How to Rasterize in Photoshop

Sometimes you might want to distort or add effects to shapes and text that show descriptions in your real estate photos. Learning how to rasterize in Photoshop helps you change the vector objects to pixels and edit them using brush and painting tools.

How to Rasterize in Photoshop

Photoshop allows you to make edits in the form of layers, where you make the adjustments separately on different versions of the same document or image, and then you merge them to form a single image or document.

Since Photoshop is a complex photo-editing and graphic designing application, it allows you to work with both raster and vector data. Usually, the computer uses mathematical formulas to render the vector data as graphics.

On the other hand, raster documents such as photos are based on pixels, which means they are resolution-dependent. As the name suggests, rasterizing means changing the vector data into pixel data. Regardless of your Photoshop version, you can rasterize vector data using the following steps.

Create a Vector Layer

Photoshop supports two types of layers, the raster layers, and the vector layers. Raster layers are pixel-based, also known as pixel layers or simply layers. You might use these default layers for common photo-editing jobs, such as blurring the background, removing the background, or even adding effects.

On the other hand, vector layers are based on vector data. That means the content you will create when using vector layers is more of graphics, where you can scale the object up and down without affecting the quality.

That means you will be working on vector data on a vector layer for you to rasterize. Fortunately, Photoshop can detect the tools for vector data and automatically create a vector layer. Some Photoshop tools that use vector layers and might need rasterizing include.

• Shapes: The Photoshop Shape tools help to create vector paths and shapes. The common shape tools include ellipses, rectangles, lines, rounded rectangles, custom shapes, and polygon tools. When you pick one of these tools, Photoshop will automatically create a vector layer.
• Text: The Photoshop Text tool allows you to type and edit text like a standard text editor such as Microsoft Word. Picking the Type tool causes Photoshop to automatically create a vector text layer. Usually, this layer will have a T icon on the highlight rather than the usual smaller version of the image displayed in pixel layers.
• Smart Objects: Smart Objects work like packaging for the normal pixel layers. Although they are not like the text and shape vector layers, you can't edit them directly, and they need rasterization to convert them to raster layers.

Make Adjustments

Once you convert the layers from vector-based to pixel-based, they lose some properties, and you might not be able to manipulate them like vector data anymore. For instance, Photoshop shows an options bar on the top menu with tools, effects, and filters you can apply to your layer.

In most cases, this options bar will change and display different filters, effects, and options after rasterizing. For example, when working with a text layer, the options bar allows you to edit the text and change its font, spacing, and color.

After rasterizing, you won't see this options bar and will be limited on the adjustments you can make to the text. As a result, it's advisable to make the necessary adjustments before changing a vector layer to a pixel layer.

Duplicate the Layer

Although Photoshop is an advanced image manipulation program, it edits destructively by manipulating the pixels. That means if you are using a text layer to add captions to your real estate images, the edits will be permanent once you rasterize the layers.

It's, therefore, advisable to make a copy of the original vector layer before rasterizing, so you can have a backup if something goes wrong or if you need to make changes in the future. You can duplicate the layer by choosing Layer on the top menu and selecting Duplicate Layer.

Alternatively, navigate to the More menu of the Layers panel and choose duplicate, or press the Control + J keys on your Windows computer or Command + J on your mac. Enter a name for the duplicate layer and then hit OK to confirm.

Rasterize the Layer

Rasterize the duplicate layer by highlighting it in the layers panel, navigating to Layer, selecting Rasterize, and then selecting Layer. Alternatively, right-click the duplicate layer on the layers panel and select Rasterize.

Note that the above methods will rasterize your entire layer. That means if you are editing real estate photos and the layer contains arrows that show directions and text for descriptions, the above methods will change both the arrow and text objects to pixels.

If you want to rasterize certain objects, such as the shapes, without rasterizing the text, navigate to Layer, select Rasterize, and choose the type of layers you want to rasterize. On the other hand, if you want to rasterize multiple layers, navigate to Layer, select Rasterize and then choose All Layers.

Apply the Effects

Once you rasterize the layer, Photoshop will automatically detect it’s a pixel layer and give you the option to edit the layer like a normal image.

If you have used a text layer to add captions to your real estate photos, you can use standard tools like the brush, eraser, and selection techniques to add distortions.

Save the Image

Keeping in mind that you will have an original vector layer and a final rasterized layer, it’s advisable to save them as Photoshop PSD documents. This format allows you to save all your layers as Photoshop editable files, allowing you to make edits in the future.

Go to File, choose Save As, select PSD file format and then save. However, if you are through with the edits and don’t plan to make adjustments in the future, simply select the rasterized layer from the layers panel, navigate to File, choose Save As, choose JPEG as the file format and then save.

Effects of Rasterizing

Since vector content is made of different data from raster content, changing your Photoshop objects or layers from vector to raster has the following effects:

• It gives you the ability to apply filters and use tools not supported by vector data, such as brush tools, paint bucket, and eraser
• Rasterizing makes the content pixel-dependent, which results in quality loss when you try to scale up the layer
• The edges of the objects tend to look pixelated when zoomed in, as the computer can’t recreate pixels the way it uses mathematical formulas to render graphics 
• It changes the editable text to an image, allowing you to distort it using standard editing tools and use it as a watermark for your real estate photos

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to rasterize in Photoshop can help you create artistic and aesthetically pleasing effects on your photos by changing vector objects, such as shapes and text, to normal images. You can create appealing effects by further distorting them and applying filters.