Manage Camera Raw settings

You can record the state of an image at any time by creating a snapshot. Snapshots are stored renditions of an image that contain the complete set of edits made up until the time the snapshot is created. By creating snapshots of an image at various times during the editing process, you can easily compare the effects of the adjustments you make. You can also return to an earlier state if you want to use it at another time. Another benefit of snapshots is that you can work from multiple versions of an image without having to duplicate the original.

Create and manage snapshots using the Snapshots tab of the Camera Raw dialog box.

When working with snapshots, you can do any of the following:

• To rename a snapshot, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (macOS) it and choose Rename.

• Click a snapshot to change the current image settings to those of the selected snapshot. The image preview updates accordingly.

• To update, or overwrite, an existing snapshot with the current image settings, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (macOS) the snapshot and choose Update With Current Settings.

• To undo changes made to a snapshot, click Cancel.

  Note: Use caution when clicking Cancel to undo snapshot changes. All image adjustments made during the current editing session are also lost.

• To delete a snapshot, select it and click the Trash button  at the bottom of the tab. Or, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (macOS) the snapshot and choose Delete.

Save, reset, and load Camera Raw settings

You can reuse the adjustments you’ve made to an image. You can save all the current Camera Raw image settings, or any subset of them, as a preset or as a new set of defaults. The default settings apply to a specific camera model, a specific camera serial number, or a specific ISO setting, depending on the settings in the Default Image Settings section of the Camera Raw preferences.

Presets appear by name in the Presets tab, in the Edit > Develop Settings menu in Adobe Bridge, in the context menu for camera raw images in Adobe Bridge, and in the Apply Presets submenu of the Camera Raw Settings menu in the Camera Raw dialog box. Presets are not listed in these locations if you don’t save them to the Camera Raw settings folder. However, you can use the Load Settings command to browse for and apply settings saved elsewhere.

Specify where Camera Raw settings are stored

Choose a preference to specify where the settings are stored. The XMP files are useful if you plan to move or store the image files and want to retain the camera raw settings. You can use the Export Settings command to copy the settings in the Camera Raw database to sidecar XMP files or embed the settings in Digital Negative (DNG) files.

When a camera raw image file is processed with Camera Raw, the image settings are stored in one of two places: the Camera Raw database file or a sidecar XMP file. When a DNG file is processed in Camera Raw, the settings are stored in the DNG file itself, but they can be stored in a sidecar XMP file instead. Settings for TIFF and JPEG files are always stored in the file itself.

You can set a preference to determine where settings are stored. When you reopen a camera raw image, all settings default to the values used when the file was last opened. Image attributes (target color space profile, bit depth, pixel size, and resolution) are not stored with the settings.

Copy and paste Camera Raw settings

In Adobe Bridge, you can copy and paste the Camera Raw settings from one image file to another.

Apply saved Camera Raw settings

Export Camera Raw settings and DNG previews

If you store file settings in the Camera Raw database, you can use the Export Settings To XMP command to copy the settings to sidecar XMP files or embed them in DNG files. This is useful for preserving the image settings with your camera raw files when you move them.

You can also update the JPEG previews embedded in DNG files.

Specify Camera Raw workflow options

Workflow options specify settings for all files output from Camera Raw, including the color bit depth, color space, output sharpening, and pixel dimensions. Workflow options determine how Photoshop opens these files but not how After Effects imports a camera raw file. Workflow options settings do not affect the camera raw data itself.

You can specify workflow options settings by clicking the underlined text at the bottom of the Camera Raw dialog box.

Specifies the target color profile. Generally, set Space to the color profile you use for your Photoshop RGB working space. The source profile for camera raw image files is usually the camera-native color space. The profiles listed in the Space menu are built in to Camera Raw. To use a color space that’s not listed in the Space menu, choose ProPhoto RGB, and then convert to the working space of your choice when the file opens in Photoshop.

Specifies whether the file opens as an 8‑bpc or 16‑bpc image in Photoshop.

Specifies the pixel dimensions of the image when imported into Photoshop. The default pixel dimensions are those used to photograph the image. To resample the image, use the Crop Size menu.

For square-pixel cameras, choosing a smaller-than-native size can speed processing when you are planning a smaller final image. Picking a larger size is like upsampling in Photoshop.

For non-square pixel cameras, the native size is the size that most closely preserves the total pixel count. Selecting a different size minimizes the resampling that Camera Raw performs, resulting in slightly higher image quality. The best quality size is marked with an asterisk (*) in the Size menu.

Note: You can always change the pixel size of the image after it opens in Photoshop.

Specifies the resolution at which the image is printed. This setting does not affect the pixel dimensions. For example, a 2048 x 1536 pixel image, when printed at 72 dpi, is approximately 28‑1/2 x 21‑1/4 inches. When printed at 300 dpi, the same image is approximately 6‑3/4 x 5‑1/8 inches. You can also use the Image Size command to adjust resolution in Photoshop.

Allows you to apply output sharpening for Screen, Matte Paper, or Glossy Paper. If you apply output sharpening, you can change the Amount pop-up menu to Low or High to decrease or increase the amount of sharpening applied. In most cases, you can leave the Amount set to the default option, Standard.

Causes Camera Raw images to open in Photoshop as a Smart Object layer instead of a background layer when you click the Open button. To override this preference for selected images, press Shift when clicking Open.

Reset Camera Raw preferences

macOS Preference Locations

Windows Preference Locations