bridge

Images courtesy of www.iStockphoto.com

essential skills

~   Gain a working knowledge of Bridge.

~   Understand how to change the contents and appearance or the workspace.

~   Download, sort, add keywords and process files from Bridge.

Introduction

For most photographers the world of digital has heralded a new era in picture taking. The apparent lack of cost (no film or processing charges) involved in the recording of each frame means that most of us are shooting more freely and more often than ever before. More pictures not only means more time processing, enhancing and printing them but also more time sorting, searching, naming, tagging and storing. In fact, recent studies of how photographers spend their time have shown that many spend 10–15% of their working day involved in just these sort of management activities. For this reason many use specialized Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems or software to aid with this work. Though for many image workers asset management is the least stimulating part of their job, it is a key area where building skills will free up more time for those parts of the process that you enjoy the most – taking and processing pictures.

Bridge – the center for asset management

Over the last few revisions of Photoshop, Adobe has become increasingly more involved in including image management tools for the working photographer as part of the editing program.

Initially this meant the inclusion of a File Browser which could be opened from inside Photoshop but more recently a totally separate program called Bridge has replaced the standard file browser option. The application can be opened by itself via the program menu, or from within Photoshop with the File > Browse command or button on the Options bar.

Bridge has now developed into a tool that is much more suitable for managing your image assets

The fastest way to open a file from your picture library is to search for, and select, the file from within Bridge and then press Ctrl/Cmd + O or, if Photoshop is not the default program used for opening the file, select File > Open With > Photoshop. Multi-selected files in the browser can also be opened in this way.

Keep in mind that Bridge is a separate stand-alone application from Photoshop, has its own memory management system and can be opened and used to organize and manage your photo files without needing to have Photoshop running at the same time.

Bridge can be opened in a variety of different ways: individually via the Start menu (left) or from inside Photoshop using the dedicated button on the Options bar (middle) or the File > Browse command (right)

Bridge 2.0 has a new interface, three panel areas, side-by-side preview options, a Filter feature for fast searches, a dedicated download manager and a Loupe Tool. This view has been changed from the default view; there is a discussion of how to do this in this chapter

Bridge turns 2.0!

First introduced in Photoshop CS2, Bridge has quickly become an important part of most photographers’ daily workflow. Rather than just being a file browser, Bridge also enables photographers to organize, navigate image assets, add metadata and labels and even process Raw files. The interface has changed from the first release of the program. Now Bridge has a three-panel area setup which makes the most of the wide screen arrangements that many image makers are now using. A variety of panels can be displayed in any of the areas. These include:

•  Folders panel – displays a folder-based view of your computer.

•  Favorites panel – provides quick access to regularly used folders you select.

•  Metadata panel – shows metadata information for the select file.

•  Keywords panel – use for adding new or existing keywords to single or multiple photos.

•  Filter panel – provides sorting options for the files displayed in the content panel.

•  Preview panel – shows a preview of selected files or files. Includes the loupe option.

•  Inspector panel – displays a variety of custom details controlled by options in the preferences.

•  Content panel – this panel displays the thumbnail version of your assets.

Setting up Bridge

Viewing options

One of the real bonuses of Bridge is the multitude of ways that the panels can be viewed in the workspace. Essentially two different controls alter the way that Bridge appears – Workspace and View.

Workspace controls the overall look of the Bridge window and is centered around the Window > Workspace menu. Panels can be opened, resized, swap positions, be grouped together and pushed and pulled around so that you create a work environment that really suits your needs and specific screen arrangements. It is even possible to stretch Bridge over two screens so that you can use one screen for previewing and the other for displaying metadata, favorites or content. Once you are happy with the layout of the workspace use the Window > Workspace > Save Workspace option to store your design. Alternatively you can select from a number of preset workspace designs located in the Window > Workspace menu.

Bridge contains a range of preset workspace options:

1.  Default

2.  Light Table

3.  File Navigator

4.  Metadata Focus

5.  Horizontal Filmstrip

6.  Vertical Filmstrip

Most View options are grouped under the View menu and essentially alter the way that Content area data or thumbnails are presented. Here you can choose to show the thumbnails by themselves with no other data (View > Show Thumbnail only) or with metadata details included (View > As Details).

There is also an option to display the content thumbnails as an impromptu slideshow. With no images selected choose View > Slideshow to include all pictures in the content panel in the show. To display a few photos, multi-select the pictures first, and then pick the Slideshow command. The overall slideshow options such as duration, transitions and caption content can be altered via the option settings (View > Slideshow Options).

In addition, Bridge 2.0 also contains two new viewing features. The first is the ability to display multiple pictures in the preview panel in a side-by-side manner. Simply multi-select several items in the content area to display them in the preview panel in this new compare mode. The second feature is the new Loupe Tool, which acts like an interactive magnifier. The loupe size changes with the size of the displayed preview image and works best with a large preview image. To use, click the cursor on an area in the preview picture. A 100% preview of this picture part is then displayed. Click and drag the cursor to move the loupe around the photo.

The way that picture content is displayed can also be adjusted in a variety of ways in Bridge:

1.  Preview with a single image selected.

2.  Preview with multiple thumbnails selected

3.  Impromptu slideshow generated from inside Bridge

4.  The loupe view of a preview image

Custom panel display

Some panels also contain custom options that govern the type and way that the information is displayed within the panel itself. For both the Keyword and Metadata panels these options are located in the fly-out menu accessed at the top right of the panel. You can add folders to the Favorites panel by right-clicking on them in the Folder panel and then choosing the Add to Favorites entry from the menu that appears. To remove listed folders right-click the entry and choose the Remove from Favorites option. The Inspector panel display and the types of data shown with thumbnails in the Content panel are controlled by settings in Preferences (Edit > Preferences).

The content of some panels and the way that this information is displayed can be adjusted using either the fly-out menus at the top right of the panels, right-click menu options for panel items or Bridge preference settings. Fly-out menu for the Metadata panel (left) and right-click menu for Favorite panel entries (right) are shown

Speedy thumbnail generation

One of the reasons why this version of Bridge works more quickly than the previous one is that now you get to control how the program builds the thumbnails that are displayed in the content area. Rather than build the same level of thumbnail quality for all pictures, the program creates lower quality, but fast to generate and display, thumbnails by default. In the General section of the Preferences you can select between the creation of these Quick Thumbnails, High Quality Thumbnails or even an option that instructs the program to convert the thumbnails to high quality when first previewed. Bridge is set to Quick Thumbnails by default so fast display of content is the order of the day, but for those who are willing to wait a little longer for higher quality thumbnails it is great to know that we have this option as well.

The Thumbnail section of the Preferences dialog contains three different options for the way that thumbnails are created in the Content panel

Caching decisions

The cache is an allocated space on your hard drive that is used to store thumbnail and metadata information (Labels and Ratings) for the images displayed in the Content panel. Bridge uses this cache to speed up the display of thumbnails. The information in the cache is generally built the first time the contents of a specific folder are displayed. This process can take some time, especially if the folder contains many pictures. For this reason, there is also an option to build the cache of selected folders in the background whilst you continue other work. Select the directory to be cached in the Folder panel and then choose Tools > Cache > Build Cache for Subfolders. If for any reason you want to remove a previously created cache from a specific directory, then select the folder and choose the Tools > Cache > Purge Cache for Folder option.

You can speed up the display of images by pre-caching the folders they are saved in using the Build Cache for Subfolders option in the Edit > Cache menu

The location of the cache impacts indirectly on performance for two reasons:

1.  Cache files can become quite large and so it is important to ensure that the drive selected to house the cache has enough space to be able to adequately store the file.

2.  When image files are copied to another drive or location a new cache has to be constructed when the folder is first viewed unless the cache is copied along with the picture files.

The settings contained in the Advanced section of the Preferences dialog provide the option to select the place where the central cache is stored. Use this setting to ensure that the cache file is located on a drive with sufficient space. Also included here is a new option for exporting cache files to folders whenever possible. Use this setting to employ a distributed cache system (rather than a centralized one), which enables image and cache files to be stored together in the same folder. If this folder is then moved, copied or written to a new location the cache will not have to be rebuilt for the photos to be displayed in Bridge. In situations where the image folder is stored on a CD, DVD or other location that is locked, the cache is written to the central location.

The location of centralized cache files as well as the ability to store the cache in the same folder as the images is controlled by settings in the Advanced section of the Preferences dialog

Removing unwanted Cache files:

•  To delete the cache for all image files on the computer select the Purge Cache button in the Advanced section of the Edit > Preferences dialog.

•  To remove the cache files for a single directory select the directory in Folder view and then choose Tools > Cache > Purge Cache for Folder.

Using Bridge

Bridge is a key component in the photographer’s workflow. From the time that the photos are downloaded from the camera, through the editing and processing stages and then onto archiving and locating specific pictures, the application plays a pivotal role in all image management activities. Let’s look a little closer at each of these areas.

Downloading pictures

New for Bridge 2.0 and borrowed from Photoshop’s little brother, Photoshop Elements, is the Adobe Photo Downloader (APD) utility. The downloader manages the transfer of files from camera or card reader to your computer. In doing so the transfer utility can also change file names, convert to DNG on the fly, apply pre-saved metadata templates and even save copies of the files to a backup drive. This feature alone saves loads of time and effort for the working photographer over performing these tasks manually.

Bridge now ships with the Adobe Photo Downloader utility designed to simplify the transfer of image files from camera or card reader to computer. When working with the Downloader you have a choice of two modes – Standard (1) and Advanced (2)

Transferring with the Adobe Photo Downloader

Step 1: Select the Get Photos from Camera option from the File menu inside Bridge. Next you will see the new Adobe Photo Downloader dialog. The utility contains the option of either Standard or Advanced modes. The Advanced option not only provides thumbnail previews of the images stored on the camera or card, but the dialog also contains several new features for sorting and managing files as they are downloaded. But let’s start simply, with the options in the Standard dialog.

Step 2 Standard mode: To start you need to select the source of the pictures (the location of the card reader or camera). In the Standard mode all pictures on the card will be selected ready for downloading. Next set the Import Settings. Browse for the folder where you want the photographs to be stored and if you want to use a subfolder select the way that this folder will be named from the Create Subfolder dropdown menu. To help with finding your pictures later it may be helpful to add a meaningful name, not the labels that are attached by the camera, to the beginning of each of the images. You can do this by selecting an option from the Rename File drop-down menu and adding any custom text needed. There are also options to open Bridge after the transfer is complete and convert to DNG or save copies of the photos on the fly (great for backing up images). Clicking the Get Photos button will transfer your pictures to your hard drive – you can then organize the pictures in the Bridge workspace. For more choices during the download process you will need to switch to the Advanced mode.

Step 3 Advanced mode: Selecting the Advanced Dialog button at the bottom left of the Standard mode window will display a larger Photo Downloader dialog with more options and a preview area showing a complete set of thumbnails of the photos stored on the camera or memory card. If for some reason you do not want to download all the images, then you will need to deselect the files to remain, by unchecking the tick box at the bottom right-hand of the thumbnail. This version of the Photo Downloader has the same location for saving transferred files, rename, convert to DNG and copy files options that are in the Standard dialog. In addition, this mode also contains the ability to add metadata to the photos during the downloading process. You can select a predefined metadata template from the drop-down menu or manually add in author and copyright details. Pressing the Get Photos button will start the download process.

Locating files

Files can be located by selecting the folder in which they are contained using either the Favorites or Folders panel or the Look In menu (top of the dialog). Alternatively, the Edit > Find command can be used to search for pictures based on filename, file size, keywords, date, rating, label, metadata or comment.

Locate specific pictures or create collections of photos using the sophisticated Find options in Bridge

Filtering the files displayed

In Bridge 2.0 Adobe introduces a new interactive way to find specific photos amongst the thousands of files that sit on photographers’ hard drives. The new feature is called Filters and is housed in a panel of its own which displays a list of file attributes such as file type, orientation, date of creation or capture, rating, labels, keywords and even aspect ratio. Clicking on a heading activates the filter and alters the Content display to show only those files that possess the selected attribute. Selecting a second Filter entry reduces the displayed content further. Using this approach, it is possible to reduce thousands of photos to a select few with several well-placed clicks in the Filter panel. To remove all filters and view all items in a folder click the folder icon in the top left of the panel.

The Filter panel contains a selection of file attributes that can be selected as ready made search criteria in order to quickly create a subset of photos. 1) Menu of Sort choices

Stacking alike photos

One way to help organize pictures in your collection is to group photos of similar content together. Bridge contains a stacking option design just for this purpose. After multi-selecting the pictures to include from those displayed in the content area select Stacks > Group as Stack. All images will be collated under a single front photo like a stack of cards. The number of images included in the stack is indicated in the top left of the stack thumbnail. Stacks can be expanded or collapsed by clicking on this number (stacks expand downwards in workspaces where the thumbnails are arranged vertically). Options for ungrouping the photos in a stack or changing the picture used as the front image can be located in the Stacks menu.

Expand image stacks by clicking on the circled number in the top left of the thumbnail of the stacked photos (1). Collapse image stacks by clicking on the same circled number positioned on the first thumbnail in the series (2)

Labelling pictures

As you are probably now realizing Bridge is more than just a file browser; it is also a utility that can be used for sorting and categorizing your photos. Using the options listed under the Label menu, individual or groups of photos can be rated (with a star rating) or labelled (with a colored label). These tags can be used as a way to sort and display the best images from those taken at a large photo-shoot or grouped together in a folder. Labels and ratings are applied by selecting (or multi-selecting) the thumbnail in the Bridge workspace and then choosing the tag from the Label menu. Shortcut keys can also be used to quickly attach tags to individually selected files one at a time.

Labels or ratings are often used as a way of indicating the best images in a group of pictures taken in a single session. The photos displayed in the Content panel can be sorted according to their Label or Rating using the settings in the Filter panel

Adding keywords

Along with labelling and rating photos for easy editing and display options it is also possible to assign specific keywords that help describe the content of your images. The keywords are stored in the metadata of the photo and are used extensively not only by Bridge as a way of locating specific photos but also by photo libraries worldwide for cataloging. Most keyword activity is centered around the Keyword panel in Bridge. Here you can create and apply keywords to images or groups of images. Keywords are grouped into Keyword Sets. To apply a keyword to a photo, select the image first and then click on the checkbox next to the Keyword or Keyword Set to add. Click on the checkbox again to remove a keyword. A summary of all the Assigned Keywords for a specific photo is displayed at the top of the panel. New keywords or keyword sets are created, and existing ones deleted, using the buttons at the bottom right of the panel.

Keywords are words that summarize the content of the photo. They are used extensively by photo libraries for cataloging multiple photos. Keywords can be created and applied in Bridge using the Keywords panel

Tools used in Bridge

Although no real editing or enhancement options are available in the Bridge feature it is possible to use the browser as a starting point for many of the operations normally carried out in Photoshop. For instance, photos selected in the workspace can be batch renamed, printed online, used to create a Photomerge panorama, compiled into a contact sheet or combined into a PDF-based presentation, all via options under the Tools menu. Some of these choices will open Photoshop before completing the requested task whereas others are completed without leaving the browser workspace.

Bridge is a great starting place for many of the tools contained in the File > Automate menu in Photoshop as you can select the images to include before starting the feature from the Tools > Photoshop menu

Processing RAW inside Bridge

One of the real bonuses of Bridge is the ability to open, edit and save RAW files from inside the browser workspace. Now there is no need to open the files to process via Photoshop. The conversions to DNG, TIFF, JPEG or PSD files can be handled directly from the browsing workspace by selecting (or multi-selecting) the files and then choosing File > Open in Camera Raw. All Raw processing is handled by the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) which ships with Photoshop CS3 and for the first time both TIFF and JPEG files can also be processed with the feature.

Raw, and now TIFF and JPEG files, can be processed with Adobe Camera Raw from inside Bridge without having to open Photoshop first

Processing in Photoshop

It is a simple matter to transfer photos from the Bridge workspace into Photoshop. You can either double-click a thumbnail or select the image and then choose Open With > Photoshop CS3 from the right-click menu. By default double-clicking Raw images will open them into the Adobe Camera Raw utility inside Photoshop, but this behavior can be changed to process the file inside Bridge by selecting the Double-Click Edits Camera Raw Settings in Bridge option in the General Preferences for Bridge.

To open a file directly into Photoshop you can right-click the thumbnail and choose Open With > Photoshop or double-click the photo

Using Bridge to access the project resources

Use Bridge to access the project resources that are available on the supporting DVD. Access the DVD from the Favorites panel in Bridge. Double-click the Photoshop_CS3 DVD icon to access the chapter folders. Images can be opened directly from Bridge or alternatively a folder of images can be dragged from the Content panel in Bridge to a location on your hard drive if required.

Inside each chapter folder the resources are divided into the different file formats. The same images can be accessed as JPEG, TIFF or Raw files (.dng). The JPEG images are compressed versions (lower quality) but take up little hard drive space. The TIFF files are uncompressed and may contain saved selections that can be used to speed up the editing process in some projects.

Most of the images are available as Raw files. These are required for many projects in the Advanced Retouching and Montage chapters, where some of the editing process is performed in the Adobe Camera Raw workspace (see Adobe Camera Raw). Each project in the ‘Imaging Projects’ module (last four chapters) is also supported by a movie. Movies can be watched in Bridge or can be opened directly in the QuickTime player (when installed) by double-clicking the movie file icon in the Content panel.

Seok-Jin Lee