4. Camera Raw

Using the powerful and wide-ranging controls in the Adobe Camera Raw plug-in, you can apply corrections to your photos before opening them into Photoshop. In this comprehensive chapter, you’ll learn about the Camera Raw tools and tabs; choose workflow options for Camera Raw; apply cropping and straightening; and correct photos for defects, such as poor contrast, under or overexposure, color casts, blurriness, geometric distortion, and noise. You will also learn how to enhance your photos with special effects, such as a vignette, grain texture, or tint; retouch blemishes; access Camera Raw controls from Photoshop; save and synchronize Camera Raw settings among related photos; then finally, open your corrected photos into Photoshop.

Note: The Camera Raw plug-in, which we refer to simply as “Camera Raw,” is included with Photoshop. Some users also refer to the plug-in as “ACR,” short for Adobe Camera Raw.

These are some basic facts about Camera Raw:

Camera Raw can process raw, TIFF, and JPEG photos from most digital camera models.

Camera Raw offers powerful controls for correcting problems in your photos, such as over- and underexposure and color casts, and for applying enhancements, such as a vignette or a grain texture.

Camera Raw saves edits to TIFF and JPEG files in the file itself, whereas edits to raw files are saved as instructions (in a separate “sidecar” file or in the Camera Raw database). When you open a photo from Camera Raw into Photoshop, the instructions are applied to a copy of the file, and the original raw file is preserved.

To any image layer in Photoshop, you can apply some Camera Raw features via the Filter > Camera Raw Filter command.

More reasons to use Camera Raw

In case you’re not fully sold on the benefits of correcting your digital photos in Camera Raw before opening them into Photoshop, consider these points:

Ability to preview raw files: The only way to preview a raw photo is in Camera Raw (or other software that converts raw files). Note: The photo that you view on the LCD screen of your digital camera is merely a JPEG preview of the raw capture, not the “actual” raw capture.

Great correction features: Camera Raw offers many unique adjustment controls that you simply won’t find in Photoshop.

Less destructive edits: When applying corrections to a photo, the goal is to preserve as much of the image quality as possible. Adjustments that you make to a photo in Camera Raw (and that are applied automatically when the photo is opened in Photoshop) cause less data loss than similar adjustment commands in Photoshop.

Preserves 16 bits per channel: To preserve more of the original pixel data in a raw photo, Camera Raw keeps the bit depth as 16 bits per channel. This helps offset the data loss from subsequent image edits in Photoshop, and results in a better-quality photo.

Tonal redistribution: The sensor in a digital camera captures and records the existing range of tonal values in a scene as is, in a linear fashion, without skewing the data toward a particular tonal range.A That sounds fine on paper, but the reality is that the human eye is more sensitive to lower light levels than to higher light levels. In other words, we’re more likely to notice if shadow areas lack detail and less likely to notice extra details in highlight areas. The result is that digital photos typically contain more data than necessary for the highlight values in a scene and insufficient data for the lower midtone and shadow values. In a Camera Raw conversion, data is shifted more into the midtone and shadow ranges of your photo. This not only helps compensate for the peculiarities of human vision, but also helps prepare your photos for subsequent image edits in Photoshop.B If you apply tonal adjustments in Photoshop to a photo that contains insufficient shadow data, the result is posterization and a noticeable loss of detail; if you apply the same edits to a good-quality photo that has been converted in Camera Raw, the destructive edits will be far less noticeable.

Superior noise reduction and sharpening: Not to knock Photoshop, but the noise reduction and sharpening features in Camera Raw cause less data loss than similar features in Photoshop.

Learning the Camera Raw features will give you a head start: The tonal and color controls in Camera Raw are similar to many of the adjustment controls in Photoshop (e.g., Levels, Curves, and Hue/Saturation) that are discussed in later chapters. As you proceed through the lessons in this book, you will apply and build on the skills you have mastered in this chapter.

Raw, JPEG, or TIFF?

Unfortunately, Camera Raw can’t correct deficiencies in digital JPEG and TIFF photos as fully as it can in raw photos, for several reasons. First, cameras reduce digital JPEG and TIFF photos to a bit depth of 8 bits per channel, and in so doing discard some of the captured pixels. Cameras save raw photos at a bit depth of 16 bits per channel, and preserve all the captured pixels.

Second, cameras apply color and tonal corrections to JPEGs and TIFFs (called “in-camera” processing). Camera Raw must reinterpret this processed data, with less successful results than when it has access to the raw, unprocessed data.

All of the above notwithstanding, if your camera doesn’t shoot raw photos or you acquire JPEG or TIFF photos from other sources, you can still use practically all of the outstanding correction and adjustment features in Camera Raw to process them.

Note: In this chapter, we focus only on processing raw and JPEG files in Camera Raw — not TIFF files. The JPEG format is mentioned only when a particular feature treats a JPEG differently than a raw file.

Factoid: Each digital camera manufacturer creates its own version of a raw file and attaches a different extension to the names of its raw files, such as .nef for Nikon and .crw or .cr2 for Canon.

To set a preference so your raw photos open directly into Camera Raw:

1. In Photoshop, go to Edit/Photoshop > Preferences (Ctrl-K/Cmd-K) > File Handling.

2. Under File Compatibility, check Prefer Adobe Camera Raw for Supported Raw Files, then click OK. When you double-click a raw file, it will open into Camera Raw (as opposed to other software that can be used to convert raw files).

To set a preference so your JPEG or TIFF photos open directly into Camera Raw:

1. In Bridge, choose Edit/Adobe Bridge CC > Camera Raw Preferences.

2. At the bottom of the dialog, from the JPEG menu, choose Automatically Open JPEGs with Settings.

3. If you shoot digital TIFF photos, from the TIFF menu, choose Automatically Open TIFFs with Settings; or if you shoot only raw or JPEG photos (not TIFF photos), choose Disable TIFF Support.

4. Click OK.

When you want to open a JPEG or TIFF photo into Camera Raw that has not yet been edited (doesn’t have Camera Raw settings), click the thumbnail in Bridge, then click the Open in Camera Raw button or press Ctrl-R/Cmd-R.

To open a JPEG or TIFF photo that has been edited previously in Camera Raw (that is “with Settings”), double-click its thumbnail or press Ctrl-R/Cmd-R.

If you enable both “Automatically Open” options (steps 2–3, above), but there is an occasion when you want to open a JPEG or TIFF photo directly into Photoshop instead of Camera Raw, click the thumbnail, then press Ctrl-O/Cmd-O. This shortcut will work only if the file hasn’t yet been edited in Camera Raw.

If the Open in Camera Raw button is available when you click a thumbnail in Bridge, it’s a sign that the file can be opened into Camera Raw.

You can set a preference to have either Bridge or Photoshop host the Camera Raw plug-in when you open a raw or JPEG photo. In the case of Photoshop, the program will launch, if it’s not already running. Also, when Bridge is the host for Camera Raw, the default (highlighted) button for exiting that dialog is labeled Done, whereas when Photoshop is the host for Camera Raw, the default exit button is Open Image or Open Object, depending on a setting in the Workflow Options dialog (see step 9 on page 58).

To choose a host for Camera Raw:

1. In Bridge, choose Edit/Adobe Bridge CC > Preferences (Ctrl-K/Cmd-K), then show the General pane.

2. Check Double-Click Edits Camera Raw Settings in Bridge if you want Camera Raw to be hosted by Bridge when you double-click a thumbnail in Bridge (a raw photo or a JPEG that was previously edited in Camera Raw), or uncheck this option to have the file open into Camera Raw hosted by Photoshop. Click OK.

After setting the necessary preferences, and before learning the particulars of Camera Raw, you should familiarize yourself with this basic workflow.

To open a raw or JPEG digital photo into Camera Raw:

1. Launch Bridge, display the thumbnail for a raw or JPEG photo, then do either of the following:

For a raw photo, double-click the thumbnail.

For a raw or JPEG photo, click the thumbnail, then press Ctrl-R/Cmd-R or click the Open in Camera Raw button on the Bridge toolbar (or right-click the photo and choose Open in Camera Raw).

2. The Camera Raw dialog opens.A An alert symbol may display in the upper-right corner of the preview while Camera Raw reads in the image data, and will disappear when it’s done.

Information about your photo (taken from the metadata that was embedded into it by the camera) is listed in several locations: the camera model in the title bar at the top of the dialog; the file name below the preview; and the camera settings used to take the photo (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and focal length) below the histogram.

The adjustment features are located in 10 tabs: Basic, Tone Curve, Detail, HSL/Grayscale, Split Toning, Lens Corrections, Effects, Camera Calibration, Presets, and Snapshots. Switch among the tabs to correct your photo (we cover most of the tabs in depth in this chapter).

3. When you’re done correcting the photo, you can either click Open Image to open the photo into Photoshop or click Done to close Camera Raw without opening the photo. In either case, the Camera Raw settings will stick to the photo, and the original data will be preserved. (Note: If you want to open the photo into Photoshop as a Smart Object, see the Note on page 95.)

A file that you open from Camera Raw into Photoshop as a Smart Object can be reedited using the full array of features in Camera Raw at any time. A standard image layer in a Photoshop document can also be edited using most — but not all — of the Camera Raw features by way of the Camera Raw Filter, as described in the task below. If you convert the image layer to a Smart Object first (an optional step), you will be able to edit the filter settings at any time. Note: To learn about layers, which are used in this task, see Chapter 8. To learn more about Smart Objects, see pages 264–275. See also the first Note on page 95.

Among the Camera Raw features that aren’t available via the Camera Raw Filter are the Crop and Straighten tools, the rotate buttons, the Workflow Options dialog, the Snapshots tab, and some options on the Camera Raw Settings menu. Don’t be dissuaded by this list of “nos,” however — the filter gives you access to the essential Camera Raw features.

To open and edit a Photoshop image layer in Camera Raw:

1. In an RGB document in Photoshop, display the Layers panel. Click the image layer (or the Background) that you want to edit in Camera Raw, then press Ctrl-J/Cmd-J to duplicate it. Keep the duplicate layer selected.A

2. Optional (but recommended): To keep your Camera Raw settings editable, choose Filter > Convert for Smart Filters, or right-click the duplicate image layer and choose Convert to Smart Object.B If an alert dialog appears, click OK.

3. With the image layer or Smart Object selected, choose Filter > Camera Raw Filter (Ctrl-Shift-A/Cmd-Shift-A).

4. The image layer opens in Camera Raw. Apply the needed corrections.

5. Click OK (a progress bar may display while the filter is processing).

6. If you applied the filter to a Smart Object, on the Layers panel, you will see a Camera Raw Filter listing below a Smart Filters listing.C To edit the Camera Raw settings at any time, double-click the Camera Raw Filter listing. To learn more about Smart Filters, see pages 360–364.

To create a document via the Merge to HDR Pro command, and adjust the new document via the Camera Raw Filter, see pages 250–253.

In the upper-left corner of the dialog, click the Zoom tool, then click the image preview to zoom in or Alt-click/Option-click it to zoom out.

Use the Hand tool to move a magnified preview image in the window (if another tool is selected, hold down the Spacebar for a temporary Hand tool).

For the White Balance tool, see the sidebar on page 62.

Choose the Color Sampler tool, then click in the image preview to place up to nine samplers. A breakdown of the RGB components below each sampler in the photo displays in a readout below the tool box; the readouts will update as you make color and tonal adjustments. To reposition a sampler, drag it with the Color Sampler tool. To remove a sampler, hold down Alt/Option and click it. To remove all samplers, click Clear Samplers.

For the Targeted Adjustment tool (or TAT for short), see pages 68–69 and 73.

For the Crop tool, see page 56.

For the Straighten tool, see page 57.

For the Spot Removal tool, see pages 90–91.

The Red Eye Removal tool works like the Red Eye tool in Photoshop (see page 309).

For the Adjustment Brush tool, see pages 74–78.

For the Graduated Filter tool, see pages 86–87.

For the Radial Filter tool, see pages 88–89.

Note: If tool settings are displaying on the right side of the Camera Raw dialog (if, say, you were using the Adjustment Brush tool) and you want to redisplay the row of tab icons, click one of the first seven tools.

The tools in Camera Raw are “memory-loaded,” meaning that you can toggle them. Press a tool shortcut to select a different tool, then press the same key again to return to the original tool.

Other buttons at the top of the dialog:

The Open Preferences Dialog button (or press Ctrl-K/Cmd-K) opens the Camera Raw Preferences dialog.

The Rotate 90° Counterclockwise button and the Rotate 90° Clockwise button rotate the image. The results preview in the dialog.

To crop a photo:

1. Open a photo into Camera Raw A (see step 1 on page 53).

2. Choose the Crop tool (C).

3. Drag in the preview to make a crop box appear.B

4. Optional: To move the crop box, drag inside it. To resize the box, drag a handle.

5. To preview the results of the Crop tool, press Enter/Return or click any tool except the Crop or Straighten tool.C

To redisplay the current crop box after exiting crop mode, click the Crop tool. If you want to remove the box and redisplay the whole image, press Esc.

To straighten a crooked photo automatically:

1. Open a photo into Camera Raw, then double-click the Straighten tool (A); or choose the Straighten tool, then double-click anywhere in the image.

2. Press Enter/Return.

To turn the Crop tool into a temporary Straighten tool, hold down Ctrl/Cmd.

To straighten a crooked photo manually:

1. Open a photo into Camera Raw, then choose the Straighten tool (A).

2. Drag along an edge in the photo that you want to align to the horizontal or vertical axis.A A crop box will display, aligned to the angle you drew.B

3. To preview the straighten results, press Enter/Return.C

To change the straighten results after exiting crop mode, choose the Straighten tool (A), then drag again.

If you want to remove the crop box, choose the Crop tool (C), then press Esc.

To choose settings in the Workflow Options dialog:

1. Open a photo into Camera Raw, then below the large image preview, click the underlined link. The Workflow Options dialog opens (A).

2. If you want to apply a user-saved preset, choose it from the Preset menu (B). Next, either click OK to exit the dialog, or choose custom options, as in the remaining steps.

3. From the Space menu, choose a color profile to be used for converting the raw file to RGB: Adobe RGB (1998), ColorMatch RGB, ProPhoto RGB, or sRGB IEC61966-2.1 (or “sRGB,” for short). The menu also lists preset RGB and CMYK output profiles for printers and displays, as well as any other profiles that you have installed in your system. In Chapter 1, you assigned Adobe RGB (1998) as the default color space for color management, so for optimal color consistency, we recommend also choosing that option here.

4. The Intent options control how colors will change in a photo when it is converted to the chosen profile. If you chose any profile from the Space menu except one of the first five, from the Intent menu, choose Perceptual or Relative. If your photos tend to contain many colors that are outside the gamut of the chosen color space, Perceptual is the best choice because it attempts to preserve the appearance of colors as it shifts them into gamut. If your photos contain few colors that are out of gamut, Relative is the best choice, as it preserves more of the original colors. Your photo will display as a soft proof (a simulation of print output from your target device).

5. To control the amount of color and tonal information in your photos, from the Depth menu, choose 8 Bits/Channel or 16 Bits/Channel. If you choose 16 Bits/Channel, more of the original capture information will be preserved in your photos as you edit them in Photoshop, but they will also have a larger file size and will require a large hard disk and a fast system with a lot of RAM for processing (see page 17).

6. If you chose a printer profile, check Simulate Paper & Ink to preview the photo using the range of black values that can be produced by that printer, on a simulation of white printing paper.

7. In a standard workflow, you can keep Resize to Fit unchecked. If, on the other hand, you need to resize the current photo and other photos that you open into Camera Raw, keep the dialog open after step 12, and follow the task on page 60.

8. Camera Raw applies a Resolution of 300 ppi to all photos as they are opened into Photoshop. If needed, you can choose a different value here.

9. Optional: Use options under Output Sharpening to apply predefined sharpening. Check Sharpen For, then from the Sharpen For menu, choose an output medium of Screen, Glossy Paper, or Matte Paper; and from the Amount menu, choose the desired level of sharpening (Standard is a good all-purpose choice).

The sharpening values that Camera Raw applies via this dialog aren’t listed anywhere. If you want to control specific values when sharpening, uncheck Sharpen For and use the sliders in the Detail tab (see pages 70–71).

10. The Open in Photoshop as Smart Objects option converts the Open Image button in the main Camera Raw dialog to an Open Object button, which opens your photo into Photoshop as a Smart Object.

If you leave this workflow option unchecked, you can convert the Open Image button to Open Object in the main Camera Raw dialog (for any photo) by holding down Shift. Learn about Smart Objects on pages 264–275.

11. Optional: To save your current, custom Workflow Options settings as a preset that can be applied to any photo, from the Preset menu, choose New Workflow Preset. Enter a descriptive name for the preset, then click OK.

12. Optional: If you chose a preset and then changed any of the settings in the dialog, the word “(edited)” is now listed in the preset name. If you want to permanently update the current preset with your new custom settings, from the Preset menu, choose Update [preset name].

13. Click OK. Your chosen workflow settings will be applied to the current photo and to all photos that you subsequently open into Camera Raw.

To rename a user-saved Workflow Options preset, from the Preset menu in the dialog, choose the preset to be renamed, choose Rename [preset name], type the desired name, then click OK.

If you need to resize multiple photos according to a specific criterion, such as the dimension of a long or short side of one of the photos, use the Resize to Fit feature in the Workflow Options dialog. If you don’t require the original high-megapixel count of your photos for image editing or output, shrinking them is an acceptable option. Enlarging photos, on the other hand, should be done only when necessary, as it diminishes their quality (preferably, don’t enlarge your photos by more than 25% or 30%).

Note: To resize or change the resolution of an individual photo for a particular output medium, instead of using the options dialog in Camera Raw, we recommend using the Image Size dialog in Photoshop after you exit Camera Raw (see pages 136–139). The latter offers many image resizing options, including choices for resampling, with a document preview.

To resize images via the Workflow Options dialog:

1. Open one or more photos into Camera Raw, then click the Workflow Options link. Under Image Sizing, check Resize to Fit.

2. Optional: Check Don’t Enlarge if you want to prevent your photos from being enlarged.

3. Under Image Sizing, from the Resize to Fit menu,A do one of the following (Camera Raw will resize all your photos proportionately, whether or not you enter proportionate values):

Choose Width & Height, then enter the desired maximum W and H values within which the current and future photos will be resized. For resizing to occur, both of these values must be either larger or smaller than the original dimensions of the current photo.

Choose Dimensions,B then enter the desired maximum values in the two fields within which Camera Raw will resize your photos. Camera Raw will fit the longer dimension of each photo to the larger of the two values (regardless of the orientation of the photo). You could use this option to resize a series of horizontal or vertical photos to the same long dimension.

If the Width & Height or Dimensions option produces unexpected resizing results in your photos, try entering the same value in both fields, thereby providing a larger resizing area, or use the Long Side or Short Side option instead (see the next option).

Choose Long Side or Short Side, then enter the desired value for that dimension.

Choose Megapixels, then enter the desired total pixel count value. All photos will be resized to that value.

Choose Percentage, then enter a percentage by which you want your photos to be resized (preferably, less than 130%, and not more).

When you use the Resize to Fit option, the new dimensions and megapixel (MP) count are listed in the right side of the Image Sizing area. If you want to learn the original dimensions of the current photo, uncheck Resize to Fit; the original dimensions will display in the dimmed W and H fields; now recheck the box.

4. Click OK. Note: Because the current settings in the Workflow Options dialog are applied to all photos that you open into Camera Raw, after using the dialog to resize the desired photos, exit Camera Raw. Upon reopening Camera Raw, be sure to open the Workflow Options dialog and uncheck Resize to Fit.

Basic: Adjust the white balance and exposure (see pages 63–67).

Tone Curve: Fine-tune a specific tonal range, such as the upper or lower midtones (see pages 68–69).

Detail: Apply capture sharpening and reduce unwanted noise (see pages 70–71).

HSL/Grayscale: Adjust the hue, saturation, and luminance of individual colors (see pages 72–73).

Split Toning: Apply one color tint to the highlight areas of a photo and a second tint to the shadow areas (see page 79).

Lens Corrections: Correct a photo for the effects of lens distortion, such as geometric distortion (e.g., a building that is tilted backward or isn’t level), under- or overexposure at the edges (an unwanted vignette), chromatic aberration, and color fringes.

Effects: As a special effect, apply a grain texture or a light or dark vignette (see pages 84–85).

Camera Calibration: The Process menu in this tab lets you update a file to the latest Camera Raw processing (see the sidebar on the next page). If the profile that Camera Raw provides for your camera model doesn’t produce satisfactory color results, use the sliders in this tab to tweak the settings manually.

Presets: Create a custom preset of the current Camera Raw settings for future application to any other photos (see page 92).

Snapshots: For flexibility in editing, save interim versions of a photo as you make corrections. When necessary, you can restore the photo to any snapshot version (see the sidebar on page 92).

If you find a need to undo or reset your slider settings as you work in Camera Raw, you can use any of the methods below. (To learn about related options on the Camera Raw Settings menu, see the next page.)

To restore default settings to sliders in the Camera Raw tabs:

Do any of the following:

Double-click a slider to reset it to its default value (usually 0).

Shift-double-click a slider in the Basic tab to reset it to the Auto value.

Click Default in the Basic or HSL/Grayscale tab to reset all the sliders in just that tab to 0.

Hold down Alt/Option and click Reset at the bottom of the dialog (Cancel becomes Reset) to restore the settings, in all tabs, that were in effect when you opened the dialog.

When you open a photo into Camera Raw, by default, it’s adjusted according to the built-in profile for your camera model, and all the sliders in the Basic tab are set to 0. At any time, you can assign a different collection of settings to your file, or restore the original settings.

To restore settings via the Camera Raw Settings menu:

From the Camera Raw Settings menu, choose one of these options: A

Image Settings to restore the settings that were attached to the file during the initial photo shoot or, if the photo was previously edited in Camera Raw, from the last Camera Raw session. When a photo is opened for the first time into Camera Raw, these settings will match the Camera Raw Defaults settings.

Camera Raw Defaults to remove all custom settings and reapply the default settings for your camera model, your specific camera, or the ISO setting that was used to take the photo.

Previous Conversion to apply the settings from the prior image that was adjusted in Camera Raw.

Custom Settings to reapply the custom settings that you have chosen since opening the photo into Camera Raw.

If a user-saved preset is applied to the current photo, that preset will also be listed as an option on this menu (see page 92).

To apply white balance adjustments via the Basic tab:

1. With a photo open in Camera Raw, click the Basic tab. A If the whole photo isn’t visible in the preview, double-click the Hand tool in the toolbox.

A When a photo is opened for the first time into Camera Raw, the White Balance menu in the Basic tab is set to As Shot. This photo has a high Temperature value and looks too warm (yellowish).

2. Do either of the following:

From the White Balance menu, choose a preset that best describes the lighting conditions in which the photo was taken, such as Daylight or Shade. (Choose As Shot, if needed, to restore the original camera settings. Note that only As Shot and Custom are available for JPEG and TIFF files.)

Lower the Temperature value to add blue and make the image look cooler,B or raise it to add yellow and make the image look warmer.C To fine-tune the temperature correction, move the Tint slider slightly to the left to add a bit of green or to the right to add magenta. (The White Balance menu setting changes to Custom, to indicate that you have chosen manual settings.)

On the histogram in the Camera Raw dialog, the red, green, and blue areas represent the three color channels in a photo, and the white areas represent the areas where those three colors overlap. Clipping, the shifting of tonal values to absolute black or white in a photo, occurs if the tonal range of a scene is wider than the range that can be captured by the camera. You can tell that pixels are clipped in a photo if the vertical bars are primarily clustered in taller peaks at one or both ends of the histogram (shadow pixels on the left, highlight pixels on the right). You can also drag in the histogram to apply tonal adjustments.

As you make slider adjustments in Camera Raw, your goal is to bring the pixels into the range of your chosen RGB color space and minimize clipping. When tonal values are redistributed, the histogram updates accordingly. Note: Remember, we recommended that you choose Adobe RGB as the color space both for your camera (see page 5) and for photos that you open into Camera Raw (see page 58).

To turn on the histogram clipping warnings for the preview:

In the top-left corner of the histogram, click the Shadow Clipping Warning button (U);A clipped shadows display in the preview as blue. In the top-right corner, click the Highlight Clipping Warning button (O); clipped highlights display in the preview as red. (When a button is activated, it has a white border.)

In the two tasks that follow this one, we show you how to use a number of sliders in the Basic tab. Once you learn the function of the sliders, remember that you can also make adjustments by dragging in the histogram, as described here.

To make tonal edits via the histogram:

1. In Camera Raw, display the Basic tab, then roll over the histogram.A As you move the pointer, one of five vertical gray drag zones will appear. The drag zone, as well as the data in the info area below the histogram, corresponds to one of these five sliders: Blacks, Shadows, Exposure, Highlights, or Whites.

2. Drag horizontally in a drag zone to adjust that tonal range; the corresponding slider will shift accordingly.B

Use the middle batch of sliders in the Basic tab to apply tonal corrections to your photo, preferably in the order listed in the dialog (there’s a logic to their sequence). At first, all the sliders are set to 0 and the underlined word “Default” is dimmed.

To apply exposure and contrast adjustments via the Basic tab:

1. Turn on the Clipping Warning buttons.

2. Use the Exposure slider to lighten or darken the entire photo, as needed.

3. Use the Contrast slider to increase or reduce the color intensity and tonal contrast (A–B).

*We chose an Exposure value of +0.60 for the raw version of this photo. If you are working with the JPEG version that we have supplied for downloading, use an Exposure value of +0.80 instead.

4. If you increased the contrast, the highlights and shadows probably now need to be adjusted:

To restore details in the highlights, move the Highlights slider to the left until only a smidgen remains of the red highlight warning color.

To restore details in the shadows, move the Shadows slider to the right until only a smidgen remains of the blue shadow warning color.A Or if you need to darken the shadows, move this slider to the left.

5. Now that details have been restored to the midtones and highlights, you’re ready to adjust the whites and blacks:

Increase the Whites value to brighten the white areas in the photo. This slider also has the effect of lightening the upper midtones and brightening the colors.

Use the Blacks slider to lighten or darken the black areas (A). This slider may also affect the color brightness.

If the colors are now washed out as a result of your increasing the Whites or Blacks value, you could try increasing the Contrast value.

To further adjust the tonal values in the midtones, see pages 68–69.

To have Camera Raw set the Whites or Blacks value automatically, hold down Shift while double-clicking one of those sliders.

To apply edge contrast and color saturation adjustments using the Basic tab:

1. To add depth by intensifying the edge contrast in the midtones, increase the Clarity value; or for a deliberate soft-focus effect (such as in a portrait or landscape), reduce the Clarity value.

2. Change the Vibrance value to adjust the color saturation.B

3. Turn off both clipping warnings by pressing U, then O.

We recommend using the Vibrance slider instead of the Saturation slider to adjust color saturation because the former is less likely to cause oversaturation (and it protects skin tones), whereas the latter is more likely to cause oversaturation and highlight clipping. To view the effect of this, drag the Saturation slider to the far right.

Note: We avoid manipulating the curve in the nested Point tab, because a misshapen curve can cause a photo to look posterized. The sliders in the Parametric tab don’t cause this problem.

To apply tonal adjustments using the Parametric sliders in the Tone Curve tab:

1. With a photo open in Camera Raw,A click the Tone Curve tab, then the nested Parametric tab. Behind the curve you’ll see a static display of the current histogram.

2. Do either of the following:

If you have already adjusted the Highlights and Shadows sliders in the Basic tab, leave the Highlights or Shadows sliders in this tab alone and just tweak the upper and lower midtones using the Lights and Darks sliders. If you didn’t adjust the Highlights and Shadows sliders in the Basic tab, you can use the sliders here to lighten or darken any individual tonal range: Highlights, Lights (upper midtones), Darks (lower midtones), or Shadows. As you move a slider, the corresponding portion of the curve will be raised above or lowered below the diagonal line (A–B).

Click the Targeted Adjustment tool (T). Drag within a tonal range of the photo that needs adjustment (C). As you do this, the slider and curve that correspond to the tonal range under the pointer will move accordingly.

To boost the contrast in a photo, try moving the Lights slider to the right and the Darks slider to the left.

3. To control the range of tonal values that are affected by the slider adjustments you made in the preceding step, move any of the region controls (located below the graph). The left region control affects the Shadows slider, the right region control affects the Highlights slider, and the middle region control affects both the Lights and Darks sliders (D–E). Move a control to the left to raise the curve and lighten adjacent tonal ranges, or move a control to the right to lower the curve and darken adjacent tonal ranges.

To use one shortcut to get to the nested Parametric tab in the Tone Curve tab and select the Targeted Adjustment tool, press Ctrl-Alt-Shift-T/Cmd-Option-Shift-T.

To sharpen a photo using the Detail tab:

1. Click the Detail tab A and choose a zoom level of 100%. In the preview, drag to reveal an area of the photo that has some detail (hold down the Spacebar for a temporary Hand tool).

Note: If the words “Sharpening (Preview Only)” display at the top of the Detail tab, click the Open Preferences Dialog button in the toolbox. In the Camera Raw Preferences dialog, choose Apply Sharpening To: All Images, then click OK.

2. Under Sharpening, adjust the Amount value for the degree of edge definition. For subject matter that needs a lot of sharpening, such as hard-edged objects or buildings, try a value of 100; if less sharpening is needed, try a value of 50–60. (For a raw photo, the default Amount value is 25; for a JPEG photo, the default value is 0.)

To better evaluate the Amount value via a grayscale preview, Alt-drag/Option-drag the slider.

3. Use the Radius slider to control how many pixels surrounding each sharpened edge are modified. We keep this value between 1 and 1.3.

4. Alt-drag/Option-drag the Detail slider slightly to the right to emphasize edge details and textures.

5. Alt-drag/Option-drag the Masking slider to around 50 to protect low-contrast areas with a black mask, and thereby sharpen only high-contrast areas.

All digital cameras produce some luminance (grayscale) noise and color artifacts (randomly colored pixels). Although budget cameras tend to produce the most noise, it can also be produced by a high-end camera if it’s used with a high ISO (light sensitivity) setting in a poorly lit scene. It’s a good practice to remove as much noise from your photos as possible in Camera Raw, because it can become accentuated by image editing in Photoshop.

As you follow these steps, you’ll discover that after you shift one slider, another slider will need adjusting.

To reduce luminance and color noise using the Detail tab:

1. With a photo open in Camera Raw (A), click the Detail tab and choose a zoom level of 200–300% for the preview.

2. To reduce grayscale noise (graininess), increase the Luminance value (B). Try a value between 20 and 70.

3. Increasing the Luminance can cause high-contrast edges in a photo to lose definition. To resharpen edges, raise the Luminance Detail value — but not so much that you reintroduce noise (C).

To move a different area of the photo into view, hold down the Spacebar and drag.

4. Raise the Luminance Contrast value to restore some edge contrast. The effect of this slider is most noticeable in photos that contain a lot of noise.

5. Color artifacts and random speckling tend to be most noticeable in solid-color areas of a photo (e.g., flat surfaces), especially in shadow areas. To reduce these defects in a raw photo, increase the Color value to around 40–50, depending on the subject matter (for a JPEG photo, which has a default Color value of 0, use a lower Color value).

6. Raising the Color value may lower the intensity of colors in areas of the photo that were poorly lit. To restore some saturation and intensity to those areas, increase the Color Detail value from the default value of 50 to around 75, or just until the color saturation looks good (D).

D To remove color artifacts from the dark areas, we increased the Color value to 40; this also had the effect of desaturating the colors. To revive the colors and produce the final version of the image (shown at left), we increased the Color Detail value to 60.

7. To help reduce color mottling and artifacts in dark, low-contrast (low-frequency) areas of the photo, use the Color Smoothness slider.

8. Lower the zoom level for the preview to judge the overall effect of the Detail settings.

To adjust individual colors via the HSL sliders:

1. Click the HSL/Grayscale tab, and double-click the Hand tool to fit the image in the preview.A

2. Click the nested Hue tab. Move any slider to shift that color into adjacent hues, as shown in the bar. For example, you could shift the Greens slider toward yellow to make a landscape look warmer, or toward aqua to make it look cooler.

3. Click the Saturation tab. Move any slider to the left to desaturate that color (add gray to it) or to the right to make it more vivid (pure).B–C Avoid oversaturating the photo, to keep it looking realistic and so it stays printable.

To make a bluish sky more vivid, increase the saturation of the Blues and Aquas. To make a sunset look warmer, increase the saturation of the Oranges or Yellows.

4. Click the Luminance tab.A–B Move a slider to the left to darken that color (add black) or to the right to lighten it (add white). Avoid lightening any of the colors too much, to prevent the highlights from being clipped.

For a more accurate rendering of your adjusted pixels, choose a zoom level of 66% or 100% for the Camera Raw preview.

A We studied this photo and decided what improvements to make: Smooth the skin, sharpen the eyelashes, darken the eyebrows, and minimize the under-eye circles.

To apply local edits with the Adjustment Brush tool:

1. After making adjustments in the Basic and Tone Curve tabs, click the Adjustment Brush tool (K). The sliders for the tool display (some are like the sliders in the Basic tab).

2. Click the + or – button for any slider to “zero out” all the sliders except the one you click.

3. For the brush settings (the last four sliders), try a Feather value of 50–95 (to allow the edits to fade into surrounding areas), a Flow value of 60 (for the amount of adjustment produced by each stroke), and a Density value of 60 (for the level of transparency in the stroke).

4. Check Mask (Y) (scroll down in the settings area if you don’t see this option), adjust the brush size by pressing [ or ], then draw strokes over areas of the photo that need the same adjustment. A tint covers the areas where you apply strokes, and a pin appears where you started dragging.B

The brush size is represented by the solid circle in the pointer; the feather value is represented by the black-and-white dashed circle.

5. Uncheck Mask, then use the sliders to apply adjustments to the masked areas (A).

To show or hide all the pins, press V or check or uncheck Overlay.

To display the mask for an existing pin temporarily, with your mouse or stylus, roll over the pin.

6. To apply different adjustment settings to another area of the photo, click New, then repeat steps 2–5 B–C (and A–E).

B To sharpen the eyelashes, we clicked New, showed the mask, then covered the lashes using a small brush.

If you want to duplicate a pin and its mask, hold down Ctrl-Alt/Cmd-Option and drag the pin (you don’t have to click it first). Or click a pin, right-click it and choose Duplicate from the context menu, then drag the new pin.

7. To redisplay the main Camera Raw tabs, press H (Hand tool).

To edit an Adjustment Brush tool correction:

1. Choose the Adjustment Brush tool (K).

2. Check Mask (Y) and Overlay (V).

3. Click a pin. A black dot appears in the center of the pin.

4. Do any of the following:

To add areas to the mask, drag with the brush in the image preview.A–B

To move the mask to a different area of the photo, drag its pin.

To adjust the correction for the current pin, uncheck Mask (Y), then move the sliders.

To remove Adjustment Brush tool edits:

1. Choose the Adjustment Brush tool (K).

2. Check Mask (Y) and Overlay (V).

3. Do either of the following:

To remove adjustments locally, click a pin, click the Erase button (or hold down Alt/Option), then apply strokes where you want to erase the mask. A

To remove a pin and its adjustments, click the pin, then press Backspace/Delete; or right-click a selected pin, then choose Delete from the context menu; B or hold down Alt/Option and click a selected or unselected pin (note the scissors pointer).

To remove all Adjustment Brush tool edits from the current photo and reset the tool mode to New, click the Clear All button.

A This is the original, full-color photo.

To apply a color tint to a grayscale version of a photo:

1. Click the HSL/Grayscale tab, then check Convert to Grayscale.

2. Click the Basic tab, and adjust the exposure and contrast.

3. Click the Split Toning tab.

4. Move both of the Saturation sliders approximately halfway across the bar to make it easier to judge the colors you will apply in the next step (don’t worry that the photo looks awful).

5. Move the Highlights Hue slider to tint the highlights B and the Shadows Hue slider to tint the shadows.

6. Readjust the Saturation value for each hue.

7. Reduce the Balance setting to apply more of the Shadows tint to the entire photo, or increase it to apply more of the Highlights tint to the entire photo.C–D

To correct geometric distortion and vignetting via Profile settings:

1. Click the Lens Corrections tab. Double-click the Hand tool to fit the image in the preview.

2. To access predefined lens profiles, click the Profile tab, then check Enable Lens Profile Corrections.

3. From the Setup menu,A do the following:

Choose Auto to have Camera Raw read the EXIF metadata in the photo and attempt to select the proper lens make, model, and predefined profile.

If an error message indicates that the Auto option was unable to locate a profile, choose your lens manufacturer from the Make menu.B Camera Raw will locate a matching lens model and list it on the Model menu, and will locate a predefined profile and list it on the Profile menu. If the Model menu lists more than one model, choose the one with which the photo was shot.

4. Under Correction Amount, do the following:

Set the Distortion value to control the amount of correction.

Set the Vignetting value to correct for under- or overexposure at the edges of the photo.

5. Optional: If Camera Raw managed to locate your lens profile (step 3), you can save that profile and any custom Correction Amount settings as your new default profile by choosing Save New Lens Profile Defaults from the Setup menu. In future Camera Raw editing sessions, if you choose Default from the Setup menu, and the current photo was taken with this lens, the saved profile and settings will be applied. (To restore the Adobe predefined settings for your chosen lens, from the Setup menu, choose Reset Lens Profile Defaults.)

6. Optional: If you want to further correct any lens distortion manually, see the next task.

When applying lens corrections to a Smart Object in Photoshop, we use the Lens Corrections tab in Camera Raw (accessed via Filter > Camera Raw Filter) because it has more extensive manual controls than the Lens Correction filter in Photoshop.

To correct geometric distortion or vignetting via the Manual tab:

1. Click the Lens Corrections tab, and double-click the Hand tool to fit the image in the preview.A

2. Click the Manual tab.B

3. In the Upright area, click a button to apply a preset correction:

Auto to apply level correction and fix horizontal and vertical convergence, balanced with as little distortion as possible.C

Level to apply only level correction (not fix horizontal or vertical convergence).

Vertical to apply level correction and fix vertical convergence (but not horizontal convergence).

Full for a stronger correction of horizontal and vertical convergence, in addition to level correction (A).

4. If further manual correction is needed, do any of the following:

To spread the image out (fix pincushion distortion), lower the Distortion value; or to pinch the image inward (fix barrel distortion), increase the Distortion value.

To display a grid over the image so you can check the alignment, check Show Grid or press V. Adjust the grid size via the slider.B

B We made some minor Vertical and Rotate adjustments, with Show Grid checked to help us gauge the effect.

To widen the top of the image, (correct keystoning) reduce the Vertical value; to widen the bottom of the image, increase the Vertical value. Readjust the Distortion value, if needed.

To widen the left edge of the image, reduce the Horizontal value; to widen the right edge of the image, increase the Horizontal value.

To rotate the image, change the Rotate value.

To enlarge or shrink the photo, change the Scale value. Note: You could crop the photo instead.

To stretch the image horizontally or vertically, change the Aspect value. This option is useful for correcting strong perspective distortion in photos taken with a wide-angle lens (A–B).

A We tried increasing the Aspect value, but this setting exaggerated and distorted the verticals of the house too much.

B Instead, we set the Aspect value to –5, which exaggerated the horizontal proportion only slightly. The final settings we chose for the image are shown at right.

If you moved the Distortion slider, you can click Reanalyze (below the buttons) to force a recalculation of the Upright correction based on the Distortion value. If you want to turn off (but preserve) all your Upright corrections, click the Off button. If you click a different Upright button, as an alert will inform you, all the Transform sliders (except Distortion) will be reset to 0.

5. To correct or apply Lens Vignetting (lighten or darken the outer areas of the photo), set the Amount value for the strength of the correction, then set the Midpoint value to expand the vignette inward or outward. Readjust the Amount value, if needed.

To add a grain texture to a photo:

1. Click the Effects tab, and double-click the Hand tool to fit the image in the preview.A

2. To create a noticeable grain, under Grain, choose an Amount value of around 50.

3. To emulate the fine grain of slow film or the coarse grain of fast film, do as follows:

Set the Size value for the size of the grain particles.B When this value is greater than 25, a small degree of blurring is also applied, to help blend the grain with the imagery.

Reduce the Roughness value below the default value of 50 for a more uniform grain, or increase it for an uneven, coarse grain.C Zoom in to examine the grain, then readjust the Amount value, if needed.

Using the Post Crop Vignetting controls, you can apply a light or dark vignette to a photo (lighten or darken the outer areas). If you crop the photo subsequently in Camera Raw, the vignette will reconform to the new dimensions.

To apply a vignette to a photo:

1. Click the Effects tab, and double-click the Hand tool to fit the image in the preview.A

2. Under Post Crop Vignetting, do all of the following: B–D

Choose Style: Highlight Priority.

Choose a negative Amount value for a dark vignette or a positive value for a light vignette.

Adjust the Midpoint value to expand the vignette inward or outward.

Adjust the Roundness value to make the vignette shape more oval or more like a rounded rectangle.

Adjust the Feather setting to control the softness of the transition to the nonvignetted areas.

Adjust the Highlights setting to control the brightness of the highlights within the vignette area.

With this tool, you create an overlay to define the area to be edited, then you apply the adjustment via any of a dozen sliders. The slider options are the same as for the Adjustment Brush tool.

To adjust an area of a photo using the Graduated Filter tool:

1. After adjusting your photo via the Basic and Tone Curve tabs,A choose the Graduated Filter tool (G). The sliders for the tool display in the right panel.

2. Click the + or – button for any slider to “zero out” all the sliders except the one you click.

3. To define where the filter edits will be applied, Shift-drag over an area in the photo, beginning from the location where you want the adjustment to be strongest. The filter will be applied fully at the green dashed border of the overlay, gradually diminishing to nil at the red dashed border. Note: If you want to draw the overlay on a diagonal, don’t hold down Shift while dragging.

4. Do either or both of the following:

Use the Temperature and/or Tint slider to make the filtered area warmer or cooler.

Use other sliders to adjust such characteristics as the exposure, sharpness, or noise in the filtered area (A–C).

5. To redisplay the main tabs, press H (for the Hand tool).

At any time, you can lengthen or shorten the filter overlay by dragging or Shift-dragging the green or red dot. To reposition the whole overlay, drag the line that connects the two dots.

To apply a separate overlay to another area of the photo, click New, then repeat steps 2–4. If you want to clone an overlay, hold down Ctrl-Alt/Cmd-Option and drag the dashed line that connects the two pins; or right-click a selected overlay and choose Duplicate from the context menu, then move the duplicate overlay.

To hide the filter overlay, uncheck Overlay or press V.

To remove a filter overlay, right-click a selected pin then choose Delete from the context menu; or hold down Alt/Option and click the overlay (note the scissors pointer); or click the overlay, then press Backspace/Delete.

To darken an area of a photo via the Radial Filter tool:

1. After adjusting your photo via the Basic and Tone Curve tabs,A click the Radial Filter tool (J). The sliders for the tool display.

2. Click the + or – button for any slider to “zero out” all the sliders except the one you click. At the bottom of the panel, click Effect: Outside or Inside to control where the filter effect will occur relative to the overlay you will draw in the next step.

3. Drag over an area in the photo to produce an overlay.B If you want to reposition the overlay as you create it, drag with the Spacebar held down.

4. Use any of the sliders to adjust the filtered area (A–C). If the Effect setting is Outside, the adjustment will be at full strength outside the overlay, then diminish gradually to no adjustment at the dashed border. If the Effect setting is Inside, the adjustment will be at full strength at the center of the overlay and diminish gradually to no adjustment at the dashed border.

5. To control how gradual the adjustment is at the edge of the overlay, use the Feather slider.

6. To hide the overlay(s) to gauge the adjustment, uncheck Overlay or press V. Redisplay the overlay for the next step.

7. To edit the overlay, do any of the following (all optional):

To reposition the overlay, drag inside it.

To reshape the overlay, drag one of its handles.

To resize the overlay, Shift-drag a handle.

To swap the adjustment from Outside to Inside the overlay, or vice versa, click the unselected Effect button or press X.

8. Optional: To add another overlay, click New, then follow steps 2–7. To clone an overlay, hold down Ctrl-Alt/Cmd-Option and drag its center pin; or right-click the pin and choose Duplicate from the context menu, then drag the new pin. Note: Adjustments are cumulative where overlays overlap; to edit adjustment settings, click a pin first.

9. To redisplay the main tabs, press H (Hand tool).

To delete an overlay, select its center pin, then right-click the pin and choose Delete from the context menu; or hold down Alt/Option and click the pin (scissors pointer); or click the pin, then press Backspace/Delete.

To expand an overlay to the edges of a photo, double-click inside it; or to do this when creating a new overlay, double-click in the preview.

The Spot Removal tool does an improved job of locating a source area automatically, especially when used to heal nonsmooth textures (Adobe mentions bark, rocks, and foliage as examples of textures in which healing results are improved). Also, if you use this tool on a photo that you cropped in Camera Raw, the tool will look for source areas within the crop boundary first.

To remove blemishes or spots:

1. Choose the Spot Removal tool (B).

2. Zoom in on an area to be repaired.

3. Press [ or ] to size the brush cursor, then do one of the following:

Ctrl-Alt-drag/Cmd-Option-drag outward from the center of a blemish to create and scale a target circle A; or click a blemish; or if you want to control which area Camera Raw uses as the source, Ctrl-drag/Cmd-drag from the target area to the desired source area. When you release the mouse, a red dashed circle surrounds the target region and a green dashed circle surrounds the source area.B

Drag across a blemish to create a target region. When you release the mouse, a border with a red pin surrounds the target region and a border with a green pin surrounds a source region.C–E

To display a black-and-white version of the photo to help you pinpoint dust spots or other irregularities, check Visualize Spots (Y). Adjust the black-to-white threshold via the slider. Press Y to return to the normal display.

4. Optional: To soften the transition between the current target area and surrounding areas, adjust the Feather value. A–C Or to adjust the Feather value interactively (within the current size of the brush cursor), with Shift and right-click held down, drag horizontally in the preview. The new Feather value will display within the selected target area. The Feather value is sticky, meaning the current value will persist for future editing sessions until you change it.

5. From the Type menu, choose Heal to blend source pixels into the texture and luminosity values of the target pixels (often the best choice), or Clone to copy the source pixels exactly without any healing.

Optional: To cycle through alternative source locations that Camera Raw detects, press (and keeping pressing) /.

6. To hide all regions and circles at any time in order to judge the Spot Removal results, uncheck Overlay (V). Recheck it for the remaining steps.

7. Select a target or source region by clicking its pin, or select a circle by clicking inside it, then do any of the following optional steps:

To reposition a region or circle, drag inside it.

To control the opacity of the repair, change the Opacity value in the panel.

To resize a pair of target and source circles (not irregular-shaped regions), drag the dashed border.

To add to an existing region (or to convert a circle to a region), position the pointer just outside it, then hold down Shift and click or drag.

8. Optional: Create more regions or circles to correct other blemishes.

To remove a pair of circles or regions, hold down Alt/Option and click in the target or source area; or to delete multiple circles and/or regions, Alt/Option drag a marquee across them; or to remove all Spot Removal circles and regions, click Clear All.

9. To redisplay the main tabs, press H (Hand tool).

To redisplay the current Spot Removal overlays at any time, choose the tool again (press B).

To save Camera Raw settings as a preset:

Method 1 (Camera Raw Settings menu)

1. With your corrected photo open in Camera Raw, choose Save Settings from the Camera Raw Settings menu.

2. The Save Settings dialog opens.A

3. Choose Subset: All Settings, then check the categories of settings you want saved in the preset. If you want to filter which boxes are checked for a subset, choose a tab name from the Subset menu, then check/uncheck boxes. For any menu choice, you can also click Check All or Check None; or to select one box exclusively, hold down Alt/Option and click it.

4. Click Save. A different Save Settings dialog opens (yes, it’s confusing that the two dialogs have the same name). Enter a name (preferably one that describes the function of the preset), keep the location as the Settings folder, then click Save.

5. The saved settings preset is now available in the Presets tab for any open photo.

Method 2 (Presets tab)

1. With your corrected photo open in Camera Raw, click the Presets tab, then click the New Preset button.

2. In the New Preset dialog, enter a name for the preset. Follow step 3, above.

3. Click OK. Your new preset is now available in the Presets tab for any open photo.

To delete a user-saved preset, click the preset name, then click the Delete button.

You can apply a user-defined preset (saved collection of settings) to a single photo via Camera Raw (see below), to multiple photos via Bridge (see the following page), or to multiple thumbnails via the Synchronize option in Camera Raw (see page 94).

To apply a Camera Raw preset to a photo:

With a photo open in Camera Raw, click the Presets tab, then click a preset name.

You can also apply a preset via the Apply Preset submenu on the Camera Raw Settings menu.

The settings presets that you save in the Presets tab of the Camera Raw dialog can also be applied to multiple photos via the Develop Settings submenu in Bridge. In fact, as a strategy, you could save separate presets for settings in individual Camera Raw tabs and then assign them to multiple photos in succession (e.g., a preset for the Basic tab first, then a preset for the Tone Curve tab, and so on). If you haven’t saved the needed settings as presets, a quick alternative method is to copy and paste all the current settings from one photo into one or more other photos.

To apply Camera Raw settings to multiple photos via Bridge:

Method 1 (apply a preset)

1. In Bridge, Ctrl-click/Cmd-click multiple photo thumbnails (or Shift, then Shift-click a consecutive series of thumbnails).

2. To apply settings, from the Edit > Develop Settings submenu, choose a preset; or right-click a selected thumbnail and choose a preset from the Develop Settings submenu on the context menu.A Choose additional presets, if needed.

Method 2 (copy and paste settings from a photo)

1. Click the thumbnail for a photo that has the desired settings, then choose Edit > Develop Settings > Copy Camera Raw Settings (Ctrl-Alt-C/Cmd-Option-C), or right-click the selected thumbnail and choose Develop Settings > Copy Settings from the context menu.

2. Click another thumbnail (or Ctrl-click/Cmd-click multiple thumbnails), then choose Edit > Develop Settings > Paste Camera Raw Settings (Ctrl-Alt-V/Cmd-Option-V), or right-click the selected thumbnail and choose Develop Settings > Paste Settings from the context menu.

3. The Paste Camera Raw Settings dialog opens. Uncheck any settings you don’t want to paste; or choose a tab name from the Subset menu, then remove or add any check marks; or to select one box exclusively, hold down Alt/Option and click it. Click OK.

To remove all Camera Raw settings from a selected photo thumbnail in Bridge, choose Edit > Develop Settings > Clear Settings or right-click the thumbnail and choose Develop Settings > Clear Settings from the context menu.

To synchronize the Camera Raw settings among multiple photos:

1. In Bridge, select two or more photo thumbnails, preferably ones that were shot under the same lighting conditions and that require the same kind of correction (for the most accurate and consistent corrections, select all raw files or all JPEG files). Double-click one of the selected thumbnails.

2. In the filmstrip panel on the left side of the Camera Raw dialog, click one of the thumbnails.A

3. Make the needed adjustments to the selected image (including cropping, if you want to crop all the images in exactly the same way). You can apply adjustments via the tabs or tools or by clicking a preset in the Presets tab.

4. Click Select All at the top of the filmstrip panel or Ctrl-click/Cmd-click the thumbnails to which you want to apply corrections, then click Synchronize.

5. The Synchronize dialog opens (it looks like the Save Settings dialog, which is shown on page 92). Check only the settings you want to apply to all the selected thumbnails; or choose a category from the Synchronize menu, then remove or add any check marks. Click OK.

To cycle through the photos in the filmstrip panel, click the left or right arrowhead below the preview (in the lower right). If more than one thumbnail is selected, Camera Raw will cycle among only the selected photos.

To open a photo from Camera Raw into Photoshop:

1. After applying adjustments to your photo in Camera Raw, click Open Image; or if you opened and corrected multiple files, select them on the left side of the dialog, then click Open Images.

2. The photo appears as the Background in a new Photoshop document (or documents). Save the file(s) in the Photoshop (PSD) format.

Note: If Open in Photoshop as Smart Objects is checked in the Workflow Options dialog (see step 10 on page 58), the Open Image button is labeled Open Object and a photo opens as a Smart Object in a new Photoshop document. To learn about Smart Objects, see pages 264–275 (to edit the Camera Raw settings of a Smart Object, see page 268). If the workflow option is off, you can convert the Open Image button to Open Object by holding down Shift.

To close the Camera Raw dialog without opening your file, but save your settings to the file as instructions, click Done. The settings will redisplay if you reopen the file in Camera Raw.

If desired, you can open a copy of a Camera Raw file with its current (custom) settings into Photoshop without changing the settings in the original raw or JPEG file.

To open a copy of a Camera Raw file:

In the Camera Raw dialog, hold down Alt/Option and click Open Copy (Open Image or Open Object becomes Open Copy).

Settings in the Workflow Options dialog are assigned automatically to all photos that you open into Camera Raw (see pages 58-60). If you want to convert and save a copy of an individual photo in the Digital Negative (DNG), JPEG, TIFF, or Photoshop (PSD) format using custom file naming, format, color space, sizing, or sharpening settings instead, use the Save Options dialog, as described below. New Color Space, Image Sizing, and Preset features, found in the Workflow Options dialog, are also available in the Save Options dialog.

When you save a copy of a photo in the Digital Negative format via Save Options, the Camera Raw settings it inherits from the original file remain accessible and editable in Camera Raw. See also the sidebar on this page.

When you save a photo in the JPEG, TIFF, or PSD format via Save Options, the Camera Raw settings are applied to the copy of the photo permanently. Although you can open and edit the resulting JPEG or TIFF file in Camera Raw, you will see that the sliders are reset to their default values. PSD files can’t be opened into Camera Raw.

Note: Settings that you choose in the Save Options dialog are independent of — and have no effect on — the settings in the Workflow Options dialog.

To save a copy of a Camera Raw file in the DNG, JPEG, TIFF, or PSD format:

1. Open and adjust a photo in Camera Raw, then in the lower-left corner of the dialog, click Save Image.

2. The Save Options dialog opens (A). For the Destination, choose Save in Same Location or Save in New Location. For the latter, choose a location in the Select Destination Folder dialog, then click Select.

3. Under File Naming, choose a naming or numbering convention from the menu or enter a file name. If desired, you can also choose an additional naming or numbering convention from the adjacent menu.

4. Choose a Format of Digital Negative, JPEG, TIFF, or Photoshop, then choose related options. For instance, if you cropped the photo in Camera Raw and then choose the Photoshop format here, you will need to decide whether to check Preserve Cropped Pixels.

5. For a photo in the JPEG, TIFF, or Photoshop format, choose an option from the Metadata menu to control what metadata will be saved with the file. And via the Remove Location Info check box, control whether you want location information for the file to be preserved.

6. For a photo in the JPEG, TIFF, or Photoshop format, you can choose options under Color Space, Image Sizing, and Output Sharpening. For Color Space, see step 3 on page 58; for Image Sizing, see page 60; and for Output Sharpening, see step 9 on page 58.

7. Optional: To save the current dialog settings as a preset for future use on any photo, from the Preset menu, choose New Save Options Preset. In the dialog, enter a name, then click OK.

8. Click Save. A copy of the file appears in the designated location. The original file, with its current settings, remains open in Camera Raw.

User-created presets are available on the Preset menu. Once you choose a preset, the menu also provides Delete [preset name] and Rename [preset name] commands.

When you assign a color space and an intent to a photo via the Workflow Options dialog, those settings display as a soft proof in the main Camera Raw dialog, whereas when you choose color space and an intent options in the Save Options dialog, no soft proof displays.