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Task Guide: Compositing a Marine Algae Herbarium Plate

Scenario

You are preparing a high-resolution marine botany archive plate for an oceanographic institute. You have a 16-bit TIFF scan of a pressed kelp specimen on aged mounting paper, and you want to isolate the delicate fronds, balance the paper tone separately from the algae pigments using non-destructive adjustment layers, add a millimeter scale bar, and export archival TIFF and web PNG derivatives.

Step-by-Step Workflow

1. Open the Scan and Duplicate the Working Layer

  1. Press Ctrl+O (Cmd+O on macOS) and open the 16-bit TIFF scan.
  2. Press Ctrl+R (Cmd+R) to display canvas rulers and verify the document dimensions in the Info panel (F8).
  3. In the Layers panel (F7), press Ctrl+J to duplicate the background scan into an editable layer named Kelp Specimen.

2. Isolate the Fronds with Quick Selection and Select and Mask

  1. Press W to activate the Quick Selection Tool and drag across the main kelp stipe and blades. Use [ and ] to adjust brush diameter around fine holdfast roots.
  2. Press Ctrl+Alt+R (Cmd+Option+R) to open Select and Mask…. Adjust Radius and Feather while inspecting the preview; try Decontaminate Colors on a copy and check for unwanted color changes.
  3. Choose Layer Mask as the output before clicking OK so the selection becomes a mask on Kelp Specimen.

3. Apply Clipped Non-Destructive Adjustment Layers

  1. With Kelp Specimen selected, add a Curves adjustment layer from the Adjustments panel.
  2. Press Ctrl+Alt+G so the Curves adjustment affects only the masked kelp specimen and not the mounting card below. Lift the midtones slightly to reveal internal vein structure.
  3. Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, clip it with Ctrl+Alt+G, and adjust the yellow and green ranges while comparing with a reliable reference; avoid claiming that a color edit recovers the original specimen pigments.
  4. Select the underlying mounting card layer and add a Levels adjustment layer to neutralize the warm scanner cast into a clean archival cream background.

4. Draw the Scale Bar and Export Archival + Web Files

  1. Press U to select the Rectangle Tool, draw a scale bar calibrated against a measured reference in the original scan, and add a 5 cm label with the Horizontal Type Tool (T).
  2. Press Ctrl+S (Cmd+S) to save a native pcraft master; use Save As for a PSD copy and verify its layers, then press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+W (Cmd+Shift+Option+W) to open Export As… and export a flattened PNG preview for the online herbarium database.

Sources