ACR is still in its infancy. I suspect at one time it will completely take over Photoshop, which then will be fully non-destructive.
Already smart objects are blurring the line – you can do things to the image in Photoshop while still retaining ACR editability. This is such a radically new way of thinking that I’m still struggling with it (but then I may just be getting old (I’m fifty)).
In this context I feel the twenty or so history states are more or less irrelevant. You lose that, but you gain much more.
But it would be interesting to hear what others think.
is the limiting workflow in raw that allows you to undo only one change
Huh? Camera Raw has unlimited (well, effectively unlimited) per session undo…and you can ALWAYS go back to the beginning at the Camera Raw "Default" and start over…all without effecting the original raw data…and yes, the better place to post this would be in the Camera Raw forum.
and yes, the better place to post this would be in the Camera Raw forum.
I disagree jeff. as he’s going the other way (from ps to raw) many other straight ps users here would probably be interested in the opinions of those already using raw and might want to alter their workflow than raw power users would be in hearing a newbie ask ‘why this and not that’ questions.
actually i’m selfish and interested in the answers this one will get. 🙂
The one thing I can’t get used to is the limiting workflow in raw that allows you to undo only one change.
I’m not sure what you mean by this. If you want to change something you’ve done in RAW, just go back and change it. You don’t really have to "undo" anything, because nothing has been done to the image iself — just the instruction set that accompanies the RAW file.
ANY change can be undone simply by going back to the control slider and moving it to where you want it. Even if you’ve clicked the "Done" button which saves the new instructions and applies them to the file thumbnails — or the file when opened in PS, you can reopen the RAW image, tweak it further, or as Jeff mentioned, return to the default settings.
I try to do most of my work in Camera Raw these days, getting my images as close as possible to the final product. I use Photoshop mainly for getting the file ready to print, for local corrections, and for a few other things that Photoshop does better.
Buy the book.
Jeff wrote it, with Bruce Fraser. Or vice versa, depending which way you look at it.
If you make a series of changes in ACR that you want to cancel, just cancel out of ACR and it will not record any of your changes. If you want a history list and the ability to back up some number of changes, use Lightroom.
Thanks to everyone for the responses. I don’t think I explained myself very well so let me try again. In Photoshop I can make a duplicate layer and change all sorts of settings to improve the image. If I want to go back to an earlier point in my changes, I can simply go to history. When I’m happy with my revisions I can compare it with the original to see if I have indeed made a better image by switching between the layers.
When adjusting raw images the process seems so linear by comparison. I might adjust the exposure slider and then the recovery slider and then the fill light slider but if I’m not happy where I am, there’s no way to cancel the recovery and fill light sliders and get back to only the exposure change I had made. And there’s no original image I can switch to for comparison.
To be honest, I have a lot to learn about raw and at 56 learning comes a lot more slowly than it used to. I’m aware of the benefits to using raw but at the moment the costs are holding me back.
I might adjust the exposure slider and then the recovery slider and then the fill light slider but if I’m not happy where I am, there’s no way to cancel the recovery and fill light sliders and get back to only the exposure change I had made.
Multiple Undo…in Camera Raw…yes, it’s there…command (control) z, command/option (control/alt) z to do back in time, command (control) shift z to go forward in time.
Uncheck/check the preview button to see the changes caused by the current panel’s adjustments…in the flyout menu, select Camera Raw defaults to see what the image looks like at default, choose Image Settings to see the settings you started with and custom settings to see the differences since you opened the image.
You really need to learn the fundamentals of using Camera Raw…
