Photoshop Workflow Tips

These tips are specific to Photoshop CS3. Usually things don’t change too much across versions, but I welcome comments if it works differently in another version.

I’ve spent a lot of time this week just organizing my PhotoShop settings so that it doesn’t take an eternity for me to edit pictures. These tips helped me make the most out of my Photoshop configuration.

Organize your Workspace

A palette group.

You don’t need every palette open. It’s easy enough to access palettes at any time using shortcuts or the Window menu. Take a few moments to figure out which palettes you want open and how you want them configured.

Collapsed Icons

You have a lot of options when it comes to configuring your palettes. These apply to all palettes and palette groups:

1. Group by dragging their tabs next to others.
2. Dock by clicking on the area behind the tabs and dragging them to the top, bottom or side of any other. Dock to the left or right of the screen, also.
3. Minimize by clicking the minimize icon on the upper right hand corner (next to the “x”)
4. Collapse to icons by pressing the double arrow icon at the top right hand corner

Here’s how my workspace is currently configured. (I’m sure as I continue to learn more about Photoshop, this will change.)

Organize your Actions

Clear an afternoon and roll up your sleeves; this is going to take a while. That’s assuming you’re like me and will pretty much download any free action that looks halfway decent (I have everything CoffeeShop offers. Good stuff!) and have bought a bunch of actions too. I learned a lot of these tips from MCP’s Organizing Actions Video Tutorial and picked up some on my own.

I’m an extremely organized person and I love having everything placed in categories and subcategories, tagged, dated and tweaked to my specifications. In the end, it’s a huge time-saver!

1. Back up your actions!
   Before you start, take all your actions in their original state and save them, preferably across multiple hard drives. Once you finish, back up any new sets you’ve made.
2. Make a list of your favorites.
   I have my go-to actions that I know how to use well and love. Pioneer Woman’s B&W, CoffeeShop’s Perfect Portrait and Baby PowderRoom, MCP’s Color Fixer and Quiet the Noise are among my very favorites. You probably know exactly what you go to first and most frequently. It’s pointless to keep them in their original folders and just takes longer to find.

   Create a “Favorites” Action Set and work right in Photoshop’s Action Palette. Hold down the Alt/Option key and drag the action to your favorites folder (which can take patience if your machine is anything like mine…) This will create a copy of your action in the new folder. Make sure to keep track of who made each action by renaming it to include the author or company.

   I’ve separated my favorites by category and currently have set folders for: Workflow, Basic Edits, Retouch, Color Pop, Finishing, B&W and Vintage.


Actions in button mode, color coded.
3. Delete actions or sets you never use
   You have them backed up, right? So you can just open them again if you want to use them. But if you never ever use them, why are you keeping it up?
4. Use Button Mode.
   I personally don’t use this, but I see the appeal of it. At the top of the palette, below the close and minimize icons, there’s a drop-down carat. Click that and the first option is button mode. It will change the appearance of actions as items under a folder structure to this button layout.
5. Set Button Colors and Shortcuts

   

   With button mode turned off, highlight the action you want to set. Via the same menu used to select button mode, choose instead: Action Options. Here you can choose a color to be applied when in button mode and set up a shortcut with the F keys with or without Ctrl + Shift. (Remember also, you can set up keyboard shortcuts for application and palette menus.)

6. Don’t be afraid to edit your actions
   

   Skip over unneeded stops.

   Your actions are backed up, I just know it! So have no fear and edit them if they’re annoying you. Are there stops to instruct you what to do next, but you no longer need the reminder? Just uncheck those stops! Be careful because sometimes the action stops so you can perform some customizations before continuing on. Those are probably needed!

If you take a few hours to make sure everything is set up exactly as you like it, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and frustration. Do you have any workflow time saver tips you’d like to share?

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