Smart Objects in Photoshop. Should You Use Them?

Hey folks. I wanted to tackle here the subject of smart objects in Photoshop and whether it makes sense to use them.

The TL:DR answer is “yes, whenever you can”

For the rest of you, let’s be clear that Photoshop is and has always been a pixel based editor with enormous power but no ability to go back to a long previous step in the edit and make changes to your work. This is due to it being a pixel level editor which is by its nature a destructive process.

Many people prefer editing in Lightroom Classic because edits are non-destructive and you can change the edit at any time until you export or round trip a file to Photoshop or any number of plugins.

Be clear that Photoshop never touches your original. It creates a new working file, typically ending in PSD, so the destructive steps occur in the PSD not your original, unless your original is a JPEG and you CHOOSE to overwrite it, which for the most part is a bad move.

Some edits, like Adjustment Layers are non-destructive and you should use them over the old menu options wherever you can. However most filters are destructive and most items on the Edit and Image menus are also destructive and you cannot go back and change them.

Smart Objects make this possible. A Smart Object puts a safety wrapper around a layer or layer stack, that allows you to make changes that would in a traditional sense be destructive and still provide the ability to go back and make changes well after the fact. It really is an incredible tool that sadly many Photoshop users have never embraced. Partly because Adobe makes it more difficult than it should be to make a layer a smart object and partly because a lot of Photoshop training glosses over or skips smart objects entirely.

There is a trainer named Dave Cross who offers outstanding classes on Smart Objects. There are some old ones on KelbyOne, and Dave offers his own classes on his own channel. I recommend his Smart Objects A-Z Course. I have attended classes with Mr. Cross and recommend him highly. This KelbyONE course is very old, dating back to CS5, but is still useful to those wanting to learn about smart objects.

I will also recommend a free YouTube video by Photoshop ACE Unmesh Dinda. Unmesh is a great instructor and his content is superb. The video for smart objects is linked below. His PIXimperfect channel should be a must watch for Photoshop users.

A full tutorial is beyond the scope of this article, but I will say that if you are not using Smart Objects in your Photoshop work, you are leaving ease out of your workflow.

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