If Adobe Camera Raw is so great, why use Photoshop?

An interesting question arrived in my mail box over the weekend. I'll paraphrase it for you here, "if Adobe Camera Raw is so great, and we can now work on JPEGs and Tiffs, why not use it for all of our work and skip Photoshop altogether?"

Great question. Here's a multi-part answer:

1. Adobe Camera Raw only works at the global level. If you need to work on colour and light at the local level, you'll need to move the image into Photoshop. Once there, you can take advantage of adjustment layers and masks to perform your clarifications.
2. Unlike Lightroom, ACR and Bridge do not ship as separate products. You get them with your purchase of Photoshop, so why not use all three together - Bridge to visually manage your assets and ACR to perform some initial corrections and set up your image for entry into Photoshop (16bpc / ProPhotoRGB).

By all means, use ACR in your workflow. Use it to help get your images ready for Photoshop. Use it to help get as much data into Photoshop as possible. When you are finished with ACR, move into Photoshop to finish working with your images.

Once again, an interesting question. Keep them coming.

Enjoy.

End of Watch - Police Officer III+1 Randal Simmons

The Los Angeles Police Department mourns the untimely and tragic loss of veteran Officer Randal Simmons of Metropolitan Division's SWAT Unit.

"Today the city of Los Angeles mourns the loss of one of its bravest guardians, and our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Simmons' family and all the members of the LAPD at this time," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who ordered the city's flags to be lowered in honor of the officers.

Seriously injured during the stand-off was Police Officer III+1 James Veenstra, 51, who remains in critical condition at Northridge Hospital Medical Center after being shot in the face.

Workers with the Los Angeles Fire Department pulled the fatally wounded Simmons and Veenstra out of the house in the line of fire.

"A lot of people don't know that it was Fire Department personnel that went in there to take the officers out, even while they were under a hail of bullets," said Sgt. Richard Rakitis, who visited Veenstra at the hospital.

"They deserve a lot of credit."

Trust Funds Established for Police Officer III+1 Randal Simmons and Police Officer III+1 James Veenstra

Los Angeles: Due to overwhelming support for LAPD Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team Officers Randal Simmons and James Veenstra, trust funds have been established in both their names through the Los Angeles Police Federal Credit Union (LAPFC).

To make a donation, please go to: www.lapfcu.org and click on the red square titled “LAPFCU Community Corner.” Donations may also be received by mail:

LAPFCU

Blue Ribbon Trust Fund/ Officer Randal Simmons

Acct. 2030077-product code S4.12

16150 Sherman Way

Van Nuys, CA 91410

(877) 695-2732

LAPFCU

Blue Ribbon Trust Fund/ Officer James Veenstra

Acct. 2030077-product code S4.13

16150 Sherman Way

Van Nuys, CA 91410

(877) 695-2732

Contributions in their honor may also be made to:

Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation

www.lapmf.org (213) 847-4239

Los Angeles Police Foundation

www.lapolicefoundation.org (213) 489-4636

For additional information, please call LAPD Media Relations Section at (213) 485-3586.

Forensic Photoshop highlighted on PhotoshopSupport.com

Check out this feature on Forensic Photoshop from PhotoshopSupport.com.

Whilst there, be sure to bookmark the site. Visit often ... they have a ton of tips, tricks, and tutorials.

Enjoy.

Drive-by clarifications part 2

Here is another set from a family's blog. I love the composition, but the color and focus are off.

The original picture of the stream and the snow.

First, I corrected the exposure in Adobe Camera Raw. Then, I fixed the focus with Smart Sharpen and re-mapped the black and white points using a Curves adjustment layer. 

After the Forensic Photoshop treatment.

The results reveal this beautiful shot. It looks like a nice place to visit.

Enjoy.

Drive-by clarifications

Sometimes I like to cruise around the blogger universe to see what sort of images are out there in need of help. I came across this charming shot of a young lad and a snowman. Being a dad, these always get to me.

The original shot of the young lad and the snow man.

The lad is a bit hidden in shadow and there is a slight cast to the shot. You will find, also, that the focus needs some attention. So, I brought the shot into focus and re-mapped the black and white points in Curves.

The shot after the Forensic Photoshop treatment.

The elements in the image are much clearer now. The snowman is white again and the shadow is largely gone - revealing the lad's details. You also get a clearer sense of the clay pot being used for a hat. Check out the before / after shot below.

Enjoy.

Adobe ACE Exams available for CS3

This just in from John Nack:

Adobe ACE Exams available for CS3

I've been asked a number of times over the past few months for news on when Adobe Certified Expert exams for CS3 would be ready for trainers, authors, and others wishing to document their proficiency in Adobe tools.  I'm therefore happy to report that the exams have been updated. Thanks to Jim Mendes for the heads-up. 

Our old friend, Shangara Singh, has written a nice exam aid for the Photoshop CS3 ACE exam. Also check out the last chapter in Adobe Photoshop CS3 On-Demand by Andy Anderson and Steve Johnson for a handy guide to the certification exam.

Enjoy.

Forensic Photoshop - the release date is here!

Good news!

The book, Forensic Photoshop - a comprehensive imaging workflow for forensic professionals, is set to be released on Presidents' Day (2-18-2008). I will post the link to the retail site as soon as it's available. Thanks to all for your support.

The official press release:

For Immediate Release

Forensic Photoshop – a comprehensive imaging workflow for forensic professionals

by Jim Hoerricks 

Every day, hundreds of thousands of images are captured for use in courtrooms and laboratories around the world. The employees of the agencies that must process these images are often placed in these high pressure positions with inadequate training and a lack of resources. What should I do? In what order should I do it? How do I even begin to process these images? These are the most common questions that people ask. Because lives often depend on each image that we process, it is essential that every person employed in the process have a guide that will help them make use of this complex program. A guide that will give them the results they desire in every aspect of image processing – as well as a thorough grounding in the legal / ethical considerations of the process for which they are involved.

Forensic Photoshop is for users of all levels. No matter the starting point, or level of proficiency, readers will join in the journey to mastery. Mastery is knowing what needs to be done, how to best accomplish the task, and why the chosen method is the most appropriate.

Forensic Photoshop is not simply a book of tips and tricks. It offers a comprehensive workflow – a reliably repeatable pattern of activity enabled by a systematic organization of resources that can be documented and learned. It offers the reader the logical progression of steps necessary to the accomplishing of the goal – clarified and balanced images; images that remain true to their original content and context.

Because it seeks to achieve the goal of clarified and balanced images that remain true to their original content and context, the Forensic Photoshop Workflow is a must for law enforcement (image/video analysts, crime analysis, latent print specialists, questioned document examiners, and forensic/crime scene photographers) as well as for medical/scientific imaging specialists and photo journalists.

About the Author:

A self confessed Photoshop fanatic since version 3 for Mac, Jim Hoerricks is an artist / designer / photographer and is the Senior Forensic Video Analyst for the Los Angeles Police Department's Scientific Investigation Division. Jim specializes in blending techniques from the design world with the Forensic Workflow. Always an innovator, Jim established the LAPD's Forensic Video Lab in 2001, has been the lead analyst on many of the LAPD's high-profile cases, and helped set the standard by which video evidence is handled by the department. Jim has worked on loan to many local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and has testified as an expert in Forensic Video Analysis. 

In addition to his work in law enforcement, Jim is the author of the Forensic Photoshop blog (http://forensicphotoshop.blogspot.com) and a co-author of Best Practices for the Retrieval of Video Evidence from Digital CCTV Systems.

As an CaPOST Certified Instructor, Jim has taught classes on Photoshop, Premier, and CCTV Evidence Retrieval for the National Association of Technical Investigators (NaTIA); Imaging Techniques for the Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association (LEVA); Using Microsoft's PowerPoint to Present Video Evidence in Court for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office; and has been a part time Photoshop Instructor for the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Ca.

-30-

Vandalism warning

In interesting news from the UK, it seems that the month of February has been dedicated to the destruction of CCTV cameras in all of their forms - including these traffic cameras (Gatsos).

This man seems to be taking an angle grinder to this Gatso.

See for yourself on these links: Indymedia.co.uk and speedcam.co.uk

This Gatso was burned out in West Yorkshire.

I don't know how much traction this movement will get outside of the UK, but we should definately be on the look out for a potential rise in vandalism.

Thanks to Peter from the CCTV User Group for the heads up.

Enjoy.

Taking Urban Portraits - a link

I want to share this site with you today: Paxton Prints.

Steve is a reader of this blog and his site is full of beautiful portrait work. My favourite part of his site is Capturing High Impact Urban Portraits - Part of the "Least of These Series." You can check it out for yourself by clicking here. 

Of all of his portraits, I think that I like Eddie Shoeshine and New Arrival the best. You can really see a strong sense of hope and a love of life in all its forms coming from these shots.

Enjoy.

Working with PDF files

A question was sent in asking about the options when saving to PDF. Many folks are choosing to save to PDF for archival purposes and are wondering which preset to choose. Here's a look at the preset descriptions ... with a plain English translation:

• High Quality Print - Use these settings to create PDF documents for quality printing on desktop printers and proofers.  Created PDF documents can be opened with Acrobat and Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 and later. An excellent choice for local printing. For archival purposes - there's a better option.
  
• Press Quality - Use these settings to create PDF documents best suited for high-quality prepress printing.  Created PDF documents can be opened with Acrobat and Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 and later. An excellent choice for sending your files to a press shop for printing. Again, for archival purposes - there's a better option.
• Smallest File Size - Use these settings to create PDF documents best suited for on-screen display, e-mail, and the Internet. This option introduces the most compression. Nice for sending contact sheets by e-mail. Not so good for archival purposes.
  
• PDF/X-1a:2001 - Use these settings to create PDF documents that are to be checked or must conform to PDF/X-1a:2001, an ISO standard for graphic content exchange. Created PDF documents can be opened with Acrobat and Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 and later.  This option excludes PDF features not suitable for long-term archiving. PDF/A documents are 100% self-contained, thus ensuring that these documents can be reproduced accurately in the future. This is the most popular choice for archiving with PDF.
• PDF/X-3:2002 - Use these settings to create PDF documents that are to be checked or must conform to PDF/X-3:2002, an ISO standard for graphic content exchange. Created PDF documents can be opened with Acrobat and Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 and later. This option allows the inclusion documents saved in the LAB colour space, colour managed RGB, CMYK, and Spot Colours. If you are saving your LAB or managed documents as PDF files, choose this option.
• PDF/X-4:2007 - Use these settings to create PDF documents that are to be checked or must conform to PDF/X-4:2007, an ISO standard for graphic content exchange. Created PDF documents can be opened with Acrobat and Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 and later. This option is virtually the same as X-3, but moves the compatibility up one version, from 4 or later to 5 or later.

There is an X-2 option, but its not a published ISO standard so Photoshop does not support it (not a save option).

Also, although PDF documents support encryption, none of the PDF/X standards allow it to be included.

Enjoy.

Sharpening in LAB mode

I've received a few e-mails from folks asking for a demonstration on sharpening in LAB mode.

With this technique, we are going to be targetting just the Lightness Channel - affecting only the lightness values in the image.

In today's image, detail is important. In a structural failure such as this, I want to highlight the sources of that failure. In this case, the bridge's details, the torn and twisted metal, the bent rebar, and the broken concrete all have a part to play in the telling of this story. I also want to make sure that the items in the water receive attention.

To begin, work the image as normal (focus correction, global light/colour, local light/colour) until you come to the Creative Sharpening stage. If you've performed the previous corrections in RGB, save the layered file before moving into LAB mode (Image>Mode>Lab Color). If you moved to LAB mode before making the initial corrections, continue on.

I mentioned earlier that we will be working with the lightness values only. Here's how it works:

1. Press Ctrll+Alt+1 to select only the lightness values.
2. Invert the selection - Shift+Ctrl+I. 
3. Click Ctrl+H to hide the selection.
   
4. With the Channels Palette open, select the Lightness Chanel.

Selecting the Unsharp Mask filter (Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask) brings up this dialog. For today's image, I've used Amount=150, Radius=3, and Threshold=2. You can toggle the Preview button on/off to preview the results.

When you've finished applying the filter, click Ctrl+D to deselect the lightness values (remember, you hid them earlier). Continue on with the workflow (saving as necessary).

When you are finished, you'll see that the difference can be quite dramatic.

Try this one for yourself. You'll be glad you've added LAB sharpening to your tool box.

Enjoy.

Can you zoom in on that license plate?

Can you zoom in on that license plate? Can you zoom in on his face? Why can't you make this image clearer. These are questions that many forensic video analysts deal with on a daily basis. To illustrate the answer to these questions, let's consider this image:

This Monitoring image comes from an Avigilon system's 16 megapixel camera.

With the above image in mind, let's consider the outstanding advice from the UK's Home Office Scientific Development Branch:

To judge the quality of images that will be necessary, you will need to take into account the purpose

for which CCTV is used and the level of quality that will be necessary to achieve the purpose. The

Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) recommends identifying the needs of a CCTV system

by using four categories:

1. Monitoring: to watch the flow of traffic or the movement of people where you do not need to pick out individual figures.
2. Detecting: to detect the presence of a person in the image, without needing to see their face.
3. Recognising: to recognise somebody you know, or determine that somebody is not known to you.
4. Identifying: to record high quality facial images which can be used in court to prove someone’s identity beyond reasonable doubt.

Take a look at the picture above. Can you make out faces or license plates? No. So, if your purpose is to identify these items, that picture view just won't do. 

With Photoshop, we can zoom in. Let's see what happens.

This Detecting view comes from zooming in a 16 megapixel image.

We can now see the people and vehicles more clearly. We can gain a general awareness of types of vehicles. We are closer to identifying them, but we don't have anything yet that will help us to prove identity beyond a reasonable doubt. We can zoom in further to see if we can Recognise anyone.

This Recognising view comes from zooming in a 16 megapixel image.

 At this level of magnification, someone who knows this person or car should be able to say, "that's him" or "that's not the man/car you are looking for." At this point, we can begin to accurately describe the individual in the scene. Let's zoom in some more to see if we can positively identify this man and the car.

This Identifying view comes from zooming in a 16 megapixel image.

With a 16 megapixel image, we can even zoom in closer than this image. But notice what's happened along the way. We've sacrificed field of view for detail. No longer are we looking at the whole parking lot (monitoring). We can't see the other people who are walking around (detecting). In order to identify this individual, we've had to zoom in so far that we've excluded much of this scene from our view. A CCTV Installer might position a camera/lens combination at a choke point specifically to get facial recognition whilst installing other cameras around the area to monitor and detect movement of unauthorised persons.

But what about real life. The good folks at Avigilon have a small piece of a very large market. What if that same monitoring image was only 4CIF or 2CIF. Could we still zoom in and identify the individuals in the scene? You be the judge.

The image from Avigilon contains 15,824,256 pixels and can come in a lossless RAW format.

This image contains only 426,400 pixels and is compressed. 

With an almost 97% reduction in the amount of available pixels and the additional compression, the results speak for themselves.

The result of zooming in on a low pixel count image.

So, the answer to "can you zoom in on that license plate" is ... it depends on the quality of the image and the number of available pixels.

Enjoy.

Local Contrast Control with the Sponge Tool

This morning's tip is a fun one: using the Sponge Tool to control local contrast. For this, we'll turn our attention to the image above. 

To bring out the details in this image, I can use an curves/levels adjustment layer. I can further refine that adjustment with masks. With the Sponge Tool, I can target specific areas of the image quickly. Working on a separate layer, I can apply these edits non-destructively. Here's how:

In Grayscale mode, the Sponge Tool increases and decreases contrast by moving the levels away from or towards midgray - depending on the blending mode that is chosen in the options bar. Don't worry, the Sponge Tool only supports Saturate and Desaturate.

Try it for yourself. Saturate increases contrast whilst Desaturate decreases it.

Applied on a separate layer, you can fade the effect with the opacity slider to get your image looking just right.

Enjoy.

Scots Wha Hae

Happy birthday Robert Burns.

'Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled,

Scots, wham Bruce has aften led,

Welcome tae your gory bed,

Or tae Victorie!

'Now's the day, and now's the hour:

See the front o' battle lour,

See approach proud Edward's power -

Chains and Slaverie!

'Wha will be a traitor knave?

Wha will fill a coward's grave?

Wha sae base as be a slave?

Let him turn and flee!

'Wha, for Scotland's king and law,

Freedom's sword will strongly draw,

Freeman stand, or Freeman fa',

Let him on wi' me!

'By Oppression's woes and pains!

By your sons in servile chains!

We will drain our dearest veins,

But they shall be free!

'Lay the proud usurpers low!

Tyrants fall in every foe!

Liberty's in every blow! -

Let us do or dee!

The Ploughman Poet was born on the 25th of January 1759 in Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland. He's probably most famous for the poem/song Auld Lang Syne (Scots for "long, long ago" or "days gone by") and has been an inspirational figure to Scots and their descendants ever since. Join with me in hoisting a wee dram tonight to Rabbie Burns and Auld Lang Syne.

Jim Hoerricks

2 time California State Caber Tossing Champion

and proud Scot (Clan MacFarlane).

All men die. But all men do not truly live

until they toss the weights, the stones,

the hammer, and the caber.

Output Levels

How many times do you receive memos or alerts that feature a photo as a prominent part of the message? Be on the look out for so and so. This car has been seen in the vicinity of ... Sometimes these alerts are printed on the office ink jet printer, sometimes they are printed on a laser printer, and they can be faxed as well.

What: we want to fine-tune our images to match our output device. We want to produce the best quality images that we can with the printers that we have around the office.

How: Output Levels

Images end up with clogged shadows or blown out highlights when printing to these devices because the device can't support levels above or below a certain point. This is where the Output Levels sliders come into play. We are going to take our normal 0 to 255 range and compress this to match the limitations of our device. (note: there will be some trial and error involved as you figure out the range of your output device)

In our image, the shadow detail will be lost when printing on my laser printer unless I do something to protect it. I can also protect what little highlights there are. In the Output Levels portion of the Levels dialog box, I can change the shadow value from 0 to an appropriate number - in this case 15. I can change the highlight value as well - from 255 to 235. I am forcing a reduction in range - and forcing the image into a range that my printer can handle.

This technique can also be valuable when preparing images for use in PowerPoint. Depending on the projector's capabilities, as well as the lighting in the room, you may need to fine tune your images in order to display them correctly.

Why: We focus on bringing out details in images that will be an important part of identifying individuals or objects. These details can get lost when printing to lower quality output devices or when using a fax or photocopy machine. Adjusting the Output Levels of the image allows us to correctly display or distribute these images within our enterprise.

Enjoy.

DVR question answered

A question came up today, "where can I find information about a specific player for this DVR recording?" Good question. Here's a good answer.

By now, the DVR flip book (aka Best Practices for the Retrieval of Video Evidence from Digital CCTV Systems) has been distributed to over 20 countries. I am proud to have been a small part of its creation. I have also had the pleasure of both hosting and co-hosting training on Video Evidence Retrieval through NaTIA. When speaking on the topic of digital CCTV evidence, I always mention this great source of information, Larry A. Compton Studios.

Larry's site is the go-to place for information on proprietary file types. I've been happy to help add to his list. But wait, there's more ... included on his site are links to helpful free programs ... like GSpot, a codec information appliance.

File types with extensions like .60d and .dmi won't play in Windows Media Player. They need to be matched with their players in order to work. If you've received a disc with a bunch of proprietary digital video files on it and no information about where it came from, check out Larry's site.

Enjoy.

Adobe Camera Raw - some clarifications

I received an e-mail recently asking for clarification on an issue regarding Adobe Camera Raw's interface. It seems that there is a bit of confusion on the difference between the Done and the Save Images buttons.

Moving from left to right across the interface, you come first to the Save Images button. This button saves the current settings of a single or multiple selected files and opens the Save Options dialog box. Within the Save Options dialog, you can save a copy of the file as a Tiff, JPEG, PSD, or DNG file formats. If you Alt+Click the button, you skip the dialog box and use whatever settings were left over from the last time it was used.

The Done button closes the Camera Raw dialog box and stores the current adjustments in the Camera Raw Database file or in a sidecar XMP file (depending on how your preferences are set up).

You can use the Save Images option when making all of your corrections in ACR and you want to save those corrections in a separate file. Use the Done button to make your edits without creating a second file.

For the most part, I think that folks are using ACR and selecting the Open Image/Open Object button to continue on in Photoshop.

Thanks for the e-mails. If I see one that can benefit everyone, it'll end up as a post (unless you ask for it not to be).

Enjoy.