Processing Raw images

At one time, TIFF and JPEG files dominated the digital landscape. Eight-bit color was the maximum we could work with in our computers. Nowadays, we have many more options at our disposal. One of the most powerful is the option to capture raw images, which contain all the information our cameras are received, and thus allow for maximum flexibility in Photoshop. Taking advantage of raw capture means developing a workflow that takes you deep into the inner capabilities of your camera and of Photoshop.

Open and edit RAW images in Photoshop

Professional and mid-range photo cameras offer support for RAW format, a kind of digital negative (~.dng file) that lets you tweak the images with great control and flexibility in order to obtain the perfect result before saving it to JPG. And now with Adobe Camera Raw you can work on RAW images directly in Photoshop.

Adobe Camera Raw is a Photoshop plug-in that launches automatically every time you open a RAW file in Photoshop. It enables you to work on the original image with plenty of tools, all conveniently organized in several tabs: basic adjustments, tone curve, grayscales, split toning, lens corrections, camera calibration and more.

While using Adobe Camera Raw, you’ll be able to see the results of your adjustments in real time in the preview panel, and also take several snapshots along the editing process, and save custom presets for later use.

Camera Raw setup and preferences

As with Photoshop, it’s important that you set up your Camera Raw software correctly before getting to work on your images. Addressing these setup issues early on will save you a lot of time and effort in the long run.

Working in Camera Raw

First of all, your image has to be a raw format image, then when you open your raw image in Photoshop CS6, the Camera Raw will automatically be pop up, and it appears on the screen with some automatic features available. Auto Adjustment, for example, is handy if you’re in a hurry to get a lot of toning done expeditiously. This feature automatically sets the white balance, temperature, tint, exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, clarity, vibrance, and saturation – and it does a pretty good job most of the time.

Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Adobe Bridge, a photo management application, if you’re working with these three tools, your workflow will probably go like this: Bridge > Camera Raw > Photoshop. Bridge is the most logical way to surf folders of images after a photo session. If you shoot raw your first steps after the shoot are to import those images on to my computer, and then use Bridge to cull the images you don’t want. (You may setup a Camera Raw Preference in Bridge CS6) Once that selection process is complete, you click on a raw image in Bridge and Camera Raw and Photoshop will be launched to open your selected image. Camera Raw is where my toning and color work begins.

A few tips for using Camera Raw

As with Photoshop, there are many ways to use Camera Raw, and each of us will approach these tasks a little differently. As a general rule, however, you can do a few things to take full advantage of this software:

• Become fully familiar with Camera Raw’s adjustments, menus, toolbox, and preferences.
• Organize and rate your images in Adobe Bridge prior to importing them into Camera Raw.
• Set your Preferences for optimum productivity.
• Consider converting all your raw images to Adobe’s DNG file format to avoid having to use the Camera Raw Database or Sidecar files.
• Use the Color Sampler tool to check detail in highlights, middle-tones, and shadows.
• Get to know the Camera Raw Image Controls, and use them to their fullest.
• Use Filmstrip mode for jobs that require making the same adjustments to more than one image at a time.

The Camera Raw keyboard commands
http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/photo-and-graphic-manipulation/9780131385061/camera-raw-controls/ch04lev1sec6

Camera Raw 8.1 & DNG Converter 8 Download :
http://adobe-camera-raw.en.softonic.com/
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=5596
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ljbo6aL3Jc

Sometimes, you shoot the raw format images but the image wont open. Please remember to keep your RAW software up to date. If you use Photoshop CS6, the Adobe Camera Raw 7.0 will be available. Camera Raw 8.2 is now available as a final release through the update mechanism in Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop CC., but you may need to download/update Mac OX 10.7.5 if you plan to update Adobe Camera Raw to 8.2 version:
http://os-x-10-8-1-update.en.softonic.com/mac/download

Some Camera RAW formats

• Canon – CR2
• Nikon – NEF
• Olympus – ORW
• Panasonic Lumix – RW2
• Converted Camera RAW format – dng
  (Converted dng RAW format image will be 50% smaller than the original RAW file but it still contain all original file information)