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[OM] Re: Confession time...

Subject: [OM] Re: Confession time...
From: Stephen Troy <sctroy@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2005 08:42:37 -0400
At 08:00 PM 07/28/2005 -0400, Chuck Norcutt wrote:
>I was responding to the type of busines I'm familiar with.  But I do 
>find this a little confusing.  If one hands over original film or 
>original digital files where is the requirement for the digital lab and 
>extensive image manipulation.  There's obviously much about this 
>business I don't understand.


I'll try to explain how this works.  Let's say you're shooting a 150-page
clothes catalog.  You get a layout of each page from the art director,
which shows the size, placement and content of each photograph.  For
example, page 35 has a full-page shot of a model wearing shirt #123 in
white, and in the bottom right-hand corner is a 1.5-inch square photo of
the collar detail.  In the bottom left is a 1.5 by 3 inch photo of the
other colors of shirts available (showing each color seapartely, usually
something like stacking the other shirts somehow).  In all the photos, but
especially the small ones, the texture ("weave") of the shirts must be
clearly visible.

So you spend the entire morning setting up the three shots with the proper
lighting.  You take the shots and have the client approve each on the
monitor.  You then download the raw files to the MAC.  The raw files must
be converted to TIFF and properly sized to fit the page layout.  Any other
post-processing (like dust removal) is done now.  Make sure the colors
match perfectly, everything is razor-sharp and that no moire patterns
appear when resizing the images.  Burn the three images to a CD, and send
the CD *and the shirts* to the printer.  The printer will open the files
and do the color separations and adjust the presses so that the printed
colors exactly match the original shirts.  Preparing the images for the
printer is usually done by a computer assistant on big jobs as the
photographer has to tear down the set and has to start working on the next
catalog page.  On a really small job, my brother will do the computer work
in the evening.  It takes about two months of long days to shoot a catalog
this big.  If you're really fast and really lucky, you *might* be able to
get ten shots done during one day.  Lighting this stuff correctly really is
an art form.

In the film days, you would send the film to the lab (medium-format slide
film, not negative film), get the rush processing and have the film back in
a few hours, have the client approve and then tear down the set and start
the next page.  You would also need to have the smaller images as close to
final reproduction size on film as possible, which usually meant putting a
piece of clear acetate with the layout sketched on it over the ground
glass.  The printer would then have to drum-scan the film to do the
separations.  This is where the digital advantage lies - saving on scanning
time by the printer.  This can actually be quite expensive to the client on
such a big job.

Bill Pearce wrote:
>Your presumption is that you can burn the digital file to a disc and hand it 
>to the client. I've never seen that happen. It would indeed be nice, but 
>they all seem to need some work.

Again, Bill is correct.  As mentioned above, changing file format and
resizing are the MINIMUM work that needs to be done.  Often, other stuff is
required.  The client wants a *final* product, ready for the press, so
you've got to do all the work yourself.

Bill Pearce also wrote:
>If you're trying to sell a product, it may not be. Take clothing, for 
>example. If you are in the business of selling shirts by the container load, 
>you want to have photos that show the detail of the fabric. To do that, it 
>will probably take the Phase One.

Exactly.  Even the C*non 1DS MarkII isn't good enough to show the fabric
patterns.  It also has moire problems in this type of work.  The PhaseOne
back is the best solution, and can even be used on the Sinar 4x5 when
tilt-shift is necessary.


Winsor Crosby wrote:
>Some people really love the subtlety that you can find in film. And  
>other people don't care, or don't know, or don't want to know. But  
>there are some of us who like that extra five percent, that magical  
>part that film possesses, and I can tell you that, for me, I'm still  
>looking for that five percent. I want to see that in my digital  
>files, and I don't see it yet. I see the other ninety-five percent.
>
>I kind of wonder if that extra five percent lies in the ZD or in a  
>big medium format back. Of course, at the price I'm unlikely to find  
>out anytime soon. ;-)

Again, when color matching is critical and you need the resolution to show
the fabric weave, 95% is not an option.  You really need that extra 5%.

Steve Troy

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