PSE 2018 Cropping Issue - Destructive vs. Non-Destructive

[Brave_individual16B8]

Here is my issue -

I shoot lots of photos every weekend for an animal shelter (today was over 1500 images for about 50 dogs). Once I choose the image I want to use, I have to crop to a square as that's what the shelter's computer system requires. All of that is no problem, however I'm trying to reduce the steps in my workflow.

When cropping, it does it as non-destructive which is usually preferable, but in this case I want to delete to cropped pixels and not have it create a layer. That way, when I go to save the image, it is still defaulted to a .jpg instead of a .psd file which I have to change for each pic.

In Photoshop CC, you can change this behavior in the options bar, but I can't find a way to do it in Elements, which may very well be a limitation of the program.

Remember, I'm trying to eliminate a couple steps in my workflow during the saving process, so a workaround that adds more clicks would defeat the purpose.

Any ideas?

TW

[Jeff Arola]

There is no preference in elements for choosing between delete cropped pixels or not.

Anyway, photoshop elements should be deleting the pixels.

Keeping Cropped Pixels is only available in photoshop, as far as i know.

What leads you to believe elements is not deleting cropped pixels?

[MichelBParis]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Jeff+Arola  wrote

There is no preference in elements for choosing between delete cropped pixels or not.

That is, in the Elements editor.

It is available with your saving options if you use the ACR (camera raw) plugin, with a lot of advantages.

Using an ACR workflow, even for jpegs, is much faster with better image quality.

- You use the option to 'Open in ACR' from the editor.

- You open a batch of files to save a lot of time applying the same edit to some of the files or only to individual ones.

- The 'crop' tool is non-destructive. You can turn back to the original value or default ones.

- Your crop custom setting (square ratio) is sticky, available for any ulterior session.

- Once you have applied as many edits as you want in the ACR, you have two choices:  clicking 'Done' or 'Open'.

- 'Done' simply writes the sliders and crop setting in the metadata header of the jpeg, not in a sidecar file. The settings are also written in the catalog. The organizer thumbnail is updated and shows the crop. The next time you open the file in the editor or the organizer, it opens in the ACR dialog. If you open your jpeg with a third party browser or editor, the ACR edits will be ignored. After editing a session of say 50 files, a single click on 'Done' is enough, evrything is saved without creating new files nor xmp sidecars.

- 'Open' starts like 'Done' but if you 'select all', it opens the whole batch of edited files in the editor where you can edit with layers and all the usual tools, and save in your preferred format with 'save' or 'save' as.

The ACR crop tool:

To get the options, press the crop icon a few seconds until you are shown the drop-down menu.

To remove a previous crop, click the icon and outside of the former crop.

The organizer and jpegs edited in ACR.

It's a pity there is not an option to open new jpegs in ACR from the organizer. The first time, you have to open the jpegs from the editor, which is very fast if you open a reasonable batch (I do use 20 to 50 files by batch). Once you have clicked 'Done' or 'Open', the next time, the jpegs are automatically opened from the organizer in ACR. The thumbnails are updated.

Batch workflow for files edited in ACR.

From the editor:  'File >> process multiple files'

From the organizer:   Export as new files.

You may take full advantage of the non-destructive editing in ACR by simply using the 'Done' option or the 'Open' one followed by a 'save as' one in version sets in the editor. You organize your pictures into albums or add keywords. In your case, I would use those albums and the options of the 'export as new files' of the organizer to create a temporary folder to send to your partner. No need to keep them after they have been sent, since you can do it again any time later. You'll notice it's very similar to the Lightroom workflow. The difference for me is that I need to open in the editor a small part (5 to 10%) of those files. For those files I do create version sets in psd or jpeg. When exporting as described above, I select the album. I don't care if some are versions or originals with ACR setting (or if they are in different formats like jpeg, psd or tiff:)  they are all exported as I want to the temporary folder.

[Brave_individual16B8]

I'm shooting .jpg, not raw since I'm doing high volume and basic quality for Facebook posts, etc.

My basic workflow is:

Open image

Crop to a 5x5 square

Use healing brush to remove leashes, etc.

Fix exposure, lighting, color and sharpness

Place a logo

Add text for dog name and ID number

Save

When I go to save, it defaults to a .psd instead of leaving it as a native .jpg. After doing some research I read many posts that said the crop creates a layer which causes it to switch to a .psd. Maybe I'm wrong. Is something else I'm doing creating a layer?

[MichelBParis]

tdweller  wrote

I'm shooting .jpg, not raw since I'm doing high volume and basic quality for Facebook posts, etc.

My basic workflow is:

Open image

Crop to a 5x5 square

Use healing brush to remove leashes, etc.

Fix exposure, lighting, color and sharpness

Place a logo

Add text for dog name and ID number

Save

When I go to save, it defaults to a .psd instead of leaving it as a native .jpg. After doing some research I read many posts that said the crop creates a layer which causes it to switch to a .psd. Maybe I'm wrong. Is something else I'm doing creating a layer?

The ACR module works as well for jpegs (or psd, tiff) as for raws. For your purpose, this can be a huge factor to save time.

The workflow I have described has to be completed by adding the logo and the dog identification.

The first part of the workflow for 1 500 pictures for 50 dogs could be:

- Opening batches of fifty jpegs in the ACR module.

- Setting the genal adjustments, white balance, exposure etc.

- Choosing the crop for each file (size, rotation...)

- Clicking 'Done'

(I would expect 3 to 4 minutes per batch, less than one hour if you don't cull before)

My second step would be in the organizer. I would create albums & captions for each dog and add the dog name and identification in the catalog. Maybe assign ratings to select the best ones if you don't send every shot.

Now, how long the last step would take depends mainly on the final number you have to send and also of the kind of watermark/logo and text on the image you are using.

Other users may recommend actions to apply the watermark in batch. However if you have to enter the dog name and id, that needs to add two layers, one for the logo image and another one for the dog text. You may save in psd format to keep the layers or save as jpeg to keep only the flattened result.

What the organizer can do for you.

If the watermark and text on the photo are required, you do it individually for each file of a dog. You open each dog album and select the files with the best rating. For each file you add the required two layers and save either as psd or flattened in jpeg. Now you can export the files to your final jpeg dimension and compression while renaming the files with the dog's name: dogxx_01, dogxx_02 etc. If you start from psd files, they are flattened and automatically exported in jpeg format.

[Jeff Arola]

Your using the Crop Tool in the pse 2018 editor?

The Crop Tool in photoshop elements 2018 should not turn a Background Layer into a Regular Layer.

In photoshop cc that happens if you have Delete Cropped Pixels unchecked, but pse always deletes the pixels with the crop tool.

[Brave_individual16B8]

Ahhhh...It's not the crop action, its the place action. Dang!

[Jeff Arola]

You need to Flatten the image before Save.

Layer>Flatten

Or if you still have a Background Layer you could use Layer>Merge Visible which has a keyboard shortcut

of Shift+Ctrl+E (windows) or Shift-Cmd-E (mac)