The post-processing workflow for digital photographers is the final step in the artistic translation of a captured image nto the final output that reflects what the photographer saw at the time the shutter closed. This process is a ighly personal one because every artist has different ideas about how to present his or her work. This is my workflow. It is not necessarily a "have to follow" recipe, nor is every step always performed. Instead, it provides a list of the post-capture tasks that I consider when finalizing my images for presentation. I really only perform those steps that are critical to making the image reflect my memory of the scene.

The following steps are performed in Nikon Capture. Some of these adjustments may have an equivalent in Photoshop CS2's Automated Camera Raw (ACR) capability, but I prefer the richness of the Nikon conversion versus the simplified all-CS2 workflow. If you find that there are certain adjustments you are always making, they can be saved (Settings->Image Adjustments-->Save Selected Adjustments) and then loaded at the beginning of the workflow.

1. On the Advanced RAW Tab:
1. Adjust exposure compensation to bring out the shadow detail without blowing the highlights (should be a minimum adjustment if captured in-camera correctly)
2. Sharpening - set to Normal (set this way in-camera as well)
3. Tone Comp - None
4. Color Mode - Mode III (Adobe RGB)
5. Saturation - Normal
6. Hue Adjustment - unchecked


2. On the Color Booster Tab: set the target type (People or Nature) and adjust the level to recreate the color intensity of the original scene


3. On the D-Lighting Tab:
1. Method: Better Quality
2. Adjust Shadows and Highlights as necessary


4. White Balance - Adjust as necessary if the white balance of the image is off


5. Noise Reduction
1. Intensity - 10
2. Sharpness - 5
3. Method - Better Quality
4. Edge Noise Reduction - checked
5. Color Moire Reduction - Low


6. Curves
1. Set Black Point (bottom eye-dropper)
2. Adjust curves as required to make image "pop"


7. Image Menu - Open with Photoshop (16-bit)

The remaining steps of the workflow are performed in Photoshop CS2. All adjustments are made on a separate layer, which allows the flexibily of backing out of a change without destroying any other adjustments. It makes the size of the file a lot larger, which is a trade-off to always being able to readjust a specific aspect of the image.

1. Duplicate the background layer. Remove specks and dust using the spot healing or clone tool


2. Apply a capture sharpening (to correct the sensor filter blurring)
1. I use Photokit Sharpener, which greatly simplifies the process
2. This can also be done using the Unsharp mask filter with settings of 500%, 0.2 radius and 0 threshold. These settings may need to be adjusted to your own liking.


3. Correct rotation of the image to level the horizon (if necessary)


4. Crop image if necessary, using the crop tool


5. Adjust levels to bring the end-points of the histogram to the edges


6. Correct colors to remove any color-casts if necessary


7. Apply highlight/shadow correction (normally not needed since this step was also performed in Capture)


8. Adjust curves to improve the contrast and color richness


9. Dodge and burn areas if necessary


10. Adjust the saturation to bring the colors back to what they where we the scene was captured


11. Save the file as a .psd file (do not flatten at this time)

The last major step of the process is to prepare the image for presentation. This takes two forms: print and web.

1. For print presentation:
1. Resize the image to the desired print size
2. Apply the output sharpening. There is a whole separate science for sharpening that, at times, can become quire complicated. As I mentioned, I use Photokit Sharpener to perform all of my sharpening since it greatly simplifies things and I have found the techniques it uses to create a very pleasing image. More on output sharpening can be found at bythom.com.
3. Adjust the opacity of the sharpening layer to fit how you want the image to appear
4. Save the image again (same .psd file as before). If the sharpening is done on a separate layer this allows you to easily "tweak" the image if desired.
5. Flatten the image
6. Save the image as a .tiff file
7. Print with your print program of choice (I use Qimage, which I've found to give outstanding output.)


2. For web presentation:
1. Resize the image to an appropriate web size (not too big since larger files take longer to load)
2. Convert the file to sRGB color profile (this helps ensure a good display on any monitor)
3. Adjust the saturation if necessary to over-come the affect of changing the profile
4. Apply the output sharpening. Keep an eye out for halos and reduce the sharpening to keep them under control.
5. Flatten the image
6. Save the file with the "Save for Web" feature of Photoshop CS2 (this saves the image as a .jpg). Adjust the size of the file to be around 120K (which seems to be a good size for good quality and load times)
7. Post away!

I definitely cannot take full credit for devising this workflow all on my own. This has evolved over time and has been influenced by many references and internet discussions on post-processing techniques. Of special note are the advice and writings of Tim Grey (www.timgrey.com), a PhotoShop guru, and the talented and sharing photographers of www.naturescapes.net , from whom I continually learn and improve my techniques as a photographer.