Camera Raw workflow options

just trying different settings for this (you know - the blue link at the bottom of the adobe camera raw window where you can set bit depth, resolution, colour space, sharpening etc.

By default, mine was set to 8bit, 240 dpi and no sharpening.

I have changed this to open files by default at 16bit, 300 dpi and sharpen for print on glossy paper.

Should I notice a difference in the quality of images on screen? I think I can but I'm not sure if it's just me thinking I can see a difference. Does opening in 16bit over 8bit give a noticeable difference?

Actually, the 16 bit/8 bit, as well as the color space, will be applied to your conversion or opening the image in Photoshop. I'm not sure whether the Sharpening setting will show up in Photoshop or just in a Saved file. The color space will have an effect on your histogram but the image itself won't be affected by your change in bit depth or the ppi.The ppi setting will be added to your Exif on conversion and won't affect your image either in Camera Raw or Photoshop. The only place the ppi matters is when you print or if you are using a layout program using graphics and inches/ppi for your layout.

loydall wrote in post #1095631
By default, mine was set to 8bit, 240 dpi and no sharpening.

I have changed this to open files by default at 16bit, 300 dpi and sharpen for print on glossy paper.

Should I notice a difference in the quality of images on screen?

I would think the color space would have the greatest effect. As Tony suggest, PPI would only have an influence when it comes to printing. Regarding color space, if you use ProPhoto, you'll want to work in 16 bit mode. Adobe RGB or sRGB, most of the time you'd be better of staying in 8 bit mode.

As for sharpening settings, I would do any sharpening settings right in the ACR tabs, not in this dialog.

ChasP505 wrote in post #10957937
I would think the color space would have the greatest effect. As Tony suggest, PPI would only have an influence when it comes to printing. Regarding color space, if you use ProPhoto, you'll want to work in 16 bit mode. Adobe RGB or sRGB, most of the time you'd be better of staying in 8 bit mode.

As for sharpening settings, I would do any sharpening settings right in the ACR tabs, not in this dialog.

Chas, I don't have CS5, but I imagine that the sharpening settings are output sharpening like we have in the Export dialog for Lightroom, aimed at print or Web/screen output.

tonylong wrote in post #10958183
Chas, I don't have CS5, but I imagine that the sharpening settings are output sharpening like we have in the Export dialog for Lightroom, aimed at print or Web/screen output.

Yes - the options are to sharpen for web or print etc..

How does this differ from setting the sharpening manually in camera raw?

Manual sharpening in ACR via the Details sliders and the Adjustment brush is for Capture and Creative sharpening. The sharpening in the Blue URL is strictly Output sharpening. This is all based on Bruce Fraser's three-stage sharpening approach: http://www.creativepro​.com …-on-a-sharpening-workflow

PixelMagic wrote in post #10962599
Manual sharpening in ACR via the Details sliders and the Adjustment brush is for Capture and Creative sharpening. The sharpening in the Blue URL is strictly Output sharpening. This is all based on Bruce Fraser's three-stage sharpening approach: http://www.creativepro​.com …-on-a-sharpening-workflow

Exactly... So unless you're all done editing your image (for web or printing output from Photoshop), why would you want to select this option? I only open my raw files in Photoshop if I have more pixel level editing to do. Final sharpening is deferred until I'm finished.

So - at the moment, my workflow would be:

Open the RAW file - it opens in ACR which is set to sharpen for print (as this is where most of my photos are going) I then adjust the sharpness using the ACR sharpness sliders (along with a bit of noise reduction and other ACR settings) and then hit "open image" and apply any other localised sharpening or maybe even a smart sharpen or USM if I think it needs it.

Does that sound about right? Seems to be working ok for me.

Working from memory here...but the blue URL output sharpening has a drop down or something like that with a couple of limited choices such as "sharpen for web" or "sharpen for print" (maybe a quality choice too...I can't remember) etc.

I'm just starting to work with this so I haven't fully explored; but do you need to go into Photoshop and set some default parameters for your output sharpening that would be recognized when Raw opens in Photoshop. I would think so unless Raw just uses a very generic predetermined output sharpening routine based on your choice of web or print.

The manner in which I have used it would be:
global and specific adjustments in raw hosted by bridge=>set blue url parameters=>image processor=>save to destination folder=>upload to website

Can I gain more control over the output shapening and still avail myself of the automation of image processor?

Well, what I'm not sure about is when the ACR sharpen for print setting is applied, since I don't have a newer version of ACR with that option. If it's like Lightroom it wouldn't apply it if you are opening the image in Photoshop, only if you are doing a direct conversion (or saving a file from the Print module). So, it may not matter to you unless you do a direct Save in ACR, but then again it may -- I'd say it would be a good thing to find out. Try changing the ACR option to, say, maximum sharpening for print and then minimum/zero sharpening and see if it makes a difference, first in your ACR preview and then when you Open the file (in Photoshop). Like I said, in LR it has no effect (either in the Preview or directly opening in Photoshop). However, LR has an Export option to open a file in PS after exporting, which may actually carry out the "output sharpening" -- I'm not sure, I haven't checked it out.

Now, as far as your normal workflow, yeah, a lot of people prefer Photoshop to "fine tune" their output sharpening. That's common, although I don't do that as a rule because I typically do my printing through Lightroom. It's a personal choice, and to me I prefer just working on the Raw files without having tiff copies of everything to deal with in my library.

loydall wrote in post #10963751
So - at the moment, my workflow would be:

Open the RAW file - it opens in ACR which is set to sharpen for print (as this is where most of my photos are going)...

I don't set for ANY sharpening in the "Blue URL" dialog, because I don't print until I have done final editing, softproofed, and resized. Then, I apply sharpening for print output. (Actually, there is an intermediate step where I save the edited image as a TIFF, to be used as a "master" for any further output purpose.)

I'm using PS CS4 and ACR 5.7. Here are are my typical (8 bit) settings:

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ok, thanks. Excuse my stupid questions here but why would you have it set to 8bit, not 16?

loydall wrote in post #10964160
ok, thanks. Excuse my stupid questions here but why would you have it set to 8bit, not 16?

Depends on the image content and color space. If I need to do a lot of pixel level editing in Photoshop, I'll select 16 bit and stay in 16 bit until all editing is done. Then I'll save as a TIFF and convert to 8 bit.

If the image has no really electric, vibrant colors (like a portrait shot), I'll stay in sRGB and 8 bit. If it has really vibrant colors, I'll use ProPhoto and 16 bit, but then convert down to Adobe RGB and 8 bit when editing is done.

Finally... my printer can't handle 16 bit files.

Ah, I see. Mine has "send 16bit info" option I think so might use that option.

loydall wrote in post #10964256
Ah, I see. Mine has "send 16bit info" option I think so might use that option.

Just to clarify... I'm talking about my inkjet printer, not a pro print lab. I'm a low volume hobbyist and do all my own printing.

But the bottom line is, the settings in the "Blue URL" dialog should be set based on image content. Unless you work in a safe sRGB color space workflow from start to finish, there really is no "default" setting you should adhere to.