about the author v
credits vii
foreword ix
acknowledgments xi
introduction xxi
Part I Capture Workflow 1
Chapter 1 What are Raw Files Really About? 3
A RAW Start 4
Why use RAW? 5
Understanding RAW 6
RAW Capabilities 7
Do not Shortchange RAW 8
What is 16-Bit all About? 10
Proprietary Formats 12
The Value of DNG 12
Does JPEG have a Place? 13
Q&A 16
Chapter 2 Shoot RAW Right from the Start 17
The Digital Darkroom 19
Understanding the Sensor 19
Dealing with Limitations 21
Exposure - More than Getting Brightness Correct 21
Reading the Histogram without Being an Engineer 24
Interpreting the Histogram 26
Looking at Histograms: Examples of Good and Bad Exposures 27
Perfect exposure with ideal histogram 27
Nice range of tones from left to right 28
Histogram has visual relationship to scene 28
Light tones kept in range 29
Black-and-white challenge 30
Restricted tonal range still needs good exposure 30
Poor exposure causes color problems 31
Bad light causes exposure problems. 31
Poor exposure causes background problems 32
Exposure for shadows washes out highlights 33
Filters are Still Necessary 33
Noise Raises its Ugly Head 35
Variations among Cameras 39
Q&A 41
Chapter 3 Color and RAW 43
Good RAW is Good Color 45
Adobe RGB versus sRGB 46
Color Space for the Purpose Needed 47
White Balance: A RAWWorkflow Issue 48
White balance in the camera 49
Auto white balance 50
Preset white balance 51
Custom white balance 52
Q&A 54
Chapter 4 What's New in Adobe Camera Raw? 55
Making RAW Processing More Photographic 56
Some Changes to the Interface 58
First tab changes - tonal adjustments 60
First tab changes - color adjustments 61
Tone Curve changes 62
Changes to the Detail tab 62
The new HSL and Grayscale tab 63
The new Split Toning tab 64
Presets 64
How Lightroom Affects Camera Raw 66
Q&A 68
Part II Camera Raw Workflow 69
Chapter 5 A Quick Look at Camera Raw Tools and Workflow 71
Finding Your RAW Photos 73
Bridge Capabilities 74
Opening Camera Raw 81
The Importance of Reset and Undo 83
Camera Raw in Six-Part Harmony 85
Camera Raw Toolbar 86
Preview Options 90
The Ideal Workflow 92
Base Settings 96
How to Approach Camera Raw 98
Monitor Calibration 99
Q&A 101
Chapter 6 Workflow Applied 103
What is Your Photo About? 105
Auto Settings 105
Workflow Options 106
Tonal Adjustments 110
Color Adjustments 121
Detail Adjustments - Sharpening 125
Detail Adjustments - Noise Reduction 130
Save Your Work 131
Setting Up Camera Raw for Your Camera 133
Q&A 136
Chapter 7 Advanced Tonal Control 137
Evaluate the Image 138
First Adjustments - Blacks and Highlights 140
Tone Curve Adjustments 142
Back to Basic and Clarity 145
Back to Color 146
Refining Color 149
Sharpening with the Detail Tab 151
Evaluate, and then Open or Save 155
Q&A 156
Chapter 8 White Balance Decisions 157
A Neutral Subject is Rarely Neutral 160
Wave tonalities interpreted and more161
Cloud, water, and rocks color 164
Dusk Light 165
Dusk interpreted 165
Dusk color revealed 170
Aquarium Greenery 173
Evaluating Color 180
Key colors 180
Critical colors 181
Memory colors 181
Colorcasts 181
Weak color 182
Color interactions 182
Creative colors 183
Q&A 184
Chapter 9 The Noise Problems No One Talks About 185
When Noise Becomes a Problem 187
Watching for Noise 188
Reducing Noise in Camera Raw 189
Working to Control the Noise 191
Looking deeper at noise 195
Readjusting the Image 197
Q & A 198
Chapter 10 Special Features of Camera Raw 199
Special Tabs of Camera Raw 200
Fixing Lens Problems 202
Correcting aberrations 203
Vignetting adjustments 205
Using the Retouch Tool 207
Using the Red Eye Removal Tool 209
Influencing Color Changes 209
Batch Processing 211
Simple batching renaming 212
Group processing 215
Duplicating Processing: Saving Settings and Presets 219
Q & A 222
Part III Making Camera Raw Work Harder for You 223
Chapter 11 Tough Decisions 225
Soft Colors 226
No harsh contrasts 227
Adjusting with soft in mind 229
Color enhancement 232
The Detail tab 232
Backlit Contrast 235
Core decisions 236
Color enhancement 240
Not the Normal Light 243
Color or tonalities first? 243
Night tone interpretation 246
Adjusting for the night 247
Crop for evaluation 248
Night noise 249
Final check 251
Q & A 252
Chapter 12 Black-and-White Processing 253
Camera Raw or Photoshop for Black-and-White 254
Camera Raw does Black-and-White Right 256
How to Think Black-and-White 259
Shooting for Black-and-White 261
Converting to Grayscale 262
Optimum use of Color Sliders 266
Using Split Toning 267
Q & A 270
Chapter 13 Double Processing for Exposure 271
One Size May Not Fit All 273
Bright sky, dark ground 273
Bringing out the scene 274
Processing the Bright Areas 275
Processing the Dark Areas 280
The Merging Process 286
Putting two images into one 287
Small area changes 292
Process for the Main Photo 293
Process for the detail 296
Put them together again 298
Double Processing for Color and Tonal Range Techniques 301
Two-Shot Processing 302
Into Camera Raw 303
Making the Photo Work 310
Q&A 316
Chapter 14 Post Camera Raw Processing 317
Ansel Adams and Image Processing 319
What's a good image, anyway? 320
Expressing what you want 320
Interpreting an Image 322
Sharpening 332
Q & A 336
Appendix A Alternatives to Camera Raw 337
Why Use Other Programs? 338
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom or Apple Aperture versus Camera Raw 339
Lightroom 339
Aperture 339
Camera-Specific RAW Converters 340
Canon ZoomBrowser EX and Digital Photo Professional 340
Nikon Capture 340
Olympus Studio 341
Pentax Photo Browser/Laboratory 341
Sigma Photo Pro 341
Sony RAW Software 342
Independent RAW Converters 342
DxO RAW Engine 342
Phase One Capture One 342
Photoshop Elements 343
Pixmantec RawShooter 343
Pro Glossary 345
Index 351
