Processing Camera Raw Files in Photoshop – Overview

What Does It Mean to Process Camera Raw Files Photoshop?

            This lesson provides a concept overview of processing camera raw files in Photoshop. A camera raw file is the unprocessed image data from your camera’s image sensor. You can use the camera raw feature of Photoshop to open the camera raw file and process it, instead of relying on the camera to process it. This lets you apply custom image settings, like setting the white balance and tonal range, for example. You can then import a copy of the processed file into Photoshop, like any other image, to further edit it.

            Photoshop lets you save the processing adjustments you make to the camera raw image data separately from the actual camera raw image. This lets the camera raw image function as a type of digital negative for the adjustments you make. You can save the camera raw adjustment settings in Photoshop as a separate XMP sidecar file in the same folder as the camera raw image or within the file itself if you choose to save it as a DNG file, which we will discuss in a later lesson. Keeping the camera raw adjustments separated from the actual camera raw data lets you delete the separate adjustments settings file to remove them. You can then re-process the camera raw file several times, if desired, to specify the exact settings you want.

            After processing a camera raw file, you import a copy of it into Photoshop using the selected settings adjustments. You can then edit the image in Photoshop and save it as one of the many other types of image files you can create in Photoshop. This lets you save the original raw camera data and its adjustments while editing the copies of that data you import into Photoshop.

A picture showing the XMP sidecar file you can create to store adjustments when processing camera raw files in Photoshop.

Processing Camera Raw Files in Photoshop – Summary:

1. A camera raw file is the unprocessed image data from your camera’s image sensor. You can use the camera raw feature of Photoshop to open the camera raw file and process it, instead of relying on the camera to process it.
2. Photoshop lets you save the processing adjustments you make to the camera raw image data separately from the actual camera raw image. You can save the camera raw adjustment settings in Photoshop as a separate XMP sidecar file in the same folder as the camera raw image or within the file itself if you choose to save it as a DNG file, which we will discuss later.
3. Keeping the camera raw adjustments separated from the actual camera raw data lets you delete the separate adjustments settings file to remove them. You can then re-process the camera raw file several times, if desired, to specify the exact settings you want.
4. After processing a camera raw file, you import a copy of it into Photoshop using the selected settings adjustments.
5. You can then edit the image in Photoshop and save it as one of the many other types of image files you can create in Photoshop.

Video Lesson About Processing Camera Raw Files in Photoshop:

            The following video lesson, titled “Learn about Processing Camera Raw Files in Adobe Photoshop: A Training Tutorial,” shows an overview of how to process camera raw files in Photoshop. This video lesson is from our complete Photoshop tutorial, titled “Mastering Photoshop Made Easy.”