Although Photoshop Camera Raw was originally created
to process photos taken in your camera’s RAW format, you can also use it
to process your JPEG and TIFF photos. A big advantage of using Camera
Raw that many people don’t realize is that it’s just plain easier and
faster to make your images look good using Camera Raw than with any
other method. Camera Raw’s controls are simple, they’re instantaneous,
and they’re totally undoable, which makes it hard to beat. But first,
you’ve got to get your images into Camera Raw for processing.
Opening RAW Images
Since Camera Raw was
designed to open RAW images, if you double-click on a RAW image (whether
in Mini Bridge or just in a folder on your computer), it will launch
Photoshop and open that RAW image in Camera Raw . Note:
If you double-click on what you know is a RAW image and it doesn’t open
in Camera Raw, make sure you have the latest version of Camera
Raw—images from newly released cameras need the latest versions of
Camera Raw to recognize their RAW files.
Opening JPEG & TIFF Images from Mini Bridge
If you want to open a JPEG or TIFF image from Mini Bridge, it’s easy: Right-click on it and, from the pop-up menu, choose Open in Camera Raw.
SCOTT KELBY
Opening JPEG & TIFF Images from Your Computer
If you
want to open a JPEG or TIFF image from your computer, then here’s what
you do: On a Mac, go under Photoshop’s File menu and choose Open.
When the Open dialog appears, click on your JPEG (or TIFF, but we’ll
use a JPEG as our example) image, and in the Format pop-up menu, it will
say JPEG. You need to click-and-hold on that Format pop-up menu, and
from that menu choose Camera Raw,
as shown here. Then click the Open button, and your JPEG image will
open in Camera Raw. In Windows, just go under Photoshop’s File menu and
choose Open As, then navigate your way to that JPEG or TIFF image, change the Open As popup menu to Camera Raw, and click Open.
Opening Multiple Images
You can open multiple RAW
photos in Camera Raw by selecting them first (either in Mini Bridge or
in a folder on your computer), then just double-clicking on any one of
them, and they’ll all open in Camera Raw and appear in a filmstrip along
the left side of the Camera Raw window (as seen here). If the photos
are JPEGs or TIFFs, in Mini Bridge, select ’em first, then switch to
Review mode, and press Option-R (PC: Alt-R).
If they’re in a folder on your computer, then you’ll need to use Mini
Bridge to open them, as well (just use the Path bar in Mini Bridge to
navigate to where those images are located, then select them, switch to
Review mode, and press Option-R).
Editing JPEG & TIFF Images in Camera Raw
One
thing about editing JPEGs and TIFFs in Camera Raw: When you make
adjustments to a JPEG or TIFF and you click the Open Image button, it
opens your image in Photoshop (as you’d expect). However, if you just
want to save the changes you made in Camera Raw without opening the
photo in Photoshop, then click the Done button instead (as shown here),
and your changes will be saved. But there is a big distinction between
editing JPEG or TIFF images and editing a RAW image. If you click the
Done button, you’re actually affecting the real pixels of the original
JPEG or TIFF, whereas, if this were a RAW image, you wouldn’t be (which
is another big advantage of shooting in RAW). If you click the Open
Image button, and open your JPEG or TIFF in Photoshop, you’re opening
and editing the real image, as well. Just so you know.
The Two Camera Raws
Here’s another thing you’ll
need to know: there are actually two Camera Raws—one in Photoshop, and a
separate one in Bridge. The advantage of having two Camera Raws comes
into play when you’re processing (or saving) a lot of RAW photos—you can
have them processing in Bridge’s version of Camera Raw, while you’re
working on something else in Photoshop. If you find yourself using
Bridge’s Camera Raw most often, then you’ll probably want to press Command-K (PC: Ctrl-K)
to bring up Bridge’s Preferences, click on General on the left, and
then turn on the checkbox for Double-Click Edits Camera Raw Settings in
Bridge (as shown here). Now, double-clicking on a photo opens RAW photos
in Bridge’s Camera Raw, rather than Photoshop’s.
