+ Camera Raw Feature Requests +

> I see the base of what you are saying, but I guess that since I am not used to that workflow, it seems weird to me.

I'm not looking for sub-percentage accuracy here. I'm just looking for the exact same functionality that's in CS2 which I use quite successfully now. But, it's a pain to have to move a RAW file into CS2 in order to be able to do this when one is supposed to adjust white balance in the RAW editor.

Here's an example of how one can more easily use the CMYK values to set white balance: http://www.smugmug.com/help/skin-tone.

Since this seems weird to you, how would you tweak white balance to generate a proper skin tone on a photo that doesn't have any other obvious neutral or gray references in it without going purely by eye? How else would you suggest solving this problem?

I've found that reading the CMYK numbers is an excellent way to solve this problem (and thus why I was asking), but if there are other ways to solve this that work in ACR, I'm happy to learn those too.

I see the base of what you are saying, but I guess that since I am not used to that workflow, it seems weird to me.

Anyhow, there's still the fact that, in Photoshop, having the color picker over a same RGB pixel, the Info palette will display different CMYK values depending on which CMYK working space you have set in your Color Settings or your Proof Setup. That is so because, as I said, Photoshop tries to guess which is the proper ink mix that will produce the same color that the screen is displaying for each particular media (each media implied by a particular CMYK working profile), because different media react differently to the same ink mix (to put it simply) and adjustments are to be made in order to provide color consistency.

In any case, what do I know ^_^ I am not that much into color workflow, so maybe the differences I am talking about are subtle enough for making your suggestion a valid point, or maybe I got it all wrong in the first place.

Pick color and let the computer do the conversion to ink using an appropiate profile per each media.

elmimmo, I don't think you understand what I'm asking for or why I'm asking for it. In Photoshop, a given pixel in an image can be described in RGB color values, CMYK color values and LAB color values. In CS2, without changing the actual image itself, you can see the value of any pixel in any one of those color spaces, just by changing the info dialog to show you your choice. There are times when this can be incredibly useful. For example, an accurate skin tone cannot be easily determined when looking only at the RGB numbers, but an accurate skin tone can more easily be determined by looking at the same pixel, but described as CMYK values. It's analagous to an astronomer deciding that it's easier for them to talk about distances in light-years rather than miles or inches. We're talking about the same distance either way, just a more useful way of describing it and comparing one distance to another.

When dealing with skin tones, it's much easier to see if you have a proper skin tone when looking at a CMYK description of the color than it is when looking at an RGB description.

Since one of the most important things you do in the ACR RAW editor is adjust white balance, I'm just asking for this same ability to see color with the eye dropper as CMYK values in addition to RGB values.

jfriend, Just my take on that. Please, forgive me if what I say is non-sense

You want to pick colors. CMYK is ink based, which means that same values of inks produce different colors on different media. Makes little sense to me to manually choose what is the mix of inks to produce a certain color, since there is no possible way to know what color that will turn into (whatever your screen tells you). Pick color and let the computer do the conversion to ink using an appropiate profile per each media.

Need CMYK pixel values in ACR for setting white balance for pleasing skin tone

One of the most valuable attributes of shooting RAW is to be able to adjust white balance while you still have maximum data around. To that end, adjusting white balance on people pictures where you are trying to get skin tone right is most appropriately done using CMYK pixel readings, not RGB pixel readings (for causasians - yellow should be 5-20% more than magenta, cyan is usually 30-50% of the magenta value, black should be pretty low). Since all I can find is RGB pixel readings in ACR now, if I have no other good references in the photo, I find I have to guess on the white balance by eye, open in CS2, check the CMYK values, close w/o saving, make a white balance adjustment in ACR and try again in CS2. All I need to avoid this inefficient workflow is to be able to see CMYK values in ACR just like I can in CS2. I'm not asking for CMYK curves or anything like that, I just need to be able to show pixel values with the sampler points in CMYK values.

--John

I upload images for purchase and many times I have to crop the same image to different aspect ratios (2x3, 5x7, 4x5, etc.) Maybe I've been missing it, but I sure could use an indicator showing the aspect ratio of the crop if one has been applied. That way, when I go to process and upload an image previously cropped, I don't have to guess (or re-crop) them image if one has been applied. Sure, I could do the math from the length and width shown in the workflow options section, but by the time I do that I can have re-cropped the image.

I´d like for ACR to include something along the lines of shadow contrast and highlight contrast sliders. I often expand visible dynamic range by developing two files from the same RAW file and blending in Photoshop.

If there is a sane way of doing this already in the RAW converter, implement it. I´m sure many others do like me (I learned my photoshop blending techniques from Michael Reichmann and Jeff Schewe). Just do it better than the competition (more options for example).

Mathias

Ian,

Thank you for those directions (post 123). That approach will not fit with my workflow.

I currently use a Whibal card image frame to obtain an accurate custom white balance setting for a batch of exposures (and ACR-CS2 is great for applying this information to the batch of images). Subsequent to the white balance I adjust individual frame exposure, curve other parameters in CR (along the lines that Bruce Fraser details in his "Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS2" book), to get the most from the Raw data before saving the output file or opening into the CS2 editor. Clearing the CR settings would wipe out a lot of work just to see the entire Raw file view in the thumbnail again.

I'd appreciate the option of always seeing the full Raw file thumbnail without any applied CR application changes. Processing with ACR does not alter the fundamental raw image data. The Raw file is my "negative". I don't see why the original thumbnail needs to display the effect of crops or the lastest CR adjustments, which may or may not have been saved to an output file for further processing.

Joe,

>For me to see the full original Raw file view, I must reopen the Raw file in ACR and clear the current crop. The thumbnail view restriction is not productive, to say the least.

Right click (PC) or Ctrl+Right click (Mac) the thumbnail and choose "Clear Camera Raw Settings". This resets the preview back to the default but also clears any other edits you've applied. This shouldn't be a problem if the edited/cropped raw images have been opened/saved in Photoshop.

Ian

You are quite correct - PE4 and CS2 behave the same way when crops are made from the editor: both programs leave the full original Raw file thumbnail. My mistake.

Is it possible that Bridge-CS2 be made to leave the full original Raw file thumbnail after crops are made in ACR? This was my original request, from post 116.

I have come to make my crops in CS2-ACR during conversion versus my previous practice in Photoshop CS editor and earlier versions. Changing the Raw thumbnail view to reflect the last crop made in ACR obscures the original file content visible through the thumbnail, and requires quite a bit of extra work to see the original content again.

I don't see the logic or benefit behind cropping the Raw thumbnail view when using the CR crop tool approach versus leaving the full Raw view after using the PS editor crop tool.