Free Adobe Creative Cloud plugin
Adobe Camera Raw is a free plug-in for the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite that lets you easily edit pictures in a clean user interface. While ACR is designed specifically for RAW photos, you can edit a variety of file formats in the application including JPEG, TIFF, etc.
Capture One is a photo editing app that can handle RAW files. You can also modify JPEG, PSD, and TIFF image formats in the software. Adobe Lightroom is another program that can work with RAW images. Both Lightroom and ACR are part of the Adobe CC. While Lightroom is best for modifying a large quantity of pictures at the same time, ACR is optimal for adjusting photos individually.
Is Adobe Camera Raw free?
Adobe Camera Raw is a free plug-in for the Adobe Creative Cloud package. However, Adobe CC is available as a subscription-based plan that you will receive ACR when buying the Creative Cloud.
Is Camera Raw part of Photoshop?
The software works in a variety of the CC applications: Adobe Bridge, Adobe Photoshop, etc. The Adobe Camera Raw plugin will launch by default when you open a RAW file type.
How do I get Adobe Camera Raw?
You can open ACR in the rest of the Adobe Creative Cloud apps by right-clicking on a picture to select ‘Open in Camera Raw’. The Camera Raw user interface will appear to let you process the image types: RAW, JPG, etc. Since Adobe Camera Raw is a plugin, the utility cannot be launched by double-clicking an icon.
Do I need Adobe Camera Raw?
Adobe Camera Raw is a comprehensive service that lets you edit the details of each picture. ACR delivers advanced adjustment tools. The adjusters are located on the right side of the UI. The Auto edit feature is conveniently at the top of the panel. Additionally, you can quickly tap the B&W button that is placed next to Auto.
You can open multiple pictures in ACR at the same time. A film strip of photos will be available. You can position the strip horizontally or vertically. You can switch between pictures by clicking the one that you want in the center.
Each of the adjusters can be expanded: Basic, Curve, Detail, Color Mixer, Split Toning, Optics, Geometry, Effects, and Calibration. You can open multiple commands at once. A scrollbar will appear to let you browse the menus. The layout of the panels can be managed in the settings. You can click on the dropdown menu to edit the panel behavior: Single, Responsive, and Multi.
The Single setting is on by default to only let you open one menu at a time. Only the current tab will be open until you click another command. The Responsive mode will use artificial intelligence to automatically open and collapse the tabs to fit your screen. The Multi option lets you have multiple panels open at once.
What is Adobe Camera Raw?
The ‘Basic’ menu has the standard photo editing effects: Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Texture, Saturation, etc. You can move the lever on each sliding scale to adjust the effects. A negative or positive number will be placed above each bar to represent the precise placement of the effects.
Features
ACR delivers a variety of curves that let you control colors: Parametric, Point, Red Channel, Green Channel, and Blue Channel. The Parametric curve lets you change the highlights, mid-tones, and shadows of the colors. You can place multiple points on the chart with the Point Curve. The Red, Blue, and Green Channels give you gradations of the opposite colors that you can move between.
The Color Mixer section lets you adjust the HSL: Hue, Saturation, and Luminance. Two options are available in the dropdown menu: HSL and Color. The Color section lets you adjust the hue, saturation, and luminance for each color. The Targeted Adjustment Tool is available in the Color Mixer tab.
The Optics segment lets you manage your lens profile. You can mark the ‘Use profile corrections’ box to make sure that Adobe Camera Raw automatically detects the specific lens that you use. The Defringe area lets you manually remove chromatic aberrations. You can make upright and scaling corrections in the Geometry menu. The Grain and Vignetting scales are available in the Effects section. The Calibration menu lets you control your camera calibration settings.
All of the tools are located beside the panels: Edit, Crop & Rotate, Heal, Adjusted Brush, Graduated Filter, Radial Filter, Red Eye, Snapshots, and Presets. The Edit icon will bring you back to the adjusters. The Heal button lets you remove spots on the images.
Powerful controls
The Adjusted Brush, Graduated, and Radial Filters give you a Hue slider. The Hue bar lets you shift all of the colors in the portion of the picture that you select. You can select the fine adjustment box to fine-tune the color. The Brush tool lets you use pressure sensitivity. The opacity of the effect will be determined by the pressure that you put.
The Snapshot option lets you take a screenshot to document your progress. If you want to go back to a specific point, then you can revert based on the snapshot. Before and After buttons are available at the bottom of the UI and display them side by side by clicking on the viewer.
Detailed editor for multiple formats
Adobe Camera Raw can be used on both Apple Mac and Microsoft Windows PC operating systems. You can edit RAW photos in a clean user interface. The simple design lets you create in a distraction-free setting. ACR lets you save RAW and different file types to JPEG, PSD, TIFF, and DNG.
What’s new?
Adobe Camera Raw is updated regularly by the developers. The software recently received plenty of upgrades to the user experience. The user interface was redesigned with new features: pressure sensitivity, curve graphs, etc.
