Bad habits

[Ed_L]

Am I the only one who has developed a bad habit, and had a hard time breaking? When I started using Photoshop, if I wanted to do some cloning or painting, I would duplicate the background layer instead of using a new blank layer, making huge files. After I had the fire department come over a few times to put out the fire on my keyboard, one of the firemen told me that if I would use a blank layer, my file sizes would be much smaller, the system wouldn't have to work so hard, and the need for the fire department would diminish. But seriously, I had a hard time breaking that habit. Are any of you willing to admit to doing anything like this?

Ed

[Flora]

Ed

...Guilty as charged your Honour!...
And that's not all....Being a hardened criminal....I still do it!!!!!
(at least until now!).....
Thanks a billion for this tip Ed!!!

[DannyRaphael]

OK... I Confess

When I first started using Photoshop, I did the same thing Ed. Then, I started multiplying my "bad habit" by creating periodic copies of the Background copy layer so I could easily "fall back" a couple hours if needed. As I moved forward, PS would get slower and slower and slower. Big surprise.

That habit was easy to break once I discovered the power of Layer Masks and painting, cloning, etc. on separate layers!

Don't know if this was necessarily a "bad habit." Probably more like "I didn't know any better."

- - - - - -
Confession II:

As an "accidental artist" I'd often be experimenting away... applying and/or fading and/or undoing this filter or that, or stepping through blend modes to see what worked (and mostly didn't). I'd apply 2-3-4 filters on one layer... then I'd duplicate this layer or that, try various blend modes and once I reached Oz, I'll pull the trigger on that flatten image command and be done with it.

Once in awhile I'd actually come up with something I liked, but when I wanted to duplicate the effect an hour, a week, a month later on a different image, I was then faced with the question, "How the heck did I DO that?" I've got a pretty good memory with one problem. It's real short.

I'm more diligent now. As I work on a layer I assign (as part of the layer name) a letter ID plus what effect was applied and applicable setting values, e.g.,
Layer name: A=USM,200,4,0
(Unsharp Mask, amount=200, radius=4, levels=0)

Layer name: B=Desat A+Median,3
(indicating layer A was duplicated, desaturated and a Median filter, radius 3 was applied.)

These days when I occasionally stumble on a favorable outcome at least I have a decent chance of reproducing the (so-called) effect on another image.

As my dad used to say, "Some people live and learn. Others just live."

[Mike Needham]

Ok as you all have been so big in coming forward i too can confess

I have a habit of when I am merging layers (not flattening) I create a new layer and then merge all layers into the new one. Then I duplicate the new layer. Why??? I honestly don't know, this piqued my interest when for the latest restoration challenge some1 asked me why.

The honest answer is 10 years (maybe less in photoshop ) of doing the same thing and it becoming habit forming. The reason? No real idea, although I suspect that I probably got it off some sie or other as a hot tip and/ or disseminated the info wrongly

So do I have a good cause to do what I do? Or am I a goofball?

[DannyRaphael]

I guess I just joined the Goofball Club (can I be VP?)

Mike... I do the same thing (merge multiple layers into a separate layer, then duplicate the new layer). I normally do the merge as an intermediate step, then go on to further modify the new copy.

That's what you do, right? (I'm tryin' to help you out here. All you gotta do is say, "Yes!" )

Does this mean I'm up to 3 already?

[ravenmd]

(slapping forehead)

Ed, I've been using Photoshop for a year and a half and it NEVER occurred to me to use blank layers!

well duh

my solution was to crank my system up to 512MB of RAM. Not the cheapest solution, nor the most effective.

I still got the huge files I had to store somewhere...

you are now my guru.. oh great wise one..

[Ed_L]

I thought I was the only one doing that! Maybe it's worth putting on the tips forum.

Ed

[Mike Needham]

LOL you mean that there is a secret band of us all doing the same thing in the darkened closets of our photoshop cupboard?

Perhaps we could form an underground movement? like the Thugees!

ps Danny "Yes! yes! yes!" thanks

[Flora]

Hi all!

...a secret band of us all doing the same thing in the darkened closets...

Actually...I admitted this one only because Ed made me realize it...God knows how many other wrong "things" I do in the "darkened closets of my photoshop cupboard " ..... I might have to sing in for many other "secret bands " here!!!!