Julieanne Kost
Last updated on
24 Jun 2022
Several enhancements have been made to the way you work with photographs in the Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). This article outlines the improvements and new features available in ACR 8.1 and ACR 8.2:
Video | Enhancements in ACR 8.2
Julieanne Kost takes a close look at the feature enhancements and refinements made to the Crop tool, workflow settings, and batch saving capabilities in Adobe Camera Raw.
Soft proofing
The ACR dialog has been enhanced to support soft proofing. Choosing an ICC color profile from the Space popup menu automatically enables soft proofing, as well as the Intent and Simulate Paper & Ink checkboxes. Each time you choose a new profile and check or clear the new checkboxes, the image preview in the ACR dialog is updated. These additional options are the same as the soft proof options available in Photoshop (View menu > Proof Setup > Custom).
Note:
Grayscale color profiles are available only while processing a monochrome image, or while converting a color image to grayscale.
Color Space options
Adobe Camera Raw now supports arbitrary ICC-based output color spaces. These color spaces include grayscale, RGB, Lab, and CMYK color spaces. To view all the available color spaces:
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In the ACR dialog, do one of the following:
- Click the color space link at the bottom of the ACR dialog. The Workflow Options dialog is displayed.
- Click the Save Image button at the bottom of the ACR dialog. The Save Options dialog is displayed.
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In the Color Space section, click the Space dropdown.
A list of all available color spaces is displayed.
Note:The standard color spaces from earlier Camera Raw versions are located at the beginning of the list. The color spaces are Adobe RGB (1998), ColorMatch RGB, ProPhoto RGB, and sRGB IEC61966-2.1.
Image Sizing options
The ACR dialog has more flexible image sizing options. The options In the Workflow Options dialog, these options are placed within the Image Sizing section, immediately beneath the Color Space section.
Note:
Irrespective of the option you choose, the aspect ratio of the original image (or the crop rectangle, in a cropped image) is always preserved.
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In the ACR dialog, do one of the following:
- Click the color space link at the bottom of the ACR dialog. The Workflow Options dialog is displayed.
- Click the Save Image button at the bottom of the ACR dialog. The Save Options dialog is displayed.
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In the Image Sizing section, click the Resize to Fit checkbox.
Note:If the Resize to Fit option is not selected, the image remains at its original size.
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From the Resize to Fit dropdown, specify how you want to resize the image. The options are:
- Width & Height: Use this option to resize using width and height of the image. The width of the resized image will be limited to the unit specified in the W field, and the height of the resized image will be limited to the unit specified in the H field.
- Dimensions: This option is similar to the Width & Height option, except that image orientation is not considered. The longer edge of the resized image will be constrained to the larger of the two specified units (W or H). Similarly, the shorter edge of the resized image will be constrained to the smaller of the two specified units (W or H).
- Long Side: Use this option to resize using the long side of the picture. For example, specifying 1000 pixels means that the long edge of the resized picture will have at most 1000 pixels.
- Short Side: Use this option to resize using the short side of the picture. For example, specifying 500 pixels means that the short edge of the resized picture will have at most 500 pixels.
- Megapixels: Resize by specifying the total number of megapixels in the resized image. For example, specifying 2.0 MP means that the resized image will have a maximum of 2 megapixels.
- Percentage: Use this option to resize by percentage. The percentage is relative to a side (linear dimension) of the image. For example, specifying 50% means that the resized image will have 1/2 the width and 1/2 height of the source image, or 1/4 the total number of pixels.
Note:In the Save Options dialog, these options are only available when saving images to the JPEG, TIFF, or PSD file formats.
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Select the Don't Enlarge checkbox to prevent images from being enlarged. This automatically means that, when the Don't Enlarge option is selected, the image being processed in the ACR dialog can now only become smaller or remain the same size.
Workflow Options Presets
The ACR dialog can now store commonly used settings as a preset. When you apply the same preset to multiple images, you can easily replicate actions across the images. When you have multiple presets saved, you can easily switch between presets to view the effects of different actions on the image in the ACR dialog.
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In the ACR dialog, do one of the following:
- Click the color space link at the bottom of the ACR dialog. The Workflow Options dialog is displayed.
- Click the Save Image button at the bottom of the ACR dialog. The Save Options dialog is displayed.
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From the Preset dropdown, select the option to create a new preset.
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Specify a name for the preset and then click OK.
A new preset is created. All the currently selected settings associated with the new preset.
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With a user-created workflow preset selected, click the Preset dropdown to perform additional actions:
- Select the Delete option, to delete the preset
- Select the Rename option, to be able to specify a new name for the preset
- Select the Update option, to save any changes made to the settings to the current preset.
Note:At the bottom of the ACR dialog, when you right-click (Mac: control-click) the presets text link a popup menu with available Workflow Options presets is displayed. Use this popup menu to switch presets without entering the Workflow Options dialog.
Crop
With the new Image Sizing workflow, the Crop tool cannot be used to specify absolute image sizes (such as 16 inches x 9 inches). Instead, the Crop Tool only determines aspect ratios (such as 16 x 9). The Image Sizing option in the Workflow Options and Save dialogs (and corresponding presets) can be used to specify the desired absolute image size. For example, you can specify resizing type Dimensions, with W and H values of 16 inches and 9 inches respectively.
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Adobe MAX
The Creativity Conference
Oct 14–16 Miami Beach and online