Adobe

Of course, when it comes to photo editing, we have to start Adobe, the leader in the industry in terms of the number of users, name recognition, and overall company value.

Adobe is constantly updating its software and adding features based on AI to Photoshop and Lightroom.  For example, they added a Denoise features that automatically removes noise/grain from images shot at high ISOs.  This new feature goes beyond the previous, simple tools, and creates a whole new raw DNG file.  They also added the ability to make precise edits to clothing and facial hair, as well as new AI mask categories (eyes, eyebrows, lips, hair, etc) for automatically generating a mask in any portrait. These are just a few of the features powered by AI in the Adobe ecosystem.

When it comes to photo editing software, the question, for most photographers, is not whether you should use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, but, what else should you add on top of Adobe Lightroom to help your workflow? In other words, most photographers’ workflows will begin and end in Lightroom. Beyond that, however, you may add additional apps, extensions, or plugins.

Luminar Neo

Luminar Neo is a standalone photo editing software application developed by Skylum, a Ukrainian company. Luminar NEO is the newest version in their long line of capable software; this one adds the power of AI to almost every feature. Primarily, Luminar Neo includes what they call Enhance AI, which has two components, Sky Enhancer AI and Accent AI.  Accent AI balances hue, saturation, highlights, contrast, and details, while Sky Enhancer AI automatically detects and enhances the skies in a photo.

You might consider Luminar NEO if you’re a landscape photographer, a photographer who edits each image individually, or a photographer with a bold and vibrant style of photo editing.  You could also consider Luminar NEO if you don’t like the pricing structure of Adobe and you’re looking for Adobe alternatives, however, the overall workflow is more convenient in Lightroom.

Impossible Things

Impossible Things is a new AI Photo Editor from the creators of DVLOP and SLR Lounge.  The AI works inside Adobe Lightroom, automatically adjusting 38 different settings for each image to arrive at a final result.

In addition to its advanced capabilities, Impossible Things is the only AI editing solution that natively works with Lightroom Presets, allowing it to adjust itself situationally without requiring extra training or uploading new catalogs to a cloud or server. For photographers who don’t have their own presets, Impossible Things provides an expanding collection of “cloud styles” that offer instant access to a range of popular looks. (DVLOP is known for its world-class development of “looks” that range from vibrant & punchy to muted, pastel colors, as well as accurate film emulation.)

The AI also incorporates camera profiles and features a patent-pending “Lighting Condition Based Development” system that adapts image color, contrast, and dynamic range to specific lighting conditions.

Retouch4me

Retouch4me specializes in creating A.I. powered photo retouching tools, which you can use as standalone apps or also as plug-ins for Photoshop. Portrait photographers, in particular, will appreciate Retouch4me’s current selection of AI plugins. Among the collection, you’ll find specialized plugins for masking and healing skin, dodging and burning, smoothing fabric, cleaning up backdrops, and color matching, among others.

Check out the video below to see how SLR Lounge Co-Founder Pye Jirsa made the plug-ins a regular part of his post-production workflow.

These AI plugins are available for individual purchase (prices range from $124-$149), but they can be stacked together. Retouch4me delivers on quality and the time saved from using their tools adds immediate value. After all, the real benefit of integrating AI tools like this into your workflow is to get professional-quality results and streamline your workflow to make time for other, non-editing tasks. It’s worth noting that you can try each plugin for free before you purchase it (and pick up a free plugin for frequency separation).

Special Offer: 20% Off for the SLR Lounge Community

SLR Lounge community members can save 20% on any or all of Retouch4me’s plugins. Just use the following code during checkout: SLRLounge20

Topaz Studio

Topaz Labs is a software company that creates powerful and easy-to-use editing tools.  Topaz offers three primary pieces of software that use AI for more technical tasks:

• Topaz DeNoise AI – Eliminate noise while recovering detail in high-ISO and low light images.
• Topaz Sharpen AI – Sharpen images without artifacts to help with shake reduction, focus correction, and blur removal.
• Topaz Gigapixel AI – Get better photo quality by enhancing the detail and upscaling for printing, cropping, restoration and more.

You can purchase any of these applications separately and integrate them into your Lightroom workflow, or you can purchase Topaz Photo AI, which offers a combination of all three applications. Topaz Photo AI offers slightly less advanced tools than the individual applications.

Topaz is a great tool to have in your software lineup, as it can help you save photos that might otherwise be discarded. On the one hand, things like noise, sharpening, and enlargement all lend themselves very well to being assisted by AI. On the other hand, of course, these aren’t the artistic aspects of photography itself, so they are definitely meant to just complement your main creative workflow.

Aftershoot

Aftershoot CULL is a feature that enables you to sort through each pose, variation, or group of people in a photo shoot and select the best image. You can set your own preferences and determine the “keepers” based on factors such as image sharpness or the subject’s smile. You can also adjust the number of keepers for each pose, selecting only a few images based on specific criteria.

Aftershoot EDITS is another feature that allows you to apply your own personal style of color correction and artistic editing to your photos. It learns from your existing work and can automatically perform technical corrections such as straightening and cropping. You can also use your own creative profiles to switch up your editing style.

See our full Aftershoot Review here.

ACDSee

ACDSee, which has been in existence since the early days of digital photography, is comparable to Adobe in terms of its longevity. Although it is not as well-known, the company’s Photo Studio Ultimate software for photo workflow and editing has garnered a loyal following among users who prefer it over Lightroom.

ACDSee’s Photo Studio Ultimate 2023 has been updated with an emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, including a fresh Face Edit feature and subject removal, aligning it more closely with rival offerings from Adobe, Capture One, and Skylum.  The latest version of the app, released in 2023, features layer-editing capabilities similar to Photoshop, and some of its tools, such as Light EQ adjusters, are particularly effective.

However, it lags behind top competitors in areas such as initial raw camera file conversion quality, import speed, the effectiveness of some corrections, and interface usability. For these reasons, our Editors’ Choice photo workflow app, Adobe Lightroom Classic, is recommended for those with higher volume workflows.

Spyne

Spyne AI is an app that takes advantage of AI’s powerful ability to identify mechanical things, cars in this case. Entirely dedicated to auto vehicle photo editing, Spyne allows users to create a “Virtual Car Studio”, putting your car on a showroom floor, and making adjustments such as controlling tint on windows.

The app offers over 100 backgrounds, from showrooms to on-location photo scenes, and a scalable (high-volume) workflow. Last but not least, you can use their technology to turn your own car

Remove.bg

With a straightforward interface, Remove.bg allows you to easily eliminate the background of an uploaded image. Within moments, Remove.bg will return the image without the background.

The standard definition image is available for free download, but higher resolutions require credits, which must be purchased.  Remove.bg also provides options to replace the background with a new one. You can choose from the given backgrounds or upload your own. If you prefer, you can blur the background of the image instead of removing it.

While Remove.bg is free to use, there are limitations. The tool allows unlimited low-quality versions of an image for free. Additionally, creating a free account enables you to download one high-quality image for free.  To access further features, payment is required. As you purchase more image credits, the cost per credit decreases. If you plan to use Remove.bg programmatically, you must pay for API calls too.

autoRetouch

This AI-powered retouching software is made for all types of product photographers, it offers a host of features that may be attractive to e-commerce type businesses.

In addition to basic tools such as automatically removing and changing subject backgrounds, autoRetuoch offers tools such as various cropping, alignment, and border padding tools. Also, besides simple portrait retouching and background “cleanup” tools, there are advanced tools  for product photographers such as extracting a fabric swatch from clothing photos, and generating/exporting different vector paths.

Pixlr

Pixlr is a photo editing software that comes in both free and paid versions. The free version includes standard photo editing features such as background removal (with a separate app available), filters, effects, animations, and collage creation.

The paid version provides access to a vast selection of photo overlays, stickers, assets, exclusive editing tools, and tutorials. Additionally, Pixlr allows users to open images from cloud storage platforms like Google Drive and Dropbox, making it a preferred choice for professionals who need to make quick and simple edits.

Capture One

Capture One is the biggest rival to Adobe Lightroom, because it too offers a catalog system. This means Capture One is capable of a start-to-finish workflow, in addition to special editing tools.

Catering primarily to all types of portrait photographers, the software’s Smart Adjustments tool uses AI to apply exposure and white balance corrections to any photo with a face in it. Of course, Capture One also offers some highly useful tools that all types of photographers will appreciate, and is known for film-like colors that portrait and landscape photographers alike appreciate.

Other AI Photo Editing

Below are other AI Photo Editing options to consider and research.  As we explore each of the companies mentioned below, we’ll expand on them and update this article.

• Movavi Picverse
• PortraitPro 23
• Imagen AI
• Leawo PhotoIns
• Lunacy
• Quik.ai
• Claid.ai
• Slazzer
• Prisma
• Lensa

Conclusion – AI Photo Editing Is Getting Even Better!

As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, it is clear that AI photo editing is the future. What is possible now will seem very common in a few years or less! Thanks to its ability to save time and improve results, AI is poised to revolutionize the world of photography. We created this article to help you understand and utilize this powerful tool to your advantage! Be sure to check back regularly for news about improvements and new opportunities.

Profiles are essentially interpretations of the data in a raw file used for creative purposes. We know that raw files are essentially a collection of ingredients of a recipe that is an image, and each processor will therefore read/mix those ingredients/data a bit differently giving a different look – hence your images look different in Adobe systems as they will in Capture One.

Similarly, each camera will record the data differently, and Profiles are variants of all of this, and all of the Adobe raw profiles were created with the intention of providing a unified look and feel, regardless of which camera was used. This can be incredibly helpful when upgrading from one camera to another, and if you’re using multiple cameras for the same shoot

Here’s how Adobe describes Profiles:

In photography and digital imaging, the term “profile” can mean many different things. There are color profiles, display profiles, printer profiles, working profiles, and so on. Within ACR and Lightroom, a profile is used to render your photograph, converting it from raw camera information into the colors and tones that we see.

For raw photographs, we build profiles for nearly every camera make and model we support (our DNG format enables camera manufacturers to build their own profiles). Our profiles incorporate deep imaging science and take into consideration the colors of the filters used on top of the sensors (the array of red, green, and blue filters that help an otherwise colorblind sensor “see” the colorful world around us), the specific sensitivity of the sensor used, the sensor’s characteristics in different lighting conditions and with different ISO values to interpret the digital 1s and 0s into images inside Adobe photography products.

And here’s a look at all the new profiles:

Adobe Color was designed to greatly improve the look and rendering of warm tones, improving the transitions between certain color ranges, and slightly increasing the starting contrast of your photos. Since Adobe Color is the new default (but only for newly imported photos), it was designed to work on the widest range of photos and ensures that regardless of the subject, your photo will look great.

Adobe Monochrome has been carefully tuned to be a great starting point for any black and white photograph, resulting in better tonal separation and contrast than photos that started off in Adobe Standard and were converted into black and white.

Adobe Portrait is optimized for all skin tones, providing more control and better reproduction of skin tones. With less contrast and saturation applied to skin tones throughout the photo, you get more control and precision for critical portraiture.

Adobe Landscape, as the name implies, was designed for landscape photos, with more vibrant skies and foliage tones.

Adobe Neutral provides a starting point with a very low amount of contrast, useful for photos where you want the most control or that have very difficult tonal ranges.

Adobe Vivid provides a punchy, saturated starting point.

Now, Profiles don’t really work the same way for non-raw image formats because in those files the data has been processed already, though you can still apply these for a specific look should you want to.

To further expand the ability to change looks and get creative, Adobe has added the inclusion of a 3D Lookup Tables that can be included within a profile which should allow for editing options and precision beyond what were previously possible in Lightroom. And there’s also a new ‘Amount’ slider allowing easy strength control.

Profiles, however, should not be confused with Presets. Presets are a collection of alterations to be made after an image is processed and have nothing to do with representing camera characteristics under normal conditions as Profiles are meant to.

You can check out some how-to videos below which will show you the ways in which to use Profiles in the various applications within the Adobe ecosystem.

If you made it this far and this is up your alley, check out the Lightroom Workshop if you want to make the most of your investment and time and post processing – there is simply nothing better, and of course SLR Lounge Premium members get that workshop and all the rest

Believe it or not, whether you use Bridge, Photoshop, or Lightroom, you are still using Camera Raw!

What Is Adobe Camera Raw?

Adobe Camera Raw is the “engine under the hood” that does raw image editing for all Adobe applications that are able to read raw files. (A raw file such as Nikon’s .NEF, Canon’s .CR2, or Sony’s .ARW.) Mainly, this is Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Bridge which usually comes with Photoshop.

This means that whether you edit a raw photo in Lightroom, Bridge, or Photoshop, the editing parameters (sliders) such as exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows etc. are going to all be literally identical, and so will the way your image looks when processed with those sliders.

(Unless you’re using an extremely old version of Adobe Camera Raw. See “Adobe Process Version” for more information!)

Lightroom VS Bridge?

If you open Adobe Bridge and Adobe Lightroom and compare their basic interface, they can actually look pretty similar. Is there any real difference between Camera Raw VS Lightroom, then, if Camera Raw editing itself is the same between them?

Camera Raw VS Lightroom: Browser VS Catalog

The main difference between Lightroom and Bridge, or any application that gives you access to Camera Raw outside of Lightroom, is the way they allow you to view your images:  Bridge is basically just Adobe’s version of a file browser, with Camera Raw built-in. Lightroom, on the other hand, is a catalog system that requires every raw (also JPG, TIF, PSD) photo to be imported before it can be viewed or edited with the Camera Raw engine.

In Bridge, you are simply browsing your entire hard drive like any other file browser application. (Apple’s Finder, Windows Explorer, and others) When you double-click on a raw photo in Bridge, it brings up the Adobe Camera Raw interface.

QUICK TIP: Both Adobe Bridge and Photoshop have the Camera Raw interface built-in, so you can actually edit raw photos entirely from Bridge if you don’t need Photoshop for a certain image, thus avoiding “bogging down” your computer by having both applications open at once. (Or, you can use both Bridge and Photoshop to open two windows of ACR at once if you ever need to!)

To set this up, simply go into Bridge’s main preferences area, (Not the Camera Raw Preferences, which affect both Bridge and Photoshop) …and check the box titled “Double-Click Edits Camera Raw Settings in Bridge”

Alternately, you can simply right-click any raw, TIF, or JPG photo in Bridge (and Photoshop), and select “Open in Camera Raw”.

QUICK TIP: If you don’t see the “Open in Camera Raw” option when right-clicking a JPG or TIF file, JPG or TIF support may be disabled. To enable, go into the Camera Raw preferences panel, (which will affect both Bridge and Photoshop!) …and towards the bottom set your desired preference:

Different Ways To Access The Camera Raw Interface

Unlike Bridge and Photoshop, Lightroom does not always simply “browse your hard drive”. To view or edit images in Lightroom, you must first import them into a Lightroom catalog.

As you import photos, you can either tell Lightroom to actually move the raw files to a new folder on your hard drive, or you can leave the raw files where they are, and Lightroom will simply “reference” them at their current location. More on that later.

advantages of Creating a Lightroom Catalog

Of course, you’re wondering if it’s all the same Camera Raw editing, should I just pick one program and never worry about the other?

Personally, I access the Camera Raw interface through Photoshop, Bridge, and Lightroom.

One main advantage is that the catalog file you create is a single file, which will store all of your edits, (the hours, days, weeks, months, even years of hard work!) …all in one place.  So as long as you don’t delete that catalog file, you have quick access to at least a preview of that image, and all the hard work you put into it.

And you can easily copy the LRCAT file to create a backup of your hard work, of course!

Lightroom’s newer versions also offer a feature that provides even more versatility: if you render “Smart Previews”, you can actually make Camera Raw adjustments to images that aren’t even on your computer anymore! For example if you are traveling for an extended period and have to back up your raw images directly to external hard drives, yet  you’d still like to be able to edit the raw photos while traveling, (and not have to worry about leaving an external drive plugged in at all times) …just render Smart Previews, and voila!

Of course, the LRCAT file itself needs to be on the laptop, and the raw photos need to be manually downloaded to the external hard drive, then added to the Lightroom Catalog using the “Add” option, not “Copy “or “Move”.

Oppositely, with Bridge and ACR, your editing is stored (by default) as XMP sidecar files. If you accidentally delete or move the .XMP file, your image will appear un-edited the next time you open it in Camera Raw.

What does it all boil down to? This: Adobe Bridge is built for versatility and universal access, while Lightroom is built as a long-term workflow tool for both editing, cataloging, and archiving lots of photos all in the same place.

drawbacks of a Lightroom catalog

Unfortunately, the catalog concept can also be a drawback.  If a raw file is ever deleted or moved in another application such as Windows Explorer or Apple Finder, Lightroom will panic and display an error message saying it has lost track of the image(s).

Of course, Lightroom makes it easy for you to “hunt down” any missing files or folders, and re-synchronize them with the Lightroom Catalog File, so this is less of a problem for folks who manage their files from within Lightroom anyways. (If you move a folder or image within Lightroom, it will actually move it, and continue to remember where it is.)

However, what if your Lightroom LRCAT file is accidentally deleted, or becomes corrupted? All of your hard work is lost, even though your raw photos may not be. This might mean re-doing just a couple hours of color-correction, or it might mean the total loss of all your camera raw adjustments from the last month, year, or more! For this reason, Lightroom does make it easy to backup the LRCAT file. I have Lightroom set to ask me if I want to backup the LRCAT file every single time I close Lightroom. Furthermore, I back up those LRCAT files to Dropbox every now and then.

Oppositely, the advantage of Bridge is that you can do whatever you want to your folders, in whatever program you want, and Bridge doesn’t care. Just browse your hard drive in Bridge, and find the folder you want!

Also, the edits that you make in Camera Raw will be saved in .XMP files that stay with your .NEF or .ARW etc. files, so it won’t matter if you double-click on a raw photo in Adobe Bridge, double-click on it in Explorer / Finder, or open it manually through Photoshop directly: You’ll always have your edits associated with that file. This can offer a huge advantage for larger teams that use multiple computers and have multiple people working, all needing to access the same files or simply wanting to transfer files through various stages of a complex workflow. In fact, you can drag-and-drop from Bridge to other applications, such as web-based drag-and-drop upload tools.

Camera Raw Presets and Lightroom Presets

One question that also gets asked often is, what about using presets in Camera Raw VS Lightroom?

Since almost the entire editing interface is identical between Lightroom and Camera Raw, technically a preset could also be identical. A Lightroom Preset and a Camera Raw preset that perform the same adjustments, (+100 contrast, for example) would have the same effect on an image.

Unfortunately, however, Lightroom and Camera Raw store presets in a completely different way. Camera Raw stores preset as standard XMP files, whereas Lightroom stores presets as its own proprietary file, .LRTEMPLATE. For this reason, converting” presets between one application and the other is an extremely tedious, time-consuming process that involves copying each preset setting by setting. (And there are 80-100 different sliders / adjustments available in Camera Raw!)

[Recommended Purchase: SLR Lounge Lightroom Preset System, SLR Lounge Camera Raw Preset System]

ACR Editing of Raw Files Even When They Are In a PSD

One great feature of Photoshop (recent versions, at least) is the ability to keep a raw file raw, even when it becomes a part of a multi-layer PSD or TIF file. Yes, that’s right, you can still go back and change your edits, at the Camera Raw level, even after you’ve gone into Photoshop!

The secret to this trick is to open the raw files from Lightroom or Camera Raw as a Smart Object, and then ensure they stay as a smart object throughout the rest of the editing process. Unfortunately, that means no warping or cloning etc. of the layer as well as a few other things. However, for simple layer masking and other basic Photoshop edits, this is still a very useful trick.

In Camera Raw, hold down the “Shift” key and the “Open Image” button turns into “Open Object”

In Lightroom, right-click an image and select “Edit In > Open as Smart Object in Photoshop”.

camera raw vs lightroom | batch Raw Exporting

Both Camera Raw and Lightroom allow you to crank the ACR processing engine into full gear, and perform numerous image exports at once. Simply edit all the raw images for your recent job or adventure, and then open the respective export/batch edit interfaces. Set your output settings, and let ACR / Lightroom go to work!

QUICK TIP: Bridge is so user-friendly, it will display a warning if Bridge is closed while an export is still active; if you want to it can  leave this window open until the export is complete:

Either way, whether you’re working in Bridge or Lightroom, the bottom line is that if you have thousands of photos to edit, you want to be working in the Camera Raw environment one way or another, instead of opening every single photo in Photoshop. For basic color correction, Camera Raw is where most photographers want to be doing the vast majority of their work.

The most important thing is that Camera Raw edits in any application are always non-destructive, and backing up all your hard work can be both effortless, and detached from the backing up of your entire folder of raw photos. With most Camera Raw workflows, you need only back up your actual raw images twice; once when you first download them, (but to two or three different backups, not just one!) …and once again after you’ve exported the raw photos.

The rest of the time, simply make sure to back up your Lightroom Catalog periodically, and you should be fine! In conclusion, having a solid understanding of the similarities and differences between the Camera Raw and Bridge interfaces and the Lightroom environment, especially the “Develop” interface, is extremely useful for any photographer looking to get the most out of their raw photos in Adobe.

[RELATED: Highlights vs. Whites | What’s The Difference & When To Use Which?]

Lightroom

Snapshots is a tab you’ll find within the Develop Module, and can be somewhat associated with the History tab, which is, no doubt, something you’re all aware of. Much like in Photoshop, the History in Lightroom is a trail of digital footprints of processes you’ve done to your image, and each of those steps can be retraced and reverted to.

Alone, it’s already a wonderful thing to have so, with but a click of the mouse, you can return to a preferred image some 10 processes ago. However, adjustments in Lightroom can be fast and frequent, and the history simply displays a change with rather banal notification that will say something like, “Update Highlights Adjustment,” or “Add Graduated Filter.” This doesn’t exactly tell you much when you’ve got a list of changes as long as The Orient Express. So what to do? Well, use Snapshots. Adobe describes Snapshots as the following:

Snapshots are stored renditions of an image that contain the complete set of edits made up until the time the snapshot is created. By creating snapshots of an image at various times during the editing process, you can easily compare the effects of the adjustments you make. You can also return to an earlier state if you want to use it at another time. Another benefit of snapshots is that you can work from multiple versions of an image without having to duplicate the original.

If that doesn’t sit well, think of a Snapshot as taking one of those digital footprints, digging it up and storing it in your closet for you to go back to easily. They allow you to quickly reference a version of your image with edits, that you store to go back to whenever. Simply, when you’ve come to a point in your developing where you feel you like the image, Snapshot it, then you can continue to work on it, and if 20 moves later you don’t like what you’ve done, you can revert to the point you liked and saved as a Snapshot. It also makes comparisons a breeze.

Before I learned to use Snapshot, I would often make Virtual Copies of the same file and edit it, but this means I don’t always have to, and it doesn’t duplicate any images either so there’s no computer power penalty. And it’s dead easy to make one, as you simply make the edits you like, click the little add sign on the Snapshots bar, and a dialogue box will come up for you to rename your Snapshot. It works alphabetically so you may want to keep that in mind, but LR as a default gives you the date and time the edit, and I tend to just use that.

In this example, I used this image of my little cousin in the living room, edited it, applied a b&w preset and liked it, made a snapshot of it, then made some other changes. To go back to it, all it takes is a single click within the Snapshot bar.

Image with B&W and some other adjustments, saved as Snapshot

Adobe Camera Raw

It’s quite universally understood at this time that Adobe Camera Raw is essentially an engine that does the raw conversion within Lightroom – which in itself isn’t necessarily a raw processor. Suffice to say, the operations between Lightroom and ACR can be similar and the image rendering the same. I should come as no surprise then that Snapshots is a feature that they both utilize. They don’t, however, work precisely the same way, and given that ACR –unlike Lightroom– is not an asset manager the, handling Snapshots within it is a little less forgiving.

Once you begin making your adjustments and then ‘taking’ Snapshots of the various stages of your edit, you’ll notice them build up in list form that you can alter: swap, delete, rename, etc. And when you are ready to open the file in Photoshop I suggest opening your image as a Smart Object. When you do you you’ll be able to click the file and get back to your Snapshot options within ACR. This is not an option if you do not open as a Smart Object.

When using Snapshots within ACR, be aware that you must actually be using a raw file and not opening up a JPEG or any other filetype using the ACR filter from within Photoshop. The file must be opened with ACR first, and ideally you’ll want to make all the variant snapshots you like from that first opening. I say that because should you re-open the Smart Object (as suggested above) in ACR and see the Snapshot list, you actually won’t be able to save anymore snapshots that what you did originally. This is something to always be aware of, so you don’t spend a lot of time adjusting only to lose those changes when you switch back into Photoshop.

I’d be remiss not to mention, however, that this is the case if you’re storing your ACR settings data in an XMP sidecar file. You can choose to store your data in the Camera Raw Database, and it’s possible that this changes the dynamic. As per Adobe, “This database is indexed by file content, so the image retains camera raw settings even if the camera raw image file is moved or renamed.”

All that said, however, it should be quite obvious as to the benefits of using Snapshots whether in LR or ACR, and I hope this serves you well. If you made it this far and this is up your alley, check out the Lightroom Workshop if you want to make the most of your investment and time – there is simply nothing better, and of course SLR Lounge Premium members get that workshop and all the rest.

Some go directly into LR and others, like myself, create a Folder on my drive in which the images will go in, and the .LRCAT file, since I have a different catalog per shoot. Now, what’s consistent here is that Lightroom is the first application your images find themselves. From there, we’ll browse, cull and, edit and if we come upon an image that requires retouching beyond the scope of Lightroom, then we right click and ‘Edit In’ Photoshop etcetera. That keeps things organized, and any adjustments we make in Photoshop then get carried back into LR.

However, there may be instances where you will work on an image in Photoshop or Camera Raw (maybe you have some great presets or something) before you later import it and the bulk into Lightroom. Perhaps you don’t have the time to wait for LR to build the full previews, you typically do upon import, or maybe a client needs an image immediately, or maybe you’re just going back into old files that aren’t in any LR catalogue to pick one out to edit. Whatever the reason, if you’ve made some changes in Camera Raw and then later bring those edited files into LR, you’ll want those same changes carried over, and it’s quite simple how.

Seeing Your Edits From Camera Raw When You Open The Image In Lightroom

When you edit in Camera Raw, it typically will have those changes saved within an XMP file that is associated with that image. That file is just a little footprint of the changes done to the image, and if you were to delete it and click on the same image, the adjustments wouldn’t be there. When it’s created, it’s typically created and organized right with your raw file so it shouldn’t be hard to find. That said, you can choose within Camera Raw whether you want to use the XMP file method or have those changes saved in a central database, but more often than not, people use the XMP file.

If you want LR to show those same edits when you eventually put them in, just ensure that file is within the same folder as the image file that’s being ‘imported’ or ‘added’ to Lightroom. You will see all your changes will have carried over as the XMP file data will have been applied.

Now, if you’ve made your edits in CR and hit ‘Done’, the XMP file will be created but your Raw file will be left saved as it was originally. For example, if you open that file in Apple’s Preview, you won’t see the adjustments because it doesn’t associate the XMP file with the Raw. As such, should you delete the XMP file, your changes will have gone. If you want to see the adjustments, you’ll have to hit ‘Open Image’ and save it as another file type, like DNG, TIFF, PSD, or whatever.

On a side note (sort of), since we do a lot of this moving around of images between ACR, Photoshop, LR, we can end up with various file types in one catalogue. If you are working in LR and you want to see all the files that you’ve worked on in ACR or Photoshop, just filter it through the metadata. So within the Library module, click on Metadata and ‘Add Column’ (see above image) and select ‘File Type’. This way, you can see any other file types stored, such as in this case out of 149 images only 1 have I worked on in Photoshop. It’s handy to see what I can delete or may want to keep.

[REWIND: HOW TO SET-UP YOUR WACOM INTUOS PEN TABLET FOR LIGHTROOM]

This is certainly not an issue for everyone, but certainly frustrating for some, and it’s good information to have in case.

If you really do and want to absorb lots of this kind of information, I highly suggest you take a look at our Lightroom Organization & Workflow workshops and Premium SLRL Members get access to it all (all new courses we release, along with more direct access to the SLRL Staff). They’ll get you up to speed, and fast, allowing you to get the most out of this program we spend so much time with.

*This article has been updated and originally posted in January 2016.

If you are in that camp, that wants to have your Lightroom Presets follow you around in your post production world and into Photoshop, the ability to do it on your own already exists, and it doesn’t require copying over individual settings, and we’ve outlined exactly how to do so in this article.

If, however, you’re pressed for time, or have hundreds to get through, or perhaps you just couldn’t be arsed to do it and your time is more valuable, then there’s not a basic app that will do it automatically for you with all the difficulty of drag-and-drop. It’s called Preset Brewery, by Adam Barton.

What it does is as simple and focused as described; just converts Lightroom preset files to Camera Raw preset files. There are no frills and no fuss, just a simple interface as a means to and end, and that’s actually refreshing.

Why Would You Wants This?

Well, the obvious answer is that it lets you apply the same presets you’ve come to love in Lightroom in Photoshop and do it wish absolute ease, but there’s more to it. One of the limitations with Lightroom that you don’t have with more sophisticated applications like Photoshop or Capture One is the ability to use layers. Using your presets from Lightroom in Photoshop will allow you to use the presets as a layer, and then layers more presets on top of that should you wish you.

In addition (and probably more importantly) the ability to use presets as layers allows you to adjust the strength of presets via the opacity slider, a feature Lightroom is sorely missing. This means you can really adjust your image to look exactly how you like with ease.

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Is there a way around it in Lightroom? Sure, and you can check this article for how to use a slider to adjust the overall strength of a preset in Lightroom, but it’s not natively something the application does.

And then of course, if you are a Photoshop user who doesn’t have Lightroom (less common these days), then you’re able to still take advantage of all the brilliant Lightroom Presets on the market. And if you’re looking for a great set of presets, ourSLR Lounge Preset System is one of the most robust and favored systems out there.

You can get Preset Brewery for $7.90 as a one-time purchase.

*Only available for Macs.

[REWIND: Shoot Film Styles On Your Nikon In-Camera, For Free]

Camera Calibration Panel

The Camera Calibration tab/panel provides controls that are meant to be used to micro-adjust and tune Camera Raw’s color interpretation for a particular camera/image. That’s it in a nutshell.

But of course, there’s more nuance to it and for various purposes. As the name suggests it’s focused originally around calibrating your raw converter to ensure your images look within the software as they do out of the camera. Adobe offers a basic default setting called ‘Adobe Standard’ which can look different, and thus offers profile options to emulate camera settings.

For some people this really matters, and for others like myself, we just don’t care for the most part with most cameras because the interpretation on the rear LCD or EVF is typically inaccurate anyway, and regardless images would often need some adjustment to suit. In any case, within the Profile drop-down menu you may find various options depending on the camera you were using.

Note that if you’re woking on a JPEG, TIFF, PSD or something other than raw the only option you’ll be presented with is ‘embedded’ (see above). If you’re within a raw image is when you should see other options (below). Some of those options will be built into the camera, and others, as you can see with my example below, will reflect any profiles you may have loaded on yourself; you can buy these or download them free. What you’re seeing here are some film emulations I’ve loaded onto a Nikon. If you want to learn how to do that see here.

Moving on…

Since the rest of the panel is primarily a collection of sliders to adjust hue and saturation it is often confused as a panel that can be bypassed by using the HSL panel, but while forgivable to think, they do not provide the same function. HSL controls a sort of specific colored area, but there is some ambiguity as to what the sliders in Camera Calibration control and to what point. What seems to be accepted is that Camera Calibration targets the R,G, and B value of each pixel, not just “red” “green” or “blue” pixels. The overall image is therefore more significantly adjusted.

When To Use It

Where does this come in handy? Well, color grading is generally rubbish in Lightroom compared to Capture One and or Photoshop or Affinity Photo, but should you want to do some this is a panel to involve in the process.

What I tend to recommend it for is skin tone correction. Whatever you’re shooting, unless you’re in a controlled environment skin tends to pick up hues of the surrounding and if you want that then fine, but if not, this panel can be of huge help. Adjusting the hue values especially can make a massive difference in just the right way. The caution would be to be very delicate with your touch, and for God’s sake ensure your monitor is calibrated.

Here’s an example of how drastic a slight move in a single slider can be with an old photo (click to enlarge or open in new tab):

Check out the video from Anthony for a slightly different approach and explanation.

The original version of this article was posted in August 2017.

Thankfully, HDR photography has come a very long way since the term was first coined in the early days of DSLRs. Back then, the dynamic range of a digital sensor was almost as limited as the dynamic range of slide film, and in many cases even LESS dynamic than negative films! (Don’t believe me? Just remember that even in the 1940’s, Ansel Adams could capture both sunlit snow and deep shade on a single piece of B&W film.)

Also thankfully, the psychedelic, over-processed HDR fad has passed, for the most part. Don’t get me wrong; I still appreciate it as an art from, when it’s done well, and that’s what I’m hoping to show you how to do here.

To learn the basics of HDR photography, be sure to check out our HDR Photography Workshop!

How To Create Natural HDR Images Using Blend-If

Today, digital camera sensors have made incredible progress in capturing high-contrast scenes. Most of the latest cameras –even the sensors with ‘poor’ performance– have dynamic range that easily surpasses 10 stops. The champions of the bunch, the current-generation full-frame (and medium format) sensors, are about to pass the 15 EV mark!

This has significantly reduced the need for 5-shot or 7-shot bracketing sequences, or special HDR software for controlling the resulting huge tonal range.  – Again, don’t misunderstand; HDR software is still very useful for those folks who are really into a certain style. Also keep in mind that special HDR software can be useful for achieving certain “looks” even on single exposures!)

However, even with dynamic range passing the 14 EV mark on quite a few of the latest cameras, there are still plenty of opportunities in which bracketing at least two shots might be a good idea. It will help you get slightly better image quality out of your highlights and shadows, even if a single exposure could have sufficed. Otherwise, in a single exposure you run the risk of excessive shadow noise, or posterized / clipped highlights.

The most effective way to quickly blend two exposures for optimal highlights and shadows is to use the ‘Blend-If’ tools for Photoshop layers.

Step 1: Capture Images that preserve highlights and preserve shadows

Start by capturing your bracketed raw images like you normally would. I tend to go straight to capturing two single exposures, one with perfect highlight preservation and one with sufficient shadow detail, however capturing 3, 5, 7, or even 9 images with auto-bracketing is still a good workflow, even if you only keep two of the resulting images.

Either way, simply make sure that you’re capturing the full dynamic range of the scene.

Keep in mind, the older your camera is the more this 2-image technique may not be possible. Unfortunately, some of the older Canon DSLR sensors, even the full-frame bodies, simply do not have enough dynamic range to capture some scenes smoothly in just 2 exposures; you may need 3 or 5 exposures.

For those Canon shooters who are curious, the two current (non-flagships) Canon sensors with the best dynamic range are the 5D mk4, and the “classic” 6D. Also the APS-C 80D, M6, and 200D (SL2) have decent dynamic range.

Step 2: Process images to appear as identical as possible

The long-standing, traditional workflow of HDR photography has been to simply process each frame neutrally, at varying exposures, and then use all 3-9 of the exposures to create the final HDR file.

This is still a viable course of action, however, the Blend-If technique is a simple alternative that goes an alternate route: choose the best two files, and process them so that they look as identical as possible, including their overall exposure.

The shadows of one file might be a bit grainy, and the highlights of the other file might be a little bit clipped, but as long as the overall tones in the two images match perfectly, that’s is all that matters. You’ll use Blend-If to “magically” (at least, almost effortlessly) combine the preserved highlights with the noise-free shadows & mid-tones.

Step 3: Layer in Photoshop and Auto-Align if necessary

After processing the raw images in Camera Raw, (Adobe Bridge, or Adobe Lightroom) the next step is to open each layer in Photoshop. Actually since the critical tool is in Photoshop itself, you’re welcome to process the images in your alternate raw editing software of choice, such as Capture One Pro, or Affinity Photo.

*Be sure to open them as Smart Objects (ACR users only) if you would like to be able to continue accessing the raw adjustments during or after the blending process. Otherwise, (and especially if you need to auto-align the layers because you bumped your tripod in between shots) …just open the images as ordinary layers.

Next, layer one image on top of the other. Usually, the top layer is the one that was originally over-exposed. (The one with clean shadows, but clipped highlights)

Step 4: Use Blend-If to combine highlights and shadows of each layer

Right-click the top layer, and open the Blending Options dialog box.

In the “Blend-If” box, grab the white point slider for the upper layer, and drag it down down to a point where highlights are preserved to your taste. Don’t worry if you can see an abrupt, hard edge between the two layers; we’ll be addressing that next!

Hold down the Alt or Option key, and click on the same slider again, dragging it further to the left (towards the shadows). This splits the slider in two, and allows you to create a gradual transition between the two layers.

While holding down Alt/Option, continue dragging this slider until that abrupt transition vanishes and the tones of the two layers blend smoothly and naturally.

As needed, fine-tune the sliders until you are satisfied with the transition. Zoom in to 100% if necessary.

If you’re really lucky, that’s all there is to it! However, it is highly likely that other areas of your over-exposed image, which have bright highlights, may have also attempted to blend with the darker layer below, resulting in some very weird artifacts.

Step 5: Hide any erroneous areas with a simple layer mask

Therefore, as a final step, I like to duplicate the bright layer, move it to the top layer, undo the Blend-If slider adjustments, and then use a simple layer mask with manual brushing to reveal only the one or two spots where we want our Blend-If work to be visible.

(For those who are wondering, this tricky area is where Lightroom’s own HDR feature failed- artifact ghosts appeared in the water on the rocks.)

With this final step, you are now done! If your workflow involves a small final bump of contrast, saturation, or sharpening, then you can apply that to the resulting TIF or PSD file at this time, and then export the image for your desired display medium. (social media, video, print, etc.)

Learn HDR, Photography 101, and A-Z Workflow

If you’re curious to learn more about HDR photography, the basics of photography itself, or a complete post-production workflow, be sure to check out the SLR Lounge Workshop Store, or consider joining SLR Lounge Premium!

If you have any comments or questions, please leave a comment! Thanks for reading, and happy clicking!