Capture U

Concept

Capture University is an internet education site for the professional photographic community focused on techniques and workfow for superior captures and RAW processing . The roll-out is separated into several steps and focuses on the evolutions of photography through digital capture.

Industry situation

The value of photography has refocused on post-production (PhotoShop™). The emphasis on outstanding technical and creative capture is reduced to a minimum. Compositing of multiple images or exposures, final looks, retouching and image correction are all handled in post-production for the vast majority of today’s final images. This workflow creates a commodity of the photographer since most of the “Look” of an image is created by other people. These looks are relatively simple to reproduce and the unique values of photographers have averaged out through post-production.

Economics of post-production

Today, the value of the post-production is extremely low with groups in India and Asia offering superb Photoshop™ services for only a few dollars US per image. The economics for the photographer is catastrophic with an expectation that many will not be able to survive the slim margins, especially in the middle to lower price categories. For many photographers, more than 50% of the time spent on a shoot is in post-production where the clients see little or no value. When the photography is looked at as a commodity and the post-production has little value, it becomes very difficult to make a profit and stay in business.

The solution “Craftsmanship through Capture”

One company has developed technology that enhances and enables the photographer to create superior captures focusing on classic “Film” techniques that create separation and uniqueness in final images. Phase One has pioneered many technologies and continues to reshape photography through Capture One and Phase One digital backs. Most of the materials provided are focused around the use of Capture One software with DSLR’s and Phase One Backs.

Some of the unique tools that create unique images include:

ColorEditor - Retouch images while shooting with Capture One ColorEditor and your lighting. Create
the perfect combination and reproduce the effect on demand. You have to see this to believe how
photographic the experience is. This is about being unique in away that builds value for your clients
and reduces post-production. Some sensational workflows have reduced post production time by up
to 90%!
Styles - Save unique combinations of settings that do all the image correction before you get to
Photoshop. The keeps you focused on using Photoshop to enhance the image instead of correcting the
image and working with what’s left for enhancement. The final effect is efficient, simple and easy!
Phase One Effects Profiles - This is a remarkable set of profiles including Sepia, Blue tone and black
and white. The black and white profiles offer a revolutionary way to work digitally without channel
mixing. The results are based on the fact that black and white film had biases that skewed tones. The
results are so predictable that you can shoot for them. Channel mixing by comparison requires
specific adjustments for each image making repeatable results tough. This is a real breakthrough!

August 20th, 2007
The Capture-U registration page is now available. All can register for Capture-U but access for the site requires an access code.

Capture-U is a membership website. Memberships access codes will be available at the store. A trial membership is also available to purchasers of Applied Craftsmanship.

If you have an access code from the Capture One Applied Craftsmanship manual please register it on the site. If you do not have a code, please register without the code and we will email you info about site access when available. Register Now!