Updated: 08/22/22 – BONUS – – For even more information on Master File Creation & Workflow in Action, see this additional post – WITH YOUTUBE VIDEO: https://blog.main.wattsdigital.com/video-photoshop-master-file-creation-workflow-in-action/  X Notes for the above video can be found here: https://main.wattsdigital.com/images/WattsDigital_ContrastColor_Notes_08-21.pdf ___________ Question: From Matthew S in San Diego, CA:   “Once you capture an image in RAW (or a 16-bit scan), what is the best way to save the image for printing purposes? Or should I convert the image to another format? I typically convert everything to a max quality JPG.  Supposedly any “lossy” degradation will be unnoticed to the eye, or so

  Updated: 08/26/21   •  By the way – for much more on “The Philosophy of RAW”, see my post here: https://blog.main.wattsdigital.com/?p=2215     I’ve been asked versions of these two questions so much lately that I had to share – In this post, we’ve got two important questions (and two timely answers) as seen from a “post-processing” point-of-view …   _____________________   Question #1:     From Kris K in Gilroy, CA:     “You’ve mentioned shooting in 16 bit RAW files, and I’ve always used 8 bit JPG’s.  What would be the advantages and disadvantages of using 16 bit versus 8

  Updated:  09/09/21 – BONUS:  See my short video from YouTube here:           FYI, this is Part 1 of a 3-part series on this subject – –    •  Part 2 is here:  https://blog.main.wattsdigital.com/?p=2375   •  Part 3 is here:  https://blog.main.wattsdigital.com/?p=2637   ________________   Lately, I’ve been asked a version of this question over and over –   “For working on my images, should I use Lightroom or Photoshop?”   To me, that’s the wrong question, perhaps not even a fair question.   Photoshop and Lightroom are NOT designed to replace each other; they’re designed to COMPLEMENT

  Updated: 09/09/21, & still relevant today! – BONUS: See my short video from YouTube below:       Want to take advantage of the positives of High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photography, while bypassing all of those confusing HDR plug-ins and software (with their sometimes unpredictable and “plastic-looking” results)?   Then you’re going to love this – you can make all of your adjustments in the powerful Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) plug-in that comes with Photoshop, instead of confusing third-party software…   First, what is HDR? From Wikipedia:  “It’s a set of techniques used in photographic digital imaging to reproduce a

  Updated 08/30/21, & still relevant today …         August 20, 2013 – So, have you been hearing about Photoshop CC lately?  Welcome to the Brave New World of Adobe’s Creative Cloud, and all of the confusion that results from a revolutionary concept.  Since it’s here to stay, it’s time to get your head INTO the “Cloud”.   Concept:   We’re all familiar with the traditional method of purchasing software, whether from Adobe or another company: install the software on your computer (say, Photoshop CS6), enter a key, and it’s yours to use in perpetuity – a “perpetual” license.

  09/01/21 – Updated, and still relevant today … Note: Sadly, Dave passed away in October of 2020.  He will be sorely missed – both as an accomplished individual in his chosen fields – but also as a friend …   ______________   05/01/2013 – Dave King’s “must-read” on judging at the San Diego County Fair Photo Contest last Sunday is wisdom for more than just photo contest entrants – – this is great stuff!  Dave teaches Photography at San Diego City College, and eloquently makes the same observations I had as a Judge in the same contest:   Dave’s

  Updated: 09/21/21, & still relevant today! BONUS – See more at this post, WITH VIDEO: https://blog.main.wattsdigital.com/we-dont-need-no-stinkin-hdr-hassles-use-acr-instead/   _________     Here’s a letter from one of my clients:   Hi John, Thanks much for the post on HDR – that looks like wonderful software!  A question: If I shoot in RAW, isn’t there enough dynamic range in one RAW file to achieve the same results?  Just wondering… Ann S.   Great question, Ann!   The short answer: Not always. Even shooting in RAW, & depending on the scene to be photographed, one file cannot always get the full dynamic

  Updated: 09/21/21, & still relevant today! BONUS – See more at this post: https://blog.main.wattsdigital.com/we-dont-need-no-stinkin-hdr-hassles-use-acr-instead/   _________     For those of us from the “old school” of photography, one of the things we miss most about film was the large Dynamic Range that was available to us – – It’s just missing in most DSLR’s and digital images.  How to make up for this?  Explore High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photography!   High Dynamic Range (HDR) Images could very well be the “Missing Link” in Photographic Digital Imaging; I believe that it’s the way photography is headed in the future