If you’re taking a photography class and you don’t have Photoshop on your personal computer, you are probably taking advantage of our service that allows you to remote control a Lab computer that does have Photoshop. That gives you access to Photoshop, but how do you get your photos from your SD memory card to the remote computer? What’s the most efficient way to hand in your final work? How do I retrieve my final work and put it back on my computer? Even if you are not taking a Photography class, you may have read other help files on our web site about specific tasks but are looking for an overview of the entire workflow.
Conceptually (TL;DR, if you will), you are going to copy the files from your SD card to your own computer (if necessary), upload those files to a Cloud service or our Server, and then download them to the Lab computer you will be remote-controlling. (You do the reverse when you are done working for the day.) Here are step-by-step directions on how such workflows work.
Workflow 1: The Cloud is your friend
Many of you will be familiar with a service like DropBox, Google Drive, iCloud, or OneDrive. (Your University account comes with OneDrive storage included.) You can use such cloud services to shuttle your work between your computer and the remote Lab computer. A typical RAW photo workflow would look like this:
- Copy the RAW files from your SD card onto your own computer (copy them as if they were on a USB stick; don’t use a photo app).
- Upload the RAW files from your computer to your Cloud service (depending on the service you use, you might be able to copy them to a folder on your computer or you may have to open a web browser and upload the files).
- Log in to a Lab computer remotely.
- On the remote computer, log in to your Cloud service via a web browser.
- The files you just uploaded should be listed there. Download them to the remote computer. (They will likely show up in the Downloads folder unless you specify otherwise.)
- Using your RAW editing app (Photoshop, Bridge, or Lightroom, depending on what your Instructor suggests), open the RAW files from the location you stored them in the previous step.
- Process as required.
- Save your processed files on the remote Lab computer.
- If you have something you need to hand in to the Lab Server, it is easiest if you do that while still remotely connected to a Lab Computer. Connect to the Lab Server using the Connect > Lab Server app near the right corner of the Dock (full instructions are available).
- Log back in to your Cloud service via a web browser. Upload the work you just completed to the Cloud Service.
- Log out of the remote computer so that it sits at the user login screen, then disconnect your session.
You can now download your processed photos from your Cloud service and copy them to your own computer (or any Lab computer if you need to do more work).
Workflow 2: The IAML Server Shuttle
You can use the IAML Server much like you would use a Cloud storage service. You are allowed to store your working files on our Server as well as hand in assignments there. Here is a typical RAW photo workflow:
- Copy the RAW files from your SD card onto your own computer (copy them as if they were on a USB stick; don’t use a photo app).
- Connect to the University of Calgary network (airuc-secure if on-campus, General UCalgary VPN if off-campus).
- Connect to the IAML Server.
- Copy the RAW files from your computer to the Server (create a folder with your name on it to store your files if you don’t already have one). Once they are copied, you can disconnect from the Server.
- Log in to a Lab computer remotely.
- On the remote computer, connect to the Lab Server using the Connect > Lab Server app near the right corner of the Dock (full instructions are available). The files you just uploaded should be listed there. Copy them to the remote computer. (It is not recommended to work directly off the Server, as Adobe does not support this use, so things could go wrong for no reason.)
- Using your RAW editing app (Photoshop, Bridge, or Lightroom, depending on what your Instructor suggests), open the RAW files from the remote computer.
- Process as required.
- Save your processed files on the remote Lab computer.
- Copy your processed files to your named folder on the Lab Server.
- If you have something you need to hand in, just drop it on the Assignment Drop Box folder on the Server.
- Log out of the remote computer so that it sits at the user login screen, then disconnect your session.
Your processed photos are now available when you connect to the Lab Server from your own computer. You can copy any of these files to your own computer (or any Lab computer if you need to do more work).
Other Options
When the Lab is open, you are welcome to use our computer in-person to do your editing. All the iMac computers have a built-in SD card reader on the back, so you can just insert your card and go. This can simplify your workflow by eliminating the need to “shuttle” your RAW files using a Cloud service or our Server. This best mimics the workflow you would use if you were doing all the work on your own computer.
We still recommend you store your processed photographs on our Server (or another Cloud service), as you are not guaranteed to be able to use the same computer the next time you work in person.
