CS2- is there away to do Temp,exp,Shadows ect in 1 Working Pallette [Archive] - AusPhotography:: Australia's Premier Photography Forum::

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aocc

15-02-2016, 3:24pm

AS you can see by the title I am trying to find an Pallette in the Free Version of PP CS2 which would allow me to adjust all the usual suspects (Temp,exp,Shadows Bright,contrast ect ) from 1 palette.
Just downloaded PPCS2 and all the tutorials show all the tools on the left handside as a given but I`ll be a monkeys uncle if I can find it??

Cheers
Andrew

John King

15-02-2016, 3:35pm

Generally, if you left click on the header bar and hold, you can drag stuff around where you want it to be. Can be a bit tricky at times ... ;)

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BTW, you can download the full CS2 manual as a PDF file. I have this printed and bound as two A4 volumes, as well as the PDF file.

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Further, you have to be aware that PS's graphical user interface pre-dates both Apple and Windows GUI, so conforms to neither 'system'!

ameerat42

15-02-2016, 4:18pm

AO.
There ISN'T one. It doesn't use such a palette. However, there are shortcut keys that you will soon learn.

The MAIN controls you want for color and tonal adjustments are under Image - Adjustments. See the image below,
where I have enlarged some items by 150%. By and by I can give you a heap of preference settings for you
to set.

NB: Photoshop is a truck to drive. It'll take time...
Edit: Oh, and... get to know the main shortcut, like Ctrl-L for Levels. STRANGely.there isn't a shortcut for the
eminently useful SHadow/Highlights, but you can add your own. I used Ctrl-/ (forward slash). I'll tell u how later.
Am.

A PS screen
123921

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OK, some updates and terms.

The "Palette" you referred to is called a Dialog. You open up dialogs by the various commands.
Palettes in PS are strickly those little boxes full of coloured swatches (that I have all closed).

How to add "Ctrl-/" to open Shadows/Highlights dialog...
1. Go to "Edit - Menus" (You will see instructions, but...)
2. Click the visibility button (little triangle) for "Image"
3. Scroll down to "Adjustments" and then the desired item - Sh/Hi
4. Click in the blank space next to it and open a little entry box
5. Hold down the Ctrl key and then hit the "/" key.
This will assign Ctr-/ to open the Sh/Hi dialog.

Repeat for other items as desired, then click OK to save.

aocc

15-02-2016, 5:29pm

" There ISN'T one. It doesn't use such a palette. However, there are shortcut keys that you will soon learn."
Well thank all the little fishes for that!!!! I thought I was going Mad.:eek:
I have worked out the adjustments bit I just thought if I could get them in 1 spot on the side (like all the other software) it would make life easier.
Thanks for the heads up on setting a shortcut.
John. I have started to go through the PDF Manual but it is heavy going I do believe it might take me awhile to get this sorted:D.

Cheers
Andrew

Cage

15-02-2016, 5:41pm

I'm a 'jump-in the deep end' sort of bloke and I'd be opening up an image and playing with it in "Adjustments' per Am's screenshot above. Only when all else fails will I read the Manual. :lol2:

Probably 90% of your PP will be in that screenshot. Plus your image re-sizing too.

PS: You might find some useful info here. https://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=3607

John King

15-02-2016, 5:41pm

John. I have started to go through the PDF Manual but it is heavy going I do believe it might take me awhile to get this sorted:D.

Haha, Ao.

It's light reading, like Blatner & Fraser's "Inside Photoshop CS" ... :lol: ... I must have a thing for pain, I've read the latter from cover to cover a couple of times!

Having said that, I have always used the Adobe PDF as a reference manual, rather than reading it from cover to cover.

A book that I highly recommend is Scott Kelby's "Scott Kelby's 7 point system for Adobe Photoshop CS3/5".
Another is Schewe & Fraser's "Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS5".

Neither are expensive (less than $50 each).

Kelby's book comes with a free download of sample images that are then worked on through each of the book's 21 (?) chapters, one chapter per image. It's gold.

Schewe and Fraser addresses how Bridge and Photoshop work (and together ... ). Much better starting book than the PDF. Also gold.

I use ACR as my primary PP tool. I view PS as an add-on to ACR, rather than the other way around.

ameerat42

15-02-2016, 5:48pm

Just for my tastes, I find cluttered screens (such as PS default) very annoying. I WANNA SEE the picture.:eek:
SO I have set it like you see above (blank, except for the toolbox).

The settings for the "Edit - Preferences" in PS are OK, with only a couple of exceptions (for me). These are:
35 History states (against ?20), and Round brushes in the display instead of swirly lines (v. minor).

The changes you make to the Preferences will be applied on the next start of PS. Rather importantly, as I've found,
these settings are stored in a file called:
Adobe Photoshop CS2 Prefs.psp

This is tucked away in... (a particular location of which details later).
Occasionally PS throws a wobbly and ???SOMEHOW??? the default settings come back. Cluttered screen, etc.
It is good to copy out a "Prefs" file somewhere like the Desktop, from where you can copy it back to the proper
location. Otherwise, you have to go through and set everything back as you like it.

Let me know what operating system you have and I can give you the right location. It is different between Win 8 and Win 10.

BTW, have you read Tolstoy's WAR AND PEACE? - If not, don't worry, and just keep reading this thread.

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I've just seen the preceding posts.

Cheapest - and sanest of the lot, and yes, I have seen many books on Photoshop - is what you find in
the Help menu item of Photoshop itself. (F1 key is a shortcut to the main part), but have a look at the selected topics
under Help itself.

I mean, many such books are fine - for trying to interpret the books themselves. Who wants to wade through badly written
prose with oodles of Hints, Tips, Warnings, and all that jazz thrown in? And you can just ask here, too.

John King

15-02-2016, 6:28pm

Cheapest - and sanest of the lot, and yes, I have seen many books on Photoshop - is what you find in
the Help menu item of Photoshop itself. (F1 key is a shortcut to the main part), but have a look at the selected topics
under Help itself.

Agree completely.

I mean, many such books are fine - for trying to interpret the books themselves. Who wants to wade through badly written
prose with oodles of Hints, Tips, Warnings, and all that jazz thrown in?

That's exactly why I recommended both these books - they aren't full of such BS! I might not agree with Kelby's choice of settings, but his methodology is brilliant ... Schewe and Fraser is more oriented towards the overall use of the tools, but is clear, concise and excellent in that way.

And you can just ask here, too.

Hmmm. There are undoubtedly many experts here, including, to some degree, myself. However, these things are often best explained by one person, not a multitude. It is also often good to have a 'recipe' that one can follow until one feels confident enough to develop one's own recipe/s. Just IMHO, FWIW.

aocc

15-02-2016, 7:25pm

WOW For a start a big thanks to one and all......Cage. I am a Jump in kinda Bloke as well.(Ikea. No instruction. Easy -As ;)) But saying that I am also abit lazy so I do like to get things right.....quickly.
John. i have noted those two books and will be looking for them. The help bit in PP is quite good and helping a bit.
amerrat. I haven`t read WAR & PEACE but its was on my to do list! Until they made a mini-series on TV.... Oh happy days:D.
I run windows 8 on my PC and Windows 10 on my Laptop (PC wont play with Win 10 )
So Back to plan A. "get into it and see what happens" While I read through everything .

Thanks again..
Ps I am sure I`ll be asking more questions.:nod:

ameerat42

15-02-2016, 7:35pm

Well, whichever you have it on, here are the locations.

For Win 8.x
C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Photoshop\9.0\Adobe Photoshop CS2 Settings\

For Win 10
C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Photoshop\9.0\Adobe Photoshop CS2 Settings\

Hmm! They look the same!!! I do not have Win 8.x anymore. I'm SURE they were slightly different.
If you have PS on a Win 8.x machine you might have to verify the location yourself.

John King

15-02-2016, 7:45pm

^ I think that the location - as you have posted - remains unchanged from Vista onwards.

XP -> Vista is when the idiots ah, programmers, at MS decided to change their original poor choice of pathnames in NT for the current equally poor choice ... :nod:.

ameerat42

15-02-2016, 7:48pm

Hmm! It's just that I made a point of recording the "new" location I found in Win 10. ??? or ????, or maybe ??.
(Now I'm not sure if that was the case:confused013)

John King

15-02-2016, 8:37pm

Windows NT was designed to be completely hardware independent (HAL.DLL - the Hardware Abstraction Layer - handles all the h/w interfaces at all levels ... ), and the current pack of dolts seem to be doing everything in their power to make it h/w dependent!

Oh well, just par for the course for our species ...

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Gidday Ao

WOW For a start a big thanks to one and all......Cage. I am a Jump in kinda Bloke as well.(Ikea. No instruction. Easy -As ;)) But saying that I am also abit lazy so I do like to get things right.....quickly.
John. i have noted those two books and will be looking for them. The help bit in PP is quite good and helping a bit.
amerrat. I haven`t read WAR & PEACE but its was on my to do list! Until they made a mini-series on TV.... Oh happy days:D.
I run windows 8 on my PC and Windows 10 on my Laptop (PC wont play with Win 10 )
So Back to plan A. "get into it and see what happens" While I read through everything .

Thanks again..
Ps I am sure I`ll be asking more questions.:nod:

Good on you, mate. PS2 is a very powerful and complex program. It will do heaps, and the price is right!

And I'm sure that there will always be someone here who can help straighten out the wrinkles. The better you equip yourself, the more you will gain from such help. All the best in your endeavours. I have been using PS for more than 10 years and don't consider myself very expert at using it at all!

aocc

15-02-2016, 8:38pm

Well I am glad all you chaps know what you are talking about............ I think my head just exploded :lol2::lol2:

ameerat42

15-02-2016, 8:57pm

If you're trying to learn PS and your head DIDN'T do that then you'd be MAD:eek::eek:

farmmax

15-02-2016, 10:56pm

So long as your internet connection can stand it, don't forget youTube has 1000's tutorials, including very basic ones to get you started.

When I started on Photoshop 6, there weren't all that many tutorials online, and youTube didn't exist. In the end I bought Photoshop 7 for dummies, and started at page 1 and worked through the entire book. It had lots of examples and and I worked through the lot. The pen tool took a lot of head scratching, and at that stage I couldn't really see a need for it, but I persevered. Thank goodness, the pen tool is very handy :)

The problem with Photoshop's own help, is if you don't speak the lingo, how on earth can you look it up in help? Once you know the lingo, help can be good.

Cage

15-02-2016, 11:25pm

I've found this mob quite easy to follow if you need a hand for a specific task. http://www.photoshopessentials.com/

aocc

16-02-2016, 6:54am

I have found you tube has heaps of tutorials But they all use PP speak and have a different page layout to PPCS2. Which makes following even the basic stuff (which I have a pretty good handle on) seem quite complicated.

ameerat42

16-02-2016, 8:08am

Cage

16-02-2016, 1:19pm

Here is a whole heap of CS2 specific stuff. http://www.photoshopessentials.com/search/?cx=partner-pub-6601556224092982%3A9352618615&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=CS2&sa=Search

http://dl3.glitter-graphics.net/pub/2757/2757223fkymlsbg1t.gif (http://www.glitter-graphics.com)

John King

16-02-2016, 3:44pm

I just discovered this morning that AP has a photo editor built in, here:

http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/iframer4.php?page=photoedit

Normally accessible via the AP Extras menu ... :nod: :D.

Mark L

16-02-2016, 10:40pm

John King

17-02-2016, 10:50am

I haven't read everything in this thread but wonder if you get ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) if that would achieve what you want. Think it might. It doesn't come attached to CS2 (as it did with later CS versions) but I think you can get it as a download that works with CS2. Googling is up to you. (think AM did this on a link farmmax provided? Any help there AM?)

AFAIK, ACR did come with CS2. IIRC, the last version of ACR that works with CS2 is v.5.7, But the Adobe web site will tell you this.

To check the version of ACR installed, go to HELP > About Plugins > Camera Raw.

aocc

17-02-2016, 12:41pm

They'd be using CS6 or CC (creative cloud). Some are narrated rather hastily, I've found.
In a search, actually use "CS2" There might be some useful ones about still.

Eg: searching "smart sharpen in cs2"
gives this, amongst others: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOUCI2k2Hso

(Clear, but cripes! - What a TWANG!:eek:)

Thanks for that ( wow now that's a Twang) I found some other good stuff on the same page. "colour correcting and sharpening" By digitalassassin, was very informative.

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Abode camera RAW......... My computer is getting Full !

ameerat42

17-02-2016, 1:30pm

Adobe Camera Raw might be a waste of space for that version of Photoshop and your camera.
I'd say use View-or-CaptureNX for the raw processing. It's 1st party and (IMO) guaranteed to
give proper results. Use Pshop then for everything you can't do in V-CNX. Why rely on 3rd party apps
for the basic raw conversion?

Cage

17-02-2016, 2:53pm

What I find REALLY helpful in Photoshop Essentials, other than the step-by-step instructions and photos showing the effect of the changes, is the ability to have the tute open in another window alongside the Photoshop window.

As you work through processing the image you just scroll down on the tute window as you go and you don't miss anything, as I seemed to do when using a video tute.

A sample from one of the tutes.

123975

aocc

17-02-2016, 5:17pm

Kev. A great idea
ameerat42. Glad you said that as I already use ViewNX2 and then off to PhotoScape to change to Jpeg.( I know I must have said something wrong here! I can hear it now "just process in CS2")

ameerat42

17-02-2016, 5:25pm

To me you should be able to:
1. In ViewNX, convert raw to jpeg. THAT IS: adjust the raw file and Save As a jpeg.
(This does not change your raw file itself. It just looks that way while you're in the program.)

2. Open CS2 and do any further work on that jpeg that you cannot do in ViewNX. Save new edits as a new file.

You might as well realise that in Photoshop, if you:

Just use "Save" you will overwrite the file you are working on with the new edits you have done. Ie, it saves to the SAME filename.

But if you:

Use instead "Save as..." then you can give the file a new name - THAT IS, you make up a new file and you still have the original jpeg you first opened.

Hope this is clear.

Of course, if you do "muck it up", you can go back in the History of your edits to fix things up.

John King

17-02-2016, 5:48pm

Am, while I agree with most of what you have said, I strongly recommend that people use a lossless file format such as 16 bit TIFF, not as 8 bit JPEG under any circumstances.

ameerat42

17-02-2016, 6:03pm

And while I agree with you, John, I don't think it is necessary to do so ALL the time.
Many well-exposed images end up well as a straight conversion to 8-bit from raw. Not all,
I know, but there's no use (IMO) introducing unnecessary steps in PP.

John King

17-02-2016, 7:13pm

^ then make it 8 bit TIFFs ... ;).

Disk storage is cheap; data loss is irretrievable ...

I save my A2 files for printing as TIFF-16 (or PSD-16) with a ProPhotoRGB colour space - around 200-250 MB each ...

I @ M

17-02-2016, 7:49pm

Wow, this thread is doing my head in.

Hints. ----

Get rid of A$obe products.

Ignore S. Kelby, apparently he has gone bankrupt ( again )

Use a decent editing program -----

If your aim for your images is print ( where all good photos should be :rolleyes: ) simply do your raw adjustments with a proper program and the ship them off to a reputable printer as either 16 bit tiffs or 8 bit jpegs at the size of your choice.

Cage

17-02-2016, 8:29pm

Gee, I'm doing it all wrong.

I use Adobe CC, keep the original RAW image, if warranted save a full size edited 16bit TiF, and a resized 8 bit jpeg for posting here.

John King

17-02-2016, 8:52pm

Gidday Andrew

Wow, this thread is doing my head in.

Hints. ----

Get rid of A$obe products.

Perhaps somewhat unrealistic in the wider world. But they have got the last of my money ...

Ignore S. Kelby, apparently he has gone bankrupt ( again )

The book I mentioned is the only one of his that I would recommend, for the reason stated. I cannot see the relevancy of his personal financial affairs.

Use a decent editing program -----

Agreed. I will be looking longest and hardest at Capture One when my 2x copies each of CS5 and CS6 Premium cease to support the cameras I use.

If your aim for your images is print ( where all good photos should be :rolleyes: ) simply do your raw adjustments with a proper program and the ship them off to a reputable printer as either 16 bit tiffs or 8 bit jpegs at the size of your choice.

I enquired about what they did from a few of the top pro printers in Melbourne, and on the basis of their responses bought an Epson R3880. This way, I get the prints I want, not the prints they want to give me ... :nod: :).

aocc

18-02-2016, 8:55am

ameerat42

18-02-2016, 9:04am

Yep. That's about it. Keep Photoscape for animated gifs:D.
Main thing is to get your raws converted easily to bit-mapped files (such as 8 or 16 bit jpeg or tiff) as required
for (any) further PP. That is then done in Photoshop.

John King

18-02-2016, 9:24am

Gidday Andrew

Phew.....ok So.... ViewNx: Process Raw file convert to Jpeg (or 16 bit Tiff) then "save as.." bypass PhotoScape finish in CS2 :nod: EASY.

Adobe hasn`t got my money so don`t care... Ditto S. Kelby`s finances.

Capture One.... MMM something to look at after I master CS2 (sometime in 2025?)

Andrew

You've got it by the throat :nod:. That's the drum, mate. Once it is distilled, it isn't really all that hard. ViewNX and ACR are functionally equivalent to each other, but of course one should use the better and more current of the two. As at today, that contest will be won hands down by ViewNX vs ACR from CS2! .

arthurking83

18-02-2016, 11:38am

Phew.....ok So.... ViewNx: Process Raw file convert to Jpeg (or 16 bit Tiff) then "save as.." bypass PhotoScape finish in CS2 :nod: EASY.

Adobe hasn`t got my money so don`t care... Ditto S. Kelby`s finances.

Capture One.... MMM something to look at after I master CS2 (sometime in 2025?)

Andrew

Just a note, only to help and speed up the process a little here:

If you use ViewNX2 for your raw files, don't convert them to anything.
Edit the basics(exposure WB, whatever) and save it! Even tho this does append the original raw file, it's not an issue. You can always undo the edits by simply twiddling the specific edit again and saving it.

eg. if you open the camera created raw and adjust WB, say from Auto in camera to Daylight or something .. save the NEF file.
if you now want to go back to the original looking Auto WB look, go the the WB tool in Adjustments and select Recorded Value in the list(at the very top). Save it and your NEF is like it was from the camera again.

The point here is not to do stuff you don't really need too!

Anyhow, I recommend that you only make edits to the NEF file, and then just save it. it's quick and easy, and always reversible.
The other recommendation I tell folks to do at this point is to add some (any) tag data in the ITPC field in VNX2 as well. This comes under the Metadata tab if you scroll down a touch.
The reason for this is that if you are new and as yet still a bit unsure of where you want to go with your photography, having the tag data embedded in the NEF file is important(actually will eventually be vital!!) to maintaining your archive and keeping track of it all.

From there and now into Adobe products, you don't really need to save/save as or convert anything(in VNX2).
The process is far more simple.
At the top of ViewNX's tool bar is an Open With tool button.(actually, it may not be there for you, as I think they change it from version to version)
if it's not there already, it's easy to set up.
Go to Edit - Options(way up in the top most tool bar)
In Options on the LHS look for the Open With Application section.
Here you can set up VNX2 to directly open any image with the app of your choice.
I have my exif viewers set up here, and FSViewer, Windows Photo Gallery, and so forth.
To locate your preferred software just navigate to the exe file of the app of your choice, just as you naturally do with Windows open with option.

Once you have done this, you have a quick access way to send the NEF file to your preferred app(in this case CS2).
The icon to do this probably won't appear in the top tool icon area. This is an easy fix too!
Right click the tool icon area and select [customise].
In the small pop up tool box (around the middle of the list) you should see a listing for your preferred app(ie. CS2 or Photoshop, or whatever it will be called) selct it by enabling the tick mark.
Now in the toolbar Icon area you will see the Open with CS Icon. If it only shows cryptic Icons with no text, you can edit that specific option as well by rightclicking the area again and selecting the Icon with text option.

What this does(this open with option) is to automagically create a 16bit TIFF file which is sent directly into the app of your choice.
Note that it doesn't save the 16 bit tiff file in the folder where your images are located(unless you place your images in the cache folder).

ps. another tip is to place the cache folder area on a separate drive(if you have one) .. or if you don't have a separate drive then place it in a folder you created that easy to navigate too.
I make a specific Cache folder that I use for all cache areas with all programs(where I can). Makes it easy to go to it and remove all files after the collection of all this useless data! :D

From there you just have to learn how to use PS .. and good luck with that! :p

Finally: if you can get it to work for 'ya .. try Nikon's CaptureNX-D too. I find that I'm having trouble getting it to work efficiently, but it's basically a souped up version of VNX2 with a few more tweaks under it's belt that VNX2 is just not able to do.
BUT on the downside of using CNX-D is that it's incapable of adding tag metadata directly into the raw file(like VNX2 can do) .. and this is my primary objective with my raw file.
So in the end I have to run VNX2, even tho it's tools are limited and Nikon will no longer support it. But CNX-D is their future plan to conquer the world of photo editing! :rolleyes:

aocc

18-02-2016, 5:52pm

John King

18-02-2016, 5:54pm

Good onya, Andrew :D.

arthurking83

18-02-2016, 8:39pm

arthurking83.... Fantastic I will be looking into all the advice about ViewNX2. I will be sticking with it and will not even look at CaptureNx. Only due to the fact that one must stop somewhere and just get on with the job with the tools one has.
In the corner of VNX2 it has convert button with gives me a choice of Jpeg,16bitTiff,etc so if I pick 16 Bit tiff then save it to a file . Then click on it it goes straight to CS2 WOO HOO a short cut that works:D

...

The convert short cut icon only does the conversion, so it saves a file to where ever you want it too.

The shortcut I'm referring too is another one. You probably don't yet have it on your toolbar, so it needs to be setup. Easy to do tho.
I should'a made the instructions more clear: (I'll do them again in point form for every step)

* go to Edit -> Options(topmost header bar)
* in the Options box, look for [Open with Application]
* In the larger area of the box now look for the [Add] button. Navigate to the Application's exe file.
* Once this has been done and it's listed in the list of Apps you can call from, close this box up and go back to the main VNX2 page.
* Once the options box is closed, now rightclick the large Icon toolbar area. In the pop up box you will see a list. This is how you make the Icon for the shortcut to the 'Open With' tool.
* In the new pop up after this rightclick action is a list again. in the centre of this list you should see the registered app you just setup. I can't say exactly what it'll be called (probably PhotoShop)
* Tick this option, and close the box if it doesn't by itself.
* Once you do this, the new Icon will be added next to the rotate Icons, more so towards the centre of the Icon toolbar.
This Icon will have a round appearance with the Icon words App inside that sphere and if you selected something like Photoshop.exe and have the name+Icon option enabled, the Icon will also have the name Photoshop under it.

Click this .. wait .. wait more .. and then wait again! :p .. at some point the tiff will have been created in the cache area(this part is quick .. usually about 5s or so).
What takes forever is for PS to actually open itself and the file.
At some point tho, you will see PS open up on top of VNX2. VNX2 doesn't close down if you do this and so watch how much memory is being used.

If you select multiple images via the film strip it will do the same thing on all of those images selected .. once again watch how much memory your computer ends up using tho! :eek: