ACR Questions

Hi BuckSkin ,
I am pretty sure that all Elements+ is doing is firing up whatever version of ACR you have, so whatever limitations exist between it and your camera RAW files will not go away.

Ordinarily, you can pass an image into ACR from the PSE editor only when you first open it.  Using the Elements+ script allows you to do that anytime.  I am uncertain what happens which you click the Done button in ACR, but I do know that you need to click the Open Image button in ACR to apply the changes and pass it all back into the PSE editor.

I hope that partially answers some of your questions.

Which begs another question; what is a mandala ?

So those are mandalas; it looks like a kaleidoscope.
Now that I think about it, kaleidoscopes were a common thing way back when I was a kid; I haven't seen one in years.
The mandalas are interesting and I saved the page to show my wife; she will somehow manage to create one on her scroll-saw.


I should have checked out this ACR business ages ago; it is the best program I have found for rescuing jpegs that are about two stops too dark.

A couple things I have learned thus far; when I use the "open as > camera RAW" command, then when finished click "open image", the ACR result opens in the editor as the background layer; if I want my original capture to be at the bottom of my PSD layer stack, I must then do some manipulating to accomplish this.

On the other hand, when I load the original in the editor, then access ACR via the Elements+ script, when I click "open image", it adds the result as a new layer at the top of the stack; I very much prefer this.


Blundering around in that "open as" dialogue, of course I stumbled upon another question that needs answering; what is Photoshop RAW; how does it differ from DNG; and, when and why would one ever use Photoshop RAW ?

Thanks for reading.

"A couple things I have learned thus far; when I use the "open as > camera RAW" command, then when finished click "open image", the ACR result opens in the editor as the background layer; if I want my original capture to be at the bottom of my PSD layer stack, I must then do some manipulating to accomplish this.

On the other hand, when I load the original in the editor, then access ACR via the Elements+ script, when I click "open image", it adds the result as a new layer at the top of the stack; I very much prefer this."

This is a good illustration of two different workflows while keeping your originals and editing steps.
- the traditional way implies either using version sets/copies or using layer stacks over the original background layer. If you are careful, you can use layers to save your steps, name layers with the edit parameters etc.
- the non-destructive parametric way (ACR or Lightroom) stores only the commands (slider settings) in a small sidecar xmp file or in the metadata header of the jpeg file.

The ACR/LR solution avoids duplication, saves disk space, is faster and more intuitive and as mentioned in my other post, can be applied in batch. All the settings are saved and available for editing other files. A single jpeg file with edits saved in metadata can be opened 'as shot' or with the edits applied for instance.
But:
- while it may be enough for 90% of my files, it can't cover all edits. In that case I have to 'open' in the editor and create a version set in jpeg or psd/tiff if I want to keep my editing steps.
- When using the organizer or Lightroom to organize your files, the software has to apply all edits, which is a big job especially with local edits in Lightroom, so, you have to use 'previews' in Ligtroom, or browse small thumbnails in Elements until you want to zoom in the file, which requires some time with big raw files. With Lightroom, big raw files and Hidpi displays require very powerful computers.

The obvious workflow is generally to keep the non-destructive workflow for the files which don't need the editor, and either jpegs or psd/tiffs for the others.

I should mention that with the organizer, I have chosen another intermediate solution based on my own needs.
Most of my shots don't require layers or local edits. I could simply use the parametric way : 'Done' in ACR.
But I have found that 99% of my shots will be used for output at full pixel size, jpeg with level 10 compression. Instead of 32 GB raw files, I get 3/4 GB for a perfect output.
That is similar to the 'previews' in Lightroom. Now after the ACR edits, I always click 'Edit' and save a version set with those jpeg settings; when needed I save as .psd.
Yes I have twice the numbe of files in my library, but I don't use much more disk space.
Now, just like in the silver era, I keep my 'negatives'safe, but I do work on the 'positive', the final jpeg output.
Browsing in the organizer, zooming at 100% is so much more fluid and fast!
Depending on my output, I export temporary versions for print, for viewing, for slideshows. For instance I export selected files or albums to a Dropbox folder for easy sharing on different devices. The exported files can be very small in size even for viewing on HD TVs.

What version of ACR do you have installed with your PSE12?  There is probably an easier way to find out, but this works:
Click Help > System Info... then scroll down the list to find Camera Raw (it is under Required Plugins on my computer); the number next to it is the installed version number.

You can check here to see which version of ACR is needed for your camera(s): Cameras supported by Camera Raw

I hope that helps.