When a photographer first encounters Photoshop it is important to realize that it is created for use in many different fields including commercial printing, the graphic arts, law enforcement and science. Photographers are not its largest user group. As photographers using Photoshop we must identify and prioritize just those steps necessary for working with photographs.

To that end, I have worked out a simple, logical and comprehensive system of processing photographs in Photoshop that acknowledges the timeless concerns of photography and how they can be addressed though digital technology.

I find that this “9-Step Checklist” approach to working in the digital darkroom leads beginners through a process that is similar to going into the traditional darkroom with an exposed roll of film and emerging some hours later with a finished print.

Used and committed to memory it will provide a thorough, yet flexible, guide to processing
most digital images and will also give you a solid basic under-standing for learning Photoshop on your own.