Damien Symonds

Should be just middle slider and black output slider?

Please try not to edit on externals. That's fraught with risk. Externals are only for backup and long-term storage. Were you cropping when these ones had their problems too? Or were you doing something else?

That all sounds good. After this happened, did you immediately close the file, then open it again to see if the same thing happened?

Can you do this for us? https://www.damiensymonds.net/thread1.html

Go for it!

No problem, thanks for asking. Just updated the link.

The you are VERY lucky if a bit of white balance tool mischief is your only problem. You're bloody lucky your computer even starts up.

Do you mean 432GB used out of 465GB? Rather than free?

I'm not optimistic about that, sorry. I still think cloning is the way to go. But yes,you'll have to be careful to vary your source point frequently, to avoid obvious repetition.

I have no specific knowledge of this one, sorry. Can you do this for me? https://www.damiensymonds.net/thread1.html

https://www.damiensymonds.net/2014/03/how-aggressively-can-i-crop.html You're right, of course. That's only barely big enough for a 6x4 print.

I'm pretty sure the text thing should be ok to leave on.

Hi, I've moved your post into @Brian's section, because he's the guru for camera-related stuff. He'll be along shortly. I imagine it will help him if you can tell him all the specs of this shot - ISO, shutter speed and so on. In fact, it might be even better if you can show him a screenshot of those details from Lightroom.

If you do finally get it, you're finally ready for this: https://www.damiensymonds.net/client-photoshop

What do you mean, thanks? What did you think I'd been trying to explain to you for the last three hours? Do you get it now?

No, 11:15 with resolution blank!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please don't say "4x6" and "8x12". They are sizes, not ratios. The ratio is 2:3, and that is what's important. Importantly bad, in this case. No. You definitely must not make them smaller. Don't impose the 300ppi resolution. Leave the resolution blank, this is SO important.

Yes, but we've already established why you can't do that.

Sorry, I don't understand the question.

Fantastic. So by extension, you also understand that manual cropping must be part of this output process for client files. There is no way to automate cropping in Photoshop with consideration for individual composition. If you asked Photoshop to automatically crop a batch of photos, it would do so the same way your clueless clients would - that is, it would just take the centre section. As we've already discussed, that is risky. Still with me?

Excellent. And you understand that you must NEVER crop during the editing process? Neither in raw, nor in Photoshop. Your fully-edited master file must be whole. Every pixel is sacred. https://www.damiensymonds.net/2011/09/cropping-tutorial.html

Correct! I'm glad your understanding is becoming so strong that you're even jumping ahead of me here. As I said in the article: It's impractical, right? The client would be so unlikely to use the correct file, and anyway, it would drive you crazy making multiple versions of 78 files. Therefore, the "middle ground" (11:15 crop) is the most practical solution. You finally seem to be grasping this, which is great. There is one more aspect to discuss. Do you acknowledge that there will be a percentage of your photos that need cropping no matter what? Not every photo is perfectly composed in camera, and in fact, it's VERY dangerous to try to do so. It's vitally important to always shoot a little bit loose.

Good. And do you acknowledge that the most bulletproof way to prevent this potential 8x10 problem would be to actually crop the client's files to 8x10 for them?

Excellent. More progress. And you understand the risk inherent in this? That the top of somebody's head could easily be chopped off, in a portrait photo for example? Or any other random limb chop that you yourself would NEVER allow in your own work?

Ok, good. That's some progress, at least. And do you understand that your client, or their printer, are VERY unlikely to pause to consider your composition when cropping? They'll just use the exact centre section of the photo, yes?