Finding a digital workflow that works for your combination of equipment and meets your unique needs can be challenging. This article will describe some steps that can make that process easier and more successful for you.

Two Basic Modes in the Camera

There are basically two types of shots: Jpeg, for those interested in fitting as many shots as possible on their memory card (while assuming that their camera will make most of the camera settings choices for them) and RAW, for those who want to control their camera settings and end up with the most flexible, adjustable image when they download to their computer. Only more advanced cameras offer a RAW format option. Each type of file involves a different kind of image processing, but both need color management. In our workflow diagram we are shooting Jpeg files with an Olympus Stylus 500, and RAW with an Olympus E-1 professional SLR.


Simplified Diagrams of Two Typical Color Managed Workflows

Calibrate the Monitor

Before you can view your images on screen, or make and decisions about them, you need a color corrected monitor. For photographic work, settings of Gamma 2.2 and Whitepoint 6500k are appropriate. Here a ColorVision Spyder2 is being used to perform this monitor calibration process. Once the monitor is calibrated, you are ready to view your images on screen and make visual image adjustments; without calibration there’s no way to know if such adjustments will make improvements to the image.



Jpeg to Photoshop® or Photoshop Elements®

The Jpeg files from the Stylus 500 are now opened in Photoshop Elements, with the application’s color management set to "Full Color Management"; this will show the images using the custom monitor profile. The automatic camera settings have probably done most of the heavy lifting, but some adjustments to your image may still be needed. The most effective correction methods for this are the three tools available in the Adjust Lighting list, and the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness sliders found in Adjust Color.


Adjust your lighting and color in Elements, on your calibrated monitor.

Opening these images in Photoshop CS2 works the same way, with Photoshop’s RGB color space set to either sRGB or AdobeRGB, as needed to match what is produced by your camera. Once open in the full version of Photoshop, there are many more tools for adjustment, but any major adjustments to levels or curves will cause significant data loss to these 8 bit per channel files. To avoid this type of data loss, consider shooting in RAW mode instead, if your camera offers this option.

RAW to Photoshop® or Photoshop Elements® via Adobe CameraRAW®

The OCR RAW files from the Olympus E-1 in our workflow are now opened in Photoshop CS2 or Elements 3 by way of Camera RAW, with the application’s color management set to "AdobeRGB". All the camera settings can be readjusted as desired in the RAW controls, and the files opened into Photoshop CS2 as high bit (16 bits per channel) images, allowing further adjustment without loss of levels. Alternatively, they can be opened in Elements as 8 bit per channel files, with most of the major adjustments occurring in advance in RAW mode, where they do not cause losses to the file.


Adjust your settings in CameraRAW on your calibrated monitor, before opening a highbit adjusted version in Photoshop CS2, or an 8 bit per channel version into Elements 3.

Custom Printer Profiling

Now that the image looks the way you want it on screen, you’ll save that image (ideally as a PSD or Tiff file, to avoid further losses caused by Jpeg compression), and then move on to printing. This is where your second device profile is necessary: a good profile describing your printer, media and colorant combination. Jpeg shooters working in Elements may choose simply to use the canned color profiles or settings that come bundled with their printer. That’s how we’ll be printing to the Olympus P-10 for our snapshot prints. More demanding users will want to build custom printer profiles. Here we’re working with the Olympus P-440 DyeSub printer, but profiling works much the same way with a color inkjet or laser. We’ll print a color profiling target with the printer, read it into ColorVision’s printer profiling software, and build a custom ICC profile for this specific printer, paper, and colorants.



Printing Through the Profile from Elements

In Photoshop Elements 3, color managed printing occurs by choosing the "Show More Options" checkbox. With this item, you are shown your document’s current color space, plus popdown lists to choose your printer profile and a choice of rendering intents. Turning off color management or color adjustment in the advanced section of your printer driver is also important to avoid unintended color adjustments at the driver level.



Printing Through the Profile from Photoshop

Printing in Photoshop CS2 color managed printing occurs by choosing the “Color Management” popdown item. You are then shown your document’s current color space, and popdown lists to choose your printer profile and a choice of rendering intents, plus one that allows you to choose where to have your color management occur. Set that popdown to "Let Photoshop Determine Colors". Older versions of Photoshop have somewhat different printing configurations, but referring to the CS2 and Elements 3 screenshots provided here should make the right choices clear. Turning off color management or color adjustment in the advanced section of your printer driver is also important to avoid unintended color adjustments at the driver level.



SoftProofing Through the Profile from Photoshop CS2

One of the advantages of working with the full Photoshop program is that it allows softproofing of your images through your custom printer profile in advance of printing. Choose "Proof Setup > Custom" from the "View" menu and select your printer profile. Set the rendering intent you plan to print through. This will create a screenproof emulating your printed image on your monitor, allowing you to make printer-specific adjustments to optimize your image for this printer, colorant, and media.



C. David Tobie is Product Technology Manager at ColorVision Inc. and Technical Editor of Thomson Course Technology’s Digital Process and Print series.