Section 4.4. Automating in Camera Raw


4.4. Automating in Camera Raw

One great benefit of working in the CS2 version of Camera Raw is its expanded ability to automate the application of settings to numerous images at once. You can do this by applying the previous setting to an entire folder of images or to any highlighted image. Better yet, apply the settings to one image and then go back to Bridge and apply the previously used settings to any and all selected thumbnails or foldersall without ever even having to open Photoshop.

4.4.1. Winnowing While Processing Multiple Files in Camera RAW

NOTE

One of the giant advantages in working with Printroom, Aperture, or iView Media Pro is that you can do winnowing at 100 percent magnification before you start processing.

Winnowing is the process of sorting, classifying, ranking, and disposing of useless images. This should be done before you start processing. However, since the procedure is different when using Camera Raw than in Bridgee, I wanted to give it to you separately to avoid confusion. Camera Raw will let you simultaneously magnify all the images to any percentage of the original. Most handily, if you double-click the magnifier while Select All is in effect, all the images will be magnified to 100 percent. It is then very easy to move from one image to the next. Figure 4-27 shows the Camera Raw workspace as it should be set up while you are winnowing.

Figure 4-27. The Camera Raw workspace set up as I like it while winnowing.

When you see an image that is unacceptably unsharp, hit the Delete key. The thumbnail will stay in place until you leave Camera Raw, but a red X appears in the upper corner of the affected thumbnail. If you change your mind about eliminating that image, simply click on the red X to deselect the image for deletion. You can zoom out by double-clicking the Hand icon. All the images will appear in the Preview window, scaled to fit. Now you can review the images for unacceptable characteristics, such as too much lens flare, an embarrassing facial expression, awkward pose, or the unexpected appearance of someone in front of the lens just at the "moment of click." Now that you've eliminated a lot of wasted file space and processing time, you can save even more time by adjusting whole groups of images simultaneously.

4.4.2. Tweaking Camera Raw Adjustments in Sync

You had a taste of synching in the "Using the Calibrate Tab Settings" section earlier in this chapter. But the best part is that you can actually perform all the Camera Raw adjustments simultaneously on all of the open images:

  1. In Bridge, select the thumbs of all the images you think should be adjusted the same way. These will generally be photos of the same or very similar subjects in the exact same location, light source and angle, time of day, and that were shot with the same camera and lens. When all the images you want to process have been selected, press Return/Enter.

  2. The selected images will open in Camera Raw. Camera Raw is technically a Photoshop plug-in, so Photoshop will open first, with Camera Raw inside it.

  3. At the top of the thumbnail column, you see two buttons: Select All and Synchronize. Click them both. You'll notice that all the thumbnails are highlighted to show they've been selected.

  4. The Synchronize dialog will appear. Unless you want to apply only a subset of the settings to this groupfor instance, you might decide later that you could improve on noise reduction and vignettingsimply leave all the boxes checked and click OK.

  5. Make all the adjustments you want in the order you were given them.

  6. When you're done making adjustments, note that the labeling of the Save and Open buttons has changed to reflect the number of files that are currently selected, minus those that have been selected for deletion. After making all the adjustments in Camera Raw, save all your images to Photoshop format by clicking the Save button. The Save dialog, shown in Figure 4-28, appears. Now is a good time to rename your images so that you can readily identify the subject and shoot.

    Figure 4-28. The Save Options dialog.

  7. Choose the folder where you want to save your PSD images. I like to keep them in the same folder as the RAW files so that I can use Bridge to move the adjusted PSD files immediately next to the corresponding original RAW file. This makes it very easy to know which images are ready for the client and which will need more work. In that case, choose "Save in Same Location." However, you can choose "Save in New Location" or use the Browse button to create a new subfolder.

  8. Now comes the important part: naming your files logically. Because I organize my folders by client and shoot date, that is usually enough to identify the subject (see "Renaming Individual Files" in Chapter 3 for more on this). To change the name, highlight the words "document name" in the first filename field and enter the subject name. From the menu immediately to the right, choose Document Name. Other automatic renaming processes in Photoshop and Bridge also have a nearly identical dialog, so you'll get quite used to this automatic naming process.

  9. Choose the file type you want to save to. Normally, you will want to save to the .psd format so you can continue editing in 16-bit mode for as long as possible and also to take advantage of layersespecially nondestructive Adjustment layers. Once you've done all that, press OK.

Converting Camera Raw Files to Other Formats

You can also use the Save button in Camera Raw to save as many files as needed to .jpg, .tif, or .dng formats. You can save all these images into most of the other popular file formats by choosing them from the menu. This is a good option if time constraints hamper how much work you can do on an image before sending it to your client for approval (most likely) or straight out for publication (in very tight deadline circumstances).


4.4.3. Applying Camera Raw Settings in Adobe Bridge

If you have more than the suggested 16 images to process simultaneously or just don't need to have all the files open as you process the first one, this is the fastest way to apply the same settings to any number of RAW files:

  1. Open the first, best, or most typical of the group in Camera Raw and do all the processing recommended in this course.

  2. Click the Done button at the bottom of the Camera Raw dialog. Clicking Done closes Camera Raw and at the same time applies all the settings you've made to the currently opened image(s).

  3. Now you're back in Adobe Bridge. Simply Cmd/Ctrl-click each image to which you want to apply the last settings made in Camera Raw.

  4. Ctrl/Right-click any of the selected images. From the resulting in-context menu (Figure 4-29), choose Previous Conversion. Since Camera Raw is closed, processing happens more quickly. And while it's processing you can do other thingssuch as selecting the next group of images you want to process.

    Figure 4-29. The in-context menu appears when you right-click on an image in Photoshop Bridge.

NOTE

As soon as you've processed multiple images in Camera Raw and come back to Bridge, empty your Trash/Recycle Bin to clear your available disk (and memory swapping if you're cramped for disk space) for the complex work of image processing.




Digital Photography(c) Expert Techniques
Digital Photography Expert Techniques
ISBN: 0596526903
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 124
Authors: Ken Milburn

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