LAB workflow question

Grendel2000

I (like many here) have recently purchased Dan's LAB book and am diligently working through it.

I am now on chapter 4.

Having read through the threads here that correspond to the chapters I've noticed one problem folks mention about LAB is the fact that you lose workflow going from RGB to LAB because you throw out adjustment layers etc. in the conversion.

I think I have a good workaround, but my knowledge of PS2's inner workings in not sufficient to know what the potential pitfalls are to my process.

Here is what I am doing:

- Start the image in RGB
- When I'm ready to go to LAB, make a merged layer at the top (CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-E). Name this new layer "Out to LAB".
- Duplicate the image (IMAGE/DUPLICATE/ -check "duplicate merged layers only").
- In the new (duplicated) image, convert to LAB.
- Add a "curves" adjustment layer and make your corrections (you can also use multiple adjustment layers - one for each channel L/A/B. This makes it easier to re adjust them or see the individual change that channel makes).
- When finished, merge the image up (CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-E).
- Lable the new layer "Back to RGB"
- Drag the new (finished) layer into the original RGB image. Hold down SHIFT when you release the mouse button to align the images correctly. This adds your new color corrected layer to the original RGB image.
- Label the new layer "In from LAB".
- Save the LAB version (with layers intact and still in LAB mode) in your folder that contains the working RGB copy. Name it "<FILE NAME> - LAB". I have a work in progress folder for each image ("Imagename WIP) that I keep all working versions together in.


This seems to allow you to keep all of your steps, albeit in two files, the second of which contains the LAB steps. Obviously you can't back up beyond the LAB steps if you are working in the original image, but at least you don't lose your original work/layers in the conversion TO LAB. If needed, you can always delete the "In from LAB" layer and start over from that point.

The "Out to LAB" and "In from LAB" are essentially just placeholders to let you know what happened at that step in the stack of layers.

My only fear in this is the conversion that PS2 performs during the drag from the LAB back into the RGB version. I don't know how this conversion takes place or if damage of any kind is done here.

Any thoughts? Comments? Critiques?

I'm by no means an expert. Just trying to think this stuff through.

Thanks

edgework

Grendel2000 wrote:

I (like many here) have recently purchased Dan's LAB book and am diligently working through it.

I am now on chapter 4.

Having read through the threads here that correspond to the chapters I've noticed one problem folks mention about LAB is the fact that you lose workflow going from RGB to LAB because you throw out adjustment layers etc. in the conversion.

I think I have a good workaround, but my knowledge of PS2's inner workings in not sufficient to know what the potential pitfalls are to my process.

Here is what I am doing:

- Start the image in RGB
- When I'm ready to go to LAB, make a merged layer at the top (CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-E). Name this new layer "Out to LAB".
- Duplicate the image (IMAGE/DUPLICATE/ -check "duplicate merged layers only").
- In the new (duplicated) image, convert to LAB.
- Add a "curves" adjustment layer and make your corrections (you can also use multiple adjustment layers - one for each channel L/A/B. This makes it easier to re adjust them or see the individual change that channel makes).
- When finished, merge the image up (CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-E).
- Lable the new layer "Back to RGB"
- Drag the new (finished) layer into the original RGB image. Hold down SHIFT when you release the mouse button to align the images correctly. This adds your new color corrected layer to the original RGB image.
- Label the new layer "In from LAB".
- Save the LAB version (with layers intact and still in LAB mode) in your folder that contains the working RGB copy. Name it "<FILE NAME> - LAB". I have a work in progress folder for each image ("Imagename WIP) that I keep all working versions together in.


This seems to allow you to keep all of your steps, albeit in two files, the second of which contains the LAB steps. Obviously you can't back up beyond the LAB steps if you are working in the original image, but at least you don't lose your original work/layers in the conversion TO LAB. If needed, you can always delete the "In from LAB" layer and start over from that point.

The "Out to LAB" and "In from LAB" are essentially just placeholders to let you know what happened at that step in the stack of layers.

My only fear in this is the conversion that PS2 performs during the drag from the LAB back into the RGB version. I don't know how this conversion takes place or if damage of any kind is done here.

Any thoughts? Comments? Critiques?

I'm by no means an expert. Just trying to think this stuff through.

Thanks

I do almost exactly that. I found that I was losing track of what layer went where, so each time I finished in a particular space, I'd save that file with a name like RGB_1, LAB_2, RGB_3, etc. Easier to follow exactly what I did at each step of the way.

jfriend

Same here

Grendel2000 wrote:

I (like many here) have recently purchased Dan's LAB book and am diligently working through it.

I am now on chapter 4.

Having read through the threads here that correspond to the chapters I've noticed one problem folks mention about LAB is the fact that you lose workflow going from RGB to LAB because you throw out adjustment layers etc. in the conversion.

I think I have a good workaround, but my knowledge of PS2's inner workings in not sufficient to know what the potential pitfalls are to my process.

Here is what I am doing:

- Start the image in RGB
- When I'm ready to go to LAB, make a merged layer at the top (CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-E). Name this new layer "Out to LAB".
- Duplicate the image (IMAGE/DUPLICATE/ -check "duplicate merged layers only").
- In the new (duplicated) image, convert to LAB.
- Add a "curves" adjustment layer and make your corrections (you can also use multiple adjustment layers - one for each channel L/A/B. This makes it easier to re adjust them or see the individual change that channel makes).
- When finished, merge the image up (CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-E).
- Lable the new layer "Back to RGB"
- Drag the new (finished) layer into the original RGB image. Hold down SHIFT when you release the mouse button to align the images correctly. This adds your new color corrected layer to the original RGB image.
- Label the new layer "In from LAB".
- Save the LAB version (with layers intact and still in LAB mode) in your folder that contains the working RGB copy. Name it "<FILE NAME> - LAB". I have a work in progress folder for each image ("Imagename WIP) that I keep all working versions together in.


This seems to allow you to keep all of your steps, albeit in two files, the second of which contains the LAB steps. Obviously you can't back up beyond the LAB steps if you are working in the original image, but at least you don't lose your original work/layers in the conversion TO LAB. If needed, you can always delete the "In from LAB" layer and start over from that point.

The "Out to LAB" and "In from LAB" are essentially just placeholders to let you know what happened at that step in the stack of layers.

My only fear in this is the conversion that PS2 performs during the drag from the LAB back into the RGB version. I don't know how this conversion takes place or if damage of any kind is done here.

Any thoughts? Comments? Critiques?

I'm by no means an expert. Just trying to think this stuff through.

Thanks

I find that for many images, I go to LAB first and do more of my retouching there so this is not as much of an issue.

But, for images that I first do some things in RGB and then switch to LAB and then back to RGB for final production, I do the same thing you do with a merged layer that goes to LAB and a new pasted in layer on top that contains the summary of my LAB changes. Sometimes I save the separate LAB file and sometimes not depending upon how easy it is to redo that work.