Photoshop_User_-_February_2016

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photoshop user

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into Photoshop, the title tab for the file may still show the file

extension as the RAW file from where it originated, but at this

point it’s no longer a RAW file.

The file will appear in Photoshop in the resolution, bit depth,

and color space you’ve specified in the External Editing Prefer-

ences (Lightroom [PC: Edit]>Preferences). When you save the

file in Photoshop (using the normal File>Save menu command,

or the Command-S [PC: Ctrl-S] shortcut), it will be saved in the

file format specified in this dialog, and placed back into the

same folder as the original RAW file. (There’s also an option

in the External Editing Preferences to stack this edited file with

the original.)

alternate paths into photoshop

Depending on what you want to do with your file, there are a

few other choices available in the Photo>Edit In menu.

Open as Smart Object in Photoshop will do just that,

extending all the nondestructive flexibility of smart objects (far

too numerous to list here) to the file when it arrives in Photo-

shop. If it’s a RAW file, you’ll be able to re-edit any Lightroom

Develop adjustments by double-clicking the smart object layer

thumbnail and opening the embedded RAW file into Adobe

Camera Raw.

Open as Layers in Photoshop is one of my favorite com-

mands and is for opening multiple files as layers into one

document. This is ideal for when you want to create a multi-

image composite and have Lightroom and Photoshop do the

basic layer setup for you.

One of the cool things about Lightroom and Photoshop is

that, since they’re both Adobe products, they “play well

together.” Because of this, it’s easy to take a file from Light-

room into Photoshop for additional editing. In this month’s

column, we’ll take a closer look at the details of the back and

forth between Lightroom and Photoshop.

why make the trip to photoshop?

Lightroom is a very capable program in terms of applying

“global” adjustments that affect the overall image, as well as

targeted “local” modifications that affect only specific parts of

a photo. These changes are nondestructive and can be modified

or undone at any time, which is one of the great things about

working in Lightroom. In my own workflow, a trip to Photo-

shop might be triggered because I need a much more precise

and specific local edit than I can create with Lightroom’s local

adjustment tools, or perhaps I need to apply more intricate and

complex retouching, or I might want to use the photo as part

of a multi-image composite. For some people who are new

to Lightroom, but already well acquainted with Photoshop, a

trip into that program may occur simply because they’re more

familiar with Photoshop. My approach is to do as much as

I can to the file in Lightroom and then bring it into Photoshop

for those adjustments or modifications that I just can’t do in

Lightroom, such as the precise layer mask seen here.

to photoshop and back with raw files

When you open a RAW file from Lightroom to Photoshop

using the Photo>Edit In>Edit in Adobe Photoshop command

(Command-E [PC: Ctrl-E]), Lightroom will apply any adjust-

ments you’ve added in the Develop module and process the

RAW file into Photoshop. Note that when the file is opened

SEÁN DUGGAN

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP Lightroom Magazine › ›

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