Creative Adobe Suite 5 Manual

							47CREATIVE SUITE 5Camera Raw
Last updated 11/16/2011
Using Adobe Bridge, you can apply, copy, and clear image settings, and you can see previews and metadata for camera 
raw files without opening them in the Camera Raw dialog box. The preview in Adobe Bridge is a JPEG image generated 
using the current image settings; the preview is not the raw camera data itself, which would appear as a very dark 
grayscale image. 
Note: A caution icon  appears in the thumbnails and preview image in the Camera Raw dialog box while the preview 
is generated from the camera raw image. 
You can modify the default settings that Camera Raw uses for a particular model of camera. For each camera model, 
you can also modify the defaults for a particular ISO setting or a particular camera (by serial number). You can modify 
and save image settings as presets for use with other images.
When you use Camera Raw to make adjustments (including straightening and cropping) to a camera raw image, the 
image’s original camera raw data is preserved. The adjustments are stored in either the Camera Raw database, as 
metadata embedded in the image file, or in a sidecar XMP file (a metadata file that accompanies a camera raw file). For 
more information, see 
“Specify where Camera Raw settings are stored” on page 73.
After you process and edit a camera raw file using the Camera Raw plug-in, an icon  appears in the image thumbnail 
in Adobe Bridge.
If you open a camera raw file in Photoshop, you can save the image in other image formats, such as PSD, JPEG, Large 
Document Format (PSB), TIFF, Cineon, Photoshop Raw, PNG, or PBM. From the Camera Raw dialog box in 
Photoshop, you can save the processed files in Digital Negative (DNG), JPEG, TIFF, or Photoshop (PSD) formats. 
Although Photoshop Camera Raw software can open and edit a camera raw image file, it cannot save an image in a 
camera raw format.
As new versions of Camera Raw become available, you can update this software by installing a new version of the plug-
in. You can check for updates to Adobe software by choosing Help
 > Updates.
Different camera models save camera raw images in many different formats, and the data must be interpreted 
differently for these formats. Camera Raw includes support for many camera models, and it can interpret many camera 
raw formats.
If you have trouble opening Camera Raw files, see Why doesnt my version of Photoshop or Lightroom support my 
camera?
About the Digital Negative (DNG) format
The Digital Negative (DNG) format is a non-proprietary, publicly documented, and widely supported format for 
storing raw camera data. Hardware and software developers use DNG because it results in a flexible workflow for 
processing and archiving camera raw data. You may also use DNG as an intermediate format for storing images that 
were originally captured using a proprietary camera raw format.
Because DNG metadata is publicly documented, software readers such as Camera Raw do not need camera-specific 
knowledge to decode and process files created by a camera that supports DNG. If support for a proprietary format is 
discontinued, users may not be able to access images stored in that format, and the images may be lost forever. Because 
DNG is publicly documented, it is far more likely that raw images stored as DNG files will be readable by software in 
the distant future, making DNG a safer choice for archival storage.
Metadata for adjustments made to images stored as DNG files can be embedded in the DNG file itself instead of in a 
sidecar XMP file or in the Camera Raw database.
You can convert camera raw files to the DNG format by using the Adobe DNG Converter or the Camera Raw dialog 
box. For more information on the DNG format and DNG Converter, see the 
Digital Negative (DNG) product page. 
To download the latest DNG Converter, go to the Adobe downloads page. 
						

							48CREATIVE SUITE 5Camera Raw
Last updated 11/16/2011
Processing images with Camera Raw
1.  Copy camera raw files to your hard disk, organize them, and (optionally) convert them to DNG.
Before you do any work on the images that your camera raw files represent, transfer them from the camera’s memory 
card, organize them, give them useful names, and otherwise prepare them for use. Use the Get Photos From Camera 
command in Adobe Bridge to accomplish these tasks automatically.
2.  Open the image files in Camera Raw.
You can open camera raw files in Camera Raw from Adobe Bridge, After Effects, or Photoshop. You can also open 
JPEG and TIFF files in Camera Raw from Adobe Bridge. (See 
“Open images” on page 52.)
For a video tutorial on importing raw images from a digital camera into Adobe Bridge CS4 or CS5 using 
Adobe
 Photo Downloader, watch Download photos from a camera into Adobe Bridge by Lynda.com.
3.  Adjust color.
Color adjustments include white balance, tone, and saturation. You can make most adjustments on the Basic tab, and 
then use controls on the other tabs to fine-tune the results. If you want Camera Raw to analyze your image and apply 
approximate tonal adjustments, click Auto on the Basic tab.
To apply the settings used for the previous image, or to apply the default settings for the camera model, camera, or ISO 
settings, choose the appropriate command from the Camera Raw Settings menu
 . (See “Apply saved Camera Raw 
settings” on page 74.)
For a video tutorial on making nondestructive color adjustments to photos in Camera Raw, watch Recovering detail 
in raw images by Richard Harrington or Adobe Camera Raw workflow by Russell Brown.
4.  Make other adjustments and image corrections.
Use other tools and controls in the Camera Raw dialog box to perform such tasks as sharpening the image, reducing 
noise, correcting for lens defects, and retouching.
5.  (Optional) Save image settings as a preset or as default image settings.
To apply the same adjustments to other images later, save the settings as a preset. To save the adjustments as the 
defaults to be applied to all images from a specific camera model, a specific camera, or a specific ISO setting, save the 
image settings as the new Camera Raw defaults. (See 
“Save, reset, and load Camera Raw settings” on page 73.)
6.  Set workflow options for Photoshop.
Set options to specify how images are saved from Camera Raw and how Photoshop should open them. You can access 
the Workflow Options settings by clicking the link beneath the image preview in the Camera Raw dialog box.
7.  Save the image, or open it in Photoshop or After Effects. 
When you finish adjusting the image in Camera Raw, you can apply the adjustments to the camera raw file, open the 
adjusted image in Photoshop or After Effects, save the adjusted image to another format, or cancel and discard 
adjustments. If you open the Camera Raw dialog box from After Effects, the Save Image and Done buttons are 
unavailable.
Save Image Applies the Camera Raw settings to the images and saves copies of them in JPEG, PSD, TIFF, or DNG 
format. Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac
 OS) to suppress the Camera Raw Save Options dialog box and save the 
files using the last set of save options. (See 
“Save a camera raw image in another format” on page 53.) 
						

							49CREATIVE SUITE 5Camera Raw
Last updated 11/16/2011
Open Image or OK Opens copies of the camera raw image files (with the Camera Raw settings applied) in Photoshop 
or After Effects. The original camera raw image file remains unaltered. Press Shift while clicking Open Image to open 
the raw file in Photoshop as a Smart Object. At any time, you can double-click the Smart Object layer that contains the 
raw file to adjust the Camera Raw settings.
Done Closes the Camera Raw dialog box and stores file settings either in the camera raw database file, in the sidecar 
XMP file, or in the DNG file.
Cancel Cancels the adjustments specified in the Camera Raw dialog box.
Camera Raw dialog box overview
Camera Raw dialog boxA. Filmstrip  B. Toggle Filmstrip  C. Camera name or file format  D. Toggle full-screen mode  E. Image adjustment tabs  F. Histogram  
G. Camera Raw Settings menu  H. Zoom levels  I. Workflow options  J. Navigation arrows  K. Adjustment sliders  
Note: Some controls, such as the Workflow Options link, that are available when you open the Camera Raw dialog box 
from Adobe
 Bridge or Photoshop are not available when you open the Camera Raw dialog box from After Effects.
To open the Camera Raw Settings menu, click the button  in the upper-right corner of any of the image 
adjustment tabs. Several of the commands in this menu are also available from the Edit > Develop Settings menu 
in Adobe Bridge.
The Camera Raw zoom controls are:
Zoom tool  Sets the preview zoom to the next higher preset value when you click the preview image. Alt-click 
(Windows) or Option-click (Mac
 OS) to use the next lower zoom value. Drag the Zoom tool in the preview image 
to zoom in on a selected area. To return to 100%, double-click the Zoom tool.
AFGDCBE
HJIK 
						

							50CREATIVE SUITE 5Camera Raw
Last updated 11/16/2011
Hand tool  Moves the image in the preview window if the preview image is set at a zoom level higher than 100%. 
Hold down the spacebar to temporarily activate the Hand tool while using another tool. Double-click the Hand tool 
to fit the preview image to the window.
Select Zoom Level Choose a magnification setting from the menu or click the Select Zoom Level buttons.
Preview Displays a preview of the image adjustments made in the current tab, combined with the settings in the 
other tabs. Deselect to show the image with the original settings of the current tab combined with the settings in 
the other tabs. 
RGB Shows the red, green, and blue values of the pixel under the pointer in the preview image.
Shadows and Highlights Displays shadow and highlight clipping using the buttons at the top of the Histogram. 
Clipped shadows appear in blue, and clipped highlights appear in red. Highlight clipping is shown if any one of the 
three RGB channels is clipped (fully saturated with no detail). Shadow clipping is shown if all three RGB channels 
are clipped (black with no detail). 
The Camera Raw image adjustment tabs are:
Basic  Adjust white balance, color saturation, and tonality.
Tone Curve  Fine-tune tonality using a Parametric curve and a Point curve.
Detail  Sharpen images or reduce noise.
HSL / Grayscale  Fine-tune colors using Hue, Saturation, and Luminance adjustments.
Split Toning  Color monochrome images or create special effects with color images.
Lens Corrections  Compensate for chromatic aberration, geometric distortions, and vignetting caused by the 
camera lens.
Effects  Simulate film grain or apply a postcrop vignette.
Camera Calibration  Apply camera profiles to raw images to correct color casts and adjust non-neutral colors to 
compensate for the behavior of a camera’s image sensor.
Presets  Save and apply sets of image adjustments as presets.
Snapshots  Create versions of a photo that record its state at any point during the editing process.
Work with the Camera Raw cache in Adobe Bridge
When you view camera raw files in Adobe Bridge, the thumbnails and previews use either the default settings or your 
adjusted settings. The Adobe
 Bridge cache stores data for the file thumbnails, metadata, and file information. Caching 
this data shortens the loading time when you return to a previously viewed folder in Adobe
 Bridge. The Camera Raw 
cache speeds the opening of images in Camera Raw and rebuilds of previews in Adobe
 Bridge when image settings 
change in Camera Raw.
Because caches can become very large, you may want to purge the Camera Raw cache or limit its size. You can also 
purge and regenerate the cache if you suspect that it is corrupted or old.
Note: The Camera Raw cache holds data for about 200 images for each gigabyte of disk storage allocated to it. By default, 
the Camera Raw cache is set to a maximum size of 1
 GB. You can increase its limit in the Camera Raw preferences.
1In Adobe Bridge, choose Edit > Camera Raw Preferences (Windows) or Bridge > Camera Raw Preferences 
(Mac
 OS). Or, with the Camera Raw dialog box open, click the Open Preferences Dialog button .
2Do any of the following:
To change the cache size, enter a Maximum Size value. 
						

							51CREATIVE SUITE 5Camera Raw
Last updated 11/16/2011
To purge the camera raw cache, click the Purge Cache button.
To change the location of the camera raw cache, click Select Location.
Work with Camera Raw and Lightroom
Camera Raw and Lightroom share the same image-processing technology to ensure consistent and compatible results 
across applications. For Camera Raw to view image adjustments made in the Develop module of Lightroom, metadata 
changes must be saved to XMP in Lightroom.
Adjustments made in Camera Raw are also displayed in the Adobe Bridge Content and Preview panels.
To view Lightroom changes in Camera Raw, and to ensure that Camera Raw adjustments can be viewed in Lightroom 
and Adobe
 Bridge, do the following:
1In Adobe Bridge, choose Edit > Camera Raw Preferences (Windows) or Bridge > Camera Raw Preferences 
(Mac
 OS). Or, with the Camera Raw dialog box open, click the Open Preferences Dialog button .
2Choose Save Image Settings In > Sidecar “.XMP” Files, and deselect Ignore Sidecar “.XMP” Files.
3After applying adjustments to a photo in Camera Raw, save them by clicking Done or Open Image.
Note: Camera Raw reads only the current settings for the primary image in the Lightroom catalog. Adjustments made to 
virtual copies are not displayed or available in Camera Raw.
Navigate, open, and save images in Camera Raw
Process, compare, and rate multiple images
The most convenient way to work with multiple camera raw images is to use the Filmstrip view in Camera Raw. 
Filmstrip view opens by default when you open multiple images in Camera Raw from Adobe
 Bridge.
Note: The Filmstrip view is not available when importing multiple images into After Effects.
Images can have three states in Filmstrip pane: deselected, selected (but not active), and active (also selected). In 
general, adjustments are applied to all selected images. 
You can also synchronize settings to apply settings from the active image to all selected images. You can quickly apply 
a set of adjustments to an entire set of images—such as all shots taken under the same conditions—and then fine-tune 
the individual shots later, after you’ve determined which you’ll use for your final output. You can synchronize both 
global and local adjustment settings.
To select an image, click its thumbnail. To select a range of images, Shift-click two thumbnails. To add an image to 
a selection, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac
 OS) its thumbnail.
To change which image is active without changing which images are selected, click a navigation arrow  at the 
bottom of the preview pane.
To apply settings from the active image to all selected images, click the Synchronize button at the top of the 
Filmstrip pane and choose which settings to synchronize.
To apply a star rating, click a rating under the image thumbnail.
To mark selected images for deletion, click Mark For Deletion . 
A red X appears in the thumbnail of an image marked for deletion. The file is sent to the Recycle Bin (Windows) or 
Trash (Mac
 OS) when you close the Camera Raw dialog box. (If you decide to keep an image that you marked for 
deletion, select it in the Filmstrip pane and click Mark For Deletion again, before you close the Camera Raw dialog box.) 
						

							52CREATIVE SUITE 5Camera Raw
Last updated 11/16/2011
For a tutorial on synchronizing edits across multiple Camera Raw photos, see Synchronizing edits in Adobe Camera 
Raw by Dan Moughamian.
Automating image processing
You can create an action to automate the processing of image files with Camera Raw. You can automate the editing 
process, and the process of saving the files in formats such as PSD, DNG, JPEG, Large Document Format (PSB), TIFF, 
and PDF. In Photoshop, you can also use the Batch command, the Image Processor, or the Create Droplet command 
to process one or more image files. The Image Processor is especially useful for saving image files in different file 
formats during the same processing session.
Here are some tips for automating the processing of camera raw image files:
When you record an action, first select Image Settings from the Camera Raw Settings menu  in the Camera Raw 
dialog box. In this way, the settings particular to each image (from the Camera Raw database or sidecar XMP files) 
are used to play back the action.
If you plan to use the action with the Batch command, you may want to use the Save As command and choose the 
file format when saving the camera raw image.
When you use an action to open a camera raw file, the Camera Raw dialog box reflects the settings that were in 
effect when the action was recorded. You may want to create different actions for opening camera raw image files 
with different settings.
When using the Batch command, select Override Action “Open” Commands. Any Open commands in the action 
will then operate on the batched files rather than the files specified by name in the action. Deselect Override Action 
“Open” Commands only if you want the action to operate on open files or if the action uses the Open command to 
retrieve needed information.
When using the Batch command, select Suppress File Open Options Dialogs to prevent the display of the Camera 
Raw dialog box as each camera raw image is processed.
When using the Batch command, select Override Action “Save As” Commands if you want to use the Save As 
instructions from the Batch command instead of the Save As instructions in the action. If you select this option, the 
action must contain a Save As command, because the Batch command does not automatically save the source files. 
Deselect Override Action “Save As” Commands to save the files processed by the Batch command in the location 
specified in the Batch dialog box.
When creating a droplet, select Suppress File Open Options Dialogs in the Play area of the Create Droplet dialog 
box. This prevents the display of the Camera Raw dialog box as each camera raw image is processed.
Open images
To process raw images in Camera Raw, select one or more camera raw files in Adobe Bridge, and then choose File > 
Open In Camera Raw or press Ctrl+R (Windows) or Command+R (Mac
 OS). When you finish making 
adjustments in the Camera Raw dialog box, click Done to accept changes and close the dialog box. You can also 
click Open Image to open a copy of the adjusted image in Photoshop.
To process JPEG or TIFF images in Camera Raw, select one or more JPEG or TIFF files in Adobe Bridge, and then 
choose File
 > Open In Camera Raw or press Ctrl+R (Windows) or Command+R (Mac OS). When you finish 
making adjustments in the Camera Raw dialog box, click Done to accept changes and close the dialog box. You can 
specify whether JPEG or TIFF images with Camera Raw settings are automatically opened in Camera Raw in the 
JPEG and TIFF Handling section of the Camera Raw preferences. 
						

							53CREATIVE SUITE 5Camera Raw
Last updated 11/16/2011
To import camera raw images in Photoshop, select one or more camera raw files in Adobe Bridge, and then choose 
File
 > Open With > Adobe Photoshop CS5. (You can also choose the File > Open command in Photoshop, and 
browse to select camera raw files.) When you finish making adjustments in the Camera Raw dialog box, click Open 
Image to accept changes and open the adjusted image in Photoshop. Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac
 OS) to 
open a copy of the adjusted image and not save the adjustments to the original image’s metadata. Press Shift while 
clicking Open Image to open the image as a Smart Object in Photoshop. At any time, you can double-click the 
Smart Object layer that contains the raw file to adjust the Camera Raw settings.
Shift-double-click a thumbnail in Adobe Bridge to open a camera raw image in Photoshop without opening the 
Camera Raw dialog box. Hold down Shift while choosing File > Open to open multiple selected images.
To import camera raw images in After Effects using Adobe Bridge, select one or more camera raw files in 
Adobe
 Bridge, and then choose File > Open With > Adobe After Effects CS5. (You can also choose a File > Import 
command in After
 Effects and browse to select camera raw files.) When you finish making adjustments in the 
Camera Raw dialog box, click OK to accept changes. 
To import TIFF and JPEG files into After Effects using Camera Raw, select the File > Import command in After Effects, 
and then select All Files from the Enable menu (Mac
 OS) or Files Of Type menu (Windows) in the After Effects Import 
File dialog box. Select the file to import, select Camera Raw from the Format menu, and click Open.
To import Camera Raw images into After Effects as a sequence, choose File > Import in After Effects. Select the 
images, check the Camera Raw Sequence box, and click Open. Camera Raw settings applied to the first camera raw 
file upon import are applied to the remaining files in the sequence unless an XMP sidecar file is present for any 
subsequent file in the sequence. In that case, the settings in the XMP file or in the DNG file are applied to that 
specific frame in the sequence. All other frames use the settings that the first file in the sequence specifies.
If you have trouble opening Camera Raw files, see Why doesnt my version of Photoshop or Lightroom support my 
camera?
Save a camera raw image in another format
You can save camera raw files from the Camera Raw dialog box in PSD, TIFF, JPEG, or DNG format. 
When you use the Save Image command in the Camera Raw dialog box, files are placed in a queue to be processed and 
saved. This is useful if you are processing several files in the Camera Raw dialog box and saving them in the same 
format. 
1In the Camera Raw dialog box, click the Save Image button in the lower-left corner of the dialog box.
Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) Save to suppress the Camera Raw Save Options dialog box when 
saving a file.
2In the Save Options dialog box, specify the following options:
Destination Specifies where to save the file. If necessary, click the Select Folder button and navigate to the location.
File Naming Specifies the filename using a naming convention that includes elements such as date and camera serial 
number. Using informative filenames based on a naming convention helps you keep image files organized.
3Choose a file format from the Format menu.
Digital Negative Saves a copy of the camera raw file in the DNG file format.
Compatibility Specifies the versions of Camera Raw and Lightroom that can read the file. 
If you choose Custom, specify whether you want compatibility with DNG 1.1 or DNG 1.3. By default, the conversion 
uses lossless compression, which means no information is lost while reducing file size. Choosing Linear (Demosaiced) 
stores the image data in an interpolated format. That means other software can read the file even if that software does 
not have a profile for the digital camera that captured the image.  
						

							54CREATIVE SUITE 5Camera Raw
Last updated 11/16/2011
JPEG Preview Embeds a JPEG preview in the DNG file. If you decide to embed a JPEG preview, you can choose the 
preview size. If you embed JPEG previews, other applications can view the contents of the DNG file without parsing 
the camera raw data.
Embed Original Raw File Stores all of the original camera raw image data in the DNG file.
JPEG Saves copies of the camera raw files in JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format. To specify the amount 
of compression, enter a value from 0 to 12 or choose from the menu. Entering a higher value, or choosing High or 
Maximum, applies less compression and increases file size and image quality. JPEG format is commonly used to 
display photographs and other continuous-tone images in web photo galleries, slide shows, presentations, and other 
online services. 
TIFF Saves copies of the camera raw files as TIFF (Tagged-Image File Format) files. Specify whether to apply no 
compression, or LZW or ZIP file compression. TIFF is a flexible bitmap image format supported by virtually all paint, 
image-editing, and page-layout applications. TIFF provides greater compression and compatibility with other 
applications than does PSD format. 
Photoshop Saves copies of the camera raw files in the PSD file format. You can specify whether to preserve cropped 
pixel data in the PSD file.
4Click Save.
Make color and tonal adjustments in Camera Raw
Histogram and RGB levels
A histogram is a representation of the number of pixels at each luminance value in an image. A histogram that has 
nonzero values for each luminance value indicates an image that takes advantage of the full tonal scale. A histogram 
that doesn’t use the full tonal range corresponds to a dull image that lacks contrast. A histogram with a spike at the left 
side indicates shadow clipping; a histogram with a spike on the right side indicates highlight clipping. 
Select Shadows or Highlights to see, in the preview image, which pixels are being clipped. For more information, see 
“Preview highlight and shadow clipping” on page 55. 
One common task for adjusting an image is to spread out the pixel values more evenly from left to right on the 
histogram, instead of having them bunched up at one end or the other.
A histogram is made up of three layers of color that represent the red, green, and blue color channels. White appears 
when all three channels overlap; yellow, magenta, and cyan appear when two of the RGB channels overlap (yellow 
equals the red + green channels, magenta equals the red + blue channels, and cyan equals the green + blue channels).
The histogram changes automatically as you adjust the settings in the Camera Raw dialog box. 
The RGB values of the pixel under the pointer (in the preview image) appear below the histogram.
Note: You can also use the Color Sampler tool   to place up to nine color samplers in the preview image. The RGB 
values appear above the preview image. To remove a color sampler, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) it. To 
clear the color samplers, click Clear Samplers.  
						

							55CREATIVE SUITE 5Camera Raw
Last updated 11/16/2011
The Camera Raw dialog box displays the RGB values of the pixel under the pointer.
Preview highlight and shadow clipping
Clipping occurs when the color values of a pixel are higher than the highest value or lower than the lowest value that 
can be represented in the image. Overbright values are clipped to output white, and overdark values are clipped to 
output black. The result is a loss of image detail.
To see which pixels are being clipped with the rest of the preview image, select Shadows or Highlights options at 
the top of the histogram. Or press U to see shadow clipping, O to see highlight clipping.
To see only the pixels that are being clipped, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) while dragging the 
Exposure, Recovery, or Blacks sliders.
For the Exposure and Recovery sliders, the image turns black, and clipped areas appear white. For the Blacks slider, 
the image turns white and clipped areas appear black. Colored areas indicate clipping in one color channel (red, green, 
blue) or two color channels (cyan, magenta, yellow).
Note: In some cases, clipping occurs because the color space that you are working in has a gamut that is too small. If your 
colors are being clipped, consider working in a color space with a large gamut, such as ProPhoto RGB.
White balance controls
In simple terms, adjusting the white balance is a matter of identifying what objects in the image should be neutral-
colored (white or gray) and then adjusting the colors in the image to make those objects neutral-colored. A white or 
gray object in a scene takes on the color cast by the ambient light or flash used to shoot the picture. When you use the 
White Balance tool
  to specify an object that should be white or gray, Camera Raw can determine the color of the 
light in which the scene was shot and then adjust for scene lighting automatically. 
Color temperature (in Kelvins) is used as a measure of scene lighting because natural and incandescent light sources 
give off light in a predictable distribution according to their temperature.
A digital camera records the white balance at the time of exposure as a metadata entry. The Camera Raw plug-in reads 
this value and makes it the initial setting when you open the file in the Camera Raw dialog box. This setting usually 
yields the correct color temperature, or nearly so. You can adjust the white balance if it is not right.
Note:  Not all color casts are a result of incorrect white balance. Use the DNG Profile Editor to correct a color cast that 
remains after the white balance is adjusted. See 
“Adjust color rendering for your camera in Camera Raw” on page 60.
The Basic tab in the Camera Raw dialog box has three controls for correcting a color cast in an image:
White Balance Camera Raw applies the white balance setting and changes the Temperature and Tint properties in the 
Basic tab accordingly. Use these controls to fine-tune the color balance. 
As Shot  Uses the camera’s white balance settings, if they are available. 
Auto  Calculates the white balance based on the image data. 
Camera raw and DNG files also have the following white balance settings: Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Tungsten, 
Fluorescent, and Flash.  
						

							56CREATIVE SUITE 5Camera Raw
Last updated 11/16/2011
Note: If Camera Raw doesn’t recognize the white balance setting of a camera, choosing As Shot is the same as choosing Auto.
Temperature Sets the white balance to a custom color temperature. Decrease Temperature to correct a photo taken 
with a lower color temperature of light; the Camera Raw plug-in makes the image colors bluer to compensate for the 
lower color temperature (yellowish) of the ambient light. Conversely, increase Temperature to correct a photo taken 
with a higher color temperature of light; the image colors become warmer (yellowish) to compensate for the higher 
color temperature (bluish) of the ambient light.
Note: The range and units for the Temperature and Tint controls are different when you are adjusting a non-camera raw 
image, such as a TIFF or JPEG image. For example, Camera Raw provides a true-temperature adjustment slider for raw 
files from 2,000 Kelvin to 50,000 Kelvin. For JPEG or TIFF files, Camera Raw attempts to approximate a different color 
temperature or white balance, but because the original value was already used to alter the pixel data in the file, Camera 
Raw does not provide the true Kelvin temperature scale. In these instances, an approximate scale of -100 to 100 is used 
in place of the temperature scale.
Correcting the white balanceA. Moving the Temperature slider to the right corrects a photo taken with a higher color temperature of light  B. Moving the Temperature slider 
to the left corrects a photo taken with a lower color temperature of light  C. Photo after color temperature adjustment  
Tint Sets the white balance to compensate for a green or magenta tint. Decrease Tint to add green to the image; 
increase Tint to add magenta.
To adjust the white balance quickly, select the White Balance tool , and then click an area in the preview image 
that should be a neutral gray or white. The Temperature and Tint properties adjust to make the selected color exactly 
neutral (if possible). If you’re clicking whites, choose a highlight area that contains significant white detail rather than a 
specular highlight. You can double-click the White Balance tool to reset White Balance to As Shot.
Adjust tone
You adjust the image tonal scale using the tone controls in the Basic tab.
A
CB