Image Processor and Web Photo Gallery

Automating repetitive tasks in Photoshop is a hot topic these days. Photoshop has matured to the point where people not only want to make cool images and correct their digital photographs, but they want to do it fast. Photoshop CS2 includes several new and enhanced features that allow greater automation and increased proficiency. Let's try out a few.

Tutorial Author: Matt Kloskowski

Matt is an instructor for DesignMentor Training where he instructs an online class in advanced Adobe Photoshop. Author of Extreme Photoshop and Illustrator Most Wanted, Matt is certified as an Adobe Certified Expert  and as a Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD). Matt writes weekly columns for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and Mac Design magazine's Web site and features for Create Magazine's Studio column. Matt's tutorials have been used in over 15 schools throughout the United States and translated into seven languages.

Part I: Image Processor

The Image Processor in Photoshop and Adobe Bridge can process various types of files and Camera Raw images, and use new action presets or one of your own actions to prepare images for film and video. It is designed for photographers and designers who need to process large numbers of images quickly and efficiently.

When you launch Image Processor, a dialog box appears that allows you to pick a folder of images, specify a destination, the file type you want to save as, and any action you want to apply.

Try It Out

Launch Photoshop CS2, and choose File > Scripts > Image Processor. The dialog box is conveniently numbered with four steps to make it easy to setup your processing. In step 1, choose the folder of the images you want to process. You can also choose to work with images you already have open in Photoshop.

2. In step 2, choose a destination. You can choose to save in the same location as the originals or pick a different location. Here, choose to save the images in the same location as the originals.

3. Pick the File Type you want for saving. Your choices are JPEG, PSD, and TIFF. You can pick any one, combination, or all three of the file types. You'll also notice there are options for resizing the images. In this case, select JPEG with a Quality of 10, and check Convert Profile to sRGB.

4. Finally, you have the option of running an action on each of the images to be processed. This is convenient if several hundred photographs were shot under the same low-light conditions at a wedding. You may have an action that brings out some of the detail in the shadow areas. You can pick this action for step 4 and Image Processor will run it on every photo. For this exercise, leave the option blank.

5. When you're ready, click Run. Photoshop will think for a moment while it's processing your images. When it's done, open the folder you specified in step 2, and your newly processed images will be there. That's all there is to it!

Part II: Web Photo Gallery

Web Photo Gallery automation was introduced in Photoshop a few versions ago. However, it's been updated to include some Flash templates. This adds a entirely new aspect to the photo gallery because you can now produce animated galleries with much more interest than the static ones contained.

Try It Out

1. Launch Photoshop CS2, and choose File > Automate > Web Photo Gallery. (Notice the location is under the Automate menu, not Scripts.) Once there, the Web Photo Gallery dialog box appears.

2. Select a style by choosing Flash - Gallery 2 from the drop-down Styles list. Next, type in your e-mail address so people can contact you from your Web Photo Gallery page.

3. Now tell Photoshop what images you want to work with in the Source Images pane. You can choose to use images from a folder or images already selected in Adobe Bridge. However, the second option will only be available if you're running this automation from inside Bridge. Next, you'll need to choose a Destination folder in which to store the new images and web pages the Web Photo Gallery creates.

4. The last step is to choose from the Options pane. This is where you can specify various options such as thumbnail size, colors, banner options, and security. When you're done selecting options, click OK and Photoshop will generate a web photo gallery. It will resize all images and create thumbnails for each. It'll then place these images onto preset web pages depending on the style and options you chose earlier.

5. When it's done, look in your chosen destination folder for the files. Open the "index.htm" page in a web browser, and start navigating around your portfolio. Since these are HTML files, you can edit any of them in an HTML editor and customize any settings, logos, or other information that will make the site more personal.

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