Layered .psd files

[tonygamble]

I have done some packshots for a chum.

I was going to white out the background using 'mask'.

His 'art director' has asked for a layered .psd file.

Google tells me that you do that with something called Photoshop.

How do you suggest I keep him happy with our beloved PWP?

Tony

[ksinkel]

Tony,

What the art director probably wants is the mask, which would encoded in the .psd file. In PWP, you can save a mask as separate image. So your image file plus the mask file may satisfy what the art director is looking for.

(I should add that Picture Window can store the transformations used to edit an image in a workflow or .wfl file. This has the same function as the .psd file in Photoshop.)

Kiril

[tonygamble]

Thanks Kiril,

I'll send him a pair of jpgs or tifs for each image then.

I'm guessing that he cannot open a .wfl file if he does not have PWP.

The tifs will be pretty large as the shots are from a Sigma DP3M - but I can get them to him with WETransfer.

Would you feather the mask at all? I am not sure how someone would do it in PS.

Tony

P.S. I hope my deliberate mis-spelling of PS is not causing offence. If you think it might then feel free to removed it, K.

[ksinkel]

Feathering a mask is used to make the masked and unmasked areas blend without an obvious border. If you have a distinct boundary between the foreground and background features you probably will not want to feather.

Kiril

[tonygamble]

Thanks Kiril,

This morning (GMT) we have been sorting out whether the designer needs one of those Postscript files or is able to work with a tif and a mask tif.

He says he can and I have sent him a trial. I have not feathered the edges at all as I assume he needs a crisp edge to his transparency.

If I get a shout of horror I'll come back here for more help.....

I asked DEN if he had Photoshop so he could make the special file for me but he gave it up ages ago - I am doing no more hunting as I think that element of the problem may have gone away.

Tony