Please help....When you get the perfect Photoshop action combination...

[wendyalana]

Hi there,

I have spent hours doing tutorials and learning step by step how to apply layers and techniques in photoshop...the problem is...once I've got the perfect combination and I've imported the file into the JPG file, I forget which combination of layers and actions I have used to get that effect. Is there a way to go back into your photo, like in Lightroom and see the history of processing that was used on that photo? I know you can record your own actions but I'm wondering if I have to do that before hand.

Thanks so much.

Wendy

 

[Big Mike]

Within Photoshop, you can open the history and see the steps used. You can even use the history brush to selectively restore parts of your image to a previous state.

 

[wendyalana]

That's great to know. I found the history tablet but pulled the photo up from Iphoto...do the photos have to be saved somewhere in photoshop? I usually just save as a JPG file to Iphoto.

I pulled up the photo I made the changes on but the history is blank.

Thanks again.

 

[phiya]

I'm pretty sure you have to have the PSD file to go back and see your editing history.

 

[KmH]

Yes, you have to save a .psd file to retain the history steps. Saving as a JPEG discards it all - history, layers, and if the file was in 16-bit mode, 8-bits also get tossed.

 

[wendyalana]

So what are the advantages/disadvantages to a .psd file? Do they still print okay if I burn them to a CD or post to facebook? Should I save a PSD file and a JPG file?

 

[phiya]

You need to save a JPG file for printing or facebook. PSD just gives you the option to go back and make changes to your processing without having to start over completely. When I'm doing images for a client I save as both, and keep the PSDs until I'm done making prints and everything. My original JPGs have watermarks, and then if they like them I hide the watermark layer in the PSD, make any adjustments needed and re-save JPGs for print.

 

[Aerin328]

Wendy, to repeat phaya, the photoshop file can't be used directly to burn to CD (unless the recipient has a compatible photoshop version!) or post online. You will need the produced .jpg for most uses. But keep the photoshop file and you can not only reproduce the .jpg but make any modifications in the future without redoing all that valuable work history.

 

[KmH]

So what are the advantages/disadvantages to a .psd file? Do they still print okay if I burn them to a CD or post to facebook? Should I save a PSD file and a JPG file?

Like Raw, .psd is not a printable file type.

 

[GeorgieGirl]

Is there a function to have both side by side, like RAW and jpeg on cameras?

 

[KmH]

Not side-by-side on the camera because a Raw file isn't an image until it's converted, but in your camera users manual it will tell how to recored images as Raw + JPEG so you have each.

You have no information in your profile. I was going to look up the users manual page number for you, but.....

 

[oldmacman]

Like Raw, .psd is not a printable file type.

?

 

[Big Mike]

So what are the advantages/disadvantages to a .psd file? Do they still print okay if I burn them to a CD or post to facebook? Should I save a PSD file and a JPG file?

I think maybe you need to figure out a workflow (or maybe just a less complicated one).

Lets go through an example:
First you shoot in RAW then upload the file to your computer. You open the RAW file with Photoshop (or your camera's included software). You make some adjustments and then save/convert the RAW file. If you are in Photoshop, the file first opens in 'Adobe Camera RAW' and when you click past that, it moves into proper Photoshop.
Now you can do any of the editing you want. Save it as a PSD or TIFF, you can keep the layers intact, so that you can come back to the image later, but keep in mind that these files are huge. You might call this your 'working' copy of the image...maybe save it in a 'work' folder.

The key from there, is that you will want to save a copy for whatever purpose you have. For example, if you want to upload to facebook etc., open the PSD file and resize it down to web size. Maybe make a few tweaks for screen viewing and then 'Save-as'. Choose JPEG (it might tell you that you have to 'save a copy' if you want to use JPEG, that's OK). Now save this in another folder, maybe 'web'.
If you want to print the image (send it to the lab etc.), then go back to the working file and save-as again, but don't resize to screen size/resolution. You may want to set the crop ratio and resolution to the print size you want first. Maybe save this one in a 'print' folder.

So at the end of the day, you may have several copies of the image, each for it's own purpose.

I'm not sure where you fit iPhoto in the mix. But if you have Photoshop, you probably don't need to edit with anything else.

 

[wendyalana]

This is awesome guys. Thanks.