Camera Raw's interface makes it extremely piece of cake to edit RAW epitome files with precision and tin can circumvent the need for additional (potentially destructive…) adjustments inside Adobe'due south Photoshop.

Simply, what if you don't have a camera that shoots in raw? Can you nonetheless accept advantage of Camera Raw'due south nondestructive editing?

Well, the reply to that question is yes.

Even if your camera only shoots in JPEG or TIFF, you tin can still open and edit these files in Adobe Camera Raw and accept advantage of most of the associated benefits.

What File Format Types Can Camera Raw Open?

It may not be apparent or obvious, but Adobe'south Camera Raw plugin can open and editing numerous image file formats that include:

  • RAW Files (.CRW (Catechism), .NEF (Nikon), .ARW (Sony), .RAF (Fuji) & .DNG (Adobe))
  • JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
  • TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)
  • PSD

Unfortunately, Camera Raw can't open and does not back up PNG (Portable Network Graphic) or GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) image files.

For a list of all supported camera models, please visit the Adobe Camera Raw Support Page. Select your photographic camera make for specific data on supported file type extensions and required version of software.

How To Open Camera Raw In Adobe Span?

If you don't want to open up up Photoshop, try using Adobe Bridge instead. The Camera Raw plug-in is built directly into Adobe Span and therefore you don't need to load Photoshop.

In order to avert opening your epitome in Photoshop, don't double click on it. Instead correct click on your image and select open in Camera Raw. This will open Camera Raw, simply it will load inside Adobe Bridge instead of Photoshop.

How To Open Camera Raw In Adobe Bridge?

You'll save a lot more than calculating ability by just opening up Camera Raw and Adobe Bridge at one time, as opposed to having Adobe Bridge and Photoshop opened. Because manifestly, Photoshop uses a lot more than processing ability.

With the style that digital SLR files are these days, they're a lot larger than what most people are used to working with.

So, by having less applications open up on your computer allows your computer to have more processing power dedicated specifically to editing your photos.

How To Set Camera Raw Preferences For Opening Images?

If you go up to the elevation left-hand corner where the tools are located, you lot'll notice that there's an Open Preference dialogue box.

If yous click on that, you'll encounter that Camera Raw Preferences will appear displaying general settings.

General

The beginning one allows you to choose where you'd like to shop any changes to images on your figurer. You tin cull whether you lot'd similar to store those image settings in SideCar XMP files, or if whether you'd similar to shop them directly in Camera Raw's database.

Adobe Camera Raw Preferences - General

I prefer to utilize Camera Raw'southward database, but it'due south entirely upward to you. Next, yous tin choose, whether you lot'd like to use sharpening to all images, or just preview images.

Default Epitome Settings

From hither, you'll detect you'll have some default image settings. This is where you tin set up whether you'd similar to apply car-tone adjustments, auto-greyness calibration mixes directly to images as soon as they're opened upwardly in Camera Raw.

Now, I prefer to go out these off, particularly if I've made changes to a Raw file that I'k quite happy with, and and then I open it upwards again. Because if you lot open it upwards again with these settings set, Camera Raw volition make information technology's ain mind up on how the image should look and actually alter all those settings on yous, which can be quite abrasive.

Adobe Camera Raw Preferences - Default Image Settings

From hither, y'all've got options whether or not you'd like to specify defaults specific to camera serial numbers. So, if you take multiple cameras that you lot're shooting with and picked ane of those is your preferred photographic camera, you can gear up the defaults and so they're only applied to that specific serial number.

You lot also have the option merely to apply defaults that ready up in Camera Raw to specific ISO settings.

For example, if you mainly shoot in ISO 100, then you lot can have all the defaults and the sharpening and the lens corrections all prepare for ISO 100. But when yous open up upwards a file that'south ready to ISO 1600, you can cull that those settings aren't applied to that file. Because for instance, that file may exist a lot more noisy, and you don't want the same sharpening applied to that ISO setting.

Camera Raw Cache

From here, we take Camera Raw cache, and this is where you lot can determine how much memory you desire to allocate to Camera Raw.

Adobe Camera Raw Preferences - Cache

For instance, if Camera Raw's running quite slow and you lot have some quite large raw files that you lot're working on, you tin can cull to allocate a specific amount of hard bulldoze space to Photographic camera Raw.

The more you lot allocate, the faster and the amend Camera Raw will perform for you lot when y'all're working on larger files.

You'll likewise notice that this purge cache, just here as well. Sometimes if the cache gets a bit clogged up, you can choose to purge the enshroud and y'all can also cull to select a location on where that cache is really stored.

DNG File Treatment

I work a lot on DNG files, so this is where you lot can choose where those files are handled.

Adobe Camera Raw Preferences - DNG File Handling

I prefer to ignore SideCar XMP files considering, obviously, with DNG files, that information is already included in a single DNG file.

Also, I like to update my embedded JPEG previews, and then that they're actually set to medium size. This is because I prefer to reduce the size of my DNG files. If I take it set to a full size, then obviously the size of the file is going to exist quite larger than if it was set to medium size.

Jpeg & Tiff Handling

Now, every bit I'g sure you lot're enlightened, Camera Raw tin can open up JPEG in two files, and then y'all tin can cull how those files are handled in Camera Raw preferences.

Adobe Camera Raw Preferences - JPEG & TIFF Handling

Now, nosotros've got some automated settings here, but y'all can also choose whether you'd actually like to disable JPEG and TIFF back up if you'd like.

Contrasting Processes For Opening Image Files

Now, permit me walk you through a couple of different ways of opening your JPEG and TIFF files in Photographic camera Raw.

As you can see, I have a binder open here, and it just contains JPEGs. Allow's now go and double click on one of these JPEGs. As you tin can encounter, it's opened up in Adobe Photoshop which is not what we want.

Folder Containing Jpeg Files

Let's get and shut that. That's mostly what happens.

Instead, Open In Photoshop…

What you tin can practice instead of opening it directly from your binder in that location, if nosotros were to open it in Photoshop you can select open and view the same binder.

Yous'll see they're all JPEGs there.

Photoshop / File / Open

I'grand going to open this file here. But, instead of leaving the format set to JPEG, change that and ready it to Photographic camera Raw. We're sort of tricking Photoshop into automatically opening upwardly your JPEG file in Camera Raw as opposed to ordinarily opening information technology up in Photoshop.

File Open / Default Format / JPEG

We set that to Camera Raw, and then we get click open. Equally you can encounter, it's now opened up in Photographic camera Raw. That's how you get effectually opening up JPEGs or TIFFs in Camera Raw using Photoshop.

File Open / Select Format / Camera Raw

Once you lot start making changes to your JPEG files you'll notice that information technology starts to write those corrections to your JPEG's metadata. So, it'due south nondestructive.

Information technology's not physically changing the file, unless y'all desire it to. In that case you'd need to go and relieve information technology as a new file or open it equally a copy of your original JPEG in lodge to physically change the original file information.

Open Jpeg File In Camera Raw Via Photoshop

But, in this particular example any correction that I brand to this file, it's only getting stored in the metadata which is really neat, peculiarly if you ever want to bound dorsum or come dorsum directly into Camera Raw itself and make further corrections to your JPEG or TIFF files.

With that said, I mean you tin exercise the majority of all the different adjustments that are available to you in Photographic camera Raw to your JPEGs. I mean within reason. Considering, manifestly, your JPEG files aren't Raw files. Then, they don't contain every bit much information every bit a Raw file does.

Simply, y'all exercise have bachelor to you all of the bodily console options and all of the tools. So, you can primarily make the bulk of adjustments that are bachelor to you to your JPEG and TIFF files. And so, you're really not limited.

To make simple corrections yous tin can get through and just work your fashion through the panel making slight corrections hither and there. Information technology doesn't accept you that long until you've got a result that you're reasonably happy with.

In Comparing

In comparison to Photoshop y'all have to set up up dissimilar layers, use different filters and unlike adjustments like levels, curves, colour residual, selective colour, a whole range of things similar that in order to endeavour and reproduce like color corrections that you can do in Camera Raw within a couple of seconds to a couple of minutes.

There'southward a large departure in the ease of use using Camera Raw as opposed to trying to recreate the same results in Photoshop. That'southward 1 of the main advantages of wanting to use Camera Raw to edit your JPEG and TIFF files.

How To Open Multiple Jpegs In Photographic camera Raw?

Simply select the images you would like to open and either hold down Control (Mac) or Control (Windows) or shift. And so proceed to right click and select 'Open in Photographic camera Raw'.

The other chief advantage of Camera Raw is the ability to batch correct by opening multiple JPEG files and accommodate them all at in one case.

You lot can apply and synchronize settings across a range of photographs saving time, instead of trying to brand those adjustments in Photoshop.

Information technology'due south very like to using Adobe'due south Lightroom, for example.