Learn how to creatively use Smart Objects in your Post-Processing Workflow
Smart objects are a compelling way to make your layers more flexible inside Photoshop. They also offer you some unique options which you wouldn’t have access to when not using them.
In this short article, I’m going to cover why I think they’re essential and also how to use smart objects in your post-processing workflow.
Please keep in mind that I’m primarily writing about landscape photography, but I’m sure my tips will help you with other genres as well.
When to use smart objects?
If you apply a particular filter or adjustment to your normal layer, you won’t be able to re-adjust it later. You only have the option to reduce the overall opacity, or you can delete the layer completely to start all over again.
When you’re not super confident that your edit was the right move for your image and you want to make sure that you have access to the filter again, then smart objects are the right thing for you!
They make it possible to reopen the filter you just applied and fine-tune it again if you desire. I personally love to combine them with Adobe Camera RAW and the Nik Collection, which I’m going to explain further in the next paragraphs.
How to set up Adobe Camera Raw
First, we need to set up Adobe Camera RAW so we can work with smart objects in the best way possible. Please note that I don’t use Adobe Lightroom, so I won’t talk about how to set things up over there, but it should be quite similar as they both use the exact same editing engine.
When you open up a Raw file in Adobe Camera Raw, you will see some important information down at the bottom. Please take a look at the screenshot to get a better understanding of what I’m talking about.
By clicking on the information, you get the option to choose between different color spaces and also the bit depth.
Those settings are not the main part of this article, but I recommend choosing 16bit and sRGB. I use sRGB because I mostly process for the web anyway.
If you do edit a lot for printing and you have a printer/lab which supports AdobeRGB, then choose that color space.
You can always convert it to sRGB later on.
The main reason why I mentioned the settings tab, is the little checkbox where it says “open as a smart object.”
You want to make sure to have that selected (of course only when you want to use smart objects). Photoshop will then open your Raw file as a smart object right from the beginning, and that’s where all the magic starts!
How to use smart objects with Adobe Camera RAW
My favorite way to use smart objects is combined with Adobe Camera Raw. When you open your file as a smart object in Adobe Photoshop, you then have the ability to reopen it again and make some further Raw adjustments to your image.
You will probably ask yourself why you should do that since there is a Camera Raw filter built inside Photoshop, which can also be applied to a smart object?
The answer is quite simple as any filter inside Photoshop works as an 8-bit adjustment.
When you want to stay in 16-bit to get the maximum quality, you need to work on the Raw itself.
The maximum number of colors for each channel (RGB) shown in 8bit is 256. So 256 shades of red, green, and blue. This may seem a lot, but the maximum number of colors for each channel (RGB) shown in 16-bit is 65.536!
So do you really need so many colors per channel? Well, the answer is quite obvious - it depends!
Most of the time, you will be totally fine with 8-bit filter adjustments, but there is one scenario that happened to me quite a lot in the past.
Imagine you have an image with a blank sky during dusk/dawn, and you now want to darken that sky to make it more vibrant and dramatic.
That's a common situation where you will experience the disadvantages of 8-bit adjustments as banding can occur in your file. A 16bit workflow will help you to avoid such a situation. I personally don't use it that often though, but it did help me sometimes already.
By reusing the Raw file through the smart object, you’re making sure to stay in 16bit mode. You can now duplicate the smart object by clicking on “create new smart object view copy” and make some further Raw adjustments by double-clicking on the layer.
Don’t be confused when you will still see the same changes on your Raw file inside Camera Raw as Adobe Photoshop will only apply the newest edits to your smart object after confirming your Camera Raw adjustments again.
If you only created a normal copy by pressing Ctrl + J, your latest changes would affect all other Raw smart objects as well.
When you combine those new layers (new smart objects via copy) with a mask to paint in the effect locally, you will have an even more powerful and advanced method to edit your images.
It depends on you how many smart object layers you want to create as it’s always a matter of personal preference, but that’s definitely a powerful technique to have in your toolbox.
How to use smart objects with the Nik Collection
Of course, there are also other ways to use smart objects in your post-processing workflow. If you’re a user of a certain plugin like the Nik Collection, then it can also be beneficial to reopen the filter again.
When creating a new layer and converting it to a smart object, you now have the option to open Color Efex Pro (for example) and make your adjustments inside the tool without having to worry about if the effect was too much or not.
In case you want to change an effect, simply click on the filter inside your smart object, and Photoshop will open the plugin tab again!
I highly recommend this method when you’re not familiar with a plugin yet and when you want to try out different things to get comfortable with it.
Now I don’t use smart objects with the Nik Collection anymore because I know exactly which filter I like and how I have to apply it.
However, this helped a ton in the past when I was a complete newbie with the program. If I would start using a new plugin - which I’m not familiar with - in my workflow, then I would use smart objects again for sure!
How to use smart objects with other filters
It’s not all about Camera RAW and external plugins; you can also use “standard” Photoshop filters in combination with smart objects.
I mostly use the gaussian blur filter and the smart sharpen filter. Again the option to go back to your adjustment to redo some steps is key when you want to practice and find the right amount for your work.
Please keep in mind that smart objects can slow down your PC quite a bit, so you should only use them when necessary. I have a 7-year-old computer, though, so what do I know?
How to rasterize smart objects
Last but not least, I want to shortly mention that you have to rasterize your smart objects if you intend to apply any stamping or transforming to it.
So make sure that you create a new layer by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Shift + E if you don’t want to get rid of your smart objects.
So what is your favorite way to use smart objects? Have you actually ever used them before?
Feel free to let me know down in the comments! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at any time!
Cheers,
Daniel Gastager