Photoshop CS3 RAW

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CHAPTER SEvEn

CREATING CUSTOM CAMERA PROFILES

You can use any image to calibrate, but

an image containing a color chart like

the one in Figure 7-27 and shot under

controlled lighting, will produce more

predictable results.

The Calibration Process

Open your image in Camera Raw. In the

Camera Calibration tab (shown in Figure

7-28), select a Profile set from the Camera

profile pop-up menu. ACR (which stands

for Adobe Camera Raw) 3.0 or higher are

the new and improved camera profiles.

Often ACR 2.4 is listed, which means

your camera didn’t require the updated

ACR profile. If both 2.4 and a higher ACR

profile are listed you can choose either

one. However, Adobe recommends

choosing 2.4, which they say assures

consistent behavior with older photos.

If an image is in the TIFF, JPEG, PSD, or

DNG format, and not RAW, a profile of

Embedded will appear.

Next, use the sliders to create the look you

are after. Start by moving the Shadows

slider to correct for any green or magenta

tint in the shadow areas. Then use the Red

Primary, Green Primary, or Blue Primary

sliders to fine-tune these colors. Start with

the Hue slider (which actually changes

the color), then adjust the Saturation.

(Negative values desaturate; positive

values saturate.)

Camera Raw produces an image look based on camera proles

created by Adobe. Use the Camera Calibration tab to custom-

ize these proles to your own look. You can save these settings

as a preset and apply them at any time, or have them applied

automatically by default on a camera-by-camera basis.

Creating Custom

Camera Profiles

Figure 7-27

Figure 7-28

AdvAnced TonAl conTrol

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137

CREATING CUSTOM CAMERA PROFILES

Check your adjustments visually or

with the Color Sampler tool. Selecting

and deselecting Camera Raw’s Preview

checkbox is helpful (Figure 7-29). When you

are finished, save your settings as a preset.

Save as a User Preset

You can save these settings to use again

later. Do this by selecting Save Settings

from the Settings pop-up menu. This

will bring up the dialog box shown in

Figure 7-30. You’ll probably want to save

the only Camera Calibration settings

(circled), which then creates a starting

point from which you can adjust each

image individually. (The easiest way to do

this is to choose Camera Calibration from

the Subset pop-up menu.) When you are

finished, click Save. Now the preset will

show up in the Apply Presets category in

the Settings pop-up menu and in Bridge’s

contextual menu as well.

Save Default Develop Settings

You can also make your new calibration

a default setting applied automatically

to files from a specific camera. Do this by

selecting Save New Camera Raw Defaults

from Camera Raw’s Settings pop-up

menu. Then, in Camera Raw’s Preferences,

found by clicking on the Preferences icon

in Camera Raw’s toolbar, select Make

defaults specific to camera serial number,

circled in Figure 7-31.

NOTE Thomas Fors has created

an awesome Photoshop script for

automating much of the calibration

process. His script, and a lot of

supporting text, is available at http://

fors.net/chromoholics/.

Figure 7-29

Figure 7-30

Figure 7-31