Tip for CS2 - Working with very large images

**paul stimac** · 22-Jun-2006, 17:31

This technique saves me hours if not days when I have many prints to get ready plus I'm able to keep it in 16 bit mode the entire time. It allows me to easily work on 600+mb 16bit files

This maybe nothing new but I haven't seen it posted anywhere before....so

1. Convert your origional scan layer to a smart object: Layer> Smart Objects> Group Into New Smart Object.

2. Go to Image > Image Size. Write down your origional files resolution and print size. Now check the resample button. Then change the image size of the file WAY down but not too small. I usally just run my resolution down far enough to give a file size of around 40mb - but no smaller.

3. Do all your editing on Adjustment Layers with masks. Do everything except spotting, cloning and sharpening.

4. When all editing is finished (except spoting, cloning and sharpening) RESIZE your image back up (CHECK RESAMPLE) to the origional scan dimensions.

5. Spot, clone and sharpen to taste on the large file.

That's it. The Smart Object preserves the origional data. When you re-size up all origional pixals come back and the masks on the Adjustment Layers scale up. Eventhough the masks are resized up by interpolation, since they are masks, this will rarely effect your final picture as long as you didn't re-size it down too small in step 2.

If the resize up does effect your masks badly you can always fine tune them after your file's back at the indended size.

**Ed Richards** · 22-Jun-2006, 19:52

Thanks! We had a thread on an alternative way to do this some time back - just make a smaller file, do the edits on masks, resize it to the size of the original, and drag the masks to the original. Seems to work fine, plus you are not touching the original at all until the end.