## Instructions - NON-DESTRUCTIVE ALWAYS: Smart Objects for placed/transformed layers, adjustment layers instead of Image > Adjustments, masks instead of erasing. If you can't undo it next week, you're doing it wrong. - Selections: Select Subject/Sky for speed, then refine (Select and Mask: feather 1-2px, shift edge -20% for hair). Pen tool for hard product edges. - Retouch order: cleanup (Spot Healing) → dodge & burn (separate 50% gray Soft Light layers) → color grade (Camera Raw filter as Smart Filter) → sharpen last (High Pass overlay or Smart Sharpen on merged copy). - Work in 16-bit + ProPhoto/AdobeRGB while editing; convert to 8-bit sRGB only on export for web. - Actions for anything repeated 3+ times (resize/watermark/export sets); droplets/batch for folders. - Export: Save As PSD master first, then Export As (JPG quality 70-80 for web, PNG for transparency, keep dimensions exact). - Blend-if over masks for fast sky/luminosity blends (double-click layer → Blend If sliders, Alt-drag to split); faster than painting gradients and fully reversible. - Smart Filter stack order: Liquify/Blur below Camera Raw in the stack reads more predictably; reorder by dragging — filters apply bottom-up. - Color proofing: `View > Proof Setup > Internet Standard sRGB` before web export so wide-gamut edits don't shift on normal screens; `Gamut Warning` for print work. - Libraries + linked Smart Objects for brand kits (logos, textures) — update once, every PSD using them offers the update. - History discipline: History Log (Edit > Preferences > History Log → Text File) for client-billable trails; snapshots before destructive experiments. ## Examples - Product photo: pen-path cutout → white background via Solid Color + mask → shadow with Multiply gradient → export 2000px JPG. - Portrait: frequency separation (High 3px / Low 8px) for skin, dodge & burn eyes/teeth, subtle grade. - YouTube thumbnail: 1280x720 canvas, subject masked + scaled 120%, background blurred 8px, 3-word text at 140pt with stroke, export JPG q80 under 2MB. ## Workflows 1. Duplicate background, convert to Smart Object, 16-bit. 2. Cleanup → reshape (Liquify as Smart Filter) → dodge & burn. 3. Color: Camera Raw Smart Filter → selective HSL → grade LUT at 30-50% opacity. 4. Sharpen output copy, export masters + web versions via Actions. 5. Keep layered PSD archived; never overwrite the master. 6. Client proofs: Contact Sheet II PDF → annotate → apply rounds as new layer groups (`r1/`, `r2/`) so feedback is reversible. ## Templates - Action "Web-2000": Image Size 2000px long edge → Smart Sharpen 60/1.0 → Save for Web JPG q75 → Close without saving. - Dodge & burn setup: two Curves adjustment layers (one lifted, one dropped), black masks, paint white at 5-10% flow. Alternative: 50% gray overlay layers. - Contact sheet: File > Automate > Contact Sheet II for client proofs. - Frequency separation setup: copy to High/Low layers → Low: Gaussian Blur 8px → High: Apply Image (Subtract, offset 128) → set High to Linear Light; retouch Low for tone, High for texture. - Export preset list per project: `master.PSD (16-bit, layers)` / `web-2000.jpg (sRGB, q75)` / `thumb-1280.jpg` / `print-300dpi.tif (AdobeRGB)` — one Action per preset. ```text # Export-action matrix (one Action per row, never hand-export twice) # master.PSD 16-bit layers (Save As, ICC embedded) / web-2000.jpg sRGB q75 2000px # thumb-1280.jpg sRGB q80 / print-300dpi.tif AdobeRGB 300ppi + printer ICC # Proof-PDF via Contact Sheet II for client rounds (r1/ r2/ layer groups) ``` ## Tools - SARAH can't drive the Photoshop GUI — it writes/organizes assets, checklists, and batch scripts around it. - ImageMagick (`mogrify`/`convert`) via SARAH shell for bulk resize/convert outside Photoshop. - Bridge + Camera Raw for culling/rating before Photoshop ever opens — don't retouch rejects. ## Advanced - Compositing realism: match noise (`Filter > Noise > Add Noise` sampled from the plate), edge light direction, black/white points, and perspective (Vanishing Point filter) — mismatched grain outs a composite faster than bad masking. - Selections at scale: Channels (blue-channel contrast for hair on gray days), `Select > Color Range > Skin Tones` for masks, Object Selection + `Select and Mask` refine; save alpha channels for re-use. - Neural Filters as starting points only (Skin Smoothing, JPEG artefacts removal) at low opacity on duplicate layers — bake when approved, never ship live-filter dependencies to printers. - Print prep: 300ppi at final size, CMYK convert via the printer's ICC profile (not generic SWOP unless asked), total ink check (`Window > Info` panel), 3mm bleed + slug with version. - Troubleshooting: brush lag → spacing/flow smoothing too high, snapshot purge (`Edit > Purge > All`), GPU mode in Preferences; banding in gradients → 16-bit + 2% monochromatic noise layer on top; PSD won't save (2GB limit) → switch to PSB for monsters; fonts reflow on handoff → Package (`File > Package`) or convert final text to shape. - Selection rescue kit: `Select > Subject` for the 80%, Channels (highest-contrast channel → Levels → load as selection) for hair/glass, Pen + 1px feather for products, `Select and Mask` Decontaminate for fringed edges. - Skin-tone guardrails: sample CMYK/modal RGB on foreheads (healthy skin ≈ M > Y by 5–15%, K near 0), vectorscope skin-tone line in Camera Raw, never push Vibrance past +30 on portraits. - Batch-proofing: `File > Automate > Batch` with the Web-2000 action + `Override Save As` to a proofs folder — 200 RAWs become client JPGs while you sleep. ## Templates ```text # Retouch layer stack (bottom to top, every portrait) # 1 Background copy (Smart Object, 16-bit) 2 Cleanup (Spot Healing, empty layer, Sample All) # 3 Frequency Low (tone) 4 Frequency High (texture) 5 D&B lift/drop Curves (masked) # 6 Camera Raw Smart Filter (grade) 7 Selective Color/HSL (skin vs bg) 8 Output sharpen copy (top, hidden until export) ``` ## Documentation - Adobe help: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/user-guide.html - Piximperfect (technique reference): https://www.youtube.com/@PiXimperfect - Adobe Camera Raw guide: https://helpx.adobe.com/camera-raw/user-guide.html