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Non Destructive Editing in Photoshop

The Goal:

Edit an image in Photoshop, to enhance, to improve it... and be able to easily "tweak" or undo/redo the "fixes" at a later date.

In Photoshop you are editing pixels, as a result you should always work on a "copy" of the image, not the original.

1. In Photoshop after loading an image, use the File > Save As menu
and save the files as a copy, or rename the file as... I usually just use a numbering system like imagename-001.psd.
This ensures you have an "original" RGB copy, even if you have the original raw image.

2. In your editing process you always want to use the Adjustment panel and the Adjustment layer tools.

list of adjustment layers… from the layers menu

An Example of using Adjustment layers...

3. Create a Blank Layer

When using any of the tools like the Clone or Healing Brush or Spot Healing Brush to edit pixels, create a Blank Layer and use the Tool Bar to toggle on "Edit layers below"

Heres a short tutorial that uses "Edit Layers Below"

4. Make a Flattened copy of the visible layers , If you can only directly edit pixels.

This is useful if you want to use the Menu
Image > Adjustments > Shadow/Highlight…or any other "Adjustment" that does not have an "Adjustment layer".

Except...

(Note Well) The adjustment HDR Toning…
Menu: Image > Adjustments > HDR Toning…
Automatically flattens all layers. So, if you want to preserve layers before you use this adjustment, save the file first as a .PSD and then do the HDR Toning…as it flattens all layers to make a "single" image!

To Flatten Selected layers Keyboard Short cut

Mac (Command + Option + Shift + E)

PC (Control + Alt + Shift + E)

and apply the Adjustment to the flattened copy of the all the layers...

To re-edit the Shadow/Highlights… youll need to delete the layer and repeat the process...

Enjoy! As Always holler if you have a question or comment

Next up: Using Smart Layers

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Non Destructive Editing The Spot Healing Brush and Smart Objects

The Spot Healing Brush

With the addition of Content Aware Fill for the spot healing brush… Touchup got a lot easier!
Learn how in either Photoshop CS5 or Photoshop Elements 9 and 10

Checkout this quick tutorial The Healing Spot and Brush with Content Aware Fill

Photoshop Layers

Photoshop CS 5 has the following different kinds of layers

1. Normal
2. Text
3. Fill
4. Shapes
5. Adjustments
6. 3D
7. Video
8. Smart Objects.

Smart Objects Layers

Originally Smart Object layers was introduced for just importing data created outside of Photoshop like Raw photographs, 3d objects, and file formats native to other programs like Adobe Illustrator, e.g. illustrator vector drawings.

Now, you can now convert any layer into a smart object, and you can turn all layers into a single smart object layer for export to other programs like Dreamweaver and Illustrator.

Why make an ordinary layer a smart layer? If you need to scale down a layer for it to fit with the other layers, and then perhaps later up rez (scale up the layer) you can do so with out causing pixelation from the loss of data when the layer was first first down sized. The smart object retains the original image data that normally would have been thrown away when the normal layer was scaled down…

If a Dreamweaver web designer uses smart objects on a web page that was created in Photoshop, the graphic on the web will be automatically updated when the edited object is simply saved again from Photoshop as a smart object.  Dreamweaver automatically detects that the graphic was changed, and it will replace the object displayed on the web automatically!

Nice!

Use Smart Objects for elements you are merging in a photo
especially if you are using
Menu item: Edit > Transform > Scale (etc).

Transform  Edits "throws away pixels" especially when the graphic is scaled down in size… By transforming your layer contents to a smart object, the original data is retained and available for a re-size. The new upscale graphic will not pixilate… If there was no smart object youd have to delete the layer and start over again.

In this example both Logos were scaled smaller, then resized upwards… The Logo on the right was converted to a Smart Object before scaling down and up. You can see that the normal layer is "fuzzy" and Pixillated.

Normal layer                                         Smart Object layer

4. Use smart Objects To apply Filters

In the Filter menu Choose 
Filter > Convert for Smart Filter...

Using "Smart Filters" lets you adjust the effects of the filter at any time

Heres a Photoshop Killer Tip from Matt Kloskowski on Kelby/TV on how to duplicate 2 different kinds of smart objects andy how to use them in Photoshop.

http://kelbytv.com/photoshopkillertips/2010/07/13/duplicating-smart-objects/

Editing Raw Images in Photoshop

When you have a single photo where global edits in Camera Raw cannot process detail in highlights (sky) and shadows (landscape) or other similar situations without blowing away details in one or the other... Use smart objects to merge a blending of 2 copies of the same image, one processed for highlight recovery and the other(s) for mid-tones and shadows.

Using Raw Smart Objects in Photoshop

Your homework!  Share with us in/on the class blog images that you have edited using layers in Photoshop!

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