Editing pictures in Photoshop CS

HW
Posted By
Herbert_Wood
Apr 3, 2004
Views
284
Replies
4
Status
Closed
In which sequence should I edit pictures in Photoshop CS?

By this I mean, do I first adjust size, contrast, colour levels, resolution, etc? Is there any particular order that should be used or that is recommended?

Or does it make a difference?

Thank you
Herb

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

DP
Daryl_Pritchard
Apr 3, 2004
Hello Herb,

I’m not sure what order might be best for any color edits (contrast, levels, brightness, hue, etc.) but other more experienced users can probably answer that. However, my own approach is typically to change the size and resolution of the image as the very last step. By changing the size/resolution last, you have the maximum amount of image information available to be used during the course of any other edits. For example, if you had a large image that contained enough information to represent millions of colors, then obviously that would permit more accurate blends, gradients, feathers, etc., than a small version of the same image that may appear visually identical but actually has only thousands of colors. On screen the differences may not be obvious whereas for print they may show up.

The only caveat I’d put on my "resize last" comment is that if you find it rather slow to edit your original image and it is considerably larger than what you intend your final image to be, then you could probably reduce the size to a midpoint between the two. Then, when you complete your edits, reduce the size again to what is desired.

I’ve read several times before that if you apply an unsharp mask to an image to sharpen it up, that is best done as a final step. I’m not sure if it was really meant that should follow any planned resizing or not, so perhaps someone else can clarify that. Of course, you can always just experiment on your own to see if you can tell any difference.

Regards,

Daryl
WD
Walter Donavan
Apr 3, 2004
I am an amateur graphics person, not a pro, so take this with a grain of salt:

I would sharpen the resized image last so I could see the effect on the actual final image. I find Unsharp Mask (which I generally prefer over the other techniques) often needs a lot of tweaking for optimal results.

My rule of thumb is: do all the stuff that requires maximum information first, then resize the image last (except for sharpening). —
Walter Donavan
www.revelation7stages.com
www.1stbooks.com/bookview/15479
MM
Mick_Murphy
Apr 4, 2004
The best way to work imo is to use adjustment layers for colour and contrast – curves or levels and color balance. You don’t change the image at all in this way so it doesn’t matter at what point in the editing process you do this.

Working at the highest image (pixel) size you require and downsizing different versions if required at the end is best.
RL
roger_leale
Apr 4, 2004
I prefer to do any necessary cropping before I do anything else, because it is obvious that some pictures have too much space with nothing to add to the composition. Why work on rubbish! Following the advice of the brains behind Focal Blade, (Harold Heim) I always do any sharpening that is required as the last step before printing. I have proved to myself at least, that sharpening before any other adjustments, especially resizing, can produce some obvious artifacts.

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections