Adobe Camera Raw as a filter: Tutorial video shows you how and why you’d want to

 

 

One of the most powerful new features of Adobe Photoshop CC is the ability to use Camera Raw as a filter. In past versions, you were limited to using Camera Raw when you first opened your image, and it was only available for certain specific filetypes. That's all changed in the new Creative Cloud release, and with it, the rigid workflow of Camera Raw has been removed.

Now, you can apply Camera Raw adjustments on any layer of any image, and you can apply them at whatever point in your workflow that you prefer -- then return to tweak the adjustments you made later on.

But why would you want to do so? Is Camera Raw not used simply for tweaking your raw images in the first place, and getting them in the ballpark before you get down to the fine details with Photoshop's many other tools? Not according to Adobe evangelist Terry White, who shows you just how useful Camera Raw can be in a new tutorial video from Adobe TV.

As White shows, the key is that Camera Raw provides quick and easy access to intuitive, non-destructive adjustments. Could you do the same things with other tools in Photoshop? Probably. Would doing so be more complicated? Almost certainly.

Watch the video above to get a handle on what Camera Raw as a plugin can do for your images. But remember: You'll need the subscription-only Photoshop CC to be able to access this functionality. Although Camera Raw is being released in parallel for both Photoshop CS6 and CC, the plugin functionality counts as a new feature -- and those are being retained solely for Photoshop CC users. (Photoshop CS6 folks are only getting bug fixes and new raw file support, at this point in the life cycle of their product.)

(via John Nack on Adobe)