Processing files in Camera raw
When you make adjustments to an image in Camera Raw, such as straightening or
cropping the image, Photoshop and Bridge preserve the original file data. This way,
you can edit the image as you desire, export the edited image, and keep the original
intact for future use or other adjustments.
Opening images in Camera raw
You can open Camera Raw from either Bridge or Photoshop, and you can apply the
same edits to multiple files simultaneously. This is especially useful if you’re working
with images that were all shot in the same environment, and which therefore
need the same lighting and other adjustments.
Camera Raw provides extensive controls for adjusting white balance, exposure,
contrast, sharpness, tone curves, and much more. In this exercise, you’ll edit one
image and then apply the settings to similar images.
1 In Bridge, open the Lessons/Lesson05/Mission folder, which contains three shots
of the Spanish church you previewed earlier.
2 Shift-click to select all of the images—Mission01.crw, Mission02.crw, and
Mission03.crw—and then choose File > Open In Camera Raw.
The Camera Raw dialog box displays a large preview of the first image, and a
filmstrip down the left side displays all open images. The histogram in the upper
right corner shows the tonal range of the selected image; the workflow options link
below the preview window displays the selected image’s color space, bit depth, size,
and resolution. Tools along the top of the dialog box let you zoom, pan, straighten,
and make other adjustments to the image. Tabbed panels on the right side of the
dialog box give you more nuanced options for adjusting the image: You can correct
the white balance, adjust the tone, sharpen the image, remove noise, adjust color,
and make other changes. You can also save settings as a preset, and then apply
them later.
For the best results using Camera Raw, plan your workflow to move from left to
right and top to bottom. That is, you’ll often want to use the tools across the top
first, and then move through the panels in order, making changes as necessary.
You will explore these controls now as you edit the first image file.
3 Click each thumbnail in the filmstrip to preview all the images before you begin.
Or, you can click the Forward button under the main preview window to cycle
through them. When you’ve seen all three, select the Mission01.crw image again.
4 Make sure that Preview is selected at the top of the dialog box, so that you can
see the effect of the adjustments you’re about to make.
adjusting white balance
An image’s white balance reflects the lighting conditions under which it was captured.
A digital camera records the white balance at the time of exposure; this is
the value that initially appears in the Camera Raw dialog box image preview.
White balance comprises two components. The first is temperature, which is
measured in kelvins and determines the level of “coolness” or “warmness” of
the image—that is, its cool blue-green tones or warm yellow-red tones. The
second component is tint, which compensates for magenta or green color casts
in the image.
Depending on the settings you’re using on your camera and the environment in
which you’re shooting (for example, if there’s glare or uneven lighting), you may
want to adjust the white balance for the image. If you plan to modify the white balance,
make that the first thing you do, as it will affect all other changes in the image.
1 If the Basic panel isn’t already displayed on the right side of the dialog box, click
the Basic button ( ) to open it.
By default, As Shot is selected in the White
Balance menu. Camera Raw applies the
white balance settings that were in your
camera at the time of exposure. CameraRaw includes several White Balance presets,
which you can use as a starting point
to see different lighting effects.
2 Choose Cloudy from the White Balance menu.
Camera Raw adjusts the temperature and tint for a cloudy day. Sometimes a preset
does the trick. In this case, though, there’s still a blue cast to the image. You’ll
adjust the white balance manually.
3 Select the White Balance tool ( ) at the top of the Camera Raw dialog box.
To set an accurate white balance, select an object that should be white or gray.
Camera Raw uses that information to determine the color of the light in which the
scene was shot, and then adjusts for scene lighting automatically.
4 Click the white clouds in the image. The lighting of the image changes.
5 Click a different area of the clouds. The lighting shifts.
You can use the White Balance tool to find the best lighting for the scene quickly
and easily. Clicking different areas changes the lighting without making any permanent
changes to the file, so you can experiment freely.
6 Click the clouds directly to the left of the steeple. This selection removes most of
the color casts and results in realistic lighting.
7 Move the Tint slider to -22 to intensify the greens.
Making tonal adjustments in Camera raw
Other sliders in the Basic panel affect exposure, brightness, contrast, and saturation
in the image. Except for Contrast, moving a slider to the right lightens the
affected areas of the image, and moving it to the left darkens those areas. Exposure
essentially defines the white point, or the lightest point of the image, so that Camera
Raw adjusts everything else accordingly. Conversely, the Blacks slider sets the
black point, or the darkest point in the image. The Highlights and Shadows sliders
increase detail in the highlights and the shadows, respectively.
The Contrast slider adjusts the contrast. For more nuanced contrast adjustments,
you can use the Clarity slider, which adds depth to an image by increasing local
contrast, especially on the midtones.
The Saturation slider adjusts the saturation of all colors in the image equally. The
Vibrance slider, on the other hand, has a greater effect on undersaturated colors, so
you can bring life to a background without oversaturating skin tones, for example.
You can use the Auto option to let Camera Raw attempt to correct the image tone,
or you can select your own settings.
1 Click Auto in the Basic panel.
Camera Raw increases the exposure and changes several other settings. You could
use this as a starting point. However, in this exercise, you’ll return to the default
settings and adjust them yourself.
2 Click Default in the Basic panel.
3 Change the sliders as follows:
• Leave Exposure at 0.00.
• Increase Contrast to 18.
• Leave Highlights at 0.00.
• Increase Shadows to +63.
• Decrease Whites to -2.
• Decrease Blacks to -18.
• Increase Clarity to +3.
• Increase Vibrance to +4.
• Decrease Saturation to -3.
These settings help pump up the midtones of the image, so that it looks bolder and
more dimensional without being oversaturated.
