LRC won't open raw files in adobe camera raw

[John Lastar]

Recently when I try open a raw file in PS from LRC it doesn't open in camera raw. Also, the block where I could check to open a copy or the original is gone. I can still open in camera raw from my HD but it kind of defeats the purpose of LR.

Is this somethin new or did I accidently delete something.

In my preferences I checked prefer camera raw for supported files.

Im using win 10 and it's up to date as are all my adobe files.

Cameras are Nikons and I pretty much only shoot in raw.

Suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you,...

[richardplondon]

It is completely normal for images sent from Lightroom Classic to Photoshop, to open straight into the PS editing environment. There is no need to see the ACR window: all of those same adjustments are available to apply in LrC before sending to PS.

If the file type of your image within LrC is Raw, you cannot open this original into PS and you also cannot open a copy of this original into PS - because PS cannot directly open a Raw file for editing. PS can only open a bitmap file, or else ask ACR to convert a bitmap file from Raw data.

It is true that sometimes in PS the document window title will initially report as if Raw, but this changes the moment the image is first saved to disk. Then the name of this 'actual' non-Raw PS document becomes evident: this will be either TIFF or PSD depending on choices set in LrC or else overridden in PS. And this bitmap file name is what then also self-imports back to LrC.

When in LrC you are dealing with a non-Raw (TIFF or PSD, or otherwise JPG) this is something which PS can directly open. But also something which you may have further edited in LrC, applying overlaid nondestructive adjustments.

So with non-Raw you are given choices: whether you want to begin a new copy which incorporates those edits; or to edit the content of this original directly while maintaining those edits still nondestructively happening in LrC; or to do this as a new copy onto which a copy of current LrC edits will be found to be nondestructively happening in LrC when you return there.

In both these last two options, these 'live' LrC edits will not be seen while in PS, because you are only working on the bitmap content which underlies those live edits. You will only ever see LrC edits inside PS, that have been at some point incorporated in the bitmap Background layer, of an entirely new image version.

It is IIRC possible in the 'external edit choices' menu, to check a box to not be asked again. An option in Preferences lets you reset that. But you will by design never see this menu anyway, if the image type concerned is a Raw format.

[JohanElzenga]

This question pops up regularly. I have no idea why people seem to think that Lightroom would invoke Camera Raw. That has never been the case. The fact that they think that they should get the dialog with the three choices, which is also not true, may be because you do get (a different) dialog when you send a raw file to a plugin.

[John Lastar]

Thank you.

Previously when I was in LR and clicked on edit in PS I would get the choices and if it was a raw file it would open in Camera Raw. Occasionally it will still open in camera raw but it no longer gives me the choices.

This is something that recently started happening. For the past years  I would get the choices and it would open a raw file in camera raw.

John Lastar

[JohanElzenga]

"Previously when I was in LR and clicked on edit in PS I would get the choices and if it was a raw file it would open in Camera Raw."

No, you would not. As others have said too, you do not remember that correctly. It never happened that way. You only get that dialog if you send a non-raw file to Photoshop, and sending a raw file does not invoke the Camera Raw dialog.

[nater17564730]

To me it's fairly straightforward as to why someone would want this. Photographers want to work non-destructively-- I want the ability to access the ARW in Camera Raw throughout the editing process in photoshop. Why would I want to commit changes down to an image in Lightroom and then edit it further in Photoshop -- Why wouldn't I want access to those RAW settings? I do.

The work around here though is to "show in finder" (macos) or "open file location" (windows) and just open the file yourself in PS.

It's all about workflow Adobe!

[richardplondon]

To carry Raw editability through into Photoshop, you can use "Edit in PS as Smart Object". That makes a SO layer within your PS document which embeds the Raw and a copy of the parametric Raw conversion adjustments that came from LrC. ACR can then further update these same nondestructive adjustments within the PS context (*).

Smart filters and smart transforms can also (nondestructively) be added onto this Smart Object layer package. Any later updates to all of this cause a re-generation of its layer preview bitmap, which is what makes the results visible to the overall PS document.

One necessary consequence is that if (say) you are cloning within PS onto a separate pixel layer, drawing from your edited photo as source: if you update the ACR adjustments within the smart object package, that previously done pixel cloning will no longer "match" with the new appearance resulting. The alternative of doing parametric healing using ACR, inside the SO layer, involves the same practical limitations as within the LrC context.

As I see it the step of taking the image into PS (to do things you could not have done within LrC) may often dictate that nondestructive working from the Raw will at some moment cease - get committed into bitmap. Or at the very least that will be of no further advantage (but still with a large filesize cost).

You could certainly start out with a smart object though, do compositing with layer masks etc, and only later potentially 'flatten' this whole magic SO layer package into a standard pixel layer, when / if suitable.

(*) For this scheme to work, camera profiles and lens profiles and suchlike are held in common by LrC and ACR. Also it's only available when LrC and ACR/PS are of compatible versions.

[JohanElzenga]

To me it's fairly straightforward as to why someone would want this. Photographers want to work non-destructively-- I want the ability to access the ARW in Camera Raw throughout the editing process in photoshop. Why would I want to commit changes down to an image in Lightroom and then edit it further in Photoshop -- Why wouldn't I want access to those RAW settings? I do.

The work around here though is to "show in finder" (macos) or "open file location" (windows) and just open the file yourself in PS.

It's all about workflow Adobe!

By @nater17564730

I think you totally misunderstood my answer in this three years old thread. If you send an image from Camera Raw to Photoshop, then you do the same as when you send it from Lightroom to Photoshop: you commit the edits and create an RGB file that has the edits 'baked into the pixels' of that file. There is no difference whatsoever, and that is why it doesn't make sense to see the Camera RAW interface when you send an image from Lightroom to Phtoshop. 

Yes, there can be a good reason to want to have the ability to access the raw file in Camera Raw throughout the editing process in Photoshop. Like @richardplondon explained, if you want that, then you should not use 'Open in Photoshop', but 'Open as Smart Object in Photoshop'. But again there is no reason to see the Camera Raw interface when you do this. You'll see it if and when needed by double clicking the smart object in Photoshop.

[richardplondon]

I realised this thread was old, but the 'damage was already done' (no insult intended) bringing it back to the top, and subject remains relevant.

I see some adjustments as preferable in the Raw nondestructive realm. Establishing basic tonality (setting black and white extremes particularly); getting WB at least into the ballpark, capture sharpening and NR, and so on. Optimising the original capture as a starting point.

Then more presentational style adjustments can in practice apply well onto the results from this. Even right within LrC or within ACR, some kinds of adjustments (Tone Curve for example) work only on the results from other adjustments, and we never complain about that, So this is no different in principle, and there's no objectionable quality detriment given that the initial Raw conversion has indeed just optimised, rather going straight for a particular "look" or "effect".

It's true the cumulative degradation from editing for one presentational look, saving to file, then later correctively imposing some different presentational look instead, can be objectionable. So that's to be avoided. But given an aesthetically 'neutral' initial conversion has been taken into PS -   

either: overlaid adjustment layers inside PS can achieve what you want presentationally - in a nondestructive way (since you can still pull the image around / retouch it further underneath those adjustment layers, plus you can update what the adjustment layers themselves are doing)

or (my preference) one can do nothing 'presentational' inside PS, reserving that just for the content manipulations that LrC cannot do. The image that then returns to LrC from PS can get further usage specific parametric adjustment.(and have virtual copies varying this adjustment, cropping etc). Without needing multiple PS version files to exist.

[Jao vdL]

Lightroom C never opened raw files in camera raw when choosing open in Photoshop, it always just sent the instructions to Photoshop which would use the camera raw code to open it applying the Lightroom Classic settings but NEVER show the dialog. You can only get a dialog with the three choices upon choosing open in Photoshop when you try to open a non-raw file such as tiff, psd, jpeg, etc. in Photoshop from Lightroom Classic. For raw files, you will never get a dialog. It will just open straight in Photoshop interpreted into a full RGB bitmap file (defaults to 16 bit prophotoRGB) with a file name that still has the same name as the raw file but that will change into tif or psd upon saving in Photoshop.

[elie_dinur · Accepted solution]

1. In the ACR Preferences (accessible from either PS or Bridge) there is a dialog box on the second page, “File Handling”, which can be set to “Automatically open all supported TIFFs” (or “JPGs”). In this event any Tiff or Jpg sent from LRC to PS will immediately and automatically be opened in ACR. In cases where LRC and PS are not parallel releases, LRC will send the original Tiff (if that is selected in the verification box) with the above result.
2. If a Raw file is sent from LRC as a “Smart Object”, double-clicking on the layer thumbnail will cause it to open in ACR.

[JohanElzenga]

-Deleted-

[Rob_Cullen]

Here is my interpretation of Edit-In Photoshop: If you care to read 🙂

MAKING SENSE OF [EDIT IN PHOTOSHOP] FROM LR-CLASSIC

All discussion following assumes that the Versions of Lightroom-Classic and Photoshop are on a par with corresponding Camera Raw versions.

1) A RAW image in the Lr-CLASSIC Catalog- (NEF, CR3, ARW, etc)

a)           [Edit-in] Photoshop will immediately open the image in the Photoshop ‘document’ window using, and automatically applying,  the edits applied in Lightroom-CLASSIC.

The ACR UI does NOT open.

b)            [Open as Smart Object in Photoshop]  will open the image in the Photoshop ‘document’ window using, and automatically applying,  the edits applied in Lightroom-CLASSIC, AND create the Ps Background image layer (with the Smart Object badge) that, if [double-clicked] will open the image in the ACR Interface.

2) A ‘RASTER’ IMAGE FILE-  (TIFF, JPG, PNG, etc)

a)            [Edit In] Photoshop- will always ask by presenting the “What to Edit” dialog-

Each of the three options show (in fine text) exactly how the selected raster image file will be treated when [Edit] is selected from this dialog.

Again- The ACR UI does NOT open.  (***Except – see Notes!)

b)            The Lightroom-CLASSIC command [Open as Smart Object in Photoshop] avoids the “What to Edit” dialog and treats the image as it does for RAW image files in 1) b) above.

***NOTES:

 In Photoshop CAMERA RAW PREFERENCES- it is possible (in Photoshop v22.5.1) to set the preference for “JPEG and TIFF Handling” as in this example-

Options are set to “Automatically open all supported  JPEGs” and “Automatically open all supported TIFFs”

NOW the Lightroom-CLASSIC dialog with three options  for “What to Edit” for a JPG or TIF changes the workflow!!!

[Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments] opens the image in the Document window with Lightroom-CLASSIC Develop edits. NO ACR interface.

[Edit a Copy] and [Edit Original]  WILL open the ACR interface before the image is then ‘opened’ in the Document window.

Wrap you brain around all that…!!!

[JohanElzenga]

"NOW the Lightroom-CLASSIC dialog with three options  for “What to Edit” for a JPG or TIF changes the workflow!!!

[Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments] opens the image in the Document window with Lightroom-CLASSIC Develop edits. NO ACR interface.

[Edit a Copy] and [Edit Original]  WILL open the ACR interface before the image is then ‘opened’ in the Document window."

This actually makes sense. The Lightroom develop module and ACR are identical in functionality. They only have a slightly different interface. So if you open an image with Lightroom adjustments, then it does not make sense to invoke the ACR dialog. Anything you would like to do in ACR, you simply could do (and probably already did) in Lightroom, before you send the file. Edit a copy and Edit Original send the file to Photoshop without Lightroom adjustments. In that case it does make sense to open the ACR dialog (if you have set that option in the ACR preferences).