Shift-double clicking on a RAW image in the Bridge will bypass the Camera Raw dialog, applying either settings that have been saved with the file, or if there are no setting applied, opening the file with the camera defaults.
For most people, the fact that Camera Raw is a plug in that works in both Bridge and Photoshop is completely transparent. The most common workflow is to find the desired image in Bridge, double click to open it in the Camera Raw dialog box and start editing edits. When you're finished, you click Open Image (or Open Object if the "Open in Photoshop as Smart Objects" is checked) to open in Photoshop.
But there is a subtle difference when you use one of the other methods (ie not double clicking in Bridge) to open a raw file For example, when in Bridge, if you choose File > Open in Camera Raw, click the Open in Camera Raw icon, or Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + R to open Camera Raw files, Bridge launches the Camera Raw plug in so that it runs within Bridge. The advantage to this workflow is that you can make edits without having Photoshop open. Another small change that you will notice if you choose one of the previously mentioned methods for opening raw files-when you are finished making edits, the default button is "Done" and by clicking it, you will be returned to Bridge.
Note if, when in Bridge, you choose to double click on a raw file (thus launching the camera raw plug-in in Photoshop) clicking the Done button will close the raw plug in and leave you in Photoshop.
In order to change the default rendering of your raw files, open an image in Camera Raw, then change any necessary sliders or options and choose "Save New Camera Raw Defaults". From that point on, every time you open raw file from that camera you're settings will be the way that you want them. Note: using the Camera Raw Preferences, you can make the Camera defaults specific to Camera Serial Number and ISO setting. Setting new Camera Raw defaults is most commonly used for selecting an alternate default profile under the Calibration tab. For more information check out the movie on tv.adobe.com - Working with DNG Camera Profiles.
Holding down the Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) key changes the Save, Open and Cancel options:
• "Save Image..." changes to "Save Image" (with out the ellipse) which saves the image bypassing the Save Options dialog (it automatically uses the last settings).
• "Open Image" changes to "Open Copy" which opens a copy of the image. This would be useful for opening multiple copies of the same file processed in different ways.
"Cancel" changes to "Reset" which reverts the image settings to the beginning of the session (not the camera defaults, the image settings - although this might be the same if it's the first time the image is opened in Camera Raw).
When using the Point curve (in the Tone Curve panel) many of the shortcuts that work in Photoshop also work in Camera Raw. For example, Command (Mac) / Control (Win) -click in the preview are to set a point on the curve. Then, use the arrow key (up and down, left and right) to reposition the curve (add the shift key to move in larger increments). To select multiple points in the Curves panel, Shift click the points on the curve. In addition, Control + Tab will move to the next point on the curve (yes, it's the same shortcut on both Mac and Win).
While in Camera Raw, several of the same keyboard shortcuts apply as in Bridge for adding star ratings and color labels.
• Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + 1, 2-5 for 1-5 stars.
• Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + 6, 7-9 for color labels.
• Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + "." or "," to increase/decrease star ratings.
Note that Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + 0 will "Fit in View" so you'll need to use "." to decrease star ratings to zero (or, if you have more than one image opened in Camera Raw, click on the "no-rating" icon in the filmstrip on the left hand side.
In Camera Raw, Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + U sets new black and white points.
In order to see if any highlights or shadows in an image are clipped to pure black/white, tap the "O" / "U" key to turn on the clipping warning. Clipped highlights will be displayed in red, shadows in blue. I think Over/Under exposure to remember these shortcuts for viewing clipping warnings in shadow / highlights.
Clicking on the Full Screen Mode icon (to the right of the Preview option) will display Camera Raw in Full Screen Mode. Better yet, pressing "F" will also toggle Normal / Full Screen Modes in Camera Raw!
"P" toggles the Preview on/off (to quickly compare before and after). However, it only toggles on and off the preview for the active panel (Basic, Tone Curve etc). In order to toggle all changes made in all panels, select the Presets or Snapshot's panel and tap "P".
"V" toggles Hide/Show Adjustment Brush pins and/or the tool Overlay for Graduated Filter, Spot Removal and Red Eye Removal tools.
When using the Graduated filter Shift -dragging constrains the Graduated Filter to 15 degree angles. When finished refining the controls for one graduated Filter, tapping "N" commits the current Graduated Filter adjustment and targets the New option (as oppose to Editing the current adjustment). The "N" key also works with the Adjustment Brush.
When using the Adjustment brush, tap "M" to toggle on/off the Auto Mask option (Auto Mask automatically detect edges based on contrast and color to help selectively apply adjustments to a desired area. To view the Mask Overlay tap "Y" to toggle the Overlay on /off. To choose a different color to display as the mask overlay, click the color swatch to the right of the Show Mask option.
Parallel to Photoshop, Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) + "[" or "]" increases/decreases brush size. Adding the Shift key increases/decreases Feather. Adjusting the Flow is even easier, simply tap the "+ " (plus) or "-" (minus) to increase/decrease. Note: the Flow sets the amount and speed at which an adjustment is applies , the Density caps the amount of change that can be made (even with multiple strokes).
In addition, Shift -drag constrains the Adjustment Brush to a straight line and Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) toggles the Adjustment Brush and Eraser tool.
• Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) -drag the Exposure, Recovery or Blacks sliders to display any clipped areas in the preview.
• Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) -drag the Hue slider in the Split Toning panel to display the color at 100% saturation.
• Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) -drag Detail and Masking slider to display a B/W preview of the mask.
• Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) -drag Red/Cyan or Blue/Yellow slider in the Lens Correction panel to display a single color shift correction.
To delete a single Color Sampler in Camera Raw, position the cursor over the Color Sampler while holding the Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) key. When the icon changes to a pair of scissors, click to "cut" (delete) the Color Sampler. Holding down the Shift key temporarily toggles the Color Sampler tool to the White Balance Eyedropper.
Option-Command (Mac) / Alt-Control (Win) + 1, 2, 3-9 will display the corresponding panel (Basic, Tone Curve, Detail etc.). Note: Mac Users, must disable Universal Access in the OS in order to display the Preset's panel (Option-Command (Mac) / Alt-Control (Win) + 8).
The Crop tool in Camera Raw works similar Photoshop, however there are a few differences.
• Position the curser outside of the crop marquee (the icon will change to the double headed arrow), and drag to rotate/straighten.
• Escape will remove or cancel the crop.
• In order to set an aspect ratio for the Crop tool, click and hold the Crop tool icon and select Custom from the drop down. Changing the Crop options to Inches will enable the option to open at a specific size (when used in combination with the resolution in the Workflow Settings).
Some of these your might recognize from Photoshop, however Camera Raw adds some great additions.
• Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + "+" (plus) zooms in and "-"(minus) zooms out.
Some of these your might recognize from Photoshop, however Camera Raw adds some great additions.
• Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + 0 (zero) will "Fit In View".
Some of these your might recognize from Photoshop, however Camera Raw adds some great additions.
• Option-Command (Mac) / Alt-Control (Win) + "0" (zero) views the image at 100% .
Some of these your might recognize from Photoshop, however Camera Raw adds some great additions.
• Holding down the Command (Mac) / Control (Win) will temporarily switch to the Zoom In tool. Note: this shortcut will not work when the Crop tool is selected as the Command (Mac) / Control (Win) temporarily switches the Crop to the Straighten tool.
Some of these your might recognize from Photoshop, however Camera Raw adds some great additions.
• Option (Mac) / Alt (Win) will temporarily switch to the Zoom Out tool.
Yesterday's post noted that "T" was the shortcut for the Targeted Adjustment Tool. More specifically, "T" will select the "last used" Targeted Adjustment tool. There are however, more specific shortcuts to select the individual tools:
Option-Command (Mac) / Alt-Control (Win) Shift + T Parametric Curve
Option-Command (Mac) / Alt-Control (Win) Shift + H Hue
Option-Command (Mac) / Alt-Control (Win) Shift + S Saturation
Option-Command (Mac) / Alt-Control (Win) Shift + L Luminance
Option-Command (Mac) / Alt-Control (Win) Shift + G Grayscale Mix
Camera Raw shares many of the shortcut keys used to select tools as Photoshop does. There are a few deferences however, as you can see below. (Don't worry, if you can't remember them all, you can always position your cursor over the desired tool to display the tooltip.)
Z Zoom Tool
H Hand Tool (or press the Spacebar to temporarily access the tool)
I White Balance Tool (or use Shift to temporarily access the tool)
S Color Sample
T Targeted Adjustment Tool
C Crop
A Straighten
B Spot Removal
E Red Eye Removal
K Adjustment Brush
G Graduated Filter
L/R Rotate Left (CCW) / Right (CW) or Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + "[" or "]"
Finally, Command (Mac) / Control (Win) + K will launch the Camera Raw Preferences.