dekeBytes: Welcome to Smart Filters

Before you can take advantage of Smart Filters, you need to turn the image into a smart object. The easiest way to do that is to choose Filter > Convert for Smart Filters. Photoshop warns you that you're converting the layer to a smart object (see below), which is precisely what you want, so feel free to turn on the Don't Show Again check box and click OK.

In the Layers palette, notice that the image thumbnail now bears a little page icon, showing that it's a smart object. For the sake of tidiness, rename the layer "Image." Then choose Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen to apply Photoshop's most capable sharpening filter. (Note that the "smarts" in Smart Sharpen, which is really good, and Smart Filter, which is non-destructive, are unrelated.) In my case, I set the Amount value up to 200 percent and raise the Radius to 2.0 pixels. Because this is a digital photograph, I also changed the Remove setting to Lens Blur (see below). Apply whatever settings you like, then click the OK button to apply the effect.

You can now see a new Smart Filters item inset below the Image layer in the Layers palette. Inset below that is the Smart Sharpen filter. This is an entirely editable effect. To change your settings, just double-click on the words Smart Sharpen, and up pops the Smart Sharpen dialog box again for further adjustments. I decided to seize the opportunity by changing the Amount value to 300 percent and clicking OK.

Let's next add a blur effect. Choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the Radius value to something in the neighborhood of 5 pixels. Photoshop adds the Gaussian Blur effect underneath the Smart Filter entry in the Layers palette (see below). At this point, you can change the order of the filters by dragging them up and down the list, turn them on and off by clicking the eyeball icons, or modify the settings by double-clicking on one of the filter names.

You can even change the opacity and blend mode assigned to a Smart Filter. (Note that we're not changing the blend mode of the layer, but the effect itself.) Right-click on the Gaussian Blur item in the Layers palette and choose Edit Smart Filter Blending Options. Or double-click the tiny sliders icon to the right of the words Gaussian Blur. Either way, Photoshop brings up a dialog box in which you can adjust the Mode and Opacity settings. I say we set the mode to Overlay and the Opacity to 70 percent. Assuming the Preview check box is on, the image window shows the image, Smart Sharpen effect, and Gaussian Blur effect all working together. The result is a diffused high key effect (see below).

Now the sharpening effect seems overdone. So double-click the tiny sliders icon to the right of Smart Sharpen in the Layers palette. Because this effect is at the bottom of the Smart Filter list, you get a warning that the preview will not include effects that are stacked on top of the filter being edited--in this case, Gaussian Blur--but they will be applied after you apply your changes. It's not the ideal situation, but every new feature has its growth pains. Click OK to move along.

In the subsequent Blending Options dialog box, set the Mode to Luminosity to eliminate any color sharpening. Then reduce the Opacity value to 40 percent. Click OK to see all editable, non-destructive filters applied to the image above , brought to you by the power of Smart Filters in Photoshop CS3.

For a whole book-load of hands-on Deke tutorials complete with accompanying video, look for his new book Adobe Photoshop CS3 One-on-One coming next month from O'Reilly. (Sneak peek of the new cover here for intrepid blog readers; you saw it here first, folks.) You can also check out Deke's videos at online training center lynda.com.