It would be covered by "use only Adjustment Layers (or their equivalent). An Adjustment Layer is a special type of layer containing no image data that lets you experiment with color and tonal adjustments without permanently modifying the pixels. Adjustment Layers must be applied in Normal mode."
by having the opacity at 100% your layer is the only one that will be kept in your final flattened image ... it is kind of irrelevant doing it on another layer, I guess you would only do so you can easily revert to the original and change the settings
It would be covered by "use only Adjustment Layers (or their equivalent). An Adjustment Layer is a special type of layer containing no image data that lets you experiment with color and tonal adjustments without permanently modifying the pixels. Adjustment Layers must be applied in Normal mode."
by having the opacity at 100% your layer is the only one that will be kept in your final flattened image ... it is kind of irrelevant doing it on another layer, I guess you would only do so you can easily revert to the original and change the settings
^ What he said. You can make exposure adjustments in Basic (including HDR Toning or Shadow/Highlight), but you cannot use more than one layer with data on it.
by having the opacity at 100% your layer is the only one that will be kept in your final flattened image ... it is kind of irrelevant doing it on another layer, I guess you would only do so you can easily revert to the original and change the settings
True, once you flatten the image, only the top layer will show up. One advantage I found to using duplicate layers (100% Opacity & Normal blend mode) is that I can rename the layer to indicate what my processing step was. That way I can save a file with all of the layers intact and have a record of my steps for validation purposes.
That way I can save a file with all of the layers intact and have a record of my steps for validation purposes.
Tim
really, you guys do that? for my recent validation request i just said "drop clarity, bumped saturation", i did more but i didn't feel like listing it. i figure if i break a rule its up to them to figure it out.
It would be covered by "use only Adjustment Layers (or their equivalent). An Adjustment Layer is a special type of layer containing no image data that lets you experiment with color and tonal adjustments without permanently modifying the pixels. Adjustment Layers must be applied in Normal mode."
by having the opacity at 100% your layer is the only one that will be kept in your final flattened image ... it is kind of irrelevant doing it on another layer, I guess you would only do so you can easily revert to the original and change the settings
^ What he said. You can make exposure adjustments in Basic (including HDR Toning or Shadow/Highlight), but you cannot use more than one layer with data on it.
Ok, but you can adjust the opacity of the adjustment layers, right? Its just varying the intensity of the adjustment... I find it easier to adjust things that way for fine-tuning.
That way I can save a file with all of the layers intact and have a record of my steps for validation purposes.
Tim
really, you guys do that? for my recent validation request i just said "drop clarity, bumped saturation", i did more but i didn't feel like listing it. i figure if i break a rule its up to them to figure it out.
OK -- what image is that? I think you just broke a rule by lying when you represented that you listed your editing steps omitting several editing steps when submitting the original for validation. (see screenshot)
It would be covered by "use only Adjustment Layers (or their equivalent). An Adjustment Layer is a special type of layer containing no image data that lets you experiment with color and tonal adjustments without permanently modifying the pixels. Adjustment Layers must be applied in Normal mode."
by having the opacity at 100% your layer is the only one that will be kept in your final flattened image ... it is kind of irrelevant doing it on another layer, I guess you would only do so you can easily revert to the original and change the settings
^ What he said. You can make exposure adjustments in Basic (including HDR Toning or Shadow/Highlight), but you cannot use more than one layer with data on it.
Ok, but you can adjust the opacity of the adjustment layers, right? Its just varying the intensity of the adjustment... I find it easier to adjust things that way for fine-tuning.
That's perfectly fine, any layer that has no pixel data on can be any opacity you like
That way I can save a file with all of the layers intact and have a record of my steps for validation purposes.
Tim
really, you guys do that? for my recent validation request i just said "drop clarity, bumped saturation", i did more but i didn't feel like listing it. i figure if i break a rule its up to them to figure it out.
OK -- what image is that? I think you just broke a rule by lying when you represented that you listed your editing steps omitting several editing steps when submitting the original for validation. (see screenshot)
The joke here is that futz with some images so much I can tell you pretty well that I've followed the rules, and what tools, but the exact sequence would take a week to write out. Clearly you haven't considered your position thoroughly on this, as that is an impractical burden.
Clearly you haven't considered your position thoroughly on this, as that is an impractical burden.
It's only impractical if you make your mind up to not record your editing steps relatively contemporaneously. Perhaps you need to check out the History function (Photoshop), and copy/paste it to a text file for later reference, or you can record your steps in the "Caption" field of the IPTC ("File Info") data so it will stay with the edited image. Or do what was suggested and just name the layer with the editing step it's responsible for.
If you check 99% of my entries, you'll see that I can list the editing steps in enough detail that it is possible to tell whether the picture was edited within the rules.
When I need to explain the editing of an image for validation I send a detailed explanation of my workflow. I don't give unuseful details like 'duplicate layer' but I list all the tools I used and if there can be any doubts about some areas of the image I explain how I got that result without breaking any rules.
after several validation requests in a short timeframe, i asked the SC why i was getting so many. they indicated that if details are listed in the details section, they check that first and, if sufficient detail is present, they will many times not request a validation (NOTE: this does not apply to the top 5 entries -- those get an automatic val request regardless).
so, i have made it a habit to list my detailed steps during submission, while everything is fresh in my mind (programs used, filters applied, anything that might need more explanation). then it is there and done, regardless of whether the val request comes or not. i can say i've seen less val requests, although i can't say for sure this is the only reason...
... although i can't say for sure this is the only reason...
It also provides information that the viewer can learn from -- this is supposed to be a site for mutual education after all.
good point... i hope something i include might help others...
but i was referring to the potential inverse correlation between inclusion of my processing details up front and the apparent lower number of val requests i've received.
I'm sure you're right -- I was just trying to add one of the other reasons to encourage people to do it ... it can be useful on any photo, not just those with suspicious-looking editing.
Clearly you haven't considered your position thoroughly on this, as that is an impractical burden.
It's only impractical if you make your mind up to not record your editing steps relatively contemporaneously. Perhaps you need to check out the History function (Photoshop), and copy/paste it to a text file for later reference, or you can record your steps in the "Caption" field of the IPTC ("File Info") data so it will stay with the edited image. Or do what was suggested and just name the layer with the editing step it's responsible for.
If you check 99% of my entries, you'll see that I can list the editing steps in enough detail that it is possible to tell whether the picture was edited within the rules.
1. i rarely use photoshop for my entries, especially basic.
2. you cant copy the history in lightroom (at that i can find)
3. i dont feel like sorting through the 100+ entries in my history to pick out the relevant ones when its clear by looking at the original i didn't break any rules. if it where expert editing yeah, i'd probably get more specific, but the latest was only basic editing. im lucky i got motivated enough to even submit my original on time :)
No, cloning out a power line is not legal in basic.
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
The HDR Toning adjustment is legal, yes. If you do it on a duplicate of the BG layer, be sure you keep that at 100% opacity and in normal mode.
To be clear, I didn't think duplicating a layer is legal in basic. Adjustment Layers only, normal mode. Is this not correct?
This is technically correct -- however, duplicating the BG and keeping it at 100% opacity and editing that layer has the same practical effect as editing a completely separate copy of the file (preserving the original version below), while having only one file on disk. As long as it would yield exactly same same result whether or not that layer was there, i.e. whether applying all the other adjustment layers directly to the background, it should be OK.
What would NOT be at all legal would be any form of merging of the layers, whether by reducing the opacity or erasing portions of the upper layer. For examply, it is common in portraiture to sharpen the lower layer, slightly blur or soften the upper layer, and then erase the blurry layer over the eyes so that they stay sharp -- good in Advanced, not legal in Basic.
