32 Bit Workflow

[Infrared digital]

Hi

I am looking at rendering all future production work at 32 bit using exr passes and compositing in Photoshop. I just wanted to see how other people do this because there are a few drawbacks to the process for example;

- Reduced functionality in Photoshop, I miss Curves and Color Balance adjustment layers
- The conversion from 32 bit to 8 bit understandably changes the image slightly but has anyone got a process that minimises this ?
- File size and time to save files has gone up dramatically

Any tips or suggestions on this would be appreciated.

N

[Dariusz Makowski (Dadal)]

The 32 to 16/8 bit change is very big. U will need to redo entire file as exposure wont look the same way.
Lack of adjustment layers.
Slow to work with with big files.
Photoshop is terrible at 32 bit I suggest not to do it.

[rjohnson33]

There are plugins available to reintroduce that functionality (curves, colour balance etc.) into Photoshop in 32 bit mode. Magic Bullet Looks for example.
It's a different method of working of course - I do miss having those controls as adjustment layers - but then the controls themselves tend to be better than the native Photoshop ones.

I haven't found that the conversion from 32bit to 8bit changes the image. You do have to merge the layers at this point to keep the image the same otherwise the layers won't add up in the same way.
I usually keep a 32bit 'master' Photoshop composition and then merge everything when I'm ready to move it down to 8 bit.
You could probably do this with the 32bit master as a smart object or something in Photoshop so you could go back and adjust the 32bit master without repeating the process. I keep meaning to look into this but never get around to it.
Visually (even with merged layers) I've found the image will look different upon the conversion if you're not zoomed in at 100% but it's only the appearance of the view in Photoshop, there's no actual difference at 100% that I've ever observed.

[Neilg]

I use 2 psd's all the way through the project - one just after rendering in 32bit and another that has that flattened with all the smaller touches.

Working 32bit all the way through is a phenomenal waste of resources and locks you out of a lot of control in photoshop.

[Infrared digital]

When you say that working in 32bit is a waste of resources, do you mean that you convert down from 32bit during the project ?

[Neilg]

yeah. You only need 32bit for some things, so keep a separate psd for that & another 8bit one with the 32bit one flattened at the bottom.

[Infrared digital]

That's interesting so, any major colour adjustments are done in the 32bit PSD and things like people, signage, foliage etc... is done in the 8 bit PSD ? I am assuming that the 8bit PSD is the main working file with the 32bit file brought in as a layer as it is updated ?

[Dariusz Makowski (Dadal)]

I think you should be perfectly fine with 16 bits for most of your jobs... I dont really know what you do but I assume its VIZ.

U want 32 bit for heavy reworks options. Adjustment of lights, gi and so on. Then using RAW passes its very good and elastic.

[Infrared digital]

Hi Dariusz

Yeah I do arch viz mainly but also matte paintings.

[Jorq1H]

I do all my work in 32-bit (mostly stills, some animations, and yes, a lot of hdd space is recommended) and all post-production in After Effects, were all native adjustment filters works fine with 32-bit files. My beauty renders + lighting/gi/refl/refr render passes are rendered in 32-bit, so that I can do overall exposure tweaks without losing information, although I more often than not don't render element passes to files. For stills, I often bring the AE-comp into PS for a couple of finishing touches, like the Camera Raw Filter in Photoshop CC. This flattens the dynamic range, so here's were I convert to 8-bit, then save the finalized still. For animation I work in 32-bit until the final render.

Coming from a photography background, I can draw a parallell to when I first started shooting RAW photography as when I first started rendering in 32-bit. There's just no going back, at least not when the budget/schedule allows for some post-production.