Dumb Questions

Bob Carnie · Sep 23, 2017

Now that Hybrid questions can be asked on all aspects including PS ,I have an observation for all.

Even though I have been working with PS for years , I have came to the conclusion that there are at least 5 or more ways to figure out or make a move and get basically the same result.

So I am excited to see any sort of question, answer if I can, and if not learn along side the OP. This is a very unique site in that we all come from photography from different viewpoints and life lessons and we learn differently..

this old dogs wants to learn new tricks so do not be afraid to ask any dumb question...

I will start out... how come one a very large file I can only get my brush to a certain size and it stops??? hmmmm.

Julie McLeod · Sep 23, 2017

What version of Photoshop, Bob? I'm not sure if this answers your question but...in older versions of Photoshop, brush sizes were limited to 2500 pixelsand in the more recent versions (Photoshop CC), the limit is 5,000 pixels. I'm not exactly sure what version saw the increase though.

Bob Carnie · Sep 23, 2017

I am using CS 5 , 6 and also CC , different computers.

faberryman · Sep 23, 2017

I have CC and am running it on my desktop and laptop with only one monthly charge. Unless there is something you like with CS5 and CS6, you might want to install CC on all three of your machines.

Julie McLeod · Sep 23, 2017

Bob Carnie said:
I am using CS 5 , 6 and also CC , different computers.

I have both CS6 and CC and the limit seems to be 5,000 pixels on both. Now you have me curious - are your files sufficiently huge that a brush of 5,000 pixels isn't enough?

ced · Sep 23, 2017

Well I am also puzzled why you might need a brush that is so big you can't even see what it is doing elsewhere off the screen...
What I wish I knew if possible in PS is to take two grad. curves and combine (average) then be able to use that curve and apply it to another image.
Any expert knowledge on this would be most appreciated.

pdeeh · Sep 23, 2017

ced said:
I wish I knew if possible in PS is to take two grad. curves and combine (average) then be able to use that curve and apply it to another image.

I've really only ever used theGimp, in which you can write special functions using a scripting language (lua or python as i recall?) - is there a similar facility in PS maybe ?

Bob Carnie · Sep 23, 2017

Just like darkroom printing I use a monster brush to feather in density with a reduced Opacity,, small brushes are useless for this as I pretend I am doing the Ducks ass and give a very broad base.

The thread is for us to discuss the differences so Ced could you explain further how you do your edge burns with grad. curves as this is something I do not do and the reason I started this thread.

Old dog wanting to learn

Julie McLeod said:
I have both CS6 and CC and the limit seems to be 5,000 pixels on both. Now you have me curious - are your files sufficiently huge that a brush of 5,000 pixels isn't enough?

No not for how I do specific burning. see post above.
Sometimes my files are 1.5 gig when I am working on them in 16bit.

cliveh · Sep 23, 2017

But Bob, why would an excellent analogue printer like yourself want to understand a system that lacks any physical/chemical integrity?

removed account4 · Sep 23, 2017

hi bob,
im not sure why the brush is so small either ( i m using cs2 )
i never really thought about it until now ...
if my brush is maxed out i just decrease my picture size to
compensate for my problem ...

Patrick Robert James · Sep 23, 2017

I've done edge burning two ways myself if that is what you are asking Bob.

Make a selection about where you want the effect to end, then feather it. Feathering is limited to 1000 if I am not mistaken. Invert the selection. Then add your curves or whatever you want to use. I use a solid black layer set to soft light or multiply usually.

if you want to use a grad, which is probably better for you since your files are huge, make a gradient layer, set it to radial. I set this to a solid black for the dark color, and transparent for the light. Set the layer to either soft light or multiply. Soft light will only affect the sub 50% tones, so it won't affect the highlights. Multiply will affect all tones. You can use overlay too, but I have forgotten what that does specifically off the top of my head. Set the scale in the gradient dialogue to adjust the effect.

If you want to burn or dodge something specific, create a new layer and fill it with 50% gray. Set your paintbrush how you want it, but only at max 15% opacity, usually less. Set the layer to soft light and use white for dodging and black for burning. If you go overboard, you can swipe it with a 50% gray. You can build up the tone gradually this way.

I rarely use curves in Photoshop. Instead I will use a color fill layer for either black or white set as soft light. Sometimes I will build several of these layers to get the right effect.

Hope that answers some of your questions Bob.

Bob Carnie · Sep 24, 2017

cliveh said:
But Bob, why would an excellent analogue printer like yourself want to understand a system that lacks any physical/chemical integrity?

Patrick Robert James said:
I've done edge burning two ways myself if that is what you are asking Bob.

Make a selection about where you want the effect to end, then feather it. Feathering is limited to 1000 if I am not mistaken. Invert the selection. Then add your curves or whatever you want to use. I use a solid black layer set to soft light or multiply usually.

if you want to use a grad, which is probably better for you since your files are huge, make a gradient layer, set it to radial. I set this to a solid black for the dark color, and transparent for the light. Set the layer to either soft light or multiply. Soft light will only affect the sub 50% tones, so it won't affect the highlights. Multiply will affect all tones. You can use overlay too, but I have forgotten what that does specifically off the top of my head. Set the scale in the gradient dialogue to adjust the effect.

If you want to burn or dodge something specific, create a new layer and fill it with 50% gray. Set your paintbrush how you want it, but only at max 15% opacity, usually less. Set the layer to soft light and use white for dodging and black for burning. If you go overboard, you can swipe it with a 50% gray. You can build up the tone gradually this way.

I rarely use curves in Photoshop. Instead I will use a color fill layer for either black or white set as soft light. Sometimes I will build several of these layers to get the right effect.

Hope that answers some of your questions Bob.

Patrick I learned something and yes you did answer quite well, I will try the selection and feather. makes sense to me.

Bob Carnie · Sep 24, 2017

cliveh said:
But Bob, why would an excellent analogue printer like yourself want to understand a system that lacks any physical/chemical integrity?

Because I need to feed my family!

Bob Carnie · Sep 24, 2017

Ok so here is another Dumb Question... when saving a file tif what is the difference between LZW and None... I always go to None but I am curious what LZW does.???

pdeeh · Sep 24, 2017

lzw is a compression algorithm, so basically it just reduces the size of the file. It's lossless so no need to worry about losing quality

Bob Carnie · Sep 24, 2017

pdeeh said:
lzw is a compression algorithm, so basically it just reduces the size of the file. It's lossless so no need to worry about losing quality

thank you

Patrick Robert James · Sep 24, 2017

I wouldn't use lzw just because you never know... Maybe in the future, you might not be able to open it. I have quite a few PSD files from more than a decade ago that can't be opened by Photoshop, and they were made in Photoshop. I only save TIF files now, no compression. Hard drives are cheap, technologies change.

Patrick Robert James · Sep 24, 2017

Bob Carnie said:
Patrick I learned something and yes you did answer quite well, I will try the selection and feather. makes sense to me.

You are welcome Bob. Got any questions, I have all kinds of useless information in my melon....

Bob Carnie · Sep 24, 2017

I never use LZW but always wondered what it represented..

Ok Here is a mother of all questions that was really important 10 years ago but not so important now as digital cameras are providing huge files now.

If you are printing at 300 ppi and the native size out of the camera is lets say 12 x 18 but one wants to make a 30 x40 - what is the best way or good way of upscaling to the new size... years ago someone would say go 10 % at a time I never followed this logic so lets here this answer..

Prof_Pixel · Sep 24, 2017

Bob Carnie said:
Ok so here is another Dumb Question... when saving a file tif what is the difference between LZW and None... I always go to None but I am curious what LZW does.???

LZW is a compression algorithm that uses run length encoding: sort of like GIF. It's lossless.

Prof_Pixel · Sep 24, 2017

Bob Carnie said:
... years ago someone would say go 10 % at a time I never followed this logic so lets here this answer..

I've never agreed with the 10% approach - I just use PS's standard resizing algorithm with appropriate unsharp masking sharpening. You can't add missing information on resizing , although in the past, programs like Extensis's pxl Smart Scale tried; I was never impressed.

faberryman · Sep 24, 2017

And that is better than reducing dpi from 300 to something lower?

Prof_Pixel · Sep 24, 2017

faberryman said:
And that is better than reducing dpi from 300 to something lower?

I've always complained about the mixed usage of ppi (PIXELS per inch) and dpi (DOTS per inch). I always try to limit my usage of ppi to image size number of pixels and dpi to printer quality dots. Unfortunately, not everyone makes a clear distinction.

faberryman · Sep 24, 2017

Prof_Pixel said:
I've always complained about the mixed usage of ppi (PIXELS per inch) and dpi (DOTS per inch). I always try to limit my usage of ppi to image size number of pixels and dpi to printer quality dots. Unfortunately, not everyone makes a clear distinction.

Inevitably, if I use ppi, someone chimes in and corrects me to say it should be dpi, and, unfortunately, vice versa.

ced · Sep 25, 2017

For Bob, have you tried using lens correction function the "vignette' option instead of brush burning to darken your edges?
My question about combining 2 curves into one had no relation to your brush burning.

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