Hi guys,

Hoping you can help as I've had a couple of hours today struggling with something in Photoshop that I can't get my head around. A previous worker at my job has made a series of actions for the team to use in some daily E-Commerce retouching.
I've just been promoted and one of my jobs is to now break down all the actions and explain what each step does and why, so everyone is aware of what actions their using. I've had no problems with the majority of actions, but I've reached one and I'm perplexed.

The action is called "Smart Object Detail (Calvin Hollywood) which insinuates its been downloaded as part of a set published online. Despite looking at various of this guys tutorials, the action has been amended so I can't figure out what this specific Curves Layer does.

The action runs and duplicates the background layer, one of these layers is set to Vivid Light. There is then a curves layer that is applied to both of these layers, which in some way helps level out the colour with a mask. However, I've turned the mask on and off, been into the settings (which are all default) and checked the Blending Mode and cannot figure out what its actual purpose is or where its set to level out the laters underneath. I've tried running the action without the Curves Layer added, and the image is bright orange (basically is showing the Vivid Light Layer) so it does have a purpose, but again, no idea what.

Here are some examples of what I mean:




Without Curves Layer:


With:


Layer Mode is normal:


All RBG Curve Layers untouched:





Blending Mode Normal:


I also uploaded the action here if you wanna check it out yourself: https://ufile.io/cm5f9

Thanks in advance all!

Sophie

This curve shape is equivalent to an Invert adjustment layer, so it's a waste of computing power to use a curve for something which doesn't need a curve. Also there is no need to duplicate the background for this. You can delete "Detail one" and the effect will be exactly the same. Again - something very inefficient memory-wise.

Re. Vivid light:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using … modes.html

Vivid Light
Burns or dodges the colors by increasing or decreasing the contrast, depending on the blend color. If the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened by decreasing the contrast. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened by increasing the contrast.

Instead of using this action you can equivalently destroy the image by using unsharp masking as it does the same:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsharp_masking

But of course if you are serious about image quality you should avoid both.

My advice would be to delete it and move on. Somehow it it has been edited, you can not find out
what it does, or if it useful, hopefully, that time could be better spent.

Hi Sophie,

Good luck in your assignment.

That action creates a group called "detail" and that group has a hide all mask associated to it.  That mask would block all effects of the group unless you paint on the mask with a white brush... in which case it would apply the curve to just the image below the group...and not all images below.  The previous poster was so right...that curve transposes blacks and whites... so its an invert curve. 

Im at a loss why applying an inverted curve in vivid blend mode is usually helpful.  It would just make an image to appear darkened with a high contrast look to it.

Calvin used to teach how to get glamour skin that popped.  If you turned that curve around and raised up the center part of the curve...then that action would lighten any part of the image with a very strong brightening effect with a high contrast component to it because of the vivid Blend.   This positive curve concept would be an action that is consistent with Calvins visual philosophy... making glamour skin pop...  via a slight lightening and enhanced contrast selectively applied to a models skin using a mask to control where the effect happens and by how much. 

Some other people use levels adjustment layers with the white and black adjustment points pulled in toward the center some...and then also pull the center adjustment point slightly to the left... to brighten any part of an image... and to give it some nice contrast at the same time.  This is another way to get skin pop.  The levels adjustment layer effect would not need to use the vivid blend mode to create the brightness and contrast... just a normal BM would do it.

I agree too... just throw up your hands and move on.  Sometimes things get corrupted along the way with totally automatic things like this.  This action seems backwards to me.

Cheers