I'm brand new to using DPP 4 and I am trying to put together a crib sheet for the post processing of bird photos mainly based on great information from Glen Pure/Ian Wilson (in newsletters) and also online. I'm just trying to summarize the absolute basics of the process, and the order in which to do them and to show not the "why" but the "what" to do. After DPP4 I'll use Photoshop 6.
Can someone advise me if I have covered the absolute essentials in the process. My eyes glazed over in places where the articles became a bit technical so I might have missed a bit. Thanks. Gaynor

Post Processing in DPP 4 and PS6
1. Open DPP 4, choose raw image from Folder to work on. Turn on highlights/shadow warning (Alt M). Set image to full screen and 100% (bottom left). Swap to Quick Check/Info to see the lens used for the image.
2. Go into Edit Image/Tool Palette working along the rows.
3. Perform Image Lens Correction/ Lens Data to select the lens used for the image.
4. Remove dust
5. Perform Basic Image Adjustment.
Adjust Exposure via brightness slider.
White balance adjustment. Realistic as possible to your liking
Gamma Adjustment. Globally adjust capture Sharpness strength using Sharpness slider to 3.
6. Adjust Image Detail.
Reduce Luminance Noise (not too much and concentrate on the subject)
Reduce chrominance noise (not too much)
7. Hue/Saturation if necessary
8. Convert and Save to TIFF 16 Bit.
9. Go in to PS6.
10. Crop and save TIFF 16 Bit.
11. Make selection of bird and save selection.
12. Make a selection of bird plus perch and save selection
13. Do background only noise reduction using inverted selection of bird and perch
14. Scale to 1400x1050 for BLF competition
15. Final sharpening of bird (not perch)
16. Save in jpg format.
17. If needed for blog, save as 1024x768 and repeat steps 9 and 10

Hi Gaynor

That looks like a fairly good summary. And sorry for writing stuff that has caused you to 'glaze over'! Here are a few comments:

There are only three tabs in DPP 4 that require attention. The first is the 'Perform image lens correction' tab where you should check the box for 'Digital Lens Optimiser' (default of 50 is fine) and 'Sharpness'. The rest are optional. The next tab is the main 'Perform basic image adjustment' tab. The main adjustments to focus on here are 'Brightness', 'White balance', 'Gamma' (black and white points), Shadow and higlhlights sliders. 'Sharpness' is repeated on this tab: try a value of 2.5 to 3 (don't use unsharp mask). It's probably a good idea to set the picture style to 'Neutral' although I often leave it on 'Standard' - mainly because I'm not in the habit of changing it. The final tab is the 'Adjust image detail' tab. It's best to leave the noise reduction on the default values that load (DPP is smart enough to detect your camera and ISO settings and set the noise reduction accordingly). However, you can fiddle with them if you really want.

The Photoshop steps look fine but you should save the TIFF only after you've created and saved the selections that you make. This way, you can go back and re-open the file later complete with the selections later if you want to re-edit. I usually perform selective lighting adjustments in Photoshop (by selecting parts of the image and applying some feathering to the edge) - typically shadow, highlight and midtone contrast adjustments plus brightness. Sometimes I will selectively change the saturation level on parts of the image but these are things you needn't worry about too much until you get a bit more experience.

Feel free to post further questions or contact me directly if you want. Ian Wilson probably won't respond, at least not soon, as I know he is away for a week or two.

Thank you so much Glenn. I'll make those adjustments to the crib sheet. That was just what I was looking for. As you say I can twiddle a few more sliders as I get a bit more comfortable with what I'm doing. I usually use my 80d for birds and a Canon 100-400 mk2. I don't understand gamma (eye glaze alert) but if I adjust the white end (maybe 5 points) and leave the black end should it be OK? The feathering you mentioned concerning selective lighting I would guess at soft and about 5. Is that right?

Hi Gaynor, the answers to your questions are 'it depends'. As for the black and white points, these are simply selecting the data recorded in the original image that will look completely black or completely white in the TIFF image you output. Any data outside this will be ditched. Every photo is going to be different as to where to adjust these points so there is no rule. As for feathering, I usually start with a little less but if I'm adjusting a part of the background where making an accurate selection is difficult, a lot more feathering might be appropriate: so again, 'it depends'. Don't forget that in the DPP processing step, the aim (at least once you get a bit more comfortable) is to achieve a TIFF file with all the tonal information and detail you'll need in the final image. It might not look great at that stage. The Photoshop step is designed to bring out the detail where you want it and adjust the tone and brightness of different parts of the subject and image to make your subject look good (but natural) and 'pop' a little from the background.