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Photoshop "RECIPES" - step by step instructions to accomplish specific tasks

Archibald

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Name
Ed
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Photoshop is probably the most advanced image-processing tool available for doing all kinds of image-manipulation magic. However, to many of us it seems like a complex monster with arcane commands and inscrutable menus that can't be mastered without extensive training.

Yet there are legions of us with Adobe subscriptions that have the program. We have the tool but not the skills to use it. Sometimes we need it to accomplish something that Lightroom can't do. How to deal with that?

My solution has been to go to Google to find the steps. That can be a time-consuming process because web sites can be out of date, or can be videos that require lots of rewinding and note taking. But the info is there. In the end, even the most complex edit in PS is just a series of discrete steps. We just need to know those steps and follow them to get the job done. And then write those steps down precisely and in great detail so we will be able to do it again more easily the next time.

I call these PS stepwise instructions "recipes". I've been writing these for some time now as need arises, and saving them for next time. Often when doing a task again months later I discover glitches that need correcting. I discover and fix "gotchas" where an instruction won't work because of a setting somewhere. In this way the recipe gets refined.

I'm really wondering if I'm the only one doing this, or if anyone else has interest in this. Let me know.

Here is one of my recipes to serve as an example.

Create a blur gradient
This creates a graded blur across the picture to simulate an out of focus effect.

1. Open the image in PS.
2. Create duplicate layer of the original (right-click > Duplicate layer, or ^J) (Windows > Layers to get the Layers panel if it is not showing)
3. Make a Layer Mask for the dupe (circle-in-rectangle icon at bottom of Layer panel).
4. Blur that dupe layer. Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur.
5. Select Gradient tool from the tool bar on the left. If not showing, look for it with the Paint icon (right-click on Paint). Pick black-white (default) for fore/background colors at bottom of tool bar. Other settings for Gradient are along the top. Pick basic, etc.
6. With the layer mask selected, click and drag in the photo to create the gradient in the pic. It can be adjusted to suit.

It is possible to erase some of the gradient. Select the layer mask icon in the Background copy layer. Then erase using the Erase tool.
 
OK, let's see how it develops. My intent here was to see if anybody else is doing anything similar. It's not about tips and tricks. It's about accomplishing specific tasks in PS, from opening the file to finished product, by the vast majority of us who are relatively inexperienced in PS.

I suspect there aren't many, so this thread might be dead-ended. But you never know. There is at least one guy who was thinking along the same lines and is trying to monetize it: https://photoshoptipcards.com/sample-page/
 
Gaussian blur to simulate OoF camera went out with the cavemen. Use Lens Blur instead with a Depth Map
 
"... a Post Processing category in Resources with a Photoshop section..."
Wow, it's just like dealing with Photoshop. When I go to Resources via Forums > Resources, I don't see Post Processing and I don't see Categories either.

Instead I have to go via the top menu. Then those headings appear. It's all new to me.
 
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