different "looks" on a given image until you find the look that fits the mood you are going for.

Gimp is very much like Photoshop. both are destructive, layer based image editors. Be sure to save to a new file any time you use these programs so that you can keep the original for future edits.

Resources I've used to learn LR/PS:

• Youtube! Just a few of my favorite channels for learning LR and PS
  1. B&H Photo https://www.youtube.com/user/BHPhotoVideoProAudio/search?query=lightroom and https://www.youtube.com/user/BHPhotoVideoProAudio/search?query=photoshop
  2. Phlearn https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC47XN5bhLTBH5TRFyKaUpKg channels for Lightroom, Photoshop, and various types of photography. Great info but can be hard to listen to at times.
  3. Sean Bagshaw / Tony Kuyper https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh7ij4Nip8b7q7F_44S26xg THE minds behind TK actions Luminosity Masks plugin for PS.
  4. Serge Ramelli Photography
  5. Thomas Heaton https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfhW84xfA6gEc4hDK90rR1Q Great insight on the good and bad of landscape photography.
• Local photo clubs (in person) ask around at your local camera shops
• Photo seminars / symposiums
  
• Other photographers: I've learned the most from others. At one of the local photo symposiums I met up with an instructor, I took his workshop in Utah, Made friends with a couple of other local photographers on the workshop. We started getting together a number of times a year to go out and shoot landscapes, talk photography, and help each other out. 3 years later the 3 of us formed a core of "photography friends" that has grown to 7-10 photographers of all levels of skill and equipment. We now have folks from Florida to California that have joined us on our trips to various photo locations. ... this is how I got into "Overlanding"

The B&H photo Youtube channel mentioned above has a number of videos on LR and PS best practices. (I wish they were available when I started!)

• Cleaning up your mess in Lightroom
• Streamlined Organization in Lightroom | Tim Grey
• Lightroom | What it Does; How it Works
• Lightroom Best Practices | Tim Grey
• Mistakes to Avoid in Lightroom with Tim Grey
• Lightroom for Landscape Photographers

I agree with @LoneWolfOutdoors on having a file structure in addition to keywords. If you ever lose or corrupt your LR database having the files laid out on your computer in a folder structure that makes sense to you will be invaluable.

Beyond that I will stress BACKUPS, Like Spare tires when overlanding... 1 to save your butt, having 2 will help you keep going. Back up your images and lightroom database directory as often as possible. One to a different disk and another to a 3rd disk stored at another location or use an online storage provider.

You mention that you're "

disappointed with my shots because i've realzed i dont have fast enough lenses in the right focal lengths to get the shots i want, nor do i have the skills to process the way i want to"

What shots are you going after? Can you describe what is missing from the shots you're getting verses what you want? I Hit that wall often and find that describing what I'm missing often helps me to find a path to get there.

Boort

 

[genera_lee]

@genera_lee


Awesome .... get there.

Boort

@Boort

that was an awesome reply full of valuable stuff. thanks for taking the time to build out that post.

I hope this is useful for more than just me.

i'll be watching these and using the resources.

i think what i wanted in a lens (that i now have) was something with a shorter focal length and a faster aperture. now i have a 28mm f/1.8 prime. its manual, but i really like it so far. i'm going to be getting a 50mm lens as well soon, but thats a couple of months out. before, all i had was the 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 zoom lens and the other kit lens (that keeps breaking on me) that i don't particularly like the look of. not great bokeh, and really distorted around the edges. as for processing, i just need to spend some time really figuring out how to manipulate the images better so I can figure out my style and how to achieve different effects and utilize the tools at my disposal

 

[Boort]

@genera_lee

@Boort
that was an awesome reply full of valuable stuff. thanks for taking the time to build out that post.

I hope this is useful for more than just me.
i'll be watching these and using the resources.

i think what i wanted in a lens (that i now have) was something with a shorter focal length and a faster aperture. now i have a 28mm f/1.8 prime. its manual, but i really like it so far. i'm going to be getting a 50mm lens as well soon, but thats a couple of months out. before, all i had was the 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 zoom lens and the other kit lens (that keeps breaking on me) that i don't particularly like the look of. not great bokeh, and really distorted around the edges. as for processing, i just need to spend some time really figuring out how to manipulate the images better so I can figure out my style and how to achieve different effects and utilize the tools at my disposal

Your welcome. I hope that the links can help anyone who stops by to read the thread.

Manual is not a bad thing, I switched to a number of manual lenses for my night sky photography, Far easier to focus in the dark and don't need to remember to disable AF so I don't accidentally bump the focus button and lose my sharp focus part way through the shoot. My Nikon has 2-4 of them depending on mode I'm working in.

Last I knew the best-performing 50mm-ish on the Sony A6000 was the Zeiss Sonnar T FE 55mm f1.8. Zeiss is VERY nice and costs accordingly. The good news is that the next one in the lineup is the Sigma 60mm F2.8 DN A on Sony E which the cost for 1/2 a stop of light is a bit sharper and less than 1/3rd the cost. See DXO's comparison of lenses for that platform at: https://www.dxomark.com/best-lenses-for-the-sony-a6000-primes-and-zooms/ When suffering from G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) I find that craigslist and Camelcamelcamel are my best friends for keeping a bit if cash in my bank account.

Boort