How To Work With Smart Objects In Photoshop For Flexible Editing – Smart objects are a great way to make your layers more flexible in Photoshop. They offer you some unique options that you won’t have access to when you’re not using them.
In this short article, I’ll explain why I think it’s important and how to use Smart Objects in your post-processing workflow.
How To Work With Smart Objects In Photoshop For Flexible Editing
Note that I write mainly about landscape photography, but I’m sure my tips will help you in other genres as well.
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If you apply a certain filter or adjustment to your regular layer, you won’t be able to adjust it again later. You have the option to just reduce the overall opacity or delete the layer completely to start over.
When you’re not sure that your edits are the right move for your image and you want to make sure you have access to filters again, Smart Objects is the thing for you!
Lets you reopen the filter you just used and refine it again if you want. I personally like to combine it with Adobe Camera RAW and the Nik collection, which I will explain in more detail in the next paragraph.
First, we need to prepare Adobe Camera RAW to work with smart objects in the best possible way. Note that I don’t use Adobe Lightroom, so I won’t talk about how to set things up there, but it should be similar since they both use the same editing engine.
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When you open a Raw file in Adobe Camera Raw, you’ll see some important information below. See the screenshots to better understand what I’m talking about.
By clicking on the information, you get the option to choose between different color spaces and bit depths.
This setting is not the main part of this article, but I recommend choosing 16-bit and sRGB. I use sRGB because I mostly edit for the web.
If you do a lot of editing for prints and have a printer/lab that supports AdobeRGB, choose this color space.
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The main reason I mention the Settings tab is the little checkbox that says “Open as Smart Object”.
You need to make sure it’s selected (only if you want to use smart items, of course). Photoshop will then open your raw file as a smart object from scratch and that’s where all the magic begins!
My favorite way to use smart objects is in conjunction with Adobe Camera Raw. Once you’ve opened your file as a Smart Object in Adobe Photoshop, you can open it again and make some more raw adjustments to your image.
You might be wondering why Photoshop has built-in camera filters that can also be applied to smart objects?
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If you want to stay in 16-bit to get the highest quality, you have to work in Raw.
The maximum number of colors per channel (RGB) displayed in 8 bits is 256. So 256 red, green and blue colors. This may seem like a lot, but the maximum number of colors that each channel (RGB) can display in 16-bit mode is 65,536!
Most of the time you’ll be fine with an 8-bit filter setup, but there is one scenario that has happened to me a lot in the past.
Imagine you have a blank image of the sky at dusk/dawn and you want to make the sky brighter and more dramatic.
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This is a common situation where you will have problems with 8-bit sync because there may be banding in your files. A 16-bit workflow will help you avoid such situations. Although I personally don’t use it often, it helps me sometimes.
By reusing raw files with smart objects, make sure you stay in 16-bit mode. You can now duplicate a smart object by clicking “Make a new copy of the smart object view” and make some additional raw adjustments by double-clicking on the layer.
Don’t be confused when you see the same changes to a Raw file in Camera Raw, because Adobe Photoshop will apply the new changes to your Smart Object only after you reconfirm your Camera Raw adjustments.
If you make a simple copy just by pressing Ctrl + J, your latest changes will also affect all other Raw smart objects.
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When you combine these new layers (new smart objects via copying) with local paint effect masks, you’ll have a more powerful and advanced way to edit images.
It’s up to you how many layers of smart objects you want to create, as it’s always a personal choice, but it’s definitely a great technique to have in your toolbox.
Of course, there are other ways to use smart objects in your post-processing workflow. If you are a user of certain plugins like Nik Collection, you can reopen the filter can also help.
When creating a new layer and turning it into a smart object, you now have the option to open Color Efex Pro (for example) and make your adjustments in the tool without worrying if the effect is too big.
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To change the effect, just click on the filter inside your smart object and Photoshop will open the Plugins tab again!
I recommend this method when you are new to the plugin and want to try different things to get comfortable with it.
Now I don’t use smart objects with alias collections anymore because I know the filters I like and how to use them.
However, it has helped me a lot in the past when I was new to the program. If I start using a new plugin in my workflow – which I’m not used to – I’ll definitely use smart objects again!
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It’s not about camera RAW and external plugins; You can also use “standard” Photoshop filters along with Smart Objects.
I mostly use the Gaussian Blur filter and the Smart Sharp filter. The ability to go back to your combinations and repeat some steps is important when you want to practice and find the right amount for your job.
Note that smart items can slow down your computer a bit, so use them only when you need them.
Finally, I’d like to quickly point out that if you want to use any stamping or transformations, you need to organize your smart objects.
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So make sure you create a new layer by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Shift + E if you don’t want to get rid of the smart object.
Let me know in the comments! If you have any questions, please contact me at any time! Photoshop is a powerful tool that offers many features to enhance your real estate photography. Smart objects in particular allow you to perform non-destructive editing, which is essential to maintain the quality and integrity of your real estate photos.
This tutorial is designed to walk you through the basics of using Smart Objects in Photoshop. It includes examples related to real estate photography, making it easy to apply this technique to your work.
Smart objects are layers in Photoshop that contain image data from raster or vector images, such as those created in Photoshop or Illustrator.
Smart Objects In Photoshop: Editing Flexibility
They preserve the original nature of the image, which allows you to work flexibly with its content without damaging its source.
Additionally, Photoshop offers a neat technique called Smart Object Linking, a creative feature that lets you link your content directly from an external image file.
These linked objects act as dynamic wildcards and ensure that any changes to the source file are automatically reflected in the document containing the linked smart object.
This feature is a game changer for images and designs that require frequent updates, or for collaborative projects where multiple versions of assets can be used.
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By using connected smart objects, you can seamlessly integrate your designs without the need for constant file replacement or updates.
In general, working with smart objects and connected smart objects helps you save a lot of time, work with non-destructive editing and improve your workflow.
In short, Photoshop’s non-destructive tools open up a world of possibilities for photographers and real estate photographers in general, allowing them to experiment and refine without worrying about permanent changes to the original image data.
Now that you know what Smart Objects are and the benefits of using them, let’s see how to use Smart Objects in Photoshop step by step.
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Step 1. Open Adobe Photoshop and import your property photos. This will be our starting image for the Smart Objects tutorial.
This ensures that the image will benefit from non-destructive editing, such as adjusting colors and tones, without losing its originality.
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