The DAM Book, 2nd Edition

The DAM Book, 2nd Edition

by Peter Krogh
Released April 2009
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9780596523572

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Book description

One of the main concerns for digital photographers today is asset management: how to file, find, protect, and re-use their photos. The best solutions can be found in The DAM Book, our bestselling guide to managing digital images efficiently and effectively.

Anyone who shoots, scans, or stores digital photographs is practicing digital asset management (DAM), but few people do it in a way that makes sense. In this second edition, photographer Peter Krogh -- the leading expert on DAM -- provides new tools and techniques to help professionals, amateurs, and students:

  • Understand the image file lifecycle: from shooting to editing, output, and permanent storage
  • Learn new ways to use metadata and key words to track photo files
  • Create a digital archive and name files clearly
  • Determine a strategy for backing up and validating image data
  • Learn a catalog workflow strategy, using Adobe Bridge, Camera Raw, Adobe Lightroom, Microsoft Expression Media, and Photoshop CS4 together
  • Migrate images from one file format to another, from one storage medium to another, and from film to digital
  • Learn how to copyright images

To identify and protect your images in the marketplace, having a solid asset management system is essential. The DAM Book offers the best approach.

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Table of contents

  1. The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers
  2. Dedication
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. Introduction
    1. Who Is This Book Written For?
      1. My Assumptions About You
    2. Contents Of This Book
    3. Conventions Used in This Book
    4. Comments and Questions
  5. 1. A Digital Photography Ecosystem
    1. The Digital Photography Ecosystem
    2. What Is Digital Asset Management?
    3. The Prime Directive, and Other Goals
      1. Don’t Lose the Images
      2. Find Images When You Need Them
      3. Save Time
      4. Make the Images Look Right
      5. Ensure Forward Compatibility
      6. Software Independence
      7. Create Certainty
    4. The Benefits of Sound Digital Asset Management
      1. Sound DAM Aids Productivity
      2. Proper DAM Adds Value to Your Photographs
      3. Effective DAM Enhances the Longevity of Your Work
      4. DAM Is Essential If You License Images
      5. DAM Help for Photo Buyers
      6. DAM Will Allow You to Roll with the Technological Changes
    5. Exploring Digital Asset Management Tools
      1. Understanding DAM Software
      2. Organizers
      3. Adjustment Software
      4. Unified Workflow Tools
      5. Utilities
    6. Rules of Sound Digital Asset Management
      1. Systematize
      2. Don’t Rely on Your Memory
      3. Be Comprehensive
      4. Build for the Future
      5. Do it Once...
      6. But Don’t Overdo It
    7. Understanding the Data Lifecycle
      1. Ingestion
      2. Working Files
      3. Archive Files
    8. Intelligent Imaging Technologies
      1. Computational imaging
      2. Face Recognition and Other Autotagging Technologies
        1. Digital exhaust
  6. 2. Non-destructive Image Editing
    1. Parametric Image Editing: An Introduction
      1. It Starts with the Raw Ingredients
      2. The Rendering Pipeline: What You See Is Not What You’ve Got
      3. Rendering Raw Files
        1. Demosaicing
        2. Color transformation
      4. Making and Saving Adjustments
      5. Rendering Engines Are Different
      6. Understanding Previews—What Are You Lookin’ At?
    2. Advantages of Parametric Image Editing
      1. Non-destructive Workflow
      2. Paste Settings Easily
      3. Compare Multiple Interpretations
      4. Take Advantage of Software Improvements
      5. Single-Image Archiving
      6. It’s Not Just For Raw Files Anymore
      7. Split the PIE: Source Images and Metadata
        1. Protecting your data: faster, better, and cheaper
        2. Choosing software
    3. Limitations of Parametric Image Editing
      1. Proprietary Raw File Variations—a Tower of Babel
      2. Limited Metadata Embedding
      3. No Way to Attach an Embedded Rendering
      4. Unpredictability When Working with Rendered File Types
    4. DNG as a Parametric Image-Editing Solution
      1. A Digital Job Jacket
        1. The “negative”
        2. The “paperwork”
        3. A “pretty good print”
        4. Private maker notes
        5. The original raw files
        6. A data validation hash
      2. What’s New in 1.2
        1. New preview options
        2. Improved handling of color profiles
      3. DNG: An Openly Documented Format
      4. Drawbacks of DNG
    5. Working Non-destructively in Photoshop
  7. 3. Metadata
    1. Metadata: An Introduction
    2. Classes of Metadata
      1. Metadata Type 1: Automatically Generated
        1. File properties
        2. Camera-created information
      2. Metadata Type 2: Bulk Entry Data
      3. Metadata Type 3: Higher Metadata
    3. Ownership and Licensing Metadata
      1. Creator Information
      2. Licensing and Rights Information
        1. IPTC subrights
      3. Rights Definitions
        1. Creative Commons
        2. PLUS
    4. Image Content Metadata
      1. Location
      2. Captions
      3. Other Descriptive Metadata
    5. Describing Images with Keywords
      1. What’s a Keyword?
      2. Hierarchical Keywords
      3. Using Hierarchies to Organize
      4. What Belongs (and Doesn’t) in Keywords
      5. Controlled Vocabulary
      6. Internal vs. External Keywording
      7. Stock Photography Considerations
    6. Prioritizing Images with Ratings
      1. Tagging Images for Quality: The Ratings Pyramid
        1. Systematize
        2. Don’t rely on your memory
        3. Be comprehensive
        4. Build for the future
        5. Do it once...
        6. But don’t overdo it
      2. Setting Up Your Ratings System
        1. Neutral
        2. One star
        3. Two stars
        4. Three stars
        5. Four stars
        6. Five stars
        7. Unrated
        8. Outtakes or Reject
      3. Refining Ratings Over Time
      4. Filtering Instead of Deleting Images
      5. Getting the Proportions Right
    7. Grouping Images
      1. Filtering Metadata to Create Groupings
      2. Nested Groupings
      3. Choosing Software for Grouping
    8. Metadata Schema
      1. EXIF
        1. Universality
        2. Durability
      2. IPTC
        1. IPTC4XMP
      3. XMP
        1. Where does XMP live?
        2. XMP-based schemas
        3. PLUS
    9. Metadata Handling
      1. Metadata Durability
      2. Storing Metadata
        1. Embedded in the file
        2. In a sidecar file
        3. In a catalog
      3. Synchronizing Metadata
        1. Harvesting
        2. Exporting
      4. Private Metadata
      5. Metadata Collisions
        1. Problem: embedded vs. cataloged metadata
        2. Problem: version drift
        3. Problem: data collisions within a file
    10. Tagging Images with GPS Data
      1. GPS: An Overview
        1. Precise, enduring location data
        2. Tracklogs: where have I been?
        3. Using GPS information
        4. A four-dimensional record of history
      2. GPX and EXIF
      3. Geotagging Your Photos
        1. Tagging in camera
        2. Using online maps
        3. Merging with tracklogs
        4. Timezone is important
        5. Assigning place names
        6. Privacy issues
      4. Choosing a GPS Unit
  8. 4. Organizing and Naming Files and Folders
    1. Organizing Your Image Files: An Overview
      1. Folders: What Are They Good For?
      2. Consistent Directory Structure Is Your Friend
      3. Designing a Unified Directory Structure
      4. Build Your System for the Data Lifecycle
      5. Separate Originals and Derivative Files
    2. Working File Directory Structure
      1. An Image Workflow Pipeline
      2. Other Working Files
    3. Archive Directory Structure: An Overview
      1. Segregating Original and Derivative Files
      2. Enter the Bucket Brigade
    4. Archive Directory Structure: Making Buckets
      1. Determining the Bucket Size
        1. Sizing your buckets according to your backup medium
        2. Using date buckets with optical disk backup
        3. Using date buckets with unmatching disk backups
        4. Folder structure with no optical disk backup
      2. Naming the Buckets
        1. Naming buckets for derivative images
        2. Naming subfolders
      3. Combining Buckets
    5. The Fine Art of File Naming
      1. Naming Original Files
        1. Special naming considerations for JPEGs
      2. Naming Derivative Files
      3. When to Change File Names
  9. 5. Choosing Hardware for Image Storage
    1. Choosing the Appropriate Storage Media
      1. Your Archive: Keeping It Live and Local
    2. Hard Drive 101
      1. How Does a Hard Drive Work?
      2. Hard Drive Sizes
      3. Solid-State Drives
      4. Hard Drive Capacities
      5. Hard Drive Speeds
      6. Hard Drive Interfaces
        1. ATA/IDE
        2. SATA
        3. SCSI/SAS and Fibre Channel
      7. Hard Drive Enclosures
        1. Internal drives
        2. Single-drive externals
        3. Multiple-drive Externals
      8. External Hard Drive Interfaces
        1. USB
        2. FireWire
        3. eSATA
        4. SCSI/SAS
        5. Fibre Channel
      9. Hard Drive Power Supplies
        1. Bus-powered drives
    3. Purchasing a Hard Drive
      1. Retail vs. OEM
      2. Balancing Cost and Performance
    4. Hard Drive Handling
      1. Hard Drive Storage
      2. Putting New Drives into Service
      3. Unplugging External Drives
    5. Drive Configurations: JBOD, RAID, Drobo, or NAS?
      1. JBOD
      2. RAID
        1. Which RAID?
      3. Drobo
      4. NAS
    6. Other Storage Media
      1. Optical Disks
        1. Caring for optical disks
        2. Optical disk types
      2. Digital Tape
        1. Which flavor of digital tape should I use?
    7. Media Cards
      1. Card Sizes
      2. Card Brand and Speed
      3. DMA or UDMA
      4. Media Card Readers
        1. Firewire, USB, or ExpressCard?
    8. Network
      1. Network Speeds
      2. Hubs, Switches, and routers
      3. Cabling
      4. File Server
    9. Monitors
    10. Uninterruptible Power Supplies
    11. System Configurations
      1. Basic System: Computer + Dedicated Image Drive + External Backup Drive + Optical Disk Backup
      2. Client/Server Configuration: Computer + Gigabit Ethernet Switch + Server + External Backup Drive + Optical Disk Backup
      3. Client/Server Configuration plus Location Laptop: Laptop + Workstation + Gigabit Ethernet Switch + Server + External Backup Drive + Optical Disk Backup
      4. Best Setup Without Regard to Cost: Computer + Fibre Channel + Rack-Mounted Server and RAID + LTO Tape Backup
      5. Sample Configuration: Laptop
        1. PC laptop
        2. Mac laptop
      6. Sample Configuration: Workstation
      7. Sample Configuration: Server
  10. 6. Backing Up and Validating Data
    1. Primary vs. Backups
      1. 3-2-1 Rule
    2. Understanding Threats to Your Data
      1. Device Failure
      2. Viruses
      3. Malicious Damage
      4. Volume and Directory glitches
      5. Transfer Corruption
      6. Lightning Strike/Voltage Surge
      7. Theft
      8. Fire/Water Damage
      9. Human Error
    3. Backup Types
      1. Mirror Backups
        1. Parity
        2. Real-time
        3. Periodic File Synchronization
        4. Mirror plus incremental
        5. Compressed disk image
        6. Bootable clones
      2. Additive Backups
    4. Additional Protections
      1. Offline Backups
      2. Offsite Backups
      3. Swappers
      4. Write-Once Backups
      5. Virgin Download
      6. Internet Backups
      7. DIY Collocation
      8. Encrypted Backups
    5. Backup Software
      1. Setting Up Backup Tasks
      2. Scheduling
      3. Transfer Validation
      4. Error Reporting
    6. Protecting Data Throughout the Data Lifecycle
      1. Ingestion
        1. Ingestion workflow options
      2. Working Files
      3. Archive
      4. PIE Settings and Metadata
        1. Saving refinements to informational metadata
        2. Saving refinements to PIE settings
      5. System, Programs, and Settings
      6. Text Documents
    7. Putting It All Together: Backup Configurations
      1. Single Computer with Mirror Backup(s)
      2. Single Computer with Dedicated Image Storage
      3. Multiple Computer Backup
        1. Laptop
        2. Laptop setup for image downloading
        3. Image workstation
        4. General-purpose computer
        5. Server
    8. Data Validation
      1. Validating the Presence of the Files
      2. Validating the Integrity of the Files
        1. File structure
        2. Image Data
        3. Confirming File Integrity
      3. DNG Validation Hash
      4. Restoration Tests
        1. Simple mirrors
        2. Boot drives
        3. Mirror with incremental changes
        4. RAID/Drobo
    9. Restoration
      1. If You Have Problems...
      2. Restoring an Archive from Additive Backups and Catalogs
  11. 7. Ingestion Workflow
    1. Image Ingestion: Overview
      1. Download
        1. Download folders
      2. Rename
      3. Apply Bulk Metadata
        1. Basic template
        2. Client-specific template
        3. Project-specific templates
      4. Apply Image Settings
      5. Backup
      6. Convert to DNG (Optional)
      7. Send to Viewer
      8. Confirm Integrity
    2. Ingestion with Lightroom
      1. Ingestion with Lightroom: Drawbacks
      2. Catalog Backup
      3. Lightroom Workflow
      4. Download Checklist
    3. Ingestion with ImageIngesterPro
      1. Ingestion Database
      2. Multicamera Shoot Options
      3. A Trial Run
      4. ImageIngesterPro Workflow
  12. 8. Working Files Management
    1. Working Files Overview
      1. What Exactly Is a Working File?
        1. Derivative files
        2. File handling and image preparation
      2. Lightroom User with One Computer
      3. Multiapplication, Multicomputer Workflow
    2. Raw File Workflow
      1. Organizing
        1. Cleaning up after ingestion
        2. Rating
        3. Deleting
        4. Additional grouping
      2. Proof Preparation in a Digital Workflow
        1. Adjusting images
        2. How good does the proof have to be?
        3. Refining images: recursive passes
        4. Pano and HDR proofing
      3. Proofing Output
        1. Web galleries
        2. Batch output
        3. Print output
      4. Prepare for Permanent Archive
      5. Transfer to Archive
    3. Reworking Archived Images
      1. Reworking Raw Images
      2. Creating Derivative Files
      3. Reworking Derivatives
    4. File Handling Workflow
      1. Working File Folders
        1. Single-computer user
        2. Adding a raw pipeline
        3. Adding more drives
        4. Adding the DNG Converter to the workflow
        5. Adding more steps to the pipeline
      2. Transfer Folders
      3. Catalogs
      4. Drop folder
      5. Other Media Files
      6. Putting It All Together
  13. 9. Lightroom Workflow
    1. Lightroom Basics
      1. Lightroom Catalogs
        1. What’s in the file, and what’s in the catalog?
      2. The Lightroom Interface
      3. Library: Sources
        1. Folders
        2. Collections
      4. Library: Content Area
        1. Image selection
        2. Filter bar
      5. Library: Quick Develop
      6. Library: Keyword Tools
      7. Library: Metadata Panel
      8. Develop Module
        1. Presets
        2. Snapshots
        3. Virtual copies
        4. History
      9. Slideshow Module
      10. Print Module
      11. Web Module
    2. Setting Up Lightroom
      1. Catalog Handling
        1. Making your first catalog
        2. Catalog backups
        3. Making template catalogs
        4. Working with multiple catalogs
        5. Storing catalogs on external drives
        6. Trading Changes
      2. Showing Folders
      3. Setting Up Labels
      4. Creating a Keyword Hierarchy
      5. Importing and Exporting Keyword Lists
      6. Setting Up Smart Collections
    3. Sample Lightroom Workflow
      1. Start a Project Catalog
      2. Import and Generate Previews
      3. Finish Bulk Metadata
      4. Rate
        1. Be methodical
        2. If you’re in a big hurry
        3. Applying ratings
        4. Recursive rating
        5. Disappearing outtakes
      5. Label and Stack the Pano and HDR Sequences
      6. Adjust Images
        1. Quick Develop
        2. Apply auto settings
        3. Recursive adjustments
      7. Develop Workflow
        1. Sync
        2. Auto sync
      8. Panorama Proof-Stitching
        1. Step 1: Collect in Smart Collection and adjust panorama elements
        2. Step 2: Make proofing JPEGs
        3. Step 3: Send to Photomerge
        4. Step 4: Save the file
        5. Step 5: Clean up
      9. Create Proofing Output
      10. Archive
        1. Delete outtakes
        2. Update DNG files and sidecars
        3. Convert to DNG
        4. Send to archive
        5. Create backups of the archive
      11. Permanent Cataloging
      12. Using Third-Party Catalog Software
      13. Reworking Archived Images
      14. Derivative Files
        1. Optimize
        2. Catalog
        3. Collect and transfer to archive
        4. Readjusting derivatives
  14. 10. Bridge/ACR Workflow
    1. Bridge/ACR and Expression Media: A Great Combination
    2. Setting Up Bridge and ACR
      1. Bridge Preferences
        1. General Preferences
        2. Thumbnails
        3. Keywords
        4. Labels
        5. Cache
      2. ACR Preferences
        1. JPEG and TIFF handling preferences
      3. Preview Generation in Bridge
      4. Customizing Workspaces
      5. Scripts
      6. File Info Extensions
      7. Metadata Templates
        1. The Bridge template editor
        2. Adding Mark as Copyrighted
        3. Applying a metadata template
    3. Sample Bridge/ACR Workflow
      1. Apply Develop Settings
      2. Build Previews
      3. Add Bulk Metadata
      4. Label Panorama and HDR Sequences
        1. Reject
        2. Full-screen preview
        3. Review mode
      5. Filter
      6. Tag for Dust
      7. Turn Off 100% Previews
      8. Adjust
        1. RapidFixer
        2. Camera Raw
        3. Snapshots
        4. Snapshots with RapidSnapper
      9. Write Labels to Keywords
      10. Panorama Proof-Stitching
      11. Final Check
      12. Delete Outtakes
      13. Create Quick Proofing Output
        1. Dr. Brown’s 1-2-3 Process
        2. Dr. Brown’s Caption Maker
      14. Convert to DNG
      15. Move to Transfer Me Folder
  15. 11. Cataloging Strategies
    1. Choosing Your Software
      1. Operating System
      2. Is the Software Intuitive for Me?
      3. Exporting Metadata: The Prenup
        1. XMP capability
        2. Prenup with cataloging PIEware
      4. Cataloging PIEware or Catalog Only
      5. Supported Formats
      6. Capacity
      7. Interoperability
      8. Output
      9. File Management Features
        1. Tell me what’s missing
    2. Managing Your Catalogs
      1. Split Along Bright Lines
      2. Use Project and Master Catalogs
      3. Designate a Primary Catalog
      4. Update the Primary Catalog
        1. Expression Media: updating the primary via image files
        2. Expression Media Notepad feature
      5. Use Distribution Catalogs
      6. Make Versioned Catalog Backups
    3. Expression Media Basics
      1. Preference Setup
        1. General
        2. Media Rendering
        3. Labels and Colors
        4. Helper Applications
        5. Thumbnails and Previews
      2. The Expression Media Interface
        1. The Organize panel
        2. The Catalog Folders panel
        3. The Info panel
        4. The content area
      3. Find Options
      4. Batch Rename
    4. Expression Media Workflow
      1. Create a Catalog
      2. Add Images to the Catalog
      3. Create Catalog Sets
      4. Duplicate Ratings into Color Labels
      5. Make a Web Gallery
      6. Output Proof JPEGs
      7. Transfer to Archive
        1. Make buckets
        2. Validated transfer to archive
        3. Reset folder paths
        4. Move to the Transferred folder
      8. Make Master Files
        1. “Final” catalog of images
      9. Rework DNG Files
    5. Archive Restoration and Validation
  16. 12. Data Migration
    1. Data Migration Principles
      1. Get Comfortable with Your New System
      2. Create a Comprehensive Plan
      3. Track Your Progress
        1. Always know which is the primary copy
        2. Don’t add new material to the old structure once migration has begun
        3. Validate
        4. Finish the job
      4. Freshen Up Your Backups
      5. Start the Process with Enough Storage
      6. Keep the Legacy System for a While
      7. Back Up the New Configuration
    2. Migrating from One Drive to Another
      1. Migration Transfer
      2. Migrating Primary Storage Using the Bucket System
      3. Backup Storage Migration Using the Bucket System
    3. Migrating from One Metadata Field to Another
      1. Manual Copy to New Field
      2. Using Scripts to Transfer Tags
    4. Migrating File Names
    5. Converting Legacy Camera Originals to DNG
      1. Preparing Files for Conversion
      2. Using the DNG Converter for Raw-Only Directories
      3. Using Lightroom for Commingled Directories
    6. Deduping
    7. Migrating Disorganized Digital Files to an Organized Archive Structure
      1. The Starting Point
      2. The Steps
      3. Step 1: Inventory, Plan, and Prep
        1. Inventory the collection
        2. Prep for transfer
        3. Dedupe the easy stuff
        4. Plan for new hardware
      4. Step 2: Gather Media and Transfer to New Storage
        1. Dedupe more easy stuff
        2. Back up the new configuration
      5. Step 3: Prep Files for Permanent Archive
        1. Preserve current information
        2. Segregate file types, if desired
        3. Convert to DNG, if desired
        4. Rename files, if desired
        5. Update catalogs and backups
      6. Step 4: Make Buckets
        1. Validate the images
        2. Update catalogs and backups
        3. Mark the drives for repurposing
      7. Step 5: Do Further Organizing
    8. Migrating from Film to Digital
      1. ROI Is King
      2. Making Camera Scans
        1. The Camera Scan Advantage
        2. What You Need
        3. Getting Started
        4. Scanning Slides
        5. Scanning Black-and-White Negatives
        6. Using RapidFixer for Black-and-White Negatives
        7. Scanning Color Negatives
      3. Naming Negative Film Scans
      4. Naming Color Transparency Scans
  17. A. About the Author
  18. Index
  19. About the Author
  20. Colophon
  21. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: The DAM Book, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): Peter Krogh
  • Release date: April 2009
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9780596523572