Stephen Johnson Photography Blog: The View From Here

Ubehebe Crater in Morning Shade. Death Valley. 2012.

THE VIEW FROM HERE
by Stephen Johnson

RAW Processors plus Photoshop

Much has been said in the last few years about the wonders of Adobe Lightroom and the obsolescence of Photoshop. Lightroom is remarkable and powerful. In many forums however, I remind people that for all of their power and conveniences, Adobe's Camera RAW, and Lightroom, Apple's Aperture, and PhaseOne's Capture One are after all RAW processors, not image editors in the same sense of Photoshop's flexibility and pixel by pixel precision. I believe that Photoshop remains an absolutely critical ingredient in image editing.

Many photographers are simply put off by the complexity of Photoshop, the seemingly endless array of options and elaborate workflows abounding on the internet. Others simply want the flexibility of RAW without all of the work and time that finishing the image in Photoshop implies. The cost differential is also real. I can understand all of these notions, but want to discuss a few of them here.

Photoshop need not be too much more complex than what your needs and knowledge desire. There certainly is no imperative that you do as much stuff to your photograph as possible just because you can. I teach a fairly straightforward path through Photoshop that needs little more in most cases than a few Adjustment Layers for some tone and color needs, some so called "sharpening" and some image tone-balance work for prints. I go through much of this in the Selections, Adjustment Layers, Tone and Color Workshop coming up next weekend February 11-12, 2012.

One thing I've always liked about Lightroom and RAW processors in general is that there is no encouragement of composited faking of photographs inherent in the software. I think this encourages a straight forward workflow which is where in my interest in photography primarily lies. The image database is also useful, but not for me as I use other approaches and simply have way too many photographs over too many decades for it to be as useful to me as it is for some. The Lightroom Virtual Copy is great, as well as some of the stylistic and annotation automation.

As I am not a regular Lightroom or Aperture user, there are no doubt other features that I haven't yet noticed. But even in a program I know well, like Photoshop, I am constantly noticing, or having things pointed out to me that I had not seen, either in development or post-release.

But for me, Photoshop's shipping companion Camera RAW is just simpler to use. I find the tabs in CameraRaw very direct and I work well with the interface. The tight integration between Adobe's browser Bridge, CameraRAW and Photoshop is a relationship I find very convenient and empowering.

When it comes to precision editing, the RAW processors are great for basic interpretation of the RAW data, but I would feel deeply limited if I didn't have Photoshop at my disposal for precise editing, even pixel by pixel for some picky issues. I would also feel very constrained in my ability to fine tune the image for printing. That is why I discourage people from printing through Lightroom or Aperture as that decision bypasses many of the finishing and balance options I have and need in Photoshop.

The non-destructive editing metaphor which many have picked up on from Lightroom, and is inherent in RAW processing, has been in place in Photoshop for a very long time. Photoshop's Layers feature was dramatically empowered with the introduction of Adjustment Layer editors a long time ago.

It is only with Photoshop's precision and iterative editing that I feel that I can really work an image into a fine print. Critical to my printmaking capabilities is the careful balancing of tone, density, nuances of color imbalance and careful attention to the optical illusions of "sharpening" and texture. Without these controls, I feel like I would be left in a more crude position than I was in a conventional darkroom in terms of careful interpretation of the image.

Many of the needed capabilities of image editing continue to grow in the RAW processors, as a new preview of Adobe's Camera RAW by product manager Bryan O'Neil Hughes demonstrates. Check it out. dusk
Dune Shadows and Brush. Death Valley. 2012

Tidbits

A few things I would like you to keep in mind...

Virtual Education: Our Virtual Consulting and Mentoring Program is working well. Readers of this Newsletter can still get a 20% discount by mentioning this reference when you enroll.

Catch Steve Live: Steve will be speaking here and there around the country over the next few months, April in MA, June in NY, late June in Maine, early August in MI.

The Fine Art of Photography Event
Plymouth, MA (early April 2012)
With a New Eye
George Eastman House. Rochester, NY
Thursday June 14, 2012. 6pm
Maine Media Workshops Artists Lecture
Rockport, ME
June 26, 2012
Summer Weekend of Photography and Digital Imaging
Southwestern Michigan Council of Camera Clubs
Hope College, Holland, MI
Saturday August 4, 2012
Workshop: 9-11am
Aritist's Lecture: 7pm