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Faby5FAE
Known Participant
January 19, 2024
Question

Why does Camera RAW act differently compared to Shadows/Lights filter?

  • January 19, 2024
  • 3 replies
  • 1008 views

Hi everyone. I have a little question for you. I was making a quick comparison between the Shadows/Lights filter and Camera RAW and I noticed something that looked strange to me. If I use the Lights cursor of the Shadows/Lights filter I can accurately darken the lights without affecting the shadows, but if I do the same with Camera RAW the overall image is darkened. Can someone explain me why? Thanks.

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    3 replies

    F
    Faby5FAEAuthor
    Known Participant
    January 20, 2024

    Yeah sorry I meant the adjustment. 

     

    Here's the original image.

     

     

    Here you can see the image with the Shadows/Lights adjstment applied.

     

     

    Here you can see the image with the Camera RAW filter applied.

     

    I only used the "Lights" cursor and I made an extreme edit just to make it more evident.

    D Fosse
    Community Expert
    D FosseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 20, 2024

    Well, the answer is the same: these are very different algorithms, working in completely different ways.

     

    The most fundamental difference is that the Camera Raw engine is image adaptive. This means the entire image is taken into the calculation and the result depends on the whole image. This is mostly evident when working with raw files, but even with rendered RGB files in the ACR filter you can see it.

     

    Shadows/highlights is a purely "mechanic" process, where any given pixel is treated according to fixed rules.

     

    The biggest advantage of ACR's adaptive algorithm is that it produces a more natural-looking result. You can see the obvious halo in Shadows/highlights. This can be somewhat controlled by the Radius setting, but it's still very unattractive and immediately gives the game away.

      F
      Faby5FAEAuthor
      Known Participant
      January 20, 2024

      Got it... Basically you told me that with Camera RAW I can achieve a more natural look. Anyway I find it strange I can't be as precise as I do with the adjustment, but if this is the explanation ok, thank you very much for answering.

      D Fosse
      Community Expert
      D FosseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 20, 2024

      Yes, you need to be specific and post screenshots. There are so many variables in this.

       

      Shadows/Highlights vs Camera Raw filter are completely different algorithms. They were never intended to work the same way.

       

      Also, there is a big difference between doing it with the Camera Raw filter on an RGB file in Photoshop, and doing it with the Camera Raw processor on a raw file.

       

       

        Stephen Marsh
        Community Expert
        Stephen MarshCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        January 20, 2024

        To clarify, are you referring to:

         

        Image > Adjustments > Shadows/Highlights... (not a filter)

         

        vs.

         

        Filter > Camera Raw Filter... (a filter, or do you mean the Adobe Camera Raw plugin which is outside of Photoshop)?

         

        If so, are you referring to the Highlights or Whites slider?

         

        Annotated screenshots highlighting the controls would help to clarify.

          c.pfaffenbichler
          Community Expert
          c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          January 20, 2024
          quote

          Image > Adjustments > Shadows/Highlights... (not a filter)

          Most of the Adjustments can be applied as Smart Filters, I suppose that might confuse the terminology a bit. 

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