Taking the photo is only the start of the photographic process. Often neglected is the production of the final print or web image. Just as in traditional film processing, the digital darkroom is where the final decisions on brightness, contrast, and color balance happen.
The digital darkroom is a mixture of physical and virtual environments for producing the final digital photographic image.
It Takes More Than a Camera
Often photographers spend big on the latest DSLR and lens without the proper means to complete the process of producing the viewable image.
The advantage of the digital darkroom is there is no chemical processing. Probably the messiest thing is handling ink cartridges for printers. Another benefit is the room does not need sealing to prevent light from the outside getting in.
Portable Darkroom
Unlike traditional film darkrooms that require light shielding and plumbing, the digital darkroom is readily portable.
Wedding photographer Mark Caswell is one professional who takes his digital dark room with him on the job. Caswell sets it up at the wedding reception and uses a large screen, projector, and computer to display a slide show of images from the ceremony. Guests can order images they like, and Caswell prints them on the spot with an inkjet printer.
What is in a Digital Darkroom
Here are is a list of items commonly found in good digital darkrooms. These are not all the elements needed for a digital darkroom, rather a starting point for photographers to evaluate their own digital darkrooms. Photographers may not need all of these items, but considering them gives a clearer understanding of individuals need and preferences.
Computer
This is usually the heart of a digital darkroom because it provides image editing and storage facilities.
It is possible to print straight from some digital cameras to printers with USB inputs for direct camera image transfer. This is fine for occasional use but for any significant digital photographic endeavors, a computer is essential.
To cope with the large image files the RAM memory of the computer needs to be greater than office use to avoid crashes or really slow operation.
The large files also place greater demands on hard disk storage space so once again look for a combination large capacity internal and external drives. It is a wise practice to back up important images to a disc, so CD/DVD burner drive is needed.
The computer monitor is plays a critical role in decisions on color and brightness of images in the editing process. The monitor in a digital darkroom needs to a able to accurately reproduce colors and tones so the final image is true to the photographers creative vision.
Graphics tablets are use pen like pointing device ideal for complex selecting and image editing.
A card reader is the best way to transfer images from memory cards to the computer. It is possible to use the camera and a USB cable, but for more than one memory card it becomes awkward.
Software
There is a range of software found in digital darkrooms for processing and managing digital images. Capabilities vary between software packages and they often perform some if not all of the basic functions.
Firstly, most serious photographers need to read digital images a saved in RAW format, often unique to each camera manufacturer. These images are read and then saved in common file formats such as TIFF or JPEG.
To get the best out of digital images some adjustments of color, sharpness, and brightness are required. Then there is sharpening and cropping and resizing.
Photographers can easily create a collection of thousands of images and sorting and retrieving a particular image is much easier with an image management system.
Printers
Even if printing is usually done at local or internet photo lab it is often convenient to print in your own digital darkroom. Inkjet printers now rival traditional photo labs for image quality and resistance to fading. This does require expensive inks, so often a second general purpose printer is economical for text and rough proof prints.
Scanners
These are still useful items to have in a digital darkroom for rescuing old prints or digitizing family memories from old collections of negatives or transparencies. There are a number of general-purpose page scanners with transparency and negative scanning capabilities suitable for all but the most demanding printing applications.
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