Lightroom 3 and CS5 Files and Editing

I have a set of images I imported into lightroom 3 after a shoot. As I edit the images some of what I'm need to do I'm doing in CS5 so I'm saving the file as a .PSD, which is a new file. So now I have the original DNG file plus the new created PSD file.

My question is how can I keep both files together so I can always reference both the before and after. If I did all my editing in LR then I wouldn't have a second file and I can view the before and after in the same file, but since I have to do some stuff in CS5 I have 2 and I don't want to get rid of the original.

My first thought was to just stack them together, but I wanted to ask, maybe there's a better way that I just don't know of.


Thanks

Assuming you are using Edit in Photoshop, the PSD shows up alongside of the DNG file -- is this what you are seeing? If so it's up to you whether to stack them or just leave them side by side, where you also have viewing options where you can view them in X/Y mode or not.

So, I'm not clear as to what you are trying to accomplish or find out here?

Tony,
Yes when I save the PSD shows up next to the DNG, then I'm stacking.

I just wanted to confirm I was doing it the best way or the only way.

Let me ask you though, one issue I'm having with CS5 is after I save the image with layers in it and reopen it later the layers are gone. Its like the image merged all the layers during the save. I know it's not supposed to do that so I'm thinking a setting got changes somewhere. Any idea where??

Thanks

Are you saving your PSD files with the "Maximize Compatibility" option turned on?

yes. I was just doing a little testing and this is what I found.

I open a file (from LR) to edit in PS. In PS I do my editing, create layers etc... then I safe it under a new name. Now I have my original and new file.
When I open the new file again LR asks me how to open it, meaning original, copy or the LR copy with any LR editing done to it. I choose the LR editing version. When the file opens the layers are gone (well not gone, they are all merged with the edits). With that said though, if I open the same file but choose to open the original (not with LR edits) then the file opens with the layers and edits I did in PS but not LR.

What LR is doing is merging all the PS edits and not keeping the individual layers. THe edits are there but not each layer. Which IMO is pointless, what the point of having layers if they're going to be merged?????

What I want to do, (and I thought I did this in the past) is save the new file with the layers and PS edits and be able to open it from LR and still have b those edits and layers available. Does that make sense???

R.

rickp1 wrote in post #12239076
What I want to do, (and I thought I did this in the past) is save the new file with the layers and PS edits and be able to open it from LR and still have b those edits and layers available. Does that make sense???
R.

I don't have LR, but I wouldn't think you could open a .psd in LR and have the layers editable in LR. Is that what you're trying to do?

So what happens when you choose "Original?" Unless you subsequently edited the file in Lightroom I don't see the usefulness of opening a layered PSD file as a Lightroom Copy.

rickp1 wrote in post #12239076
yes. I was just doing a little testing and this is what I found.

When I open the new file again LR asks me how to open it, meaning original, copy or the LR copy with any LR editing done to it.
R.

You start the process in LR as a DNG. When you Edit in Photoshop using the LR edits, LR renders a new copy as a psd. When you do your work in Photoshop, with the layers, you save it and LR has that copy with the layers intact. When you want to re-open it in Photoshop you would do it using the Original approach. It will have the previous edits you had done in LR as well as the Photoshop layers.

If, though, you want to apply new edits to the overall psd in Lightroom, well, the it will no longer be the same thing. To open that image back into Photoshop with those edits from Lightroom, Lightroom will have to create a new image that will no longer have the PS layers intact. Lightroom won't create an image/file with layers, so you are describing the expected behavior.

If you have a psd that you want to re-edit in Lightroom, I guess it's either flatten the image in Photoshop or do like you describe (which will create a new flattened image). Otherwise you are expecting Lightroom to operate in two incompatible modes.

Tony, Pixel
You are absolutely right!!! You're post clarified everything for me. It's almost an either or situation. If I want PS to open the image with the layers visible then I can't choose the "Edit a copy with LR adjustments" option, that flattens the image.
So if I make additional edits in LR then open it PS and choose the "Original" option I will not see those edits. So one really needs to think about their workflow and how to apply changes.

Let me ask you. When PS flattens the images, does it "Flatten" or "Merge" the layers? It's my understanding that there's a difference and what happens to the images.

R.

I can't give you a technical "under-the-hood" breakdown. It may just be down to "practice" -- Merging layers is typically done to layers "within" your project -- say you are using two layers to perform one combined task -- at some point people can choose to simplify and explicitely combine those tasks into one merged layer. It's important to be really "done with" the separate aspects so that the only things you will need to mess with are things like, say, Opacity, or apply a mask and such.

Flattening is pretty much when you are done with using layers as a whole and you are, say, wanting to prepare in image for a particular output, say you want to provide a printer with a file -- they would take flattened tiff or a jpeg, but not a "project file" with layers.

At this point you make a decision -- do you have valuable work that you want to revisit? If so, you save they layered file, then flatten, maybe common "end-game" tasks such as resize and sharpen at a particular print size, Save As a new file, and send it off.

Because in this example you saved your project file with layers, it will be huge but available for further developing. The flattened file will be much smaller but less usefule for future work -- in fact, a lot of people will just "toss" the flattened file after it has been put to its designed use (or archive it for future re-use).

I hear you! IMO hard drive space is cheap so what I usually do is keep the layer project so I can always go back to it do what I need to do to it. I only flatten or merge when I finish the project as delivery but "MY" copy is always the layer copy.

Well at least I learned a bit more how both apps work with each other. That part I didn't have much exposure to it. It was always one or the other, so this was great.

Again thanks for the feedback and time, it really did clarify things for me.

R.