Any particular order using PS.?

[gtirman]

I have always wondered if there was a particular sequence that one should apply PS applications e.g. should Sharpen be done prior to Brightness and contrast ....curves after XX etc etc
What is the normal gen out there and what have you found to work best?

[Forseti]

Me again

Rather than go into reams of pages take a look at this essay written here http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tu...orkflow1.shtml . You might also want to bookmark this site and drop in from time to time as the site owner posts lots of useful information along with various essays from the so-called experts i.e. representatives of Adobe themselves.

Oh - make a large cup of coffee first.

[amk1977]

Generally, the first thing I do is to create duplicate layers with masks, so that I can seperate different elements of the photo onto individual layers, thereby giving me full control over each. Applying a blanket levels or curves adjustment, although useful in some instances, can render certain areas too dark or blow out highlights, causing loss of detail in those areas, so I avoid doing it as much as possible.

I also avoid using the menu "Image > adjustments > (insert adjustment name)" as much as possible too. I much prefer holding down the alt key and selecting the adjustments via the icon at the bottom of the layers pallete. Doing it this way means that the adjustments are only applied to the selected layer. Secondly, and more importantly, they are continually adjustable.

The beauty of this is that you can return to the adjustment layer at any time and tweak it, whereas selecting them from the menu "Image > adjustments > " is a one off application of the effect and is often, quickly buried in the history. This also means that if you want to remove the effect you applied, you have to click back in the history panel, which in turn removes all subsequent changes you made have made after that too.

Once I've broken all elements down onto their individual layers, I then use the levels and curves adjustments to correct them. After that is done, I go about performing the physical editing like blemish or object removal, depth of field enhancement etc. I then merge the image onto a new layer using shift+ctrl+alt+e. Then I apply then unsharp mask.

If I want to tweak it further still, I duplicate the sharpened layer. I then go to filters>other>high pass filter, with a setting of around 1.0-2.0 pixels, depending on what it is that I want to enhance. I then click ok and set the blending mode of the high pass filter to overlay.

After that, I then export the PSD file into lightroom and use that to crop and rotate the image, as well as fine tweaking highlights and shadows etc.

These are the techniques that I apply. I used to use photoshop very sloppily initially. For example, instead of using masks to remove/paint invisible, areas of layers I didn't want, I'd use the eraser tool, which is a destructive way of doing things and I'd strongly recommend getting out of the habit of doing the same if you use it. Now, I never use the eraser tool.

Techniques and orders of doing things will vary from person to person. Everyone has their own way of doing things and their own styles too. Just find what works foryou in acheiving the look you want, and try to make it as efficient as possible.

Hope that helps,

Aaron

[Dagwood]

Originally Posted by gtirman

I have always wondered if there was a particular sequence that one should apply........What is the normal gen out there and what have you found to work best?

I was once told ,or read it in this forum:
CROP
ENHANCE ( as required )
SHARPEN
SAVE AS
It seems to work for me and those who have asked me a similar question to that you pose.
There is little point enhancing parts of the picture that are going to be cropped anyway; sharpening before enhancing can , I believe, lead to increased artifacts; rigidly adhering to SaveAs instead of Save avoids losing the original.
Dagwood

[gtirman]

Forseti: You actually cracked me up with that pink icon"me again" very very funny :}

Aaron: Great tips and i'll give it a try.

Dagwood: That is the order i have been using thus far however thought i would ask in which order other people use....appreciate.

One further question if i may......[now that i'm getting right into this PS stuff..LOL ]
After i have fine tuned the RAW file to my liking i imagine i then have to save it back into a JPEG format so i can then take it to a print place for printing....yes/no??
It seems strange reducing a 14 bit down to an 8 bit for printing i thought??
Am i barking up the wrong tree?
cheers John

[GeoffWessex]

If you found a quality printer they'd probably take a TIFF at 16-bit and in the AdobeRGB Colour Space.... but it wouldn't be the 'norm' and would probably cost a lot extra. The standard High Street printer generally sets up their print process for the most common kind of image the customers would have - and that's a Jpeg (therefore 8-bit), in sRGB.

[gtirman]

Would not the final JPEG be reduced in "quality" after all the PS work. Sounds to me like i will be changing a VW into a Ferrari then back to a VW ??
My main concern is retaining the amazing colors i have captured....without them these particular images i have will resort to just average.:{

[gtirman]

I just asked my high end printer [who gives me big reductions due to the volume i give him over the years ] and he said he can print PSD files.......is this the way to go for me?

[GeoffWessex]

Definitely! You're lucky to have found him. TIFF and PSD are very similar (your printer probably does TIFFs as well). Concerning the quality of the Jpeg.... the big trick is never to make a Jpeg out of a Jpeg. Take Raw files - work on them and keep as TIFF or PSD - and only make individual Jpegs, different sizes for different jobs, from those TIFF/PSDs. The drawback is that they take up a big chunk of your HD but that's the time to back them up onto DVD - many use External HD as well, for the convenience of having an extra drive always available but never trust them alone.

[gtirman]

Thats fantastic Geoff....you have made my day as i was expecting the worse.
Yep.... i shoot in RAW+Jpeg large [see my mystery question about this soon ] thus have the Jpegs already. I use back up with a HDD and also DVD and feel like a NIRD....LOL
Thanks for the info on PSD too !