Photoshop CS5 64 Bit - a question or two

[pmrid]

I recently had a Trojan I couldn't remove so I did a full restore on my computer followed by the tedious process of reloading and re-activating various pieces of software. That included my Photoshop CS5. I've been using this version for about the last year without a glitch but now, I'm in all sorts of confusion.

The iussue is doing standard Colourizing of LRGB and NB images. Previously, I was able to do this easily and without a glitch but now, PS won't blend the layers at all. As I colourize each successive layer (Screen mode as usual), whatever colour I assign (120 or 240 for example) becomes an opaque layer over the top of the whole image and the underlying layers don't show through at all, so I end up every time with just a blue image.

With LRGB images, I have had some success using the "Merge Layers" option in the Channels dialogue but not if I try the more usual and flexible route of doing a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer for each color.

Can anyone suggest what may be going on here?

Peter

[Octane]

Peter,

Could it be that your graphics card needs its drivers updated? Have you enabled/disabled hardware acceleration in CS5? It's in the preferences, somewhere.

H

[pmrid]

G'Day H, I doubt it. The graphics card is the same one - the computer is the same one - that had run CS5 happily for the past year. All that's changed is that I have done a reinstall of the OS and the CS5 software.
The mystery continues. I'll check the hardware acceleration thing, but there is no indication that this is the problem.
Peter

[Octane]

What graphics card do you have? When you reinstalled your operating system, it would have laid down the old versions of the drivers.

It might be worth your while heading over to the graphics card company's web site and downloading their latest drivers/software for your particular card.

This has often solved a bunch of issues for me in the past. :)

H

[2stroke]

check this out http://www.projectwoman.com/articles/22PSBlendModes.htm#.UPoctmd0b2s you might want to just update photoshop in case a fix was needed but i doubt it. I don't see how the gpu would effect it because its only used to makes things quicker by offloading the work from the cpu and using parallel processing power to get the job done quicker. I think you'll find much more information using google and the issue of your term.

[pmrid]

The GPU isn't a factor. I agree. This is the same computer (a i3 lappie actually) that ran the same version of CS5 - I had to do a full restore after a Trojan sneaked in. SO it is the same computer, same drivers, same GPU as worked flawlessly before but not now. Nothing has changed.

The old workflow used to be:

1. Load LRGB images.
2. Convert to 16Bit modes Greyscale.
3. Stretch as required.
4. Start with Red. Convert to RGB mode.
5. Add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer and colorize as Hue 0, Saturation 100, Lightness -50.
6. Create new layer and ALtA, AltV copy the Green layer to it.
7. Choose Screen Mode,
8. Add adjustment layer - Hue/Saturation - colorized as Green 120,100,-50)
9. repeat for Blue.
10 CAB (Ctl/Shift/Alt N,E) annd new layer, add luminance as either Soft Light or Luminance, Adjustr opacity to suit.
11. Flatten.

And now, doing that, I end up with an image that contains only the colour channel for the last colour I colorized - usually blue. You can see this by taking the flattened image and then going into Layers and opening up the different channels. The only channel containing anything is that final colour.

Peter

[naskies]

Peter, my apologies if this is obvious... but it sounds like your Hue/Saturation Adjustment layer doesn't have the clipping mask set - i.e. it's being applied to the entire stack of layers, not just for the immediate layer below it?

[pmrid]

Hi Dave, nope, I'm afraid it isn't obvious - to me anyway - so no apology required at all. OK. How do I set the clipping mask.
Peter

[naskies]

Right-click on the Hue/Saturation Layer, and then select "Create Clipping Mask". You'll see that the Hue/Saturation Layer becomes indented, and there's a little arrow that points downwards.

The normal behaviour is for the Hue/Saturation Layer is adjust *everything* below it in the layer stack - which isn't what you want. With a clipping mask, the Hue/Saturation Layer will make the layer below turn blue (for example) - but it won't affect your red or green layers.

I've attached a couple of screen shots to show the difference. This is from CS6, but it looks pretty much the same in CS5 too.

[pmrid]

Thanks Dave. I don't know how I missed that except perhaps that in the past, the creation of the clipping mask always seemed to be automatic. It just happened by itself without having to right-click on the adjustment layer. I appreciate your help.
cheers
Peter

[naskies]

No worries, Peter... glad you've got it working now :thumbsup: I only thought of that because I was almost tearing my hair out a few weeks ago with the exact same thing :lol: