Editing and upload files for microstock

Editing For Microstock

In this article I want to describe a detailed workflow process for microstock photographers. I will be describing steps based upon Adobe Lightroom but the general editing steps should be able to be applied to other editing software as well.
Import
I strongly recommend finding a solution to import your files and back them up at the same time. For me, I use Lightroom to copy my RAW images from a CF card to the computer. I can also specify for Lightroom to backup the files in a seperate location, which is a 1TB external drive connected via USB. This system works great for me, hopefully it will for you too. One thing to mention, however, is that you will need a really fast computer to process all of this file transferring easily.
Organize
Once your files have been imported, you need to sort through to see which files are worth your time. I usually only edit about 5-10% of the images that I shoot.

Editing
When shooting and editing RAW, you will have a lot of options no matter what program you are using. My basic workflow includes the following order:

• Exposure – adjust the exposure slider until your histogram has only a slight amount touching the right side of the graph.
• Blacks – adjust the blacks slider until your histogram has only a slight amount touching the left side of the graph.
• Contrast/Brightness – adjust these sliders as needed.
• Vibrance/Saturation – adjust these sliders as needed.
• Sharpening/Noise Reduction – zoom into 100% first, and then adjust as needed but make sure not to over-sharpen and don’t use to much noise reduction or your image will look over-processed.
• Chromatic Aberration – while still zoomed into 100% check your image to make sure that there is no CA, if there is you can remove it with this tool.

Keyword
Most of the time you can use the program that edits your RAW files to keyword them too. If you are using Adobe Bridge, Lightroom, or Aperture then this should be available to you. I keyword my images before exporting to JPEG but some photographers keyword after. I would recommend whatever is easiest for you.
Export
Export your RAW files to JPEG using the highest quality settings possible. 300 dpi, don’t resize, 100% quality, etc. Once this is done you are ready

Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom is the best editing software for RAW files on the PC platform. If you are using a Mac then you can apply this knowledge and information to the Mac specific program Aperture, but I would still recommend using Lightroom for Mac. My point with this tutorial is to describe a Lightroom workflow for microstock photographers.

Import
I recommend using Lightroom to import all of your RAW files. Using the dialogue box to import; you can specify where you want files to be copied to, if you want files to backed up, and what size you would like previews to be rendered at. I choose to copy files to a new location while importing and then I have Lightroom back up all of the imported files to an external harddrive. That way, before any editing is done, my files are organized and backed up. I then specify that I want 1:1 previews rendered for all images imported. The import process can take a while but it automates everything for you so you can leave the computer and work on something else (or if your computer is fast enough then you can multitask on another project). For large photo shoots (1000+ RAW files) I usually import overnight so that the next morning, everything is set and I am ready to edit.
Library
The first step in Lightroom is to organize your files and catalogues. After importing I add all imported files to a quick collection. I’ll then save the quick collection with a date and description of the shoot (for example: 12-10-11 DXH Stock Shoot). The next step is to go through the collection of images that you have imported and remove unworthy files from the collection. If you do this correctly then all of the files will still be available under the “All Photographs” selection, but you will be able to narrow down the files that you don’t want to edit particular to a certain shoot. Select the collection at left and go through the photos clicking on “remove from collection” for the ones that you don’t want to edit.
Develop
This is the section of Lightroom where you have control over your images in order to make adjustments as needed. In a future post, I will be discussing how to edit for microstock (whether you are using Lightroom or not). In the develop section of Lightroom I recommend only using the “Basic” and “Detail” tabs while editing for microstock websites. This will give you great results that are not over the top. Remember, subtle adjustments are the best, since the will not increase noise or decrease realism.
Export
Once you have imported, organized, and edited your images; you are ready to export to JPEG for uploading to microstock websites. Go back to the “Library” and select all of the final images. Next, click on “Export” and you will be prompted with a dialogue box to specify details of the export. I recommend exporting to a new location and keeping the filenames the same to prevent later confusion. Make sure that you are exporting to “JPEG” quality “100″ “sRGB” resolution “300 ppi” with image resizing unchecked. Export your files and then keyword them using Adobe Bridge or ProStockMaster, then you’re ready to upload.

IPTC Data
IPTC data is information stored within your image. In the case of photographs for microstock websites, we are talking about title, description, and keywords (or tags). Using IPTC data will save you a lot of time in the long run. Rather than adding all of this info to each file each time you upload it to a site, you can add the information once and all of the sites will recognize the IPTC data that you have input into the image.
There are a lot of different ways to do this properly. It really depends on the program you are using. Here is a list of acceptable programs for inputing IPTC data into your JPEG images: Photoshop, Elements, Bridge, Aperture, Lightroom, Windows Vista, Pro Stock Master. Each program will have a different process to go through but it will work the same in the long run. Embed the information into the file so that you don’t have to copy and paste or retype all of that info every time you upload an image to a site. It will save you a lot of time. (I personally use Pro Stock Master or Adobe Bridge to embed all of my IPTC data easily).

FTP Uploading

FTP (file transfer protocol) uploading is the easiest and most supported method of uploading files to microstock websites. FTP software enables you to bulk upload files to a pre-established server or site. All you have to do is set up the sites that you want to be able to FTP upload to and then click and drag to transfer files. It is very easy to set up and very easy to use. (My favorite free program is FileZilla). Each site (except iStock Photo) has information on how to set up the FTP upload software. You will need a host, username, and password to be able to transfer to the site through FTP. This is simple to configure, and if you are using FileZilla, then you can configure the software to store all of that data for multiple sites. After files are uploaded via FTP, you usually need to log in to the site and finish the process by selecting categories or manually submitting each image.