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Non-Destructive editing with Camera Raw

Katrin Eismann


This video shows you how to nondestructively edit camera raw, JPEG, or TIFF files using Camera Raw in Photoshop. You learn how to manage basic settings, as well as manage settings for curves, sharpening, HSL, grayscale, and split toning.

Requirements

To follow along with this article, you will need the following software and files:

Watch this tutorial in the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Video Workshop.

Non-Destructive editing with Camera Raw

  1. In Adobe Bridge, open the dust.nef image.

  2. Double-click the image to open the Camera Raw dialog box in Photoshop CS3 (see Figure 1).

    The Camera Raw 4 interface includes a full complement of image adjustment settings and tools.

    Figure 1: The Camera Raw 4 interface includes a full complement of image adjustment settings and tools.

  3. Start by adjusting the white balance in your images. Choose the White Balance tool (the eyedropper icon in the control panel) and click on a neutral-colored section of the image, such as the walls of the large building in the foreground.

  4. Notice the color balance of the image shifts ever so slightly (see Figure 2). Click on other neutral areas to continue the process. White balance is very subjective on an image like this, unlike a product shot or portrait with a simple white background.

    Adjust the white balance in the image using the White Balance tool

    Figure 2: Adjust the white balance in the image using the White Balance tool

  5. White balance can also be adjusted by moving the Temperature and Tint sliders in the Basic panel on the left-hand side of the screen. Move the Temperature slider to the left to cool down the colors in an image; move it to the right to warm them up. The Tint slider works in a 3D space to adjust the colors from green to magenta.

  6. Click Auto in the center of the Basic panel, to display the Photoshop auto adjustments (see Figure 3). If you find these adjustments a little bright, choose Auto and then drag the sliders that need adjusting.

    The white balance can also be adjusted using the Temperature and Tint sliders in the Basic panel

    Figure 3: The white balance can also be adjusted using the Temperature and Tint sliders in the Basic panel

  7. Choose Default to return to the image's original appearance.
  8. The Exposure slider changes the overall tonality of the image. If you click on Auto again and then drag the Exposure slider to the right, you increase the brightness of the image.

  9. Press the Cmd/Ctrl and + keys to zoom in on the rooftops in the left-hand corner of the image (see Figure 4). Notice some of the rooftops are shown in red, signifying that some highlights are being clipped. Highlight clippings are Photoshop's way of indicating areas in an image that are overexposed; shadow clippings, or underexposed areas in an image, are highlighted in blue.

    Highlights clippings in images are colored red

    Figure 4: Highlights clippings in images are colored red

  10. Click and drag the Recovery slider to the right. Notice that the red clipping starts to disappear. Camera Raw is rebuilding the information from the original file so the highlights show through.

  11. If you don't see the red highlight clipping (see Figure 5), select Highlights above the document window. You can click this to turn the clippings off and on. Turning the visibility on and off doesn't resolve the issue - the highlights are still clipped - but you don't have to see them in the image. Shadow clippings are signified by blue clipping areas.

    Turn Highlight and Shadow clippings on and off by using the checkboxes above the document window

    Figure 5: Turn Highlight and Shadow clippings on and off by using the checkboxes above the document window

  12. Zoom back out by using the Zoom plus and minus icons in the lower left-hand corner of the document window, or the shortcut keys Cmd/Ctrl and + or -.
  13. Use Fill Light, which is addressed in detail in another tutorial, to open up the midtones in the image.
  14. Use the Blacks slider to increase or decrease the amount of pure black tones in your image. Press the Alt/Option key and click and drag the slider to get an outline view. Try finding the first appearance of black, and then scale down ever so slightly from there.
  15. The Brightness slider also affects your midtones, while the Contrast slider affects the steepness of the S curve. An S curve allows you to increase your highlights and shadows at the expense of the midtones. Moving the Contrast slider to the right increases the curve (and the contrast); moving it to the left flattens the curve and the image. This is similar to adding a Curves Adjustment layer in Photoshop.
  16. Now, skip to the toolbar for a moment: one of the greatest new features in Camera Raw 4 is the Retouching tool. Here, you're going to use it for retouching some dust specks.

  17. Zoom in on the dust right around the horizon of the image, where the rainbow starts (see Figure 6). On digital cameras, often you'll have dust if you change the lens out in the open. Dust adheres to the sensor, and then every single image you take will have the same marks.

    Dust often appears in digital photographs after the camera lens is changed.

    Figure 6: Dust often appears in digital photographs after the camera lens is changed.

  18. Choose the Retouching tool. Now, don't think of this as a portrait retouching tool; it's a cleanup tool. The Retouch tool has two options, Heal or Clone. Healing tool is selected by default.

  19. Start by clicking and dragging a circle over the area you want to heal. A green source circle appears, which you can then move until the dust in the original area is gone (see Figure 7).

    The Retouching tool shows a green source circle and a red healing circle.

    Figure 7: The Retouching tool shows a green source circle and a red healing circle.

  20. To hide the circles, simply deselect Show Overlay in the control panel.
  21. To delve deeper into Camera Raw, click the other tabs above the Basic panel: Curves, Sharpening and HSL/Grayscale. HSL stands for Hue Saturation Luminance, and these settings are combined with the Convert to Grayscale option.

  22. Choose HSL/Grayscale and select Convert to Grayscale. To make each of the various hues darker or lighter, simply click and drag the slider. Some subjective colors appear here, such as Aqua and Purples.

    Once you've converted an image to grayscale, you'll probably want to experiment with the toning.

  23. Choose the Split Toning icon from the setting toolbar.
  24. If you move the Highlights slider up and down, you won't see much of a change in your image. To warm your highlights, the trick is to press the Alt/Option key and move the slider until you find a warm color you like (such as yellow, for this example). Then increase the Saturation until you get a nice sepia tone.

  25. To change the Shadows, use the same process. Press the Alt/Option key and drag the Shadows slider into the cool range, around the blue. Then increase the Saturation until you have the effect you want.

    Adjusting the Balance changes the balance between Highlights and Shadows values. In this example, it adjusts the balance between the warmer highlights (yellower) and the cooler shadows (bluer).

    These are great creative tools to have at your disposal. When you're working with Camera Raw, none of the changes are applied to your file, so you can experiment over and over again.

  26. To have even more control, choose Open Object - which turns your image into a Smart Object with Smart Filters. Then you can continue working with the object non-destructively in Photoshop CS3.

Where to go from here

For more information and additional tutorials, visit the Adobe Design Center.