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Customize your workflow in Capture One Pro

NOTE: This article discusses an outdated version of Capture One. To learn more about our latest version, click here.

We’ve all heard it said, and we know it to be true; No two workflows are alike.

Photography is a craft and, like every craftsman (or craftswoman), it’s essential for continued success and continued growth to find an efficient way of working that suites your specific needs. Luckily, Capture One Pro offers seemingly endless possibilities to mold its tools to fit your needs.

Now, it should go without saying that I’m absolutely 100% biased. I work with Capture One every day and Phase One puts food on my table. But, if you knew me, I think it would be fair to say that I’m a rather straight to the point kind of guy. So, with that said, you can take my personal approach to Capture One with a grain of salt. I’m no way saying that I use it the best way, but over the years I’ve certainly found a workflow that fits best for me and my needs. I would hope only that in sharing that workflow you can find a tip or two that will help you to make Capture One uniquely your own and, to use an obscure parlance, fit better in your hand.

Fit to purpose workflow

With my position at Phase One, I find myself traveling quite a bit. Therefore, I need a workflow and workspace that accommodates remote operation. It needs to be efficient and rather complete as when I get back from traveling, there’s little (if any) time for me to properly sit down and continue editing my images. Capture One offers the complete package and allows the flexibility I need. To the uninitiated, I’ve heard it said that Capture One can seem rather intimidating at first glance. This intimidation needs to be neutralized so you can go on with being a creative photographer.

Simplifying

My workflow requirements are simple. Capture One needs to efficiently fit on a laptop, primarily use left hand shortcuts, and have a workspace that flows logically from left to right. My workspace and workflow are just that.

I start by removing plenty, leaving only the tools I need. Then, I’m retrofitting existing, or building new, Tool Tabs to reflect the tools I use most. I do away with all the tethered workflow Tools and Tabs as well as some of the supporting peripherals for professional on-set photo techs (See screenshot below). This is all I need, since it’s just me out there in the brave bold world.

I use Catalogs, which a keen-eyed observer notices. This is certainly not the norm with Capture One’s quick and simplified Session workflow. However, they’re a perfect solution for my needs of organization and constant backup/sync requirements when I return from traveling. I simply do a backup of the RAW files along with the catalog after every trip, and I’m all set. This also helps me to edit on the road, whether I do it from a cramped coach seat on my return flight or a crowded airport waiting area. There’s no need to have a mess of external cables and hard drives, or a few hundred GB’s of RAW files choking up my limited laptop space. Just one small catalog affords me the ability to edit nearly all aspects of the image, no matter where I am. Whenever I arrive home, I can easily backup those edits.

So, the setup is quite simple but not too simple. I have a large Viewer on white with none of the labeling or crowded tool bars. Immediately, I do away with everything I don’t need. A large proof margin surrounds my image, which ensures me that a tool or menus proximity doesn’t inhibit my cropping and composition. Moreover, I use a white background to ensure I don’t fall victim to images that are too dark and contrast-y. This is rather common when working only on a laptop.

Fast and simple Importing and Browsing

You may also notice a few things missing which you assume as necessary.

The Browser and Import Icon, just to explain a few, are not part of my primary workflow. Sure, I use the Browser, but that’s only to initially find and rate the images I wish to edit. That takes me 10 minutes and then I quickly hide it, which gives me sufficient space to edit the images (CMD+B).

When I import images too, I don’t need an icon to help me do that. In fact, I don’t use any Import command. Instead, I transfer my images from the CF card to the desired folder with Finder or Windows Explorer (yes I use both Mac and PC). Then I use the Right Click option to Sync a folder within the Catalog. It’s faster, it’s simpler and it requires far less clicking about with the Mouse I often don’t have with me.

Left to Right Workflow

So, the initial steps of my workflow post capture are simple; Transfer images from CF card to local HD folder via Finder, Add and Synchronize the folder in Capture One. Next, I browse the images and star rate those I wish to edit, hide the browser and get to work.

I never leave Capture One’s main Viewer window and I never have to slow down my workflow with the tedious clicking of small dropdown menus and “OK” buttons. Just to reiterate, my workflow requirements centralize around a single laptop with the use of a mouse rather infrequently. So, the more I can keep the actions based on Left Hand keyboard shortcuts (Copy, Paste, Right Click, etc.) the more efficient I’ll be.

With my images synchronized to the catalog and a few selects ready to go, I start by working Left to Right across my tool tab. First, I Filter by Star Rating to limit access only the images I wish to edit. With my Browser hidden however, to get from one image to the next, or previous, I’ve edited my Keyboard shortcuts to fit my Left hand. Now, Select Next and Select Previous helps you to respectively archive with CMD+1 and CMD+2. Why my left hand? Well, with that hand stationary on the Keyboard, and my right hand on the trackpad, I want to ensure every action I need to make can be achieved without moving or swapping those hand positions.

This philosophy is also reflected in how I copy and paste adjustments from one image to the next. Why do I use something different from Capture One? Well, the typical CMD+C and CMD+V is not possible in Capture One. However, another simple shortcut is: If you add SHIFT into the mix you easily have the ability to SHIFT+CMD+C to copy adjustments from one image and SHIFT+CMD+V to paste onto the next. Once again I don’t move or use my trackpad, I just click a few times on the keyboard.

Once I find an image I want to begin with, my very first step is to ensure Base Characteristics is properly set for the content. What is Base Characteristics? It’s crucial. It’s the primary settings in which all other tools will reference.

Set the base

When I shoot, I always expose to the right to ensure I get the most out of my Dynamic Range. With the IQ3’s Highlight Clip Warning tool I get consistent, accurate, and exquisite results. The resulting file is quite rich in highlights and you often see it as “High Key”, depending on the subject. That’s why proper control of the Base Characteristics is so important. First, using the correct ICC profile for the subject, in my case it’s almost always Outdoor Daylight, and then selecting the responsible curve of that ICC profile for the subject. As I’m often shooting with substantial Highlight information, selecting something like the Linear Response Curve is the difference between uniform/boring highlights across the board and dynamic subtle highlights where they belong.

It’s worth noting that if you select this, it requires more fine-tuning on your end. But, let’s face it, you didn’t start using Capture One so it could do all the work like an Instagram filter. You want to be in creative control and rest assured you certainly are. It’s also important to note that if you don’t expose ALL the way to the right when you capture the image, something like Linear Response isn’t likely to do you any favors. It flattens the image and can result in under exposed images if you’re not prepared for it.

White Balance and Exposure Tab

Now it’s onto White Balance. A perfect White Balance isn’t something you’re going to get first try – at least I don’t. But before you move forward with proper reference for the rest of the edits, it’s important to get a starting point. Again, using just my left hand on the Keyboard, a quick press of the W key and I have my white balance eye dropper. Click a neutral point in the image and you’re good to go.

From there, it’s onto Exposure Tab. I’ve skipped over one my custom tabs but we’ll get back to that in a moment. This tool tab is where the magic happens. With the result of my previous Base Characteristic adjustments, we can now bring a dull image to life with just a few simple tools.

You might notice that my standard Exposure Tool is collapsed and I have two Curves present. This is due to three reasons:

I avoid the Exposure Tool at all costs and only need it if I exposed incorrectly on capture.
Having a curve dedicated to RBG and another to Luma provides a quick and easy mix of the two. No need for tedious clicking, collapsing, switching, etc.
Having two curves just looks sexy.

I first adjust my High Dynamic Range sliders to ensure all the detail is well within the histogram. (Pro tip, if the highlight and shadow are approximately the same value, things tend to look more natural). I adjust my Levels tool to make my input values (on the bottom) the most efficient, and then I get to work with a contrast curve on my RGB Curve tool and a bit of “exposure” control on my Luma Curve tool.

Making Color Balance sexy

So far, we’ve made five adjustments and the bulk of the image is more/less done.

It’s at this point that I go back to that customized tool tab we skipped earlier. Yes, this goes against my ‘working Left to Right preaching’s’. However, as it’s a more detail oriented color control, I often toggle between the previous White Balance adjustment, this customized Color Balance tool and then some fine tuning of the curves once again. The back and forth isn’t efficient, sure, but the delicate control of the results is worth the tradeoff.

This custom tool tab is for the Color Balance. I’ve added the tool three times, with each of the independent options for Highlight, Shadow and Midtone dedicated to their own tool. Again, this eliminates the tedious back and forth clicking with my trackpad. Instead, I have a big target to select and can fine tune with ease between the three. The color gets a boost if I need to separate them ever so slightly, and I can even add contrast into the image in these tools as well. Once again, it’s pretty sexy.

A small sum-up

Just to summarize up until now…

First of all, I have limited my shortcuts to show/hide the browser or select an image. Second of all, i have made my tool use minimal but controlled. Third of all, I have set the contrast, luminance and color to use the most dynamic tools, in favor of the simplified sliders that would achieve a similar, yet less controllable, end result.

The only other tools I’ve used, but not explicitly mentioned, is the cursor options. For example, the Hand Cursor that allows me to quickly double-click to 100% on the image and check how I’m effecting the details. Again, a simple keyboard shortcut with H and you’ve got it.

From here, my workflow basically just repeats itself with the use of Local Adjustments. You’ll notice that the Local Adjustment tool has been simplified to mirror the setup of the other tool tabs. I’ve collapsed the tools I might use but rarely do, and featured two curves to easily access and control the contrast and luminosity of the local adjustment. In this case, I’ve adjusted the floor through a gradient mask using only curves. This gave me more contrast and cleared up some of the dull finish of the floor. This is certainly something that the Clarity tool could accomplish, but again, with less precision that I’m able to attain from curves.

Working with details

After my bulk adjustments and fine tuning with Local Adjustments, I get into the detail work, which is found in my modified Lens Tool Tab and Detail Tool Tab. In my Workspace I’ve combined the Crop Tool and Lens tool as I find them to be completely related.

Making adjustments to the rotation, crop, keystone, sharpening, etc., are really my final touches. If there was a glaring need for those adjustments in the beginning, I may start with them. But, if I’ve done my due diligence in the field, they’re more of a polish adjustment than a primary one. As an example, now that I’m fortunate enough to shoot with the XF IQ3 100MP system, I often find myself fine tuning and turning down the default sharpening. The amount of details that are being captured sometimes needs a bit less emphasis.

And that’s the whole Image Editing process in those tools. The remaining Tools and Tool Tabs are those which process, identify or sort the images. I have limited my Metadata Tool Tab to only metadata. This provides me access to enter the metadata I save in various user presets. My Output Tool Tab is essentially the same with some rather specific and customized Recipes. Also, I’ve finally built a custom tool tab to house my Keywords and Keyword Library tools. This is something I typically do after the thrill of editing an image is over with and I’m stuck with the pedantic task of organization.

Simple, Efficient, Effective

Backing up just a bit… When I mention the customized Recipes, it’s important for you to note just how customizable these are. As an example, each and every Recipe can have its own Sub Name and Sub Folder. This holds to the recipe itself and not the Catalog or Session. That being the case, each recipe in my workflow has its own specific destination for the processed file. Yet, I can direct the Catalog Output Location to a rather generic space, like the desktop. In this way, no matter what Catalog and recipe I’m using, the processed file will follow my customized and complex Sub Folder location, and always end up exactly where I expect it. Once this is done, it requires no tedious renaming, changing or setup for every processed file – it’s beautiful!

Notice, in the naming convention of the Sub Folder I can put actual folder names and separators in the location. If the folder exists, Capture One follows the path to save the processed file. If the folder doesn’t exist, it will be created. Simple. Efficient. Effective.

In summary, I concede whole heartedly that my workflow is not for everyone. There is an endless supply of tools and workflows in Capture One, many of which I rarely take advantage of. However, that’s the key to a successful workflow. Once you find the tools that you need to edit efficiently and effectively, the quality and consistency of your images increases drastically. Once you find a workflow that fits your needs and get comfortable with it, you can add or remove steps to improve your final image results.

Yes, I’m biased and it’s fair to say I’m a fanboy of Phase One. But, I’m also a photographer in what little free time the higher-ups at Phase One allow me to have, and I take tremendous pleasure in my love of photography. Any tool or workflow that allows you to spend more time on what you love and makes you proud of the results is priceless in today’s fast paced world. With a bit of time spent exploring the possibilities, I’m sure Capture One can fit comfortably into your workflow, providing you the opportunity to grow and improve in the craft you love.

Download my Mac Workspace

You can download the Mac workspace I’ve used to demonstrate my workflow here

It only works on Mac, as workspace files are platform dependent. To install it, follow these simple steps:

Close Capture One Pro (if open)
Open Finder
Open the ‘Go to Folder…’ dialog (CMD + Shift + G)
Insert path: ~/Library/Application Support/Capture One/
Click ‘Go’
- If you previously have created a custom workspace, go to ‘Workspaces’ folder.
- If not, create a new folder and name it ‘Workspaces’.
Copy workspace file (.plist) to this folder
Start Capture One Pro
Select the new workspace from Window -> Workspace…

That’s it for now. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Best regards,

Drew Altdoerffer

Switching to Capture One Pro From Aperture – Photography Workflow

NOTE: This article discusses an outdated version of Capture One. To learn more about our latest version, click here.

After years working in Apple’s Aperture 3, which is no longer being developed, I’m transitioning to Capture One Pro. Through many tutorials, reading forums, and working in the application, the transition I once abhorred is now one I relish. There are so many resources out there, especially Capture One’s YouTube page, but my take focuses on filling the gaps.

David Grover is the man and invests a ton of time into creating live and recorded webinars. I highly recommend watching as many of those as possible.

Capture One is developed by the amazing camera company, Phase One, so they know how us photographers think. They have a vested interest in developing software for the industry they know so well. It’s what they do, so who better to look after the needs of (professional) photographers?

The following is a list of how my workflow is established. This includes the concepts that have been the most helpful to me in switching to Capture One full time. If you want to start learning without taking any risk, create a test library and follow along!

Transitioning Libraries from Aperture to Capture One

For starters, Capture One can read Aperture libraries or import them into a Capture One catalog. They are definitely different applications but extremely similar in core thinking which is great. Most image adjustments transfer from Aperture to Capture One with the notable exceptions being cloning adjustments and Smart Albums. Before making the jump, consider creating new Albums in Aperture and drag images from Smart Albums into those if you want your organization to remain the same. Aperture organized my photographs in Managed Libraries, one for each calendar year, and I can use Catalogs in Capture one to do the same.

One feature that drove me crazy and I could not figure out from Capture One’s plethora of helpful tutorials is that Projects do not directly contain photographs in Capture One as they would in Aperture. Images are stored in Collections. Under User Collections, there you will find the most control and create your own organizational structure. Projects or folders must contain an Album for photographs to live. In some instances, this makes a lot more sense because images can be stored/linked in multiple groupings. By using memory cards, I import into Albums within the Project for rating, then move them out after they’re rated. Images can be rated with stars (1-5) or color labels, but there’s not a flag feature. Keywords can be used in Capture One 9.2.

Capture One 9 Library Photo Organization

Backing Up in Camera

Whether it’s my D4, D3, or D7100, each of my cameras are set up to copy photographs to both memory cards (of the same storage capacity), simultaneously for an in-camera backup. When I back up, I separate one of each pair of cards using a Think Tank Pocket Rocket tethered to my belt loop for safe keeping. Then the Think Tank has everything I need when I get to my MacBook.

Importing & Image Organization in Capture One

I store photographs in annual Capture One Catalogs stored on a RAID 5 Thunderbolt Enclosure. Hob types I organize virtually in folders like Commercial, Magazine, Product, Event, Personal, etc. within the Capture One library structure. Each job is named by date as a Project, with the relevant photographs being linked to an Album within that project. Smart Albums filter for criteria for final photographs, social media edits, etc. Capture One does not avoid importing previous adjustments.

Backing up with Capture One

While Capture One offers the ability to back up adjustments, it does not back up image files! A separate solution, Carbon Copy Cloner, will fill that void. Coming from Aperture, this was initially a deal breaker until I started doing more research. Aperture allows you to create multiple “Vaults” which backup your library, which you must manually initiate to backup.

Aperture Vaults are not workable libraries but read only backups that need to be rebuilt into a working library using Aperture. This can be potentially problematic down the road. Whenever Aperture is no longer functional on MacOS, restoring from a Vault is going to be a problem. I plan to create new 1:1 backups of libraries using Carbon Copy Cloner to replace Aperture Vaults.

In Carbon Copy Cloner you create tasks that automatically run backups of designated volumes or files to other volumes at automated intervals of your choosing. Capture One Catalogs are identically copied and are instantly writable/usable on the backup drive, something Aperture could not do. That’s well worth $39.99.

I created tasks to automatically back up my Capture One libraries onto an external drive that is always connected. Moreover, I created a second task to backup to another external drive through connection that is brought in for off site backup after each job.

A RAID 5 enclosure with multiple hard drives formatted as a single volume is still just one enclosure, stored in one location. While RAID 5 offers redundancy and performance across multiple hard drives, it is not a true backup.

Capture One 9 with Carbon Copy Cloner backups

Tethering with Capture One

Tethering is one of the strongest features in Capture One. Hereby, you connect a camera to a computer, usually by a long (15’) USB cable for consistency. You can control Exposure adjustments from the camera, so the camera can be entirely still for product or architectural photography. There is a live view feature which is massively helpful for composing, especially if a creative director or client are on hand. Images appear on the computer display automatically after capture, and there is an option to apply previous image adjustments to each sequential photograph which is a huge time saver. This is great for applying vertical or horizontal perspective adjustments on images made from a stationary camera, a significant feature Aperture lacked.

I will probably use Carbon Copy Cloner when photographing tethered since Capture One only saves image files locally on the computer. A USB drive for flash drive setup to backup a Session or Catalog with Carbon Copy Cloner would remedy that.

Tethering with Capture One 9 and Nikon

Capture Pilot

A part of tethering, this feature is insane. If connected on Wifi, you can share a server link that allows the viewer to follow along remotely as you photograph in their web browser. This is included in Capture One under the Capture Tab. There is an iOS App that can access the library, too, and a paid version to enable tether controls. This feature is so incredible. I can’t believe that it’s a) possible, b) included and c) so simple to use.

Capture One 9 Pilot View Online

Helpful hints: Capture One tips that make your life easier

Closing a Capture One catalog is not quitting the application.
You have the possibility to open a new Catalog or Session in a new window, in order to have multiple libraries open at the same time. This was not possible in Aperture. You can do this under the settings ‘Preferences’ – General’.
You can edit many keyboard shortcuts in Capture One to match up with those from Aperture, if desired. This makes the greatest difference in feeling at home in Capture One.
The layout of Capture One is extremely modular and customizable. You can save Multiple workspaces to show the tools and organizational components you desire, whereever you want them. Editing workspaces is as simple as re-saving the workspace after making desired changes.
Command B toggles the browser. Using multiple monitors, it is great having a custom work space on one display and the browser open to a full image on another.
Export presets are the same as Recipes. Multiple Recipes can be ran simultaneously for different purposes.
Capture One is optimized so you can work on multiple displays.
Option to enable Focus Masks – show what’s in focus, similar to a highlight alert.
It is possible to download Capture One film packs, with free samples, to apply analog film filters to photographs.

Capture One 9 Workspace Views

Capture One 9 Workspace Views – result

Wish List for Capture One

“Do not import duplicates” on ingestion. This would be hugely helpful for shooting with a constant mix of tethered & untethered capture.
Ability to display un-editable preview instead of full raw file for faster editing.
Shortcut to toggle between two workspaces quickly. However, one can add a drop down to the toolbar. On multiple monitors this isn’t a big deal. On a 13” MacBook Pro it is.
Before/After shortcut key or button to show the original image and the adjusted variant, as well as an option to preview a before/after per adjustment.
Previously applied cloning adjustments carrying over from Aperture. The tool itself in Aperture was also much, much easier to use. Retouching skin, sensor dirt, to me now feels too complicated/time consuming.
Create an album at Import Images screen.
When moving photographs from one album to another in the viewer, dragging into the Tools menu automatically switches to the Library temporarily.
Arrows on each end of an adjustment slider to incrementally change an adjustment by clicking.
Designate Output Naming Counter start number to any number.

It is important to understand that Capture One and Aperture work differently but these features would be very beneficial to have.

Capture One Difficulties

Maybe it’s me but if anyone has suggestions on how to address these challenges or to make any of those items on the wish list a reality, please let me know. I spend countless hours in post production mode and every improvement would save a great deal of time. As a disclaimer, I’m running MacOS 10.12 Beta/Golden Master, which is a risk I don’t recommend. Some of these challenges may be the result of the OS.

1) From my main catalog, I exported a project as a new library to edit (choose) and manually sorted images in a specific order on my MacBook Pro away from my desk.

When I reimported my catalog into my main catalog, my images were sorted by Name. Choosing manual did not revert to the order I created. So, I had to resort the images in Capture One all over again.

2) Crashes. After each crash, you lose the last few adjustments made.

3) I want to be able to give images a job name with a counter when exporting. However, I can’t find a way to set (not reset, but designate) the starting number for the counter. Normally, I export in chunks to upload in the background and not having the ability to set that counter to a designated number slows that workflow down tremendously.

Why I didn’t do this sooner, but totally should have

The hard part was in breaking old habits, as there’s a level of confidence in sticking with what we know. It’s a risk making a change, especially if that’s your bread and butter, and it took time to get there. Over the last five years, I’ve turned around weddings consistently in a week and I was hesitant to take one step back for what’s been leaps forward. My security blanket came from previously working at Apple, being pro certified in Aperture and as an Apple Certified Mac Technician. I had to step away from what I knew in order to grow, and should have been using Capture One years ago.

Final Thoughts

Capture One 9.2 is an extremely deep application. It can do many things found in Aperture, as well as many features you’ll wish you had years ago. While it’s different at its core, from a host of professional features to a RAW interpreter that is second to none, making the switch to Capture One is very worth the effort. I’ve heard Capture One is like getting a free camera upgrade in terms of quality and that’s absolutely been my experience. It is exciting to utilize software that is alive & well, improving with time, and offering feedback that will be heard.

Please feel free to share your favorite features and tips in the comments below and visit my website

All the best,

Jordan Bush

Jumping Ship to Capture One Pro from Lightroom

I almost started the title of this episode with Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes, like the one I released when I quit my old day job to pursue photography full-time six years ago. Although not quite as dramatic, I’m really excited to tell you that I’ve switched from Lightroom to Capture One Pro as my main image processing, asset management and workflow application.

I started using Lightroom back in 2006, during the initial beta phase, and I’d been a loyal Lightroom user since. So, this may come as a shock to people that know me. I can already hear you Capture One users chuckling to yourselves, not so surprised that I’ve finally decided to make this change.

Why the Change?

Firstly, let me explain the reason for this sudden change in direction. It’s pretty simple, but this is a powerful motive, so I want to take the time to relay this. Then, I’ll talk about the tests I did to see if I really could move to Capture One completely.

Capture One has been on my radar since 2009, when I tried the demo version of version 5 or 6. At that time, a lot of key features were missing, although the RAW processing engine was already very impressive.

After the release of Capture One 7, I took another look, and found that most of the functionality I wanted was now there. However, I couldn’t really invest the time necessary to fully check it out. As a result I still didn’t really see the benefits to switching.

A Revelation!

In July 2016, with the latest version being 9.2, I had some time and decided to take a deeper look. I simply grabbed a handful of my favorite images from Lightroom and imported them into Capture One.

There’s a checkbox in the import dialog to Include Existing Adjustments, and I’m not sure if that was on or off during this first import, but my images were totally reset. None of the Lightroom adjustments were imported. That was a good thing though, as it enabled me to see something that was a total revelation for me. I saw details that I didn’t even know existed from my view of the images in Lightroom.

First Comparison

The Red-Crowned Crane study was my first image to explore. This, some of you might recognize from the cover of my Making the Print eBook. Before I show you the new version, I want you to know that there’s perhaps too much detail visible. I’ll probably dial that down a little again to the more dreamy look from my original.

My point is, in Capture One I’m able to see details, which I can keep or dial down. In Lightroom, I didn’t even know that the detail was there, so the choice didn’t even exist!

To illustrate, you can see my original Lightroom version (left) and the first Capture One version (right). Regardless of which one you prefer, I’m sure you’ll notice that the Capture One version has a huge amount of detail, compared to my Lightroom version.

Tanchou Study #7 – Lightroom (left) and Capture One (right)

There are a few things that we need to bear in mind at this point. The first one being that, as I imported my RAW file without Lightroom modifications, I had to play with the Levels in Capture One to boost the image. However, it was pretty easy to bring it closer to how I wanted the image, while maintaining the detail.

When I asked my wife about the Capture One version, she said the crane looks like a chicken. I tend to agree. Nevertheless, my second point is that, as I’ll import work from future shoots directly into Capture One, I’ll now be able to see the detail. This will enable me to make up my own mind about how much of the detail I want to maintain. I get to decide how much I want to lose if I go with a soft look like my original.

You won’t have to rework your archives

Also note that I was going to include the version of the crane photo that I was presented with in Capture One after importing my Final Selects folder. As opposed to simply importing the file, this was done by using a Lightroom Catalog and Include Existing Adjustments. However, it actually looks so similar to the original version that there isn’t much point in doing so. You can migrate your work to Capture One and maintain the Lightroom look of your images, to a certain degree.

A lot of things aren’t imported along with your images. For example, any dust removable or cloning that you did to your originals in Lightroom will be lost. Moreover, you lose all Lightroom Local Adjustments. So, if you want to maintain a copy of the file in Capture One, you have a couple of choices. The first one is to save the Lightroom version as a TIFF, and bake your changes into the image.

The second option is to make the changes again in Capture One. Here, you need to be aware that the spot removal tool in Capture One works differently than in Lightroom. For detailed cloning it is generally better to jump into Photoshop anyway. If this is necessary, just save your image as a TIFF before importing it into Capture One. Note too that it has to be a TIFF because Capture One doesn’t support Photoshop PSD files. More on this later…

Tests continued

With my mind already significantly blown by the detail in my crane shot, I decided to take a look at Capture One’s black and white capabilities. As some of you know, black and white plays a big part in my photography. I’ve been a big fan of Silver Efex Pro, originally from Nik Software, until they were bought by Google. Therein lies part of another problem I was hoping to fix with a potential move to Capture One.

Although it’s been stated by Google that they don’t intend to kill off Silver Efex or any of the Nik suite of plugins, we haven’t seen a version upgrade since version 2, which was released like an eternity ago. I’ve continued to use Silver Efex Pro, because I believe it’s still the best black and white conversion plugin. Lightroom’s Black and White conversion lacks the control that I need.

This doesn’t mean that I’m totally happy with Silver Efex Pro though. There are times when it leaves a nasty white line or halo around dark objects. Sometimes, I have to spend hours painstakingly removing that in Photoshop before printing a photograph for a customer.

It can also leave grain in the sky, and although it can look organic, it requires some cleaning up. Consequently, the next test was my ability to create a well-balanced and toned black and white image without a plugin.

Excellent Black and White Conversion in Capture One

Believe me, I’ve tried lots of different methods to convert to black and white, so that I could overcome my reliance on a plugin that’s no longer being improved. None of my tests have really beat Silver Efex Pro – until now.

The first conversion was of my Boat Graveyard shot from my Hokkaido Landscape Photography Tour last year. Again, there are a few points that we need to keep in mind, as this is not a straight comparison. First, here is my original black and white version from Silver Efex Pro:

Boat Graveyard #2 – Silver Efex Pro

Below is a new version, which is created from the original color RAW file in Capture One. I didn’t necessarily try to recreate the Silver Efex Pro version, although I could get close if I wanted. Rather, I was looking for something with beautiful tonality and texture, and not as heavy-handed as my Silver Efex conversion.

Boat Graveyard #2 – Capture One Pro 9

I’m sure you agree that this conversion shows that Silver Efex isn’t necessary for this kind of photograph. But there’s another kind of black and white photograph that I do. I make the background almost totally black, and I honestly didn’t expect Capture One to be able to do this.

Black Backgrounds

First, below is the original photo. As I shot it I knew that I was going to make it black and white.

Lotus Flower Interior – Original Color Version

Now below here is the black and white version that I did completely in Capture One. Until now, in Silver Efex Pro, I’ve had to use Control Points to knock the background out like this. In Capture One, I got it close to a black background just with the available sliders, levels and other controls. The last few spots of light grey I took out with a some local adjustments on a new layer. Yes, Capture One supports layers!

Lotus Flower Interior – Capture One Pro 9

Once again, I was blown away by the fact that I could do this level of black and white conversion. The image exported here is in my catalog as a Canon RAW file with a cr2 extension, instead of a 130 megabyte TIFF. When necessary, I don’t mind saving TIFF, but the more you have in your archives, the longer the backups takes. In my opinion, the more images you can keep in the original RAW format, the better.

Subtle Tones and Detail

I really have been impressed with the subtle tones and detail that I’m getting from Capture One. Here’s another black and white example to show that it’s possible to get great details and tones in Capture One. You might remember this photograph from Mount Asahi from this year’s Hokkaido Landscape tour. Again, this is a Silver Efex Pro conversion:

Mount Asahi Trees – Silver Efex Pro

Below is a version that I did in Capture One. I wasn’t trying to emulate the Silver Efex Pro version, but to express that I feel it’s actually better with more depth and tonal quality. Once again, let’s keep in mind that I was simply not able to do this level of conversion in Lightroom.

Mount Asahi Trees – Capture One Pro 9

I’m really just breaking the surface with my processing in Capture One, but I’ve been totally impressed with it. To the point that I’ve now committed myself to switch completely over to Capture One. At this point in my evaluation, I set the task of checking out all of the other features.

Spot Removal & Cloning

Another test that I performed was my ability to do some complicated cloning in Capture One. Originally, a lot of cables run behind the trees in the left side of this Mount Asahi Trees photo. Even in Lightroom this was too much of a pain to clone out, so I did it in Photoshop.

At first glance, spot removal in Capture One seems less capable than Lightroom. I didn’t think that removing the cables would be possible. The Spot Removal tool in Dust mode works well when removing dust from skies or other plain backgrounds. It just makes the dust spot disappear. Lightroom, however, often selects a part of the scene that has nothing in common with the background of the dust spot. This can be very frustrating.

With the Capture One Remove Spot tool in Spot mode, I initially tried to remove some people from the beach in the Boat Graveyard shot. It didn’t work, but then I found that you can use the Adjustments Brush in Clone and Heal modes.

This is quite a powerful tool, and is enough to save me from going into Photoshop and saving a TIFF in all of the cases I’ve tried so far. It’s easier to remove in Photoshop, but I did it in Capture One to prove to myself that it’s possible.

Import Folder Structure and Filename Change

Another test was my ability to import images into my usual folder structure automatically, and also rename my files. I don’t want to have to set this up every time I import, so I need to be able to create presets with the necessary settings.

I import my images into Year/Month/Day folder structure. Capture One has sessions and other ways to organize images, but I want my regular shoots organized how I’ve always done it. I like having everything from each year in a single top level folder, and then 12 month folders. Inside each month folder I have a day folder for all the days on which I’ve made photographs.

If you use location or shoot names to organize your images, it quickly becomes unmanageable, especially when it comes to backing up. Therefore, it was important for me to figure out how to automatically import into my preferred folder structure, which is possible by creating a preset:

Import to Year/Month/Day Folder Hierarchy

To change the filename during import, I created another preset. This one automatically uses a shoot or location name, the date of the image, and the original filename. These were a couple more things I could check off my list. As you see in this screenshot, you can build the new filename from text you enter and insert the various metadata tags:

Change Filename During Import

I add my location or shoot information, such as “Hokkaido” in this example, included a tag called Job name. With this, if I enter a keyword for the shoot into the Job Name field in the import dialog box, it gets inserted into the new filename. Once you save this as a preset, it’s available for selection during import, and is actually automatically selected for future imports unless you change it.

The Importance of Presets

For me, being able to set up this kind of preset is vital to creating a smooth workflow that is automated to highest possible degree. Even if I had to manually create a new day folder inside a month and year folder, and navigate to that in the import dialog, it would have made me think twice about switching to Capture One. I simply feel that the workflow itself should disappear into the background and allow us to get on with our work.

Export Presets

The next thing I tested was my ability to create good export presets. Capture one has a very powerful export feature and uses presets called Process Recipes. Again, I follow up with detailed descriptions of these features, but by creating a Process Recipe, you can very easily select these and export your images in various formats and sizes. It’s even possible to select multiple Recipes, so you can export different versions of your photos at the same time, which is great!

Please read my blog post Exporting and Printing in Capture One Pro to read more about this.

Printing

For my final check, I made sure that it is possible to print from Capture One, with specific border sizes, and I wanted to save all of my settings in presets, again, as I don’t want to be re-entering these details every time I want to change media, print size or orientation.

Capture One 9.2 Printing Dialog

At this point, although I have found a way to save my border settings in a preset, or Template as it’s called in the print dialog (above), I have not yet found a way to save all of the print settings in this dialog in a single preset. This means that when I change media, I have to ensure that I change the Color Profile specified for that media in this dialog. I always check that anyway, before I print, so if I don’t find a way to do this later, it’s not going to be a show-stopper for me.

Note: I hadn’t actually printed from Capture One Pro 9.2 at the time of writing, because my large format printer had given up the ghost, but I have been printing from Capture One since, and have generally been very happy with the results.

Checks Complete

This was really the last check I wanted to clear before I made my mind up that I was going to actually jump ship. There are some things that don’t feel as smooth as Lightroom, but that’s probably more a case of me not being fully accustomed to working in Capture One yet. Having said that, it didn’t take long to figure out where things were, and it’s getting more and more intuitive each day.

What will I miss?

There are a few things that I’m going to miss about Lightroom, one of them being Lightroom Mobile. I made good use of Lightroom mobile. Both for sharing work from tours with my wife as I travel, and also for sharing work with potential clients for them to let me know which images they want to license or buy as a print for example. I also keep my portfolios in Lightroom Mobile, so that they are always on my iPhone and iPad, to share with people that I meet.

Because I don’t currently intend to cancel my Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, I’ll still have Lightroom available. Adding my final selects just for Lightroom Mobile is something that I’ll consider, but that’s less than ideal.

Another thing that I’ll miss to a degree is the control Lightroom has over Slideshows. From what I’ve seen so far, Capture One has just one Slideshow mode, with no titles or intro screen, and no way to change the size of the image on the screen.

There’s a way to change the transition type and number of seconds before moving to the next slide. Also, the transitions, other than fade, are tasteless. I thought this didn’t match the level of refinement I found in the rest of the application in any way. Hopefully, this is still a work in progress.

These couple of things are about it, though. I’m sure I’ll miss Lightroom in other ways as I continue to make Capture One my main processing and workflow app, but I’ve been using it for the last few weeks, and I really enjoy it. I’m prepared to work around any other shortcomings I might find.

Preparing to Migrate

With my tests complete, and feeling happy to jump ship, I set about the task of actually migrating my images into Capture One. Here, I learned a few things in the process that I’d like to share with you before we wrap this episode up.

Convert PSD Files to TIFF

As mentioned earlier, Capture One doesn’t support Photoshop PSD files, at least not as of version 9.2. So, you need to convert any PSD files that you might have in your Lightroom catalog to TIFF format. To do this, I created a Lightroom preset as you can see in this screenshot:

Lightroom Save as TIFF Export Preset

The important thing to note here is that you can select Same folder as original photo for the Export To location. This means you can run this on all of your PSD files at once, without have to worry about where they are and specifying the save location. They’re just go right where your PSD files are, and you can then delete your PSD file.

Also, ensure that you turn on the Add to This Catalog checkbox, so that you don’t have to manually add your TIFF files back. Then select TIFF under File Settings as the Image Format, I don’t use any Compression. For the Color Space, select ProPhoto RGB if you want to keep your images in as high quality as possible. However, if you don’t use ProPhoto RGB already, you might as well select whatever Color Space you do use. Keep the Bit Depth at 16 bits/component as well.

The Resolution isn’t really import, but I always use 300 pixels per inch because that’s what I use as a base for all of my printing. I also use All Metadata, and of course you don’t need to watermark these images, so ensure that isn’t checked.

Keeping Layers in PSD Files

The only problem with this method of exporting your PSD files as TIFF is that the images will be flattened. So, if you have any layers in your PSD files, you’ll need to open each of them in Photoshop and then save them as a TIFF file manually. This ensures that you turn on the Layers checkbox to preserve the layers in the file. If you have a large number of PSD files with layers, you can also create an Action in Photoshop to save them as a TIFF with layers.

Clean up your Collections

The next thing I did was to clear out any Lightroom Collections that I didn’t need. Partly because when you import a Lightroom Catalog into Capture One, it’ll create a User Collection and add the images that were in your Lightroom Collections into these new User Collections.

If you have a lot of PSD files in your Lightroom Collections, you also need to replace these images with your new TIFF files manually. So, the less Collections you maintain, the less time you’ll spend on this task. In Lightroom, I selected my Collections and turned on the Metadata filter. Under File Type I selected Photoshop Document (PSD).

This shows all of the PSD files in the collections. Then I was able to right click each PSD file and jump to that image in the Library. I added the new TIFF file that was next to the PSD to the Collection that the original PSD was in. I also right clicked each PSD file and rolled over the Go To Collection option, to see if the PSD file was in any other Collections. If it was, I dragged the new TIFF file to these other Collections too, and then deleted the PSD file.

Once you know that you have all of your PSD files converted to TIFF and check that there are no more PSD files in your Lightroom Collections, you can filter out all of your PSD files again, and delete them. Be careful that you really do have a new TIFF for each of them first, but as long as you do, it’s safe to delete your PSDs.

Export Lightroom Catalogs for Each Import

After this, I exported my main Lightroom Library structures as new Catalogs. In Lightroom I was able to keep my Final Selects and all of my original RAW files in one catalog, something Capture One doesn’t like. The Catalog gets huge if you import too many images, so I started by splitting my images into three catalogs.

One catalog called Finals, with all of my final selects from all time; a 2016 folder with all of my raw files from this year; and an archive folder called Photo Originals, in which I have year folders from 2000 to 2015. To make the importing of these to Capture One easier and maintain my Collections, I right clicked each of them and selected Export This Folder as a Catalog.

I unchecked the three checkboxes so that I didn’t Export negative files, Build/include Smart Previews or Include available previews in my new Catalog. With these three top level folders exported, I was ready to import into Capture One.

Importing Lightroom Catalogs into Capture One

To import a Lightroom Catalog, from the Capture One File menu, select Import Catalog and then Lightroom Catalog. The following dialog (below) will tell you what information will be imported. At this point in time, this included Collections, Crop, Rotation and Orientation information as well as White Balance, Exposure, Saturation and Contrast settings, and Metadata, including IPTC, Rating, Color Label and Keywords.

Capture One Import Lightroom Catalog Dialog

There’s a note about Color adjustments being approximations, and I noticed some images that were totally off. Those were probably the ones which I’d applied a custom white balance to in Lightroom. The White Balance was like 860K, to they were a shocking bright blue. I went back through these and corrected the White Balance. It wasn’t a big job.

Catalog Considerations

After I imported my three main catalogs to Capture One, I checked the size of my new Catalogs, and my @Finals Catalog was 8.8GB, which is manageable. My 2016 current year originals is 21GB, and will probably be around 30GB by the end of the year. Even though that’s big too, I don’t want to split it up.

My Photo Originals Catalog, with every image I’ve shot since 2000 to the end of 2015, was a massive 174GB, but I was able to import this into Capture One. However, when I reopened Capture One it froze and I had to delete my corrupted catalog. I ended up splitting my old original raw catalogs into individual years.

Working on Multiple Computers

My blog readers might also remember that I’ve historically kept my Lightroom Catalog on an external Thunderbolt hard drive. That way, I could move easily from computer to computer, simply by moving the hard drive. At the moment, I’m not quite there.

With the actual folder in my Dropbox, I’ve set up Capture One with a symbolic link to its settings folder. That way, all of the presets and settings automatically synchronize between my computers. If you don’t know how to create a symbolic link, there’s too much risk in me telling you, so we won’t go into this.

I’m also currently synching my Catalogs between machines using ChronoSync, but that’s something that we don’t really have time to get into today.

No Turning Back

There are a few annoying quirks in Capture One, as I’ve mentioned before. However, nothing at this point has made me feel disappointed that I’ve decided to switch. In fact, the last few weeks have been a lot of fun, as I’ve dissected my digital workflow and rebuilt it in a totally new application.

I’ve done a number of shoots and imported my work directly into Capture One, and I love pretty much everything about it. The image quality and control is making me totally happy with my decision to jump ship. This is more than enough of a reason to overlook its few shortcomings.

I think the last time I used the term “jump ship” in the Podcast was around seven years ago when I decided to switch from Windows to Mac computers. This actually feels almost as big a move, and it’s both disruptive and time consuming, but it feels right. I already feel at home in Capture One, so this is it. I’m no longer a Lightroom User.

Update – Oct 2016: I have now processed all of my images from Greenland and Iceland tours in August and September in Capture One. I’m even more in love with it now than I was when I wrote this article.

The Bottom Line

If you want an application that works exactly the same as Lightroom, then you’d better stay with Lightroom. This is why I stayed with Lightroom for such a long time. However, if you want the ultimate image quality, and you are willing to make changes to your workflow, I personally think it’s worth the change.

Capture One Pro 9.2 Screenshot

30 Day Trial of Capture One

Note that you can download a fully working trial version of Capture One and try it for 30 days. This is without any costs. My recommendations is to download it and see if you love it as much as I already do.

Exporting and Printing images in Capture One Pro

NOTE: This article discusses an outdated version of Capture One. To learn more about our latest version, click here.

Capture One Pro is a powerful RAW image processing converter that supports the digital workflow from importing to exporting images. In this post we will look at the many ways in which you can export your images from Capture One Pro, including printing.

Exporting Original Format Images

Export Originals to Finals Folder

If you need to export your original RAW files, or any other image format from your catalog, you can do this simple. I do it to make a copy of my final selects to my Finals folder, which is covered in details here.

To do so, select the images you want to export, and right click one of the thumbnails. From the shortcut menu, select Export, then select Originals. You can also get to this option from the File menu.

I don’t change the image name on export, since I changed it on import. After checking the destination etc., click the Export button, as you see in the screenshot to your right.

Output – Process Recipes

For most other file export operations, you’ll first jump to the Output tab in Capture One Pro. This is the single, orange cogwheel icon in the top left corner of the below screenshot. If you can’t see the details, try to click on the image to make it larger.

Capture One Pro Output Process Recipes

In the Output screen you can create and select Process Recipes, which are used to export your images into various formats and sizes. When you first install Capture One there are a number of Recipes, but I created most of the above.

Export Formats

Capture One Pro supports images in JPEG, JPEG QuickProof, JPEG XR, JPEG 2000, TIFF, DNG, PNG and PSD file formats. Therefore, if you intend to import your images back into Capture One, avoid Photoshop PSD files. I use TIFF format for all images that I bring back into Capture One if I, for example, went to Photoshop to do some extensive cloning.

You can change the file format from the Format pulldown under the Process Recipe > Basic section. If you’re going to output that format more than once, save yourself some time by creating a Process Recipe preset.

Process Recipe Presets

To create a new Recipe, click the + button at the bottom of the Process Recipes panel. An Untitled Recipe will be added to the list, with the name ready for you to change it. You might enter something like “TIFF 16 Bit Full Size (ProPhoto RGB)”, which would be good for exporting images to Photoshop.

Export for Web

During export you can resize images and add watermarks. Let’s have a look at how you might create an Export for Web Process Recipe.

Note that if you start changing the settings under the Process Recipe section before creating a new Recipe, it’ll only change the currently selected Recipe. Let’s hit the + button at the bottom of the Process Recipes section first, and give our Recipe a name, fx “Export for Web”.

Although you can export as PNG, the JPEG format is more suitable for photographs for the Web. I usually select 92 for the Quality, because it halves the size of the file but leaves no visible artifacts.

Export for Web Process Recipe

Resolution is good at 72 pixels per inch for the Web, and I’m going to set the Height to 960 pixels. I like my landscape orientation images to be 1440 pixels wide and 960 pixels high. Though, to stop my portrait orientation images from getting too tall, I also resize those to 960 pixels high. Selecting 960 pixels high resizes both orientations correctly.

I’d like to be able to open my images in Finder after they’re all created. However, Finder isn’t actually listed as an Application on the Mac OS, so I leave Open With set to None.

Select an Output location, and if you want to change the file name, select a preset for that too. You can see a summary of your settings in the Process Summary area.

Before we click the Process button, let’s check a few other things.

As you generally want your resized images to be sharpened, uncheck Disable Sharpening under the Adjustments tab.

Under Metadata, select your required options. It’s best to keep your Copyright information in tact, but you may want to remove GPS coordinates, especially if you’re going to share images from your home. Camera Metadata is usually OK to include, and actually better if you’re sharing your images in an education centric environment. Keywords are usually a good idea too.

Watermarking Images

Add a Watermark

If you like to watermark your images, you can do that under the Watermark tab. This is illustrated in the screenshot to the right.

I just use my logo in black with a white drop shadow, and reduce the Opacity to 77%. This makes it somewhat transparent, but can be seen on most colored backgrounds. That way I don’t have to mess around selecting a different colored logo depending on the background.

The Horizontal and Vertical positions shown here will place the watermark in the bottom left hand corner. To adjust the position, click on the little hand icon at the top right corner of the Watermark panel.

Once this is set, click the Process button, and your selected images will be output to the specified Output folder. Resized, watermarked and ready for the Web.

Export to Multiple Formats simultaneously

One of the other great things about Capture One Pro’s Output tab is that you can turn on the checkbox for multiple Process Recipes. Once you press the Process button, you’ll get a copy in all of the selected file formats and sizes.

If you want to specify an output location for certain image types, you can select a different location under the File tab. This is saved in your Process Recipe, which is very useful.

Round Trip Editing

To send a selected photograph to another application for editing, you can right click a thumbnail and select Open With. Here you can select the third party application, such as Photoshop, from the submenu. Keep in mind that this method will open the original file without any of the changes from Capture One.

If you want to keep your changes, a better option is to send the image straight to the other program. To do so, right click the image and select Edit With. This opens a dialog for you to select the format and color space etc., as you can see in this screenshot. Note also that this will create a copy of the image that it sends to Photoshop.

Edit With Dialog

Moreover, note that under the Adjustments tab of this dialog, there is a Disable Sharpening option. Most of the time, RAW files need some sharpening to make them look normal again. Keep this option in mind, and uncheck it to enable sharpening when necessary.

The great thing about this Edit With method is that the copy is automatically added to your Catalog. So, when you’re done editing in the third party program, it’s right there waiting for you in Capture One Pro.

Always Soft Proofing

One of the coolest things about Capture One Pro is that you are pretty much always in soft proof mode. This means you get to see the selected Color Space or ICC Profile’s affect on your images as you edit and output them.

In the earlier screenshots with the Himba Girl, I had a 16 bit TIFF Process Recipe selected, which was using the ProPhoto RGB color space. This gives me the most wiggle room when editing my images. I also have an Adobe RGB and an sRGB color space TIFF Process Recipe, so I can easily compare all three color spaces.

Most of the time, as I switch between these various sized color spaces, the software correctly converts them. Therefore, it’s difficult to see any difference.

I have a few black and white images processed in Capture One Pro, that change slightly in the Capture One Pro interface. However, when I export them, they all look the same, so I actually think that’s a problem with the software rendition of the image on screen.

A very import application of this soft proofing feature is that you can choose to view your images using either a specific profile, or always use the profile that you have selected from the Process Recipes list, regardless of where you are in the user interface. To make Capture One always use the selected Process Recipe ICC profile, choose Selected Recipe from the Proof Profile submenu (Under the View menu).

Soft Proofing for Print

With Capture One set up to always use the Selected Recipe’s ICC profile for preview, you can create a Recipe and select one of your print ICC profiles. This is an advantage in order to get a soft proofing view of your images before printing them. I selected a 16 bit TIFF, and selected my printer ICC profile while creating a number of printer soft proofing profiles:

Soft Proofing for Print

Note that when soft proofing for print, it’s generally a good idea to change the background to white. This way you simulate the white borders or matte around your print. If you view the print with a dark background, it makes the paper simulation look too harsh, and it’s difficult to really gauge what your printed image will look like.

To change the background color, change the Color for the Viewer under the Appearance tab in your Capture One Preferences. Also, while you are in the preferences, set a widish Proof Margin, say of around 30 pixels. With that set you can easily turn on the Proof Margin with the button at the top left corner of the viewing area, next to where it says Background in this screenshot.

Finally, if you have Viewer Labels turned on, showing shooting information and the filename below the large preview of your photo, turn that off by selecting Hide Viewer Labels, under the View menu. By this point, you’ll have a photo totally surrounded by white.

Adjusting for Print

You can see in the above screenshot, selecting a matte media type, like Breathing Color’s Pura Bagasse Smooth, can make the image look pale and lack contrast. I find that the reality is better than this in print, but it’s a good guide, as matte prints are never as punchy as gloss prints.

If you want to change only your print image, it’s a good idea to make a Variant, which is a virtual copy of the original. When you right click a thumbnail and select New Variant, you get a copy of your image without any of the changes you’ve made to the image. Assuming you want to keep those changes and make further adjustments for your print, select Clone Variant from the shortcut menu.

Using Color Readouts

Another very useful feature in Capture One, especially when it comes to preparing to print, is the Color Readouts. Generally, when printing, you want to avoid total black and total white. I often don’t head this advice myself when it comes to blacks. I’ll go to 100% black and my printers usually handle it fine, but it’s worth understanding this theory, and generally worth trying to avoid pure white.

Select Add Color Readout from the bottom of the Picker tools, which is second from the right in the toolbar above the viewer in the below screenshot. Then, click on some of the key areas of your photograph. I like to check the darkest area, the brightest highlight, and a mid tone.

Using Color Readouts

When I placed these Color Readouts on my original, the background was 0, total black, and the shell was 255, which is pure white. So, I created a Clone Variant, and adjusted my Levels, to bring these values in just a little, which would be good printing practice. You can see that now, in my resulting image, my darkest background has a luminance of 2. My brightest highlight, the shells on this Himba Girls traditional necklace, is 253. Her face is 111.

Exposure Warnings

Another option for checking the darkest and brightest areas of your print image, are the Exposure Warnings. These can be turned on with the warning triangle icon. I set my highlight warnings at 253 and my shadow warning at 2. The background is mostly 2 or darker, but I intentionally darkened that, and I’m fine with printing this image with just a little tweak.

Exposure Warnings

If you want to make any other modifications for print, increasing contrast, changing the colors to stop them going out of gamut, now would be the time to do it. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a way to display gamut warnings in Capture One Pro, so unless it’s really well hidden, I don’t think it’s supported. I’m hoping this is something that will change at some point.

Printing

Just as I always printed from Lightroom, I love to be able to print right in my processing and workflow tool. Plus, I hate printing from Photoshop, so I’ve been printing quite happily from Capture One Pro for the last few weeks.

In Capture One Pro, you can hit the Print button from the top menu at any time, regardless of where you are in the program. The print window opens, and you get to select your settings. This is unlike Lightroom, where you go to the Print module to print.

We can create templates in Capture One Pro to save margin and layout information. However, it forgets about page size and ICC profiles whenever you close the program. Fortunately, these are quick settings to change, so select your paper size and the ICC profile for your printer and media combination from the Color Profile menu.

Printing from Capture One

From what I’ve seen so far, Capture One’s print Sharpening is enough for my images when set at 25. You may need to change this, depending on how sharp your original image is. Also, it may need to be increased for larger prints too.

You can set your margins depending on how much border you want. I use my 7:13% offset border to raise the image up slightly. You can see the dimensions I use in my Print Borders spreadsheet, which you can download here. Once you have entered your border dimensions, click the Templates pulldown, and select Save User Template. In the above screenshot you can see that I called this one 18 x 24 inches 7-13 borders.

So, now I can quickly recall my margin sizes and I’m ready to hit the Print button.

Another cool thing about Capture One is when you switch from Landscape to Portrait orientation, the borders automatically switches. Consequently, I no longer have to save a separate template for each orientation.

That was all for now. If you have any questions or advice for this topic, please let me know in the comments.

If you want to see or read more from me, feel free to visit my website: www.martinbaileyphotography.com

Best regards,
Martin Bailey