Before I get down to business and talk about working with the converter Adobe Camera Raw, I would like to make a short introduction and explain what exactly I am pursuing in creating this article and who it is aimed at.
First of all, I want to note that I have no goal to tell absolutely everything that I know about working with this converter (hereinafter - ACR). This would take too much time and effort. In addition, although I know a lot, but obviously not everything. Yes, and there are enough sources to get thorough and guaranteed correct information about working with this program without me. For example, a very good textbook Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Photographers who wrote Martin Evening.
My goal is to give the most necessary basics and reveal the work with the most demanded (from my point of view) ACR tools, so that any beginner who has not yet decided to shoot in RAW and work with him, after reading this article, understands that this is the case, in fact, quite simple, and most importantly - extremely convenient and useful.
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RAW- (from English - “raw”) data format containing raw information and avoiding its loss. Such files contain complete information about the stored signal. In digital photography, the RAW format is understood as data obtained without processing directly from the camera's matrix. .
Almost any modern digital camera has the ability to shoot (or rather, record the information received) in JPG and RAW format. The main difference between these two formats is that JPG is the result of processing the received data by the camera itself and, as a result, an image that is compressed and with a lot of lost information, and RAW is all the information that entered the camera’s matrix during the shooting process. Usually, smart modern cameras do a pretty decent job of processing information and produce quite acceptable results in JPG format, but still, with rare exceptions, they cannot do it better than we, much smarter people. So, to paraphrase the famous Michurin phrase: “We will not wait for mercy from digital technology, our goal is to take it ourselves!”
So let's get started...
- Workflow Options- First you need to decide on Workflow Options (by clicking on the line marked in red under the photo). You must choose in which color space ( Space) we will work (if the photo will be printed, then select Adobe RGB 1998, if you need the file exclusively for web applications, then sRGB is enough), and also select the depth ( Depth), the size ( size) and resolution ( Resolution) of our future file. I want to note that converting in a wider space, with greater depth, maximum sizes and resolution, of course, is best for the quality of the final result, but we should not forget that all this will eventually give us a file of a rather impressive size ( 50-70 MB on average), and the hard disk space is not rubber. So let's be reasonable and try to match our needs with the need.
- Conversion Data Management- On the right side of the control panel in the line next to the inscription Basic there is a rather inconspicuous button, but meanwhile very convenient and necessary functions are hidden behind it. With their help, we can save the data of any conversion, and then with a single click apply it to any other rav. By default, all conversion data is saved in a small file format .xmp, which is automatically saved to the folder where the converted rav. If this does not happen (you could, for example, cancel this function), then the data can be saved by clicking on Save Settings... In the future, if you want to apply the saved data to any other rav, just load the appropriate .xmp file via function Load Setting…
ACR also makes it possible to convert and make changes to a large number of equals at the same time, but I will talk about this a little later. - White Balance Tool- Before we move on to the next part, I would like to draw your attention to one more thing - the white balance tool. This is an eyedropper that works on the same principle as the gray eyedropper in Photoshop's Curves (more on this topic in the Simple Wonders of Color Correction).
The tool is very useful in some controversial issues with white balance or, for example, when converting infrared images.
Though White Balance Tool and convenient, but still the main tool for changing the white balance, as well as many other extremely useful ones, is located elsewhere. To do this, let's go back to the right, main part of the toolbars. Basic:
- white balance- In this drop-down box, you can select several standard automatic white balance settings, which are also available on any camera. It should be borne in mind that, despite the "standard", they can vary quite significantly from camera to camera and from program to program and, most importantly, not always correspond to the true state of affairs, that is, these settings are very average and approximate.
You can always try clicking on the option Auto, it is not so rare that it produces quite acceptable results. Well, if none of the proposed ones suits you, then you have tools for manually setting the white balance at your disposal - temperature and Tint. Well, again, do not forget about the White Balance Tool pipette! - exposure— One of the most important converter tools. With it, you can make a significant exposure compensation of the existing frame. For example, my owl portrait is quite noticeably underexposed (dark), which is easily corrected by moving the lever to plus. If the frame is overexposed (overexposed), this is corrected by moving the lever to minus. Track the changes by previewing the photo - overexposed fragments will be filled in red, which is very convenient and visual.
- Recovery- My owl has white plumage, and the white color very easily fades into overexposure. So, having adjusted the exposure to plus, I got obvious overexposures in some places on the feathers. To fix this, let's use a truly wonderful tool Recovery. It allows you to expand the dynamic range of the photo even in the process of elementary rav conversion, removing overexposure in the necessary places, (almost) without affecting the rest of the frame.
- fill light- The second tool that helps in expanding the dynamic range. With it, if necessary, you can brighten excessively dark areas in the shadows, (almost) without affecting the rest of the photo. I want to draw your attention to the fact that with the tools fill light and Recovery should be handled carefully and not to lose a sense of proportion, because, overdoing it with their use, you can easily get ugly, flat and noisy photos. With proper and moderate use, these tools are priceless!
- Clarity- Another wonderful tool with which you can increase the tonal contrast of the image (increase the micro-contrast and get more detail) or, conversely, reduce it, getting a kind of "soft focus" effect. But be careful! Excessive use can adversely affect the image - noise and artifacts will creep in, especially noticeable in out-of-focus areas, or details in the least contrasting areas of the image will easily disappear.
- Vibrance- Very nice, in my opinion, a tool that I personally completely replaced the tool Saturation. Its beauty lies in the fact that it increases the color saturation only selectively and only in those areas that are already the most prominent and bright, (almost) without affecting the calmer (background) tones.
Now let's move on to the next page - Tone curve.
Everything related to contrast (and indirectly color) can be fine-tuned here by working directly with the histogram graph and individual zones of highlights, shadows and midtones. The principle of operation is the same as in Curves Photoshop itself, but including a more simplified one.
If you work with the second tab point, then we get the same graph in which you can work on any arbitrary points, as in Photoshop.
And here in the bookmark Paramtric changing the data is done by changing the values on four points (lights in two values and shadows also in two values). For people who are not very good at Photoshop Curves, bookmark Parametric should be much more obvious and intuitive.
In earlier versions of ACR, the function point, unfortunately, it was quite buggy and it was almost impossible to use it (maybe it was just me, I don’t know). So after a bit of pissing and spitting, I got used to using functions Parametric.
In the latest version I have, the points finally started working, but I’m already so used to working with parameters that I first go to this tab on the machine, make changes ... and then turn over to the second one and finalize the chart points. How much it makes sense, to be honest, I don’t know, but I’m already used to working this way.
Moving on to the next page Detail. Here we will work on sharpening the image and dealing with noise.
NB! As the text under the tools rightly says, before you start making any changes in this window, increase the preview size to 100% or higher, only in this way you can reliably track the changes you are making.
Tool noise reduction consists of two parts - Luminance and color. In the first one, you work with luminance noise reduction, and in the second, you work with color noise. If this is necessary, in the column color the slider can be safely moved almost to the maximum value, there will be no harm from this. WITH Luminance but you need to be careful - the higher the value, the more the overall sharpness of the image will fall. However, this can be improved somewhat.
sharpening- Using this tool, you can significantly increase the sharpness of the image. It operates on approximately the same principle as the most popular tool of this series in Photoshop - unsharp mask.
For myself, I can say that I use this tool in the converter very moderately and most often only in cases where I had to work with noise suppression first.
Now let's go to HSL/Greyscale- the most important part of color correction in the converter.
Here you can quite flexibly and quickly convert the image to black and white, for this you just need to check the box next to the inscription Convert to Grayscale.
We are now working with color, so we leave this place untouched and move on to the HSL tool tabs - an interesting and, in my opinion, quite a successful mixture of Photoshop Hue/Saturation, selective color and Channel Mixer.
Hue- Working with different color channels, here you can choose shades of any of the colors presented. For example, I did not want the red in the photo to give off pink, and I wanted to make the yellow a little warmer - so I moved the corresponding levers.
Saturation- By the same principle as in the previous part, here you can work with the saturation of various colors without affecting any others.
Luminance- The same tool allows you to change the brightness of colors by channel from darker to lighter, or vice versa.
All of these tools are very visual and intuitive. But, as in working with most other converter tools, the main thing here is not to lose a sense of proportion.
So, our image is almost ready, the final touches are left - fixing the shortcomings of the feedback, which can be done in the section Lens Corrections.
It is these unpleasant phenomena that can be combated with the help of a tool Chromatic Aberration. Zoom in to 100% or more and move the sliders back and forth to track changes in the problem areas of the image until you reach the optimal result.
If your camera shoots in RAW, congratulations. You can get much more out of your shots than owners of compact cameras that can shoot only in JPEG.
This article does not pretend to be a complete guide to RAW processing, however, in our opinion, it will be useful for those who have not yet attached importance to the potential of working with RAW.
RAW and JPEG, which is better?
Of course, it is important to understand that RAW and JPEG were originally created to solve different problems, so it is impossible to argue that RAW is better than JPEG.
The JPEG image format was created in order to display the highest quality image with minimal memory consumption. When shooting in JPEG, you immediately get a finished picture, which you can immediately send to a forum, website, social network, or maybe even print. JPEG files take up relatively little space and are the unspoken standard for storing images in user albums.
The colors in your photos will be exactly as your camera's imaging system sees them. In the case of RAW, you will either have to resort to using a native RAW converter, or use the correct profiles in a software specially designed for this. If there are no profiles (this is possible in the short term, for example, if your camera is new, and the software company has not yet had time to prepare the correct profiles), you will need to configure the image parameters yourself.
It is important to know that absolutely all cameras shoot in RAW. It's just that saving in RAW is blocked for them, and the camera independently converts the signal to JPEG using its own algorithm known only to developers. Thus, JPEG is the final result of image processing by a camera, this process proceeds in several successive stages. This is done by the image processing system - this is what manufacturers now call a bunch of a special processor, additional microcircuits and software algorithms.
Knowing the love of photographers for shooting in JPEG, developers equip almost all modern cameras, including SLR and hybrid models, with advanced JPEG processing options. In Canon DSLRs, this is the Picture Style function, in Nikon DSLRs - Picture Control, in Sony DSLRs - image styles. In addition to several frequently used presets, it is possible to configure all the parameters yourself.
Of course, the processing power and intelligence of processing systems is constantly evolving. For example, the new processing system in Lumix cameras, called the Venus Engine VHD, and the image processing system in Casio cameras are equipped with three-core processors; Canon's DIGIC IV integrated circuit is equipped with fast memory and provides multi-channel reading from the sensor. The installation of these two processors in the Canon EOS 7D camera made it possible to achieve a data readout speed of 144 Mp / s.
Venus Engine FHD Tri-Core Processor
The software part is also important, and it is often based on an extensive database of typical shooting scenes. The camera compares the brightness composition of the shot against a database that already contains several thousand typical scenes and uses the optimal shooting settings. When recognizing a certain color in the frame, such as a blue sky, cameras increase the saturation of that particular blue color. It comes to the fact that cameras take into account the time zone, as well as the date and time of shooting. Thus, your camera can, for example, when shooting sunsets, automatically increase the saturation of reds and yellows, making the frame more “tasty” and the owner of the camera more joyful.
Unfortunately, often automatic programs fail or provide undesirable effects, greatly overestimating / underestimating the contrast or saturation of the image.
There are many situations in which shooting in JPEG is more appropriate. It makes sense to shoot in this format if you are sure that the photos do not need significant processing, when shooting large series (not the cheapest SLR models usually have a large RAW buffer, but compact cameras and budget SLR cameras traditionally have a RAW buffer). no more than 10 frames per burst), and also when the memory card is close to full.
What is the path from the moment of shooting to saving the image to the memory card?
The signal received from the sensor is interpolated to RGB, the processor performs color correction in accordance with the white balance settings, and then applies color correction based on the saturation, contrast and other color settings.
After that, the image processing system applies one of the special effects, if they have been selected by the user, for example, miniature effect, tilt-shift optics simulation, fisheye lens distortion. If special effects are not involved, then, on the contrary, software correction of vignetting, chromatic aberrations and optical distortions is carried out.
By the way, it was these software methods that made it possible to reduce the cost and size of such popular cameras as the Canon S90 and Lumix LX-3. In order to reduce the price of devices and their dimensions, manufacturing companies decided to abandon the complex optical design of lenses, which minimizes unwanted distortion.
Small dimensions and high image quality in the Canon S90
made possible by software correction of lens distortions
Finally, the camera applies the user-specified sharpening (sharpening) or blur settings, noise reduction settings at slow shutter speeds or high ISO, and only after that it converts the result into an 8-bit image, i.e. JPEG.
The saddest moment is that each stage of transformation leads to an irreversible loss of information in the photo. And if the pictures are of some value to you, then it is very stupid to give all these stages for processing by the camera.
Shooting in RAW format allows you to edit the image beyond the limits of the JPEG format. You can correct the exposure, white balance settings, sharpen and remove noise in the image after. Roughly speaking, all you need when shooting in RAW is to get a technically satisfactory shot. The rest can be improved.
RAW is a specific format that stores information about the signal taken directly from the light sensor without further processing by the camera. Data in a RAW container can be either uncompressed or compressed, with or without loss. However, even in the worst case of lossy compression, a RAW file contains significantly more information than a maximum quality JPEG image: 12- or 14-bit RAW files are much more tolerant of user processing than highly compressed 8-bit JPEGs.
Almost all manufacturers have their own RAW formats: Canon has *.acr and *.cr2, Sony - *.arw, *.srf, *.sr2, Nikon - *.nef, *.nrw, Pentax - *. ptx and *.pef, while Samsung has *.srw. Many of the new models use Adobe's open DNG (Digital Negative) format.
RAW is a kind of undeveloped digital image. Although it is recognized by many modern viewers (with or without special plug-ins), it is unsuitable for printing, and the file itself can be interpreted differently by different editors. For example, the same RAW when viewed in ACDSee and Picasa is significantly different.
The RAW format provides extensive post-processing capabilities within some limits without loss of quality. All those operations that the camera's processor does on its own will need to be done manually. There is only one reward here - much better and more effective photos.
However, RAW files take up significantly more space, they are 3-6 times larger than similar JPEG files, and some knowledge and processing time are required for conversion. Fortunately, the process is quite fun, and if you have a good RAW source, you will definitely be happy with the final result.
RAW conversion using the example of Adobe Lightroom
We will look at RAW conversion using Adobe Lightroom version 3.2 as an example. This program deserves attention for several reasons: it is quite easy to use, it is regularly updated and it supports almost all released cameras capable of outputting RAW files. The application is well integrated with the Photoshop family and is very functional, it is equally convenient when working with individual photos or with a large number of images.
Of the disadvantages of Lightroom, it is worth noting the exactingness of computer computing resources and the need to purchase it. The lack of a Russian-language interface also often scares off novice photographers. You can download the program on the official website of Adobe.
Despite a fairly large number of programs of this type, of which we would note the free RawTherapee, Apple Aperture, Phase One Capture One and Bibble Pro, the Lightroom application, in our opinion, is the golden mean.
All of these programs deserve attention, as they are stronger at certain points. For example, Aperture is very easy to use, while Capture One gives you the best color control.
In a loose translation, the word lightroom is interpreted as a place for developing pictures. In principle, the way it is - it is a convenient and powerful interface for developing RAW images and even working with JPEGs. Lightroom is a non-destructive image processing algorithm. Until the moment of conversion, the pictures entered into the program remain untouched, and a preview of the effects and settings is available from the application cache. Each file is assigned a detailed user-edited document, which is written into instructions and then executed when converting images from RAW.
This approach is quite convenient, and thanks to it, an infinite history of actions with a snapshot or snapshots is implemented.
The Lightroom program allows you to synchronize the selected settings for a group of photos, which is very convenient, for example, if you have taken many shots of the same type and want to transfer editing to several pictures at once.
The Library module contains a feature of the program for cataloging images. We will not focus on it. We only note that frames can be sorted by creation time, title, shooting coordinates, lens, focal length, etc. It is possible to create dynamic collections that are automatically replenished according to selected criteria, and much more.
The Library module is very powerful and convenient, as are the modules for preparing for printing (Print), creating a slide show (Slide-show) and publishing on the Internet (Web). Their description would be enough for another article, so we will pay attention to the most important module - the processing module (Develop).
At the very top is an image histogram by color and shooting information. The histogram can be moved with the mouse, its certain areas are responsible for controlling the exposure, dark and light areas of the frame. The histogram is quite clear and allows you to quickly correct frames that were initially not very successful.
It should be noted that all settings follow in a logical order, and if you do not quite understand what you want to improve in the picture, you can move through the settings from top to bottom.
Basic panel
White balance (white balance). In this window, the user can choose one of the white balance presets available in your camera, or entrust the choice of optimal settings to automatics, which provide surprisingly high-quality results. If you are not satisfied with the above settings, you can use the sliders Temperature (color temperature) and Tint.
The easiest and most convenient way to correctly set the white balance is to use the White Balance Selector tool (eyedropper), which can be used to specify a neutral tone in the image, such as a white or gray area. This shows a greatly enlarged area under the pipette so that you can more accurately select the correct neutral area on inhomogeneous textures.
exposure- one of the most important tools in the conversion. It is with its help that the primary “pulling” of details from incorrectly exposed images is performed.
This parameter sets the overall brightness of the image and its white point. If you hold down Alt while working, the areas of the frame that are knocked out into the light will be highlighted, i.e. they will not contain any information other than pure or almost pure white. If there is no artistic idea in this, the details lost in the lights should be tried to be returned. This applies to the bright white wedding dress as well as the texture of the clouds in the sky.
Tool Recovery called upon to help us. It removes overexposure exactly in the right places, almost without affecting the rest of the photo. If you have done color correction before, after applying Recovery, a light gray veil may appear in the picture or the colors may change slightly.
Tool fill light(fill light), on the contrary, increases the brightness of dark areas, while not affecting the light areas.
If Recovery can almost always be turned up to the maximum, then with Fill Light you should be careful - the unnatural brightness of dark areas can give even a good picture a flat and unnatural look. Both tools help to get into the histogram, and their judicious use can be considered a light variation of HDR, high dynamic range images.
Parameter Blacks sets the black point of the image.
Parameter brightness Many consider it a clone of the Fill Light tool, but this is not the case - it changes the brightness for the entire tonal range of your image.
Parameter contrast responsible for the contrast of the photo. Decreasing contrast makes tonal transitions softer, while increasing contrast makes them sharper.
Three interesting tools are in the subblock Presence(appearance), and changing them greatly changes the photo itself.
Tool Clarity affects the micro-contrast of the image, namely, the smoothness of contrast transitions, such as edges, contours of objects. Increasing the value of this setting creates the feeling of a sharp frame, while decreasing it creates the effect of a soft, almost out-of-focus image.
Tool Vibrance- this is perhaps one of the most effective, simple and beloved Lightroom tools. Following its success, Adobe implemented a similar tool in Photoshop CS4. Vibrance is a smart saturation enhancement feature. It does not affect already saturated colors, but selectively and non-linearly increases the saturation of dull shades. This approach avoids oversaturation, loss of shades and various artifacts in the image. In addition, Vibrance selectively enhances the saturation of skin tones and prevents people's skin from turning into a yellow-beige substance.
Tool Saturation increases the saturation of all colors at once. A slight increase in saturation along with the use of Vibrance will allow you to get even more juicy and vibrant colors. However, you should use Saturation carefully, you should not twist the parameter value to the maximum.
The next block is curves. The tone curve in Lightroom is used to adjust the contrast within a certain range of tones. Although it is a very powerful tool in terms of image enhancement, we won't go into it just yet because it's quite complex for beginners and the best way to learn it is just to experiment.
Color correction block
This block is designed to correct the hue, saturation and brightness (luminosity) of individual colors. Colors are initially divided into several shades: red, orange, yellow, green, aqua, cyan, violet, magenta.
On each options tab Hue(tone), Saturation(saturation), Luminance(brightness) there is a list with sliders to control each color. However, the most convenient way to selectively color correct is to use the dot tool. All you need to do is move it to the desired color in the frame, for example, to the sky, and move it up and down with the mouse button held down. The result of the application is immediately displayed on the photo, and this approach makes the method of working by eye very convenient.
In mode grayscale all colors in the picture can also be varied and use the dot tool.
Split Toning Block
This block will be of interest to people who want to achieve creative processing comparable to effects such as sepia or film color simulation. Here, separate toning with a certain color of light and dark areas of the image is available. We invite you to experiment with the block yourself.
Block Details(detail) includes two very important items - Sharpening and Noise Reduction.
Tool sharpening responsible for sharpening the image. It works on the same principle as the Unsharp Mask tool in Adobe Photoshop. This tab contains a 1:1 scale image fragment and algorithm settings - Amount, Radius, Detail, Masking.
Parameter Amount is responsible for the intensity of the sharpening algorithm.
Parameter Radius is responsible for the thickness of the area on the boundaries of objects in which the algorithm will work. For modern SLR cameras with a resolution above 10 megapixels, the recommended values are 0.8-1.
If your camera supports the RAW photo format and you want to know how it is better than the standard jpeg, then this article is written for you.
The main feature of the RAW format is that it records much more information about the picture than jpeg. And full information allows you to refine the picture, change the exposure, darken overexposure and brighten dark areas. And turn even the most ordinary picture into a masterpiece.
Two programs are mainly used for processing the RAW format: Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom. Newer versions of Photoshop have a built-in Camera Raw application for processing RAW format. the most powerful program specifically designed to sort and process entire albums of RAW photos.
In general, the editing window is almost the same. At the end of the article in video lesson You will be able to see how to process RAW photos using Adobe Photoshop.
We drag our RAW image into the Adobe Photoshop window. The Camera Raw add-on launches.
At the top of the window there are buttons such as: zoom, drag, crop. Adjustment brush, allows you to make corrections in certain areas of the photo.
The main adjustment window is displayed on the right. Here you can adjust the exposure, temperature, color, and brighten or darken the various tones of the photo. It is this panel that brings the photo to life. Properly selected settings allow you to "see" the details that are lost in a regular photograph taken in JPEG format.
At the top, there is a histogram of the image, and below it is additional information about the image.
The next window is called Tone Curve.
The next tab "Details" allows you to get rid of digital noise in the photo.
The next tab allows you to set the color tone for the shadows and highlights of the photo.
The Post-Crop Vignetting effect lets you darken or lighten the edges of a photo to draw more attention to the center.
Let's press the Y button below the picture and see how it was and how it has become. If the result suits, click save or open it in Photoshop for further refinement.
The finished result looks like this:
Next video lesson you will see how to edit raw photos in adobe photoshop:
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Processing RAW photos in Lightroom 6
"Raw" images, taken directly from the sensor of a digital camera, provide the photographer with the maximum opportunities for processing and retouching photographic images. Such RAW images contain all the information without compression or loss. This means that you can get better artistic photographs from them - with optimal color reproduction, well-developed details in highlights and shadows, and low digital noise. Therefore, tools for working with RAW today are resorted to not only by professionals, but also by simple photography lovers.
In fact, each digital camera generates RAW files with its own extension (eg CR2 or NEF), and RAW is just a generic name for these raw, "raw" images. For this reason, working with RAW requires special software that can recognize dozens of different formats from various camera models. Professional photographers dealing with large volumes of photographic images usually opt for commercial software products such as Adobe Lightroom or Capture One Pro, which have powerful features. However, it is hardly advisable for owners of simple amateur DSLRs to immediately buy a paid version of Lightroom, especially since such a pleasure is not cheap. They can recommend several good free editors that will help you quickly correct "raw" RAW images.
Convenient and simple photo editor that supports all major mobile and desktop platforms (Android, iOS, Windows, Mac). Able to work with RAW files, providing the user with almost all the functions necessary for processing "raw" images. First of all, this is basic editing with cropping photos, adjusting the tone and color gamut, adjusting exposure for various scenes (night, day, with flash, etc.), changing brightness and contrast. Next come the possibilities of applying a variety of effects (for example, lomo and vintage), as well as retouching portrait shots, including eliminating wrinkles and small defects, smoothing the skin, whitening teeth. A separate topic in Fotor is the creation of interesting collages using prepared templates or in a free, creative mode. The editor recognizes almost all major RAW formats of digital cameras, has a simple and intuitive interface.
You can download the program for free from the Windows store (for Win) or from iTunes (for Mac).
However, for those who want to get a really powerful and functional tool for processing RAW files, almost similar to the capabilities of Lightroom, you should pay attention to the Raw Therapee program. It supports most RAW formats that are created by various models of digital cameras. This is an editor with a very wide range of functions and filters, as well as a built-in photo manager that allows you to set a kind of image rating. A partial list of Raw Therapee features includes exposure compensation, tone mapping, color channel adjustment, chromatic aberration compensation, white balance. Batch file processing is supported. Any changes to the settings are instantly displayed in the preview window, and it is always possible to roll back to the previous stage of image processing due to the preservation of the history of operations performed. The Raw Therapee editor will definitely appeal to those users who are creative in the process of processing photo images.
Nice and lightweight UFRaw is based on the DCRaw plugin for the GIMP editor. Can run as a standalone application on Linux, Mac OS X or Windows. Supports a sufficient number of RAW formats from different camera models. When working with "raw" images, UFRaw allows you to adjust the white balance, adjust the exposure and color saturation, and eliminate lens defects (chromatic aberration and vignetting). Processed photos from RAW format can be easily converted to the more common TIFF, PPS or JPEG.
Darktable among free utilities in terms of functionality and settings can compete with the aforementioned Raw Therapee. The only drawback of the program is that it is "sharpened" for Linux and MacOS, there are currently no versions for use in the familiar Windows operating system. But this editor really has a lot of possibilities, because the program has a modular architecture. That is, by connecting additional modules, you can constantly expand the functionality of the application. Darktable offers the user complete color management, white balance adjustment, photo editing and transformation, elimination of digital noise and optical defects, the imposition of various artistic effects, as well as storage and cataloging of the home collection of images (you can rate and add tags to photos). As in Raw Therapee, when processing RAW files, all changes are saved, which means that you can return to the original image at any time.
Scarab Darkroom Converter with editing features works with RAW formats supported by popular cameras from Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung and Sony. Using a simple and intuitive interface, you can adjust the brightness and contrast of the image, change the color temperature, crop the photo as you wish. Scarab Darkroom comes with RGB histogram support for professional color grading. The program converts the images obtained after processing into two common formats - JPEG and TIFF. A good, free program for a novice photographer.
Instruction
Select and install a program to handle this type of file. It is worth noting that manufacturers usually complete the camera with their own raw converter. These programs are free, have good functionality, but do not allow you to achieve the maximum possible result. There are three titans in the software market: Adobe Lightroom, Apple Aperture, and Phase One Capture One. Among them there are subjective pros and cons, however, the first program is the most popular and convenient. Lightroom was conceived as an imitation of a dark room for developing negatives. It allows you to catalog information very simply, process large arrays of photographs at the same time and is very easy to use.
Copy the required raw- files on computer. Do not process from flash drives. This will significantly speed up the processing process. Disable programs that actively use the hard disk while working with the raw editor. Make sure there is free space. When working with a raw file, the program uses free hard disk space several times larger than its size.
Import files. In this case, you can choose in advance a number of options that will be applied to all photos. For example, if all imported photos are portraits, you can choose portrait, sharpened, or any other setting.
Frame the image, leaving the most important and interesting within the frame. Try not to include unnecessary things in the composition. Achieve a concise combination of elements.
The most basic thing in an image is exposure. Set the contrast and brightness to their default values if the program has increased them, and evaluate the histogram plot. Decrease or increase the exposure setting to position it so that the graph does not go beyond the edges.
Proceed to correct the resulting image. Experiment with contrast, fill light, . If the photo is in color, then use the white balance adjustment by setting the light temperature where the photo will have natural colors. You can apply masks to darken or lighten individual parts of a photo. Experiment with these settings to find the best combination.
The last stage of image processing are general filters. If necessary, increase the overall sharpness of the frame, reduce noise. If desired, you can use tinting or grain overlay.
Export the photo to a jpeg file with the quality set to the highest value. If necessary, you can use further processing in a graphical editor. However, this only makes sense when the image is heavily modified: plastic editing, collage, texture cloning, fixing the surface of the skin, hair, clothing folds, and other complex manipulations.
Useful advice
Most professional software allows you to use processing presets called presets. Most often they are free and easily found on the network. For example, if you need to process wedding photos, look for wedding presets for your program. Install them. When you run a processing preset, the program will correct all the parameters itself, and also leave you the opportunity to manually make adjustments to the result.
Sources:
- how to process in raw
With the transition of professional photographers to digital equipment, a lot has changed in the world of snapshots. Now you do not need to develop the film, creating special conditions for this - just connect the camera via a USB cable to your computer, and you can print. However, real pros never shoot in Jpeg format that is familiar and understandable for any computer. In the process of shooting, they save frames in a different format - Raw, which carries much more information and opens up wide opportunities for correction.
Difference between Raw and Jpeg
Translated from English raw "raw", which is very close to the truth. Jpeg contains ready-made information that the software automatically produces (enough to display the frame on a standard monitor). If you make a mistake and make the frame too dark or, conversely, overexposed, soapy or noisy, this cannot be corrected by any means. Raw, on the other hand, “forgives” incorrectly specified ones and allows you to do the primary processing using much more advanced programs. That is why the weight of a Raw file is disproportionately higher than that of a similar Jpeg frame.
Raw file content
1. Metadata: shooting conditions, set processing parameters, identification cameras;
2. Preview, most often in Jpeg format;
3. Data from the matrix.
Such a file weighs from 15 megabytes. Depending on the model, Raw may have the following extension: .nef, .cr2, .arw.
Raw Features
1. Correction of white balance;
2. Exposure correction;
3. Correction of distortion;
4. Removing the effect of chromatic aberration;
5. Saturation, sharpness and contrast.
However, one cannot hope that post-processing will improve everything. The frame must be clear initially, because no movement or defocusing can be corrected by the program.
Programs that work with Raw format
Each DSLR produces its own software that allows you to convert Raw to Jpeg or save it to, for example, Psd for further processing in Adobe Photoshop. No self-respecting person will work with the Jpeg file itself, since the quality of the photo will only deteriorate from time to time.
Many novice photographers prefer to use the free utilities that come with the camera itself. Canon has Raw Canon Utilities RAW Image Converter, Nikon has Nikon Imaging and Capture NX, Sony has Sony RAW Driver.
As for the universal software, the most popular is Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, it allows not only to correct the image itself, but also to prepare it for publication on a photo hosting for sale, having entered all the necessary metadata into it. Those who prefer to work immediately in Photoshop need to install the Adobe Camera RAW plugin, which "" this format into a language understandable to the editor. However, Lightroom and Photoshop have a single, but very significant drawback - their cost.
