RAW, first PP in PS, then back to ACR?

Did a photoshoot in RAW. I need to composite 3 shots into one with Photoshop before I begin any processing in ACR.

I've opened all 3 RAW files in Photoshop, composited them into one image, now how do I take it back to ACR with all the functionality of a RAW image? I saved it as a TIF but then could not open in ACR. What am I doing wrong?

Photoshop > File > Open As > Raw

You either drag it from Bridge into PS or right click the file and select "Open in Raw". I will double check when I get home tonight.

You never actually do any processing to the raw data file. What you do in ACR is direct how you want the raw data to be processed into a TIFF, JPEG, PSD or other type of image file. Even if you open up the image in ACR and transfer it to PS without saving it, what you see on the screen is really some kind of image file--not the actual raw data. When you "save to raw" all you're doing is saving the instructions of how to process the raw into an image file--you never actually change the raw data.

So when you're building the composites in PS, until you save it as a composite it is still the original filename that still refers to the original unchanged file. You can't transfer that composite back into ACR--you could only call back up the original file.

So the answer to your question is that you cannot save a composite back into ACR with all the functionality of a RAW image. You'll have to process each image to its best presentation in ACR and then do the composites.

Well...crap. I was hoping to be able to go back to ACR and PP the composite as if it was the original RAW.

Specifically, I had identical shots, all handheld, that had tourists in the background. I opened in PS and blended the 3 together with masks to get rid of the tourists. I had to use auto-align layers since the shots were handheld. I wanted to wait to PP in ACR until after I composited them in case there were any artifacts or weird shadows left after the compositing process.

Thanks for the help.

By the way, when I right-clicked the TIF, "open in raw" was not available. Command-R didn't do anything either.

kompressor wrote in post #11428450
Well...crap. I was hoping to be able to go back to ACR and PP the composite as if it was the original RAW.

The usual method is to adjust each raw image in ACR, then composite them. Once you've converted to an actual image file, you no longer have the full adjustment latitude in ACR as the original raw file.

kompressor wrote in post #11428450
By the way, when I right-clicked the TIF, "open in raw" was not available. Command-R didn't do anything either.

Did you try my method?

ChasP505 wrote in post #11428489
Did you try my method?

Concerning your method, I do this after I have saved the composite as a TIF? Directly from Photoshop?

kompressor wrote in post #11428506
Concerning your method, I do this after I have saved the composite as a TIF? Directly from Photoshop?

Yes.

I'll give it a shot as soon as I get home.

Thanks.

I don't have an "Open As..." in CS5. I went to OPEN, then chose CAMERA RAW in the format box at the bottom of the window, then clicked on the TIF file and it opened in PS, not ACR.

Well, I haven't tried what you are ttrying -- doing a composite and then trying to open it in Camera Raw, so I can't give a clear direction. First, does the composite have layers, or did you flatten it first? If it has layers, that would be a clue. Otherwise, what is the size in pixels? I don't know if Camera Raw has a limit or not, but you might check it out.

In general, for projects like that I've just run the Raw images through Camera Raw to make sure they are compatible/matched for the needed tonal stuff, then done the blending in Photoshop and, if they need adjstments done them there. Camera Raw will not give you an advantage over Photoshop in processing the tiffs, so to me there is no value added trying to do "stuff" with the composite tiff in ACR when you have the advantage of adjustment layers, masks, etc, in Photoshop.

kompressor wrote in post #11430205
I don't have an "Open As..." in CS5. I went to OPEN, then chose CAMERA RAW in the format box at the bottom of the window, then clicked on the TIF file and it opened in PS, not ACR.

Did you flatten it first? (Work from a flattened copy if you don't want to lose your layers.)