Lightroom and CS3 vs CS2 for automation

largelylivin

From what I have learned about the automation capabilities of PS CS2 so far is that its very awkward to work with (like having to know control strokes to select the proper layer) and doesn't seem to have much portability/adaptability with respect to file structure, naming etc.

Is Lightroom or CS3 significantly better with respect to automation?

Richard

largelylivin wrote:

From what I have learned about the automation capabilities of PS CS2 so far is that its very awkward to work with (like having to know control strokes to select the proper layer) and doesn't seem to have much portability/adaptability with respect to file structure, naming etc.

Is Lightroom or CS3 significantly better with respect to automation?

CS2 is a big program and has a big learning curve. It also has a rich set of automation capabilites, ranging from recordable macros and batch processing to an extensive programming API for scripting. Like all programs, it has some peculiarities and limitations. What is it that you are unable to do (besides automatically leveling horizons )?

largelylivin

rsinmadrid wrote:

CS2 is a big program and has a big learning curve. It also has a rich set of automation capabilites, ranging from recordable macros and batch processing to an extensive programming API for scripting. Like all programs, it has some peculiarities and limitations. What is it that you are unable to do (besides automatically leveling horizons )?

Mostly it either doesn't support a "process" well or I just don't know how to do it correctly. I've been nusing PS CS2 intensively for 18 months, although there are certainly things and methods that I don't know. I have spent alot of time with the macro recording capability. I have spent some time with batch processing. I know nothing about the scripting API and don't own any books that talk about it.

Aside from some very specific issues (like, how do you save to JPEG and limit its size vs dimension, which would be infinitely more useful.)...sorry... the problem with recorded Macros is that the files never seem to get saved WHERE I want to put them, frequently due to operator error.

If there is one thing I'd like to be able to do its this. Assume a heirarchical directory substructure that looks like this:

Working Photos (a job)
*Originals
**Reds (Trash)
**Yellows (Maybe later)
**Greens
*In-Process
**Straighten or Crop
**auto image process
**JPEGS (Ready to Publish)
*Published
Photo Archive
*Job
**Originals
**Published
*Job.........

I'd like the macros or automation to "understand" the file structure regardless of which job (working photos) I'm under so that I can repeat the same process over and over again for different but quite similar jobs.

Ultimately, I'd like to be able to create "watch folders" so that every time I put a file in that folder a process or macro automatically operates on it and moves it along to the next folder in the process.

You shouldn't have to be a software guru to do this because if you were, you would probably not be THAT interested on automating batch processes for photos (I mean software guru's get paid a lot, I know.)

Richard

I haven't done much batch processing and I, too, have stumbled over file location when using macros in batch mode. In technical terms, I never figured out how to use relative rather than absolute pathnames. Maybe somebody else could jump in here with a proper explanation.

Nevertheless, I think you could probably accomplish what you want in CS2. You would need to have a consistent file hierarchy and consistent folder names (something I gather you want in any event). What you would need to do is create a folder called Active (or any other name you choose). Your individual jobs would each get a folder with a unique name. Everything within that folder would be contained within another folder with a generic name, say Job, and your entire hierarchy for that job would be contained within that folder. Confused already? Sorry about that, but it's about to get worse.

OK, here's where we get around the pathname problem. Before you start working on a job, you move the folder named Job into the folder named Active. At this point, your hierarchy is not identified with any particular job. This is where you need to record your macros, so that the pathname looks like C:\MyPhotos\Active\Job\...[other subdirectories go here]. You will run your batches in the Active folder. When you are done, you should be able to move the Job folder back to its original location, the one that has the unique job identifier as its name.

And yes, you are absolutely right: there ought to be an easier way to do this. Maybe there is in Lightroom or CS3. Maybe there is in CS2 as well, but I haven't figured it out. In any event, the method I suggested should take very little time to do once you understand the logic of it.

Cheers,