Paintshop Pro 2018 basic workflow question(s)

[Paul001]

Hi – I’ve just bought Paintshop Pro 2018, and I’m new to photo editing. I have a basic question on workflow.

I have a Fuji XT20 and would take a photo in RAW typically. When I pick this up in PSP do I do a certain amount of editing on the RAW file and then convert it to something like JPG to do more editing?

I am only used to Canon’s proprietary free software DPD and with that I did all the editing on a RAW file and only at the end convert it to JPG. I am unfamiliar with what I can do on a JPG when editing using much more sophisticated software like PSP, apart from obvious things like cropping.

So I guess the question is, what should I do on the RAW file before I save it as something like JPG?

Many thanks,Paul

[JoeB]

Welcome to the forum. If you are comfortable with editing using your RAW software (and are unfamiliar with PSP) then I would suggest that you do as much of the editing using that software as you can before saving in another format for further fine tuning in PSP. PSP can do everything, and more, than your RAW software but can only work with the image data that's available in the image it is working on. There is more data in the original RAW format, which is why some people shoot RAW and process that image first before moving it into PSP.

If your original image has issues like uneven exposure due to lighting conditions, noise issues because taken in low lighting with high ISO settings, lens distortion issues, etc., then processing first with RAW software can probably result in your being able to correct those issues better. If your original image is well exposed and doesn't have those or similar issues, and depending on how critical it is that your final output be as technically perfect as possible, you might find that the image taken in jpg format, for example, can be tweaked simply in PSP and look as good as if it was taken in RAW format, processed in that software and then sent to PSP - and with perhaps less work. And of course you are going to have to familiarize yourself with all of the powerful tools PSP has to offer.

[bruce1951]

Shooting RAW gives you all the data. That's good. What you do when you edit the RAW file however is very subjective. Everyone will want a different output. So fiddle away until you see something that is your requirements. There is no right or wrong way or result.

Went saving your edited RAW think about why you shot in RAW in the first place and what you want to do with the output. My guess is you are shooting RAW to get a maximum result. If so it makes no sense to throw 80% of the data away by saving in jpeg. Jpeg is ok for snap shots but not if you want to do more editing. I would suggest saving in 16 bit tiff format. That will retain maximum data and give you much more to work with for further editing. Once done you can always save in Jpeg. Remember once you throw away the data it's gone for good. (You can go back to the Raw and start again).

bruce