Adjustment layers or Enhance menu?

[martha94526]

When should I use one or the other? Wouldn't it be the same if I worked on a background copy?

[Sepiana]

Hi martha94526, welcome aboard

First of all, whether you are using the Enhance Menu options or using Adjustment layers, it is a good idea never to work on your original image.

When you edit your image using the Enhance Menu the changes are made to the pixels in your image. Within an editing session you can undo these changes if you don’t like them. However, once you save your work you cannot undo those changes; they are permanent.

On the other hand, when you use an Adjustment layer the changes are made directly within the Adjustment layer itself without permanently modifying the pixels in your image. That gives you more flexibility. You can make changes to the settings in the Adjustment layer or even delete it; your image remains intact. Moreover, if you save your image with the layers preserved, you can go back and work on those Adjustment layers if you need to.

Hope this helps!