photoshop file size

[Mircula]

Hi,

I am currently trying myself in doing some things in photoshop. I export 16 bit tiff out of lightroom, do some adjustments save it and then get a file which is larger than 100mb.

Is that normal?

How do you handle these large file sizes?

And one more question... :)

Does the editing i do on that tiff file saved in lightroom with lightroom has the same effect than if i would do it on the raw file? Or is for instance the change of whitle balance not possible anymore, like in a jpg?

Thanks guys :)!

[ricktas]

Yep it's normal! I handle them with over 10TB of storage. If you need to change the white balance of the RAW file go back to lightroom, change it and export again.

[Kym]

FWIW I save as PS work as PSD and not Tiff, my main work is in Lightroom so that's all raw (pef in my case)

I export JPEG for publishing/printing as a last step

[Mircula]

Hi, wow thanks for the info....that is a lot of storage hehe...

so, again to make it totally clear....tiff is like jpg and it is not good/possible to change to wb or other settings with it in lightroom?

That would mean that I need to do all these things before i export it to ps....because afterwards i only have the tiff coming from ps as a tiff.

Does it has any disadvantages to work with the tiff file in ps instead of the raw?
which adjustments can i make then in ps, which can't i make?


What disadvantage does psd has, compared to tiff or raw?

Thanks and sorry for all these silly questions.

[GriMo]

The only silly question is the one you don't ask. As someone who also struggles with PP workflows I'm also looking forward to learning the benefits if various file types

[ricktas]

Tiff is just another file format. Unlike JPG which is a lossy format, and that can only be saved as a single layered image, Tiff (and PSD) are not lossy, so your file retains all its original data (which is why the files are so big). Tiff and PSD can be saved with layers intact, so you can come back and edit your separate layers at another time.

You cannot edit a RAW file in Lightroom, PS or any other software. Your RAW file itself never changes. You are always editing a 'copy' no matter what software you use. I think from memory Lightroom (and Adobe Camera Raw) converts the file to TIFF for display on your screen anyway. So what you see is really a TIFF copy of the RAW data.

I would suggest if you are serious about using both lightroom and PS for your workflow you go out and get a copy of Scott Kelby's books on both software packages. You will learn a lot from them and get a better understanding of how they work, than we could ever give you on a forum..without writing book sized threads.

TIFF is probably as close as you can get to an editable raw format. So much so, that in the past one Canon camera's RAW files could just be renamed as TIFF files and be totally usable. Yep the RAW file itself was just a Tiff file with a different file extension.

[trigger]

Could save a bit of space with TIFF compression, PS gives you the option to compress it with ZIP or LZW. Only downside to this is that other editors might not be able to preview this

[Mircula]

Hi,

thanks again for the info!

So does it matter at all if I do my white balance settings in lightroom before or after i do some changes in PS? If tiff does not loose any information, i could just do these things after i add the image in ps. Or does that has any disadvantages compared to edit on a raw file(or better on the tiff copy form lr)?
I just noticed that the tiff file coming from ps back into lightroom has all settings resetted i did before in lightroom. including wb....Everyhting is on 0 again. This is really crap if I decide to add some settings in lightroom afterwards, or?

How do you include ps in your lr workflow?

How come I only have the cr2 files of my photos on my computer and not tiff ones created by lr as well? I thought lightroom just saves a little file with all the settings besides the raw file....



I think the books are a good idea...I just cannot get them, as i will be travelling soon on the way back to europe....

[ricktas]

I use lightroom to adjust exposure, set WB, straighten horizon etc. Basically the 'whole of image' processing. I then move to PS to do any edits to specific areas of my photo, mono conversions, sharpening etc. For me Lightroom is a more for cataloguing, keywording and RAW processing. Most of my editing is done in PS. Each person needs to determine their own workflow that suits their needs.

Lightroom only creates a Tiff file when you export to PS, so the tiff file only exists in PS.

[Mircula]

hmm...ok...i guess that is a good start point.

the question of the difference in wb adding "on raw" in lr or on the tiff coming from ps is still open though.
does this make any difference at all? i will give it a go later tonight and see what i can find out.


"So does it matter at all if I do my white balance settings in lightroom before or after i do some changes in PS? If tiff does not loose any information, i could just do these things after i add the image in ps. Or does that has any disadvantages compared to edit on a raw file(or better on the tiff copy form lr)?"


Rick, what do you do if you want to change the wb after you have done all your editing in ps and lr and you have the tiff from photoshop in your lr library? All settings are on 0 so it is kind of hard to see what wb there is etc etc. ....

Thank you again for taking the time!

[ricktas]

easy answer re white balance..start again. White balance can only be altered from the RAW file, so make sure you get the WB right at the start

[Xenedis]

I am currently trying myself in doing some things in photoshop. I export 16 bit tiff out of lightroom, do some adjustments save it and then get a file which is larger than 100mb.

Is that normal?

Absolutely. I save all of my processed images as 16-bit PSD files, and these days I sometimes have as many as 13 layers. The largest PSD file I have at the moment is 580MB or so, and the camera which captured the image is a 21mp DSLR.

The size varies depending on what's in the image, how many layers there are, etc. Bit depth also has a huge impact.

The only solution is to maintain sufficient disk space. :-)

I only have 127GB left on my laptop's HDD (500GB), of which my 2010 image directory tree contains 76GB, so I'm starting to get concerned.

[gcflora]

Also be aware (if storage is an issue) that if compatibility mode for .PSD is ticked (on) a full composite image (i.e. with layers flattened etc) is _also_ embedded in the .PSD file. Turning "maximise compatibility" off reduces the size of the .PSD file, although it unfortunately also means that Lightroom cannot work with those files

[gcflora]

I actually save my files as 8-bit TIFF (with LZW compression which is lossless) unless it's a really great photo and then I might save it as 16-Bit

[Mircula]

Thanks guys. Seems like i need some more storage if i keep working with ps....

[maccaroneski]

Lightroom only creates a Tiff file when you export to PS, so the tiff file only exists in PS.

But while in PS, if you hit "save" rather than "save as" it will bring you back to LR with a TIFF file now in the catalogue.

[maccaroneski]

Lightroom only creates a Tiff file when you export to PS, so the tiff file only exists in PS.

But while in PS, if you hit "save" rather than "save as" it will bring you back to LR with a TIFF file now in the catalogue, and although not as effective as starting again, all of your LR settings will read as default in the TIFF, and you can in fact adjust WB and the like.

[Mircula]

But while in PS, if you hit "save" rather than "save as" it will bring you back to LR with a TIFF file now in the catalogue, and although not as effective as starting again, all of your LR settings will read as default in the TIFF, and you can in fact adjust WB and the like.


Hmmm...what do you mean by all of the lr settings will read as default?

I think it is confusing that all the settings in the tiff file are on 0 again. So i have no idea what the wb is or how much exposure or whatever i added to it before exporting it to PS.

That makes it really hard to edit the file after coming from ps as a tiff.

I still dont get it.....can i adjust (without loss) the wb of a tiff file?
Does it has the same effect as adjusting the wb of a raw file in lr?

[maccaroneski]

Hmmm...what do you mean by all of the lr settings will read as default?

What I mean is what you say in the your paragraph, they go to 0


I think it is confusing that all the settings in the tiff file are on 0 again. So i have no idea what the wb is or how much exposure or whatever i added to it before exporting it to PS.

That makes it really hard to edit the file after coming from ps as a tiff.

I'm not sure what the issue is - you want the TIFF warmer, you move the slider to the right. You want it cooler, you move it to the left.


I still dont get it.....can i adjust (without loss) the wb of a tiff file?
Does it has the same effect as adjusting the wb of a raw file in lr?

Try it! The files will be side by side in your LR catalogue.

[Mircula]

I'm not sure what the issue is - you want the TIFF warmer, you move the slider to the right. You want it cooler, you move it to the left.


Well yeah but If i for instance have more photos from the same or similar szene and i want to have the same settings....Or it usually just helps to see what the highlights darks and tonecurve etc. are to really finetune the image, instead of having everything on 0.


Will defenitely try it and let you know!

[aycee]

Once again my two bobs worth..
file sizes are doubled when saving in 16 bit...which makes for a lot of storage which is easy enough to get nowadays...
the other down card is processing power and memory on the computer to use these super duper sized photos..so that means normally 64 bit operating systems..as 64 bit can recognise large memory up to the boards specs ..well over 3.2 gig anyway as for 32 bit...Adobe say somewhere you should have 5 to 6 times the memory of your file size ..which if you have say 10 layers open at 100mgs each at 16 bit you will need 5 to 6 gigs of memory just for the photo with out operating system and other rubbish that is going on in the background...if you have 32 bit photoshop it only recognise from my limited memory 1.7gigs unless in a 64 bit system where it recognises 4 gigs.if you dont have enough memory it uses a scratch disc which is slower and needs to be specified and really should not be externals as they are much slower than internal drives often

the other point i would like to make is most times saving in 16 bit is a bit over kill as its only on very heavy work on the photo will it be superior or noticeably, to 8 bit..but the choice is yours about size

now that i have said all that i am confused and will have to rest by ancient bones as an OAP

regards Alan!