Sharpening - Shadows and Highlights in PS CC

[bnnrcn]

There are no layers for 'sharpening' and 'shadows and highlights' adjustments in PS CC. So when I sharpen an image if I want to cancel it later I can't do it. It is same for 'shadows and highlights' adjustment as well. So, is there a way to keep such adjustments and delete them if I want later? One way might be dublicating the background layer and doing the sharpening by choosing this layer and renaming it as 'sharpening' and if I don't want it, I can delete it later. I can do the same thing for 'shadows and highlights' adjustments too. But this is the solution I have found out on my own. Is this the right way or is there any other more reasonable way?

[John 2]

If you were using any of the many plugins (e.g. NIK Software) to make adjustments Binnur, that's exactly what you would get. They generally create a separate layer for each adjustment.

[Downrigger]

Perhaps I don't understand the question - and to make matters worse do not use PS - but in LR these adjustments (sharpening, shadows, etc.) can all be made globally or locally, are non-destructive and can be subsequently modified or removed as many times as one wishes. As I contemplate "progressing" to PS, I wonder if processing in LR is usefully done as a preliminary in a workflow that ends in PS.

[Mike Buckley]

There are no layers for 'sharpening' and 'shadows and highlights' adjustments in PS CC.

I don't use PS CC but even in the very first version of Photoshop Elements you can make a copy of whatever layer you want and edit the copy. Later on you can "hide," remove or modify any layer. I would be shocked to learn that the same can't be done using PS CC.

[chauncey]

To parrot Mike...highlight any layer>go to layer at top>choose duplicate layer, or just click Ctrl j>label that layer as to what alterations you make on it...use it later or not.

[Polar01]

Binur: this is the beauty of Photoshop, adjustment layers and masks. By adding a curves adjustment layer you can bring up or lower the shadows, with the mask you can allow only those areas that you want to see be seen. Same as adding a filter such as High Pass Filter with a mask you only allow what you want to be seen, seen.

Cheers: Allan

[chauncey]

Lest you forget...you can also dial down the opacity should you want to lessen the effect.

[bnnrcn]

From all answers above I have realised that I couldn't explain my problem clearly. I know how layers works in PS CC and no problem with that at all. My question is especially for sharpening and shadows and highlights adjustments. I'm in a hurry and I have to go out now but I will try to explain my question more clearly hopefully tomorrow.

[chauncey]

We are simply suggesting the same methods that you have discovered on your own.

[Mike Buckley]

We are simply suggesting the same methods that you have discovered on your own.

I don't know about anyone else, but I am especially good at doing that.

[dje]

There are no layers for 'sharpening' and 'shadows and highlights' adjustments in PS CC. So when I sharpen an image if I want to cancel it later I can't do it. It is same for 'shadows and highlights' adjustment as well. So, is there a way to keep such adjustments and delete them if I want later? One way might be dublicating the background layer and doing the sharpening by choosing this layer and renaming it as 'sharpening' and if I don't want it, I can delete it later. I can do the same thing for 'shadows and highlights' adjustments too. But this is the solution I have found out on my own. Is this the right way or is there any other more reasonable way?

Binnur creating duplicate layers as you describe is one way. Using Smart Objects and Smart Filters is another. These allow you to go back and re-adjust the sharpening or shadows and highlights settings at a later date. They do make the psd files quite large though.

Dave

PS. I've never been able to understand why there is no provision for Shadows and Highlights as an adjustment layer but I dare say Adobe have their reasons.

[bnnrcn]

Ok I'm back. First of all thank you everybody for trying to help with your comments Let me try to explain my point more clearly.

If you choose one of the adjustments such as exposure, hue&saturation etc. under the 'Layers' menu in PS CC, PS creates the adjustment layer automatically and I can keep my adjustments in that layer and I can change them later if I want or I can hide the layer if I want to exclude the adjustments. But 'Sharpening' and 'Shadows and Highlights' are not listed under 'Layers' menu and PS CC doesn't create adjustment layers automatically for these. So I have to duplicate my image layer ,rename it and use it for sharpening. Same for the shadows and highlights as well. I can at least delete that layer and create another one when I want to change my settings . I find this a bit strange and I started this thread to make sure that I'm doing it the right way and as far as I understand from above comments that this is the way it should be .

Thank you Dave for the smart filters and smart objects suggestion. I will try it. Especially for sharpening there are times that I have to go back and change my settings because sometimes I think that my sharpening is ok, but later I decide to reduce or increase it. May be it is because I'm not very experienced in PS yet and that's why I have to do some things over and over again I'm also happy to hear that I'm not the only one who finds the situation weird

Mark, I don't use LR. But from the posts in CIC I know that LR is very similar to ACR (Adobe Camera Raw)which is a part of PS CC. ACR is the beginning of your work flow in PS CC and after editing in ACR , you pass your image to the photoshop part of PS CC for further and more complicated edits. My question is about 'Sharpening' and 'Shadows and Highlights' functions in photoshop part of PS CC. Photoshop part of PS CC is really powerful and although I'm not very experienced in it I can tell you that you are sure to love it . Layers ,blending modes,levels...so many useful functions

[bnnrcn]

Dave, I tried Smart Filters for sharpening and my problem is solved perfectly, thanks again With smart filter, I can always go back and re-adjust my sharpening after resizing my image. This was a real problem for me . Because sometimes I need to reduce my sharpening after resizing the image especially for scenes with trees and bushes because they get crisp after resizing.
And sometimes with some other scenes, I have to sharpen some more after resizing the image. So, everything is sorted out now.

Same for the 'Shadows and Highlights' , your suggestion has worked really fine

Binnur creating duplicate layers as you describe is one way. Using Smart Objects and Smart Filters is another. These allow you to go back and re-adjust the sharpening or shadows and highlights settings at a later date. They do make the psd files quite large though.

Dave

PS. I've never been able to understand why there is no provision for Shadows and Highlights as an adjustment layer but I dare say Adobe have their reasons.

[IzzieK]

Binnur, Shadows and Highlights is listed under Image/Adjustment options, not under the Layers/Adjustment option. I am just saying this in case you do not know...

If you choose one of the adjustments such as exposure, hue&saturation etc. under the 'Layers' menu in PS CC, PS creates the adjustment layer automatically and I can keep my adjustments in that layer and I can change them later if I want or I can hide the layer if I want to exclude the adjustments. But 'Sharpening' and 'Shadows and Highlights' are not listed under 'Layers' menu and PS CC doesn't create adjustment layers automatically for these. So I have to duplicate my image layer ,rename it and use it for sharpening. Same for the shadows and highlights as well. I can at least delete that layer and create another one when I want to change my settings . I find this a bit strange and I started this thread to make sure that I'm doing it the right way and as far as I understand from above comments that this is the way it should be .........

[bnnrcn]

Thank you Isabel. I know and that's why I started this thread. It is not an adjustment layer and I can't keep my adjustments and re-adjust them later. Dave's suggestion has worked fine though. Using smart objects is a good solution

Binnur, Shadows and Highlights is listed under Image/Adjustment options, not under the Layers/Adjustment option. I am just saying this in case you do not know...

[Colin Southern]

Perhaps I don't understand the question - and to make matters worse do not use PS - but in LR these adjustments (sharpening, shadows, etc.) can all be made globally or locally, are non-destructive and can be subsequently modified or removed as many times as one wishes. As I contemplate "progressing" to PS, I wonder if processing in LR is usefully done as a preliminary in a workflow that ends in PS.

Hi Mark,

Anyone who has Photoshop CC will also have ACR - and ACR has the same engine (ie capabilities) as LR (in terms of image adjustment -- not cataloging etc). In practice you could "pre-process" in ACR or LR (no difference in the result) (personally I prefer ACR over LR by a factor of about 10,000, but that's just me).

People need to understand that Photoshop CC isn't a simple parametric editor like ACR or LR though - what it does is far more powerful - to the point where what it does just couldn't be done efficiently parametrically. Having just said that though, creating layers to achieve much the same thing is trivial (expecially when you consider that layer opacity can be varied to give an almost infinite number of combinations to a given effect) (something you can't do in LR).

[Colin Southern]

Thank you Isabel. I know and that's why I started this thread. It is not an adjustment layer and I can't keep my adjustments and re-adjust them later. Dave's suggestion has worked fine though. Using smart objects is a good solution

Smart objects are only available until you start pixel-based editing - then you have to go past the point of no return to continue editing.

[bnnrcn]

What is pixel-based editing Colin?

Smart objects are only available until you start pixel-based editing - then you have to go past the point of no return to continue editing.

[dje]

Hi Binnur

One thing I should have mentioned about Smart Objects (and I think this is what Colin is referring to when he talks about pixel editing) - if you have converted your main layer to a Smart Object and applied some filters, you won't be able to do edits such as Clone Stamp, Brushes, Content Aware Fill, Healing brush etc without first converting the Smart Object to a raster image. A raster image just means a set of pixel values for display with all edit information stripped. This means that the edit details in the Smart Object will be lost. The best time to do Cloning etc is before you convert the layer to a Smart Object. (I've been caught like this a few times in the past !)

Dave

[Colin Southern]

Hi Binnur

One thing I should have mentioned about Smart Objects (and I think this is what Colin is referring to when he talks about pixel editing) - if you have converted your main layer to a Smart Object and applied some filters, you won't be able to do edits such as Clone Stamp, Brushes, Content Aware Fill, Healing brush etc without first converting the Smart Object to a raster image. A raster image just means a set of pixel values for display with all edit information stripped. This means that the edit details in the Smart Object will be lost. The best time to do Cloning etc is before you convert the layer to a Smart Object. (I've been caught like this a few times in the past !)

Dave

Um, unless they've changed it, it's normally the other way around -- you'd normally export out of ACR as a smart object, but as soon as you want to do anything that involves pixels, then you have to rasterise it - at which point you can't go back to ACR anymore because the edit data is no longer parametric.

In practice I don't normally use them; I can usually get it pretty close in ACR at which point there's little down-side to making minor changes to colour and levels in Photoshop.