PS Elements 2024 Suddenly Opening Color JPEGs as B&W in Camera Raw

[Gordon & Susan0D4C]

This evening, I tried to work on some already processed color JPEG images in PS Elements 2024 and they always opened at B&W images in Camera Raw.

I tried going into Preferences and did a reset before relaunching Elements and the results and this did not correct this problem.

[Greg_S.]

I suspect that you have set the ACR profile to Adobe Monochrome.  Go to the Profile dropdown menu and change it back to a color space.

You can also toggle the B&W button just above the Profile dropdown menu.

[Gordon & Susan0D4C · Accepted solution]

Greg - Thanks for your suggestion but my problem is actualy 2 related problems that suddenly appeared on March 13th.

1. Some of my colour JPEG files are automatically opening in Elements Camera Raw when I only select the command to OPEN. =>> Prior to this date, all of my JPEG files automatically opened in PS Elements by default with thier saved colour profile.
2. Additinally, they now open in Elements Camera Raw with a default colour profile reset to B&W.

Please Note that I only have xmt sidecar files associated with my NEF files.

So far, I'm still having this problem.

[MichelBParis · Accepted solution]

Please Note that I only have xmt sidecar files associated with my NEF files.

By @Gordon & Susan0D4C

Normal, xmp sidecar files are not saved for jpegs edited in ACR, the same data is stored directly into the metadata header of the jpeg format (and other formats). The necessity for raw files to use sidecars is due to the fact that "raw" are never overwritten, which means you have to use a procedural editing: unchanged original with change recipe.

So, the usual workflow is to start with the raw editor in non-destructive procedural mode, then, if needed, follow in a pixel editor like Photoshop, Elements or a third party editor.

If you re-open in ACR a jpeg/psd/... produced after a first raw stage, the process involves raw > pixel > raw > pixel editor stages in which any special profile may have been "cooked in" in the pixel stage. That is how I suppose you have met your present issues.

[Greg_S.]

Please explain your entire workflow in more detail.

I assume you have used Open in Camera Raw for jpegs which you then edit?  If so, when you Open the jpeg again  it will go to the ACR editor and retain the last used settings.  I don't use this workflow. So, I am going to ping @MichelBParis, another Community Expert who knows more about this than I do.  Perhaps he will be able to better explain what is happening.

[Gordon & Susan0D4C]

Thanks for your feedback Greg.  While I have very occasionally opened JPEG's in Elements Camera Raw, my problem images started out as NEF images that were opened in Elements Camera Raw, processed there before opening and finish editing in Elements 2024 (incuding converting to 8-bit).  I then save the 9=8-bit PSD file before creating and saving a lower resolution JPEG file.  This is my usual workflow and it worked fine until a few days ago when some of these colour JPEG files started opening up in Elements Camera Raw as B&W images, without selecting FILE - OPEN IN CAMERA RAW.

I hope this clarification helps.

[Greg_S.]

Did any of your ACR edits include converting to B&W?

If you take a color jpeg that has never been edited and use the File>Open command, what happens?

If you take an unedited color jpeg and use the Open in Camera Raw command, what happens?

With respect to the jpegs that prompted this discussion, are you able to change the profiles back to color?  And when you complete your editing, do you always open the files in the Photoshop Editor or do you also use the ACR Done button with no further editing?

[Gordon & Susan0D4C]

I only shoot in raw so all of my camera files are NEF.  I can only create a JPEG through Elements Camera Raw followed by Elements.

I have previously edited various files in Elements Camera Raw as B&W but I always copy the NEF file and rename it as B&W + before saving its corresponding XMT sidecar file.  That way, I have previously been able to edit the original NEF file in colour with its own corresponding XMT file.

In this case, after re-booting my computer several times, I attempted to re-open the colour JPEG file and it still opened in Elements Camera Raw as a B&W image.

Within the past couple of hours, I have created a new file folder and saved a copy of my original - unedited NEF file before opening in Elements Camera Raw (NEF default setting).   I the reprocessed the image using the same adjustments before saving a PSD file copy and a JPEG copy.  So far, when I open the JPEG file in Elements, it is back to its prevous "normal" of opening directly in Elements as a colour image - which is back to being OK.

My problem is that I have no idea if this issue may start again for no apparent reason.

Any suggestions as to what may have happened will be greatfully accepted.

Thank you very much for your help.

[MichelBParis · Accepted solution]

I am a bit late, but a few tips to take advantage of recent ACR versions (I am on PSE2024 - ACR  16.0.)

1 - If a jpeg (or psd, tiff...) has just been opened in camera raw, next time you open it from the organizer it will open in camera raw.

2 - If you don't want to open it in ACR in the future,  you can click on the three dots  menu on the vertical right menu bar of the ACR module, click "reset to original" then "Done". Next time it will open in the editor and the ACR edits will be lost. If You simply want to stay in ACR and and start at the original stage, don't click "Done" after "reset to original".

3 - I don't know of a way to open a jpeg, psd.... directly into ACR from the organizer. Workaround: open one or a batch of such jpegs in ACR from the editor. This will be remembered in the organizer.

4 - There is no clear visual way to know in the organizer  from a thumbail if it will open in ACR or the editor unless you have created version sets from the original.

5 - Let's say You have edited a file in ACR to be in B & W, it won't show the change, same for other changes like non destructive cropping. Refeshing thumbnail won't work either.

6 - If you open and edit in the full Photoshop ACR or Lightroom, that will work the same as above with all the advanced features. You'll be able to change only what the limited ACR can do afterwards.

7 - There is a huge bug in recent versions of PSE ACR: Even if you set your preferences to "optimize for printing" in the editor color preferences, all your files will be exported in sRGB instead of aRGB, which loses a big advantage of shooting raw.

8 -About conversion to jpeg: the format only supports 8-bits. PSE only supports 16-bit without layers. Internally, ACR works in 16-bits. So You can either set the bottom menu to export in 8-bits or convert later in the editor if you want layers.

[Gordon & Susan0D4C]

Michel - Thank you very much for your detailed suggestion, which may have identified the intial cause of my problem and why it only appears to affect certain JPEG output files that were created via Elements.  Now that I know where to look and the step that I need to take, I believe this should prevent future problems.

Thank you very much again for your help with my problem.