How to turn off that annoying grid in Photoshop when you zoom in.

Hey, guys!

I’ve been working on 4K for the last year, and as such, I have to zoom in quite considerably more than resolutions such as 1080 and 1440 to get to the same level of “zoomed in” view. This extreme zoom-in adds a grid to the view. As a photographer and a retoucher, it can make life very difficult if you’re not aware that you can turn this grid off.

Standard view at 1080P

When someone sends you 16 images to retouch, and you have to work on pore level details, you zoom in on a 4K monitor and boom, the grid from hell.

Here’s the issue at a 1080 resolution:

And here’s the issue at 4K:

As you can see, this is a cr–shoot for retouching work.

It kicks in faster and faster the higher the resolution you’re working with (you can zoom in less before it turns on).

To see the difference, here’s a comparison with and without the grid:

The problem we have as retouchers is that the grid popping on gives us a false impression of luminosity, as well as making it very difficult, if not impossible, to accurately see which pixels need to be dodged and burned effectively when zoomed in for precise work.

Even looking at the image as widely as possible before the grid kicks in changes the perceived shape of the face, and this is something we have to avoid at all costs when it’s not something we’re able to control.

We want to be able to see an image and it’s problems clearly so that we, as retouchers and editors can dictate the corrections with as few complications as possible.

I hope this fix helps you on your journey!

The fix is simple my friends: VIEW>SHOW>PIXEL GRID

May your zoomed in experience be forever improved as a retoucher/photographer.