Your post-event workflow is just as important as what you do during the shoot.  That’s why we’ve put together a tip-packed guide to help you get organized and be more efficient behind the computer.   Learn about backing up your data, organizing and naming your image files, preparing your environment for editing, and breaking the image work into manageable chunks.

Click here to download the PWD post-event workflow guide.

  Quick-Tip: Are you going to WPPI next month?  We’re spotlighting some of our favorite speakers whose classes you might want to attend. Quick-Tip: And be sure to stop by our WPPI booth for more must-see speakers, your chance to win an iPad 2, and a great show special!  Details here.
]]> http://pwdlabs.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/post-production-pro-tips-free-post-event-workflow-guide/feed/ 0 Chad http://pwdlabs.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/free-post-event-photographer-workflow-guide/ http://pwdlabs.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/free-post-event-photographer-workflow-guide/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:10:54 +0000 Chad http://pwdlabs.wordpress.com/?p=3067 ]]> Photographers, your post-event workflow is just as important as what you do during the shoot.  That’s why we’ve put together a tip-packed guide to help you get organized and be more efficient behind the computer.   Learn about backing up your data, organizing and naming your image files, preparing your environment for editing, and breaking the image work into manageable chunks.

Click here to download this great guide.

Thanks again to Emily and Allison for joining us at the PWD booth.  And thanks to everyone who came by and said hi.  We hope to see you again at WPPI in a few weeks.

File naming is, unfortunately, one of those things that is more complicated than it really should be.  Numbering files just doesn’t work like one might expect.  It would be nice to be able to name your files

• ​image1.jpg
• image2.jpg
• image3.jpg
• …
• image9.jpg
• image10.jpg
• image11.jpg

and so on.  And the above does work… for the most part.  Mac Finder, Windows Explorer, Lightroom, and other intelligent programs will display these files in the logical, expected order.

Many systems, however, handle alphabetization differently.  Believe it or not, they see “10″ as coming before “2″ (because they read in one character at a time, and when they get to the the first digit, it compares “1″ to “2″).  Such a system would display the above files in this order:

• ​image1.jpg
• image10.jpg
• image11.jpg
• image2.jpg
• image3.jpg
• …
• image8.jpg
• image9.jpg

And if your numbering goes up into the 100s or 1000s, it just gets crazier!

The solution, as you may already know, is leading zeroes.  The zeroes are used as padding to get every index number to contain the same number of digits.  So if your numbering goes up to 1000 (4 digits), you’ll want every index number to also contain 4 digits.  In this case, you would add 3 zeroes to the numbers 1-9 (0001, 0002, etc.), 2 zeroes to  10-99 (0010,0011, etc.), and 1 leading zero to everything in the hundreds (0100, 0101, etc.).

In our original example, we only go up to 11, so we just need every file name to contain 2 digits, as shown here:

• ​image01.jpg
• image02.jpg
• image03.jpg
• …
• image08.jpg
• image09.jpg
• image10.jpg
• image11.jpg

​With leading zeroes in place, any alphabetization system will display the files in the expected sequence.

Luckily, any decent renaming tool (including Lightroom and Photo Mechanic) allows you to automatically pad your index numbers with leading zeroes.  You just have to decide how many leading zeroes to use (when in doubt, it doesn’t hurt to put too many zeroes).

Yes, it’s more complicated than it should be, but at least the fix is fairly simple.  Now go play with some zeroes!

  Quick-Tip: For more file naming tips, check out this article. Quick-Tip: Come see the PWD gang at WPPI 2012.  We’ve got a free iPad 2 to giveaway, must-see booth speakers, and a great show special lined up.  See you in Vegas!
]]> http://pwdlabs.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/post-production-pro-tips-leading-zeroes-in-file-names/feed/ 0 Chad http://pwdlabs.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/wppi-speaker-spotlight-alan-weiner-2/ http://pwdlabs.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/wppi-speaker-spotlight-alan-weiner-2/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:03:59 +0000 Chad http://pwdlabs.wordpress.com/?p=3021 ]]> With WPPI fast approaching, we want to take some time to recommend a few talks that you might be interested in attending.  First off is our good buddy, Alan Weiner.  You can learn more about Alan’s talk and add it to your WPPI planner by clicking below.  View all of the speaker spotlights here.

But these aren’t just any speakers — we’ve got 5 great speakers that are each hosting their own WPPI classes.  Among them, these speakers are teaching 2 Plus classes, 2 Master classes, and 3 Platform classes at this year’s WPPI.  And we’ve also got them in our booth!  The PWD booth is proud to host Bambi Cantrell, Roberto Valenzuela, Jared Platt, Moshe Zusman, and Emily Potts.  We can’t wait!

Let us know if you’re heading to WPPI in February, and be sure to come see us at booth #1001.

See you in Vegas!

Lightroom is an amazing program that helps pro photographers organize and edit their image files.  Its ability to take in photos from all corners of your hard drive and present them in an orderly fashion is extremely useful, but it’s also a bit dangerous.

Let me explain.  Because Lightroom is so good at organizing images within the software, many photogs overlook the importance of keeping their files organized outside the software.  Sure, you can find the image you need in Lightroom, but if you had to do so in Mac Finder or Windows Explorer, could you?  Do you even know where your image files are on your hard drive?

Why should you care?  Here are a few reasons:

• If you want to grab a file without going into Lightroom, you’ll need your files to be easily accessible from Mac Finder or Windows Explorer.
• If you decide at some point to switch from Lightroom to another program, you’ll be happy that your organizational scheme is not tied up exclusively in the old software.
• Lightroom backs up its own data, but it does not back up your actual images. When you go to back up your image files, you’ll want them all in one structured location rather than scattered across your desktop and documents folders.

Here’s a test: Open up Mac Finder or Windows Explorer and take a look at your image folders.  Are they grouped together in one location?  Are they neatly organized in labeled subfolders?  If not, you might be relying too heavily on Lightroom. Quick-Tip: Wanna go to Vegas?  We’re giving away free Full Registration Passes to WPPI 2012!  Click here to enter. Quick-Tip: When When it comes to file backup, consider a web-based backup service like Carbonite. These services help automate the backup process, giving you one less thing to worry about.
]]> http://pwdlabs.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/post-production-pro-tips-organize-your-files/feed/ 0 Chad http://pwdlabs.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/win-a-full-registration-pass-to-wppi-2012/ http://pwdlabs.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/win-a-full-registration-pass-to-wppi-2012/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:47:59 +0000 Chad http://pwdlabs.wordpress.com/?p=2992 ]]>  PWD is giving away 4 Full Registration Passes to WPPI 2012 in Vegas!  Enter now to win yours.

Click here to enter the contest

Prize and Contest Details:

A Full Registration Pass is good for the February 16-23 conference, expo, and special events (a $399.00 value).   Note that the prize does not include airfare, accommodations, or any other expenses.  PWD will provide winners with special links, allowing them to register themselves for the free pass.  For details on the WPPI show and what is included in a full pass, please visit the WPPI site.

Contest entries will be accepted between 11am on 1/11/2012 and 3pm on 1/13/2012 (all times are Eastern).  There is no purchase necessary to enter — simply provide your name and email address via the Facebook entry form.  Four winners will be selected randomly from the list of entrants.  Entering multiple times will not increase your chances of winning.  Winners will be announced via Facebook and Twitter and will also be contacted directly via the email provided. Good luck, have fun, and we hope to see you in Vegas!