Digital Darkroom

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Shedding light on quality and workflow

Can I achieve the same quality shooting digital I’m used to with analog cameras?
Yes, although the expertise of the photographer is the single largest influence on the outcome. The equipment being used and the subject matter also impact the final outcome so be sure to ask what type of camera a photographer will use.

High end digital photography is in transition. While the best cameras use a three-shot system, this limits the user to still shots. This year however there were several high end single shot cameras and digital backs released in the marketplace which will be good for sports and action shots.

Here at Primary Color we chose a professional set up for our digital studio: a photographer with over 10 years experience; numerous lighting capabilities, a Hasselblad camera and a Leaf digital image capture back (CCD) — a three-shot process.

What is the difference between a one-shot and a three shot camera?
All digital images are interpolated whether it’s a scan from a transparency or a digital image captured on camera. The single biggest factor on the final image and its resolution is the bit depth at which the camera captures an image. The bit depth describes how bright the pixel is, the higher the bit depth the brighter the pixel.

Bit depth affects how much tonal value can be reproduced in a single shot. A one shot camera captures the image at 24 bit depth which minimizes the pixel information it can interpolate. This influences the steps of tonality limiting them to 256, inadequate for high quality color separations.

Primary Color uses a three shot camera that captures images for each color — red, green and blue minimizing interpolation. The results are a higher bit-depth — 42 bit. This translates into 16,373 steps of tonality, plenty of information for high quality color reproduction; a broader dynamic range (over 11 f-stops); complete tonal control; and color fidelity. Where a user will readily see the differences is in the shadow detail, subtlety is lost without the proper levels available to describe the last few stops of the shadow. Ultimately, a camera which captures 42 bit (14 bit per channel) ensures there will be enough detail for highlights, midtones and shadows.

What should I look for in a digital photo studio?
As buyer of photography you should look for many of the same qualities you want in an analog studio. In a digital studio you will want to find out about the following:

• Camera — one shot or three shot, resolution and bit depth, various lenses?

• Facilities — What type of digital proof is being used? CMYK (SWOP certified) or RGB — for print work the CMYK halftone proof should best represent the image on press.

• Lighting —What kind of lighting is available: strobe, tungsten, HMI (movie lighting) or a mixture?

Are there specific colors that are hard to capture?
Yes — colors outside of the CMYK gamut are not reproducible. See the image below that illustrates where the overlap is and where the colors that will not reproduce. Oranges, lime greens and some blues are outside of the CMYK range and often look fantastic on your monitor. The realities of CMYK production do limit reproduction possiblilities unless spot color inks are used.

Stochastic or Hi-Fi color can be of use to increase the gamut of reproducible colors but this is a 6 color process which increases your costs considerably..

How is retouching handled?
It depends on how the photo studio is set up. Some photographers have taken this on themselves and others leave it to the expertise of color separators. Color separation is an art form however and photographers new to this area of the business have a steep learning curve to achieve quality CMYK color separated photographs.

At Primary Color, a client has skilled retouchers and scanner operators as well as our savvy photographers to support them in on-site color correction. Color conversions have been tested and the best solutions have been implemented in the photo studio.

Are there really advantages to going digital?
Yes! If time and quality are of value to you, there are incredible time savings by eliminating Polaroids, viewing the image immediately after it is shot and on-site digital contract proofing. What’s more, scanning, proof sheets, processing and prints are eliminated thereby reducing costs and making a small contribution to less waste in the environment. Using digital photography creates more control over tonal quality (reproduction of dark and light values) and allows for a total digital workflow. Ultimately the throughput is faster allowing for more work to be processed in the same time period.

Which publications are good sources of information?
There are quite a few publications to peruse including (but not limited to) Electronic Publishing, PEI — Photo Electronic Imaging, Digital Imaging, Digital Output. Other sources of information include: Photo Marketing Association International and Seybold Seminars.