› ›kelbyone.com119- Edit Original: The term “original” here is quite problematic.
Most people think it refers to the original file that the camera
created, but this isn’t necessarily the case, especially with a
RAW file. It refers to the original file that was created during
the first trip into Photoshop, or to an original JPEG (possibly a
camera original, but possibly not), TIFF, or PSD file. All layers
will be preserved and, as long as metadata is saved to the file
before making the trip into Photoshop, any Lightroom edits
will be reapplied once the file arrives back in Lightroom.
the curse of the multiplying files
Since each of the first two options in this dialog create a copy
of the file, using them too many times with the same file is a
sure way to end up with lots of files that all look very similar,
and it can be easy to lose track of just which file is which.
Because the default behavior for Lightroom is to append
“-Edit” onto the original filename, if you see files that are
named something like “Img_2384-Edit-Edit-Edit-Edit-Edit-
Edit-Edit.tiff,” then you know that you’ve probably invoked
that command many times on the same original file.changing the way externally edited
files are named
In the aforementioned External Editing Preferences, the last
option in the dialog lets you modify how the filenames are
appended for files that are edited in external applications. For
instance, I use the naming convention of “-M” to indicate a
“master file,” which is how I think of the layered files I create
from a RAW original.creating alternate edit in
photoshop presets
In the center section of the External Editing Preferences is where
you can specify an external editor in addition to Photoshop. This
is also the place where you set up some plug-ins. I’ve used this
section to set up an alternate Photoshop editing preset that
I use for JPEG files from my iPhone. My default edit in the Pho-
toshop configuration opens the images as 16-bit ProPhoto
RGB files, which isn’t really appropriate for 8-bit JPEGs from
a camera phone. So I’ve created a special preset for those files
that, when used, will open them as 8-bit Adobe RGB files. Once
you’ve chosen your application and file settings in the Addi-
tional External Editor section, select Save Current Settings as
New Preset from the Preset drop-down menu, name it in the
New Preset dialog that appears, and click Create. This preset
will now appear in the Photo>Edit In menu. ■ALL IMAGES BY SÉAN DUGGAN› › Lightroom Magazine ADOBE PHOTOSHOPThere are also options for Merge to Panorama in Photoshop
and Merge to HDR Pro in Photoshop. Lightroom CC also offers
its own commands for panoramas and HDR that don’t require
Photoshop, and you can find those under Photo>Photo Merge.
the further edits fork in the road
Once you’ve taken a file from Lightroom to Photoshop and
back, you’re faced with a fork-in-the-road situation. Will fur-
ther editing only be done in Photoshop, or will it be a com-
bination of both newer Lightroom edits and additional Pho-
toshop edits? The main thing to understand is that there are
some limitations to how the Photoshop edits (especially layers)
and any new Lightroom edits can work together.
reopening a psd, tiff, or jpeg file
into photoshop
When you choose to open a non-RAW file (i.e., a TIFF, PSD,
or JPEG) into Photoshop using the Command-E (PC: Ctrl-E)
shortcut, a dialog appears that asks you what you want to edit,
and it presents you with three possible options. These options
include an explanation, but some new users are still perplexed
by the choices, so let’s take a look at these and deconstruct
exactly what happens.
- Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments: As advertised, this
will create a new file and apply any Lightroom adjustments.
So, if you’ve already brought a file into Photoshop, added
layers, saved it back to Lightroom, and now you’ve applied
some more Lightroom adjustments, here’s what you’ll get:
A file in Photoshop where your previous layers have been
flattened, but the new Lightroom adjustments have been
applied. The loss of my Photoshop layers is what makes this
option a non-starter for me most of the time, but it might
be useful if you’re opening a JPEG from your smart phone
and want to apply any Lightroom adjustments and do fur-
ther work in Photoshop. - Edit a Copy: This creates a copy of the original file, but Light-
room adjustments will not be visible in Photoshop. If it’s a
layered PSD file, then your layers will be preserved and edit-
able. If you choose to save the metadata to the file (Com-
mand-S [PC: Ctrl-S]) before bringing the file into Photoshop,
you can make new edits in Photoshop and when you save
and close the file, the version that comes back into Light-
room will still have the Develop module adjustments that
weren’t visible in Photoshop.