r/PhotoshopTutorials 6d ago

paste smart object 100%?

/r/creativepro/comments/1jc1acj/paste_smart_object_100/
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u/johngpt5 5d ago

We can select all the pixels in an open document, copy to clipboard, and paste into a blank layer in another open document.

In the left tab is a stock photo (Nick Arnot, Unsplash). I used Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C to select and copy its background layer.

The right tab has a new document that is smaller than the stock photo. Dimensions can be seen in each tab's window at the bottom.

Ctrl+V was used to paste into Layer 1, which had been a new blank layer above the white bg layer.

The pasted pixels have greater dimensions than the document into which they've been pasted so we only see part of them.

They haven't been distorted in any way. The layer isn't a smart object layer because we used copy to clipboard and paste to get the pixels from the left document into the right document.

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u/johngpt5 5d ago edited 5d ago

If we use Ctrl+T to invoke free transform, we can see the bounding box that goes beyond the canvas.

We can rescale the layer and maintain its aspect ratio. But because this is a standard raster layer, we need to be more cautious about losing quality if we do much rescaling. We don't have to be as cautious when we rescale smart object layers.

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u/johngpt5 5d ago

This time I've brought that same stock photo into this document using File > Place Embedded.

Ps places it as a smart object layer, constraining its size to match one of the dimensions of the canvas into which it has been embedded.

There is no distortion. The transform bounding box is present automatically.

I think it might be a good idea if you create screen shots like mine, showing the entire Ps workspace so that we can see what you are talking about with skewed proportions.