If your camera shoots in RAW, congratulations. You can get much more out of your shots than owners of compact cameras that can shoot only in JPEG.

This article does not pretend to be a complete guide to RAW processing, however, in our opinion, it will be useful for those who have not yet attached importance to the potential of working with RAW.

RAW and JPEG, which is better?

Of course, it is important to understand that RAW and JPEG were originally created to solve different problems, so it is impossible to argue that RAW is better than JPEG.

The JPEG image format was created in order to display the highest quality picture with minimal cost memory. When shooting in JPEG, you immediately get a finished picture, which you can immediately send to a forum, website, social network and maybe in print. JPEG files take up relatively little space and are the unspoken standard for storing images in user albums.

The colors in your photos will be exactly as your camera's imaging system sees them. In the case of RAW, you will either have to resort to using a native RAW converter, or use the correct profiles in a software specially designed for this. If there are no profiles (this is possible in the short term, for example, if your camera is new, and the software company has not yet had time to prepare the correct profiles), you will need to configure the image parameters yourself.

It is important to know that absolutely all cameras shoot in RAW. It's just that saving in RAW is blocked for them, and the camera independently converts the signal to JPEG using its own algorithm known only to developers. Thus, JPEG is the final result of processing the image by the camera, this process proceeds in several successive stages. The image processing system does this - this is what manufacturers now call a bunch of special processor, additional chips and software algorithms.

Knowing photographers love to shoot in JPEG, developers equip almost all modern cameras, including SLR and hybrid models, with advanced JPEG processing options. In Canon DSLRs, this is the Picture Style function, in Nikon DSLRs - Picture Control, in Sony DSLRs - image styles. In addition to several frequently used presets, it is possible to configure all the parameters yourself.

Of course, computing power and the intelligence of processing systems are constantly evolving. For example, new system processing in Lumix cameras, called the Venus Engine VHD, and the image processing system in Casio cameras are equipped with three-core processors; integrated circuit Canon DIGIC IV is equipped with fast memory and provides multi-channel reading from the sensor. The installation of these two processors in the Canon EOS 7D camera made it possible to achieve a data readout speed of 144 Mp / s.

Venus Engine FHD Tri-Core Processor

The software part is also important, and it is often based on an extensive database of typical shooting scenes. The camera compares the brightness composition of the shot against a database that already contains several thousand typical scenes and uses the optimal shooting settings. When recognizing a certain color in the frame, such as a blue sky, cameras increase the saturation of that particular blue color. It comes to the fact that cameras take into account the time zone, as well as the date and time of shooting. Thus, your camera can, for example, when shooting sunsets, automatically increase the saturation of reds and yellows, making the shot more “tasty” and the camera owner more joyful.

Unfortunately, often automatic programs glitches or provide undesirable effects, greatly overestimating / underestimating the contrast or saturation of the image.

There are many situations in which shooting in JPEG is more appropriate. It makes sense to shoot in this format if you are sure that the photos do not need significant processing, when shooting large series (not the cheapest SLR models usually have a large RAW buffer, but compact cameras and budget SLR cameras traditionally have a RAW buffer). no more than 10 frames per burst), and also when the memory card is close to full.

What is the path from the moment of shooting to saving the image to the memory card?

The signal received from the sensor is interpolated to RGB, the processor performs color correction in accordance with the white balance settings, and then applies color correction based on the saturation, contrast and other color settings.

After that, the image processing system applies one of the special effects, if they have been selected by the user, for example, miniature effect, tilt-shift optics simulation, fisheye lens distortion. If special effects are not involved, then, on the contrary, software correction of vignetting, chromatic aberrations and optical distortions is carried out.

By the way, it was these software methods that made it possible to reduce the cost and size of such popular cameras as the Canon S90 and Lumix LX-3. In order to reduce the price of devices and their dimensions, manufacturing companies decided to abandon the complex optical design of lenses, which minimizes unwanted distortion.

Small dimensions and high image quality in the Canon S90
made possible by software correction of lens distortions

Finally, the camera applies the user-specified sharpening (sharpening) or blur settings, noise reduction settings at slow shutter speeds or high ISO, and only after that it converts the result into an 8-bit image, i.e. JPEG.

The saddest moment is that each stage of transformation leads to an irreversible loss of information in the photo. And if the pictures are of some value to you, then it is very stupid to give all these stages for processing by the camera.

Shooting in RAW format allows you to edit the image beyond the limits of the JPEG format. You can correct the exposure, white balance settings, sharpen and remove noise in the image after. Roughly speaking, all you need when shooting in RAW is to get a technically satisfactory shot. The rest can be improved.

RAW is a specific format that stores information about the signal taken directly from the light sensor without further processing by the camera. Data in a RAW container can be either uncompressed or compressed, with or without loss. However, even in the worst case of lossy compression, a RAW file contains significantly more information than a JPEG image. maximum quality A: 12-bit or 14-bit RAW files are much more user-friendly than heavily compressed 8-bit JPEGs.

Almost all manufacturers have their own RAW formats: Canon has *.acr and *.cr2, Sony - *.arw, *.srf, *.sr2, Nikon - *.nef, *.nrw, Pentax - *. ptx and *.pef, while Samsung has *.srw. Many new models use the Adobe-developed open format DNG (Digital Negative, digital negative).

RAW is a kind of undeveloped digital image. Although it is recognized by many modern viewers (with or without special plug-ins), it is unsuitable for printing, and the file itself different editors may be interpreted in different ways. For example, the same RAW when viewed in ACDSee and Picasa is significantly different.

The RAW format provides extensive post-processing capabilities within some limits without loss of quality. All those operations that the camera's processor does on its own will need to be done manually. There is only one reward here - much better and more effective photos.

However, RAW files take up significantly more space, they are 3-6 times larger than similar JPEG files, and some knowledge and processing time are required for conversion. Fortunately, the process is quite fun, and if you have a good RAW source, you will definitely be happy with the final result.

RAW conversion using the example of Adobe Lightroom

We will look at RAW conversion using Adobe Lightroom version 3.2 as an example. This program deserves attention for several reasons: it is quite simple to use, it is regularly updated and it supports almost all released cameras capable of outputting RAW files. The application is well integrated with the Photoshop family and is very functional, it is equally convenient when working with individual photos or with a large number of images.

Of the disadvantages of Lightroom, it is worth noting the exactingness of computer computing resources and the need to purchase it. The lack of a Russian-language interface also often scares off novice photographers. You can download the program on the official website of Adobe.

Despite enough big number programs of this type, of which we would note the free RawTherapee, Apple Aperture, Phase One Capture One and Bibble Pro, the Lightroom application, in our opinion, is the golden mean.

All these programs deserve attention, as they are stronger in certain moments. For example, Aperture is very easy to use, while Capture One gives you the best color control.

In a loose translation, the word lightroom is interpreted as a place for developing pictures. In principle, the way it is - it is a convenient and powerful interface for developing RAW images and even working with JPEGs. Lightroom is a non-destructive image processing algorithm. Until the moment of conversion, the pictures entered into the program remain untouched, and preview effects and settings is available from the application cache. Each file is assigned a detailed user-edited document, which is written into instructions and then executed when converting images from RAW.

This approach is quite convenient, and thanks to it, an infinite history of actions with a snapshot or snapshots is implemented.

The Lightroom program allows you to synchronize the selected settings for a group of photos, which is very convenient, for example, if you have taken many shots of the same type and want to transfer editing to several pictures at once.

The Library module contains a feature of the program for cataloging images. We will not focus on it. We only note that frames can be sorted by creation time, title, shooting coordinates, lens, focal length, etc. It is possible to create dynamic collections that are automatically replenished according to selected criteria, and much more.

The Library module is very powerful and convenient, as are the modules for preparing for printing (Print), creating a slide show (Slide-show) and publishing on the Internet (Web). Their description would be enough for another article, so we will pay attention to the most important module - the processing module (Develop).

At the very top is an image histogram by color and shooting information. The histogram can be moved with the mouse, its certain areas are responsible for controlling the exposure, dark and light areas of the frame. The histogram is quite clear and allows you to quickly correct frames that were initially not very successful.

It should be noted that all settings follow in a logical order, and if you do not quite understand what you want to improve in the picture, you can move through the settings from top to bottom.

Basic panel

White balance (white balance). In this window, the user can choose one of the white balance presets available in your camera, or entrust the choice of optimal settings to automation, which provides a surprisingly high-quality result. If you are not satisfied with the above settings, you can use the sliders Temperature (color temperature) and Tint.

The easiest and most convenient way to correctly set the white balance is to use the White Balance Selector tool (eyedropper), which can be used to indicate a neutral tone in the image, such as a white or gray area. This shows a greatly enlarged area under the pipette so that you can more accurately select the correct neutral area on inhomogeneous textures.

exposure- one of essential tools in conversion. It is with its help that the primary “pulling” of details from incorrectly exposed photographs is performed.

This parameter sets the overall brightness of the image and its white point. If you hold down Alt while working, the areas of the frame that are knocked out into the light will be highlighted, i.e. they will not contain any information other than pure or almost pure white. If there is no artistic idea in this, the details lost in the lights should be tried to be returned. This applies to the bright white wedding dress as well as the texture of the clouds in the sky.

Tool Recovery called upon to help us. It removes overexposures in right places, almost without affecting the rest of the photo. If you have done color correction before, after applying Recovery, a light gray veil may appear in the picture or the colors may change slightly.

Tool fill light(fill light), on the contrary, increases the brightness of dark areas, while not affecting the light areas.

If Recovery can almost always be turned up to the maximum, then with Fill Light you should be careful - the unnatural brightness of dark areas can give even a good picture a flat and unnatural look. Both tools help to get into the histogram, and their judicious use can be considered a light variation of HDR, high dynamic range images.

Parameter Blacks sets the black point of the image.

Parameter brightness Many consider it a clone of the Fill Light tool, but this is not the case - it changes the brightness for the entire tonal range of your image.

Parameter contrast responsible for the contrast of the photo. Decreasing contrast makes tonal transitions softer, while increasing contrast makes them sharper.

Three interesting tools are in the subblock Presence (appearance), and changing them greatly changes the photo itself.

Tool Clarity affects the micro-contrast of the image, namely, the smoothness of contrast transitions, such as edges, contours of objects. Increasing the value of this setting creates the feeling of a sharp frame, while decreasing it creates the effect of a soft, almost out-of-focus image.

Tool Vibrance- this is perhaps one of the most effective, simple and beloved Lightroom tools. Following its success, Adobe implemented a similar tool in Photoshop CS4. Vibrance is a smart saturation enhancement feature. It does not affect already saturated colors, but selectively and non-linearly increases the saturation of dull shades. This approach avoids oversaturation, loss of shades and various artifacts in the image. In addition, Vibrance selectively enhances the saturation of skin tones and prevents people's skin from turning into a yellow-beige substance.

Tool Saturation increases the saturation of all colors at once. A slight increase in saturation along with the use of Vibrance will allow you to get even more juicy and vibrant colors. However, you should use Saturation carefully, you should not twist the parameter value to the maximum.

The next block is curves. The tone curve in Lightroom is used to adjust the contrast within a certain range of tones. Although this is a very powerful tool in terms of image enhancement, we will not cover it yet, as it is quite complicated for beginners, and The best way to study it is just to experiment.

Color correction block

This block is designed to correct the hue, saturation and brightness (luminosity) of individual colors. Colors are initially divided into several shades: red, orange, yellow, green, aqua, cyan, violet, magenta.

On each options tab Hue(tone), Saturation(saturation), Luminance(brightness) there is a list with sliders to control each color. However, the most convenient way to selectively color correct is to use the dot tool. All you need to do is move it to the desired color in the frame, for example, to the sky, and move it up and down with the mouse button held down. The result of the application is immediately displayed on the photo, and this approach makes the method of working by eye very convenient.

In mode grayscale all colors in the picture can also be varied and use the dot tool.

Split Toning Block

This block will be of interest to people who want to achieve creative processing comparable to effects such as sepia or film color simulation. Separate toning is available here certain color light and dark areas of the image. We invite you to experiment with the block yourself.

Block Details(detail) includes two very important items - Sharpening and Noise Reduction.

Tool sharpening responsible for sharpening the image. It works on the same principle as the Unsharp Mask tool in Adobe Photoshop. This tab contains a 1:1 scale image fragment and algorithm settings - Amount, Radius, Detail, Masking.

Parameter Amount is responsible for the intensity of the sharpening algorithm.

Parameter Radius is responsible for the thickness of the area on the boundaries of objects in which the algorithm will work. For modern SLR cameras with a resolution above 10 megapixels, the recommended values ​​​​are 0.8-1.

At the end of the studio photography master class, you have a set of photos of the model (who worked under the TFCD contract) in RAW format.

You will not lose if the model receives a disk with all the frames of the shooting before they are processed, regardless of the artistic value of the pictures. For you, such shots should not be considered the actual result of shooting - they are only raw materials from which the final product is yet to be obtained. Therefore, we will not torment the model for months in anticipation of a well-deserved reward and wait for inspiration to process photos “for production”, but will make every effort to prepare from “raves” suitable for everyday use"jpegs". I personally don’t put copyright on such photos (and I don’t recommend it to you) - the model already does not have the right to publish these photos except for personal use (you issued a model release, and the model signed it, right?), but to demonstrate your an autograph to hundreds of friends of the model in the photo, in whose quality you are completely unsure, in my opinion it is not reasonable.

So, we need to get a certain number of photos in jpg (jpeg) format to transfer them to the model. But this is a good reason to look at the result of shooting in the first approximation!

I shoot with Canon cameras and for RAW processing (in this case, these are files with the CR2 extension) I use the Digital Photo Professional program offered by the manufacturers for free. Even 7 years ago, when I was preparing pictures for printing in a glossy magazine, this program was already ahead of the built-in converter plugins in terms of its capabilities. graphic editors. Now DPP is a powerful tool that does an excellent job with the task of initial image preparation.

Models working under the TFCD contract (from the English "Time For CD" - Time for a CD (with photographs)), as a rule, work out of love for art. And art involves black and white pictures. Therefore, even if the idea of ​​your shooting did not imply a black-and-white version of the photos, it would be better to prepare jpegs for the model both in color and in black and white.

Batch processing of color photos

Figure 1. Out of habit in all graphic editors, I use English language as a workspace language - most of the concepts are more correctly determined in it and there is less confusion. If you do the settings in exactly the order that I describe them below, you should be fine.

1. We choose "by eye" a frame with the most common characteristics of color, contrast, brightness for the entire shooting. Open it RAW to edit the settings (DoubleClick on the thumbnail in DPP), and customize. (Picture 1.)
2. It is very important to decide which white balance will best suit the shooting conditions. If the shooting took place in a studio using monoblocks of pulsed light, then most likely for white balance it will be possible to leave automatic settings. If they do not satisfy you, then I recommend trying to set the numerical value of the temperature of the light. For the most common monoblocs, this temperature is 5600 °K - from this value you start tuning, gradually shifting to values ​​that give shades that best match your expectations. If this does not help, then you can take a neutral color from the frame with a pipette (only not very light and not very dark).
   This survey was carried out on gray background, so using patches of this background to select a gray point is logical. That is why I used Click white balance.
3. Here we adjust the exposure in the range of values ​​​​from -2 to +2 (very similar to the hardware settings +/-2EV, isn't it?). By clicking to the right or left of the slider, we move it by 1 step. A total of 12 steps in each direction, in this case I left the exposure unchanged.
4. Most of the time I use the style standard. I will not explain why here, the choice of profile is a topic for a separate discussion.
   • Contrast (Contrast). By default, my camera has a contrast of -1, but in this shot I turned it up to zero to brighten up the shot.
   • Highligt (Light colors). This setting allows you to muffle or enhance highlights. I use it very rarely, and in this case I did not use it.
   • Shadow (Shadows). This setting raises or deepens shadows. As you can see, I've raised the shadows by 1 step to improve the detail in the hair that was lost as a result of the contrast increase.
   • Color tone. Allows you to make color correction of the image - moving the slider to the right makes the image more "green", to the left - more "magenta". I prefer not to use this as I usually don't need both green and purple skin.
   • Color saturation. Speaks for itself. You can either increase the saturation or decrease it. I didn't touch anything in this case.
   • Sharpness (Sharpness). The name also speaks for itself. I like sharpness (perhaps more than necessary), so I usually set quite high values ​​​​(here - 8). However, if the optics used when shooting, in itself gives a “ringing sharpness”, it is better to set the value lower - around 4. If your glass is “soapy”, you can put all 10.
5. Let's go back to the brightness settings. You may need to increase or decrease the brightness after correcting the Picture Style.
6. To transfer the settings just made from one frame to all the others, you need to copy the recipe (RightClick on the thumbnail of the adjusted file, Copy recipe to clipboard); select all shooting frames (Ctrl + A); and apply the copied recipe to all selected files (RightClick on the thumbnail of any of the selected files, Paste recipe to selected image - you will have to confirm in a pop-up window that you really want to apply the settings to all selected images). Without deselecting all files (or use the Ctrl + A combination again if the selection was accidentally canceled), save all files at once (Ctrl + S).
7. Open each shooting file in DPP one by one. Firstly, this is to check the exposure - it is unlikely that the brightness settings will be suitable for all frames. Secondly, and this is much more important, by viewing the frames you will be able to mark for yourself those that deserve attention for further processing. By the way, Digital Photo Professional allows you to mark your favorite frames with digital labels, and this will allow you to quickly find them later.
8. Batch processing (Batch process). Select all files again (Ctrl + A) and call the batch processing dialog (Ctrl + B). In the batch processing dialog box (Figure 2.) pay attention to the following fields:
   • Save folder. folder path, in which finished files will be saved during batch processing.
   • file format. File format. In our case, it should be Exif-JPEG with quality 8)
   • filename. File name. The program allows you to set an arbitrary name for the entire series, but I strongly recommend keeping the current file name - this will save you a lot of time when the need arises (and it will certainly arise) to find the original raw file corresponding to any jpeg. If you want to somehow specially mark the name of the series in the file names, then use the String field - the expression entered there will be added to each file as a suffix.
   • The Execute button starts the batch processing process, and after a few minutes you will receive all the shooting frames in the specified folder as files in a format suitable for transferring the model.jpg

Figure 2.

Batch processing of black and white photos

1. We return to the same frame that was used to adjust the color image.
   Figure 3
2. White balance adjustment. We do not change anything regarding what was in the color photo.
3. Brightness adjustment. We don't change anything either.
4. Picture Style (Image Style). Replacing the Style standard on style monochrome- please note that the style settings were partially “reset”, and partially replaced by completely different ones that were not in the Standard style.
   • Contrast (Contrast). A black and white image has 65 thousand times less ability to convey the difference between two adjacent points than a color one. Therefore, to give the photo more depth, we increase the contrast - I increased it by 2 steps.
   • Highligt (Light colors). Without changes.
   • Shadow (Shadows). Despite the hair that has gone into darkness due to the increase in contrast, I do not change anything here either. Hair is not significant object snapshot, so for batch processing, their detail can be neglected.
   • Instead of Color tone, the slider of which we saw when working with a color image, appeared Filter effect (Filter effect). When black and white photography dominated photography, color filters were used to give more depth to the pictures, blocking the light of the corresponding part of the spectrum. At the same time, the detailing did not suffer, but rather even improved. If a red filter was used, red objects in the photo became significantly lighter, if green - green. That is why the use of the yellow filter in the settings ( yellow) brightened the skin, evened out its tone and gave the midtones even greater contrast and depth - the skin has a yellowish tint after all.
   • Toning effect (Toning). Another exclusive setting for monochrome. Allows you to tint a black and white monochrome image to sepia, cyan, or magenta. In our case, this is redundant.
   • Sharpness (Sharpness). We leave it as it was.
5. Save the configured RAW file (Ctrl + S) and close it.
6. We copy the recipe and transfer it to all other files (read how to do this in the instructions for preparing color photos for preview).
7. We open each shooting file in DPP one by one to adjust the exposure. As in the case of color photographs, mark those frames that seem promising for further processing.
8. Use batch processing to save the resulting result (read how to do this in the instructions for preparing color photos for preview).

Figure 3. The basic tools for setting up a black and white version are exactly the same as for a color photo, but there are also their own - special tools

A photographer who shoots a lot often has to process huge arrays of photos. This work takes a lot of time and effort. This article will discuss how to make this work easier, how to speed up the processing of photos in order to give them to the customer on time, and to shift part of our efforts to Photoshop itself.

Beginning photographers are often unaware of Photoshop's ability to automate some of the actions that are repeated for a large number of photos. For example, using batch processing, you can very quickly, within a few minutes without losing quality, compress hundreds of images for publication on the Internet, or quickly process a large folder with equal files. Let's start with rav files.

1. Batch processing of equal files in Photoshop

Photoshop has a built-in "Adobe Camera Raw" module that allows you to edit equal files and convert them to familiar formats, to Jpeg, TIFF or PSD. In order to simultaneously process the required number of sources in the rav format, open them in Photoshop with the usual command in the "file-open" menu.

In the window that opens, select necessary files, let's say 30 or 50 pieces, maybe more, but this will be enough for a sample.

If these shots are taken in the same conditions, in the same lighting, and with the same white balance, then we have the option to edit one of them to our liking and apply the same settings to all the other shots in the series.

Edit the first photo in line, if necessary, using the editing panel, such as correct exposure, white balance, remove noise, remove chromatic aberration, etc. Then apply these corrections to all images opened in the module.

Then apply these corrections to all images opened in the module. To do this, click the "Select All" button in the file browser and then click the "Synchronize" button.

In order not to bother, select "Synchronize All". After that, view all the frames, activating them one by one in the file browser. And if necessary, make a correction for a particular frame individually. When the corrections made suit us, it will be possible to convert our equal files to the format we need, for example, to Jpeg, or to TIFF, if you plan to continue their further fine correction in Photoshop.

To do this, click "Save image" and in the new window that opens, specify the save settings, quality and format, as well as the folder in which we will save our pictures. Have you indicated? Click "Save" Everyone! The process has begun, Photoshop saves frame by frame, and we enjoy and go to drink coffee. Or is tea better? The processing speed will depend on your computer hardware.

2. Batch processing in Photoshop of jeeps

Well, if we need to quickly process great amount pictures in Jpeg format, then we can do it using this or that action and apply it to the whole mass of pictures. For example, I often use an action when preparing a snapshot for publication on the Internet, or before sending it to a customer by email. It saves a lot of time

Or, for example, you need to correct the wrong exposure, say, excessively dark pictures, then you can create a special “lighten” action for them and apply it to all the pictures in the folder. Or add sharpness. There can be a lot of options here.

3. Actions for Photoshop

Where can I get the actions you need in this case? There are two options here. The first is to create the desired action, i.e. this or that action in Photoshop itself. The procedure is very simple and well described on the Internet. A simple action of several actions is done within a minute. For myself, I create this or that action situationally for each specific task. For example, to compress images without losing quality, I use the “1000”px action I created, which reduces the size of the image to 1000 pixels on the long side and adds a little sharpness after that. You can read more in

If you have never used actions before and don't know how to call them, then open any picture in Photoshop and go to the "Window - Actions" menu or press Alt + F9. You will see the “Actions” panel, in it you will see a list of actions that are available by default, select any one, for example, any “50 px frame” and launch it by clicking the green triangle at the bottom of the panel. This is for practice, to know what is at stake.

The second way is to download the desired action for free on the Internet. Now there are a huge number of them. Moreover, from purely technical to creative, for example, “portrait retouching” or some other spectacular technique. It is enough to download and install it by copying it to your Photoshop folder and you can use it as much as you like. Approximate copy path might be C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop\Presets\Actions

4. Automation in Photoshop

Well, now the most important thing. Let's put batch processing into practice. For example, I'm using my 1000px action. Well, for the experiment, you can specify which one you want. So let's open Photoshop. In the "file" menu, look for the item "Automation - batch processing».

You will see such a window in which we indicate the “source” - the source folder, with the images that need to be processed. Specify the action that we will apply, and specify the output folder in which the program will add the processed images. This folder, of course, must be created in advance.

Leave the rest of the settings as in the screenshot. All indicated? Click "OK". Everything, the process has begun, we look at the monitor with square eyes, pointing a finger at it, watching in amazement how files open by themselves, change before our eyes and close, giving way to new ones. I don’t suggest you go to drink tea, you won’t have time, because everything happens very quickly, although of course everything will depend on the number of pictures in this folder, and the power of your computer.

Try it. This will really save your time and effort. Success

In the module Adobe Camera Raw it is possible to process several files at the same time, otherwise known as batch processing.

What is it for:

Batch processing significantly reduces time costs

To obtain the same images within the same series.

What does same mean?

The fact is that if we process each image of the series separately (a series means images taken in the same conditions within the same shooting), we can get a different processing result, which will look unprofessional. The entire series should look the same in color and tonal density.

How to achieve this?

There are several ways to batch process. I will introduce you to two of them.

First way

To change the settings of multiple files at the same time, first open them in Camera Raw. The easiest way to do this is from the Adobe Bridge module.

Select the files you need - this is done in the same way as in Explorer, that is, to select several files in a row, you need to click on the first one, then, while holding SHIFT key, on the last one.

To select multiple files with an arbitrary location, hold down the CTRL key. Then open the files in Camera Raw by clicking on its icon (marked with a red box).

You can do this by pressing the key combination CTRL+R.

The selected images will open in the Adobe Camera Raw module

The next step is to select all the images. To do this, you can click the Select All button or the keyboard shortcut CTRL+A. Highlighting around image thumbnails indicates that they are selected

Now, if you move the sliders to adjust the image, that adjustment will be applied to all images at the same time.

At the same time, an icon appears on the image thumbnails in the lower right corner, indicating that the image has been corrected.

After completing all the necessary operations in the tabs, you must click the Finish button to save the result without opening files in Adobe Photoshop.

Camera Raw closes and the updated image thumbnails appear in the Bridge module.

Second way

In the same way, select images in the Bridge module and open them in Camera Raw.

Then we process one image.

Now select all images by pressing the Select All button or the keyboard shortcut CTRL+A.

Click the Synchronize button.

A dialog box will appear with a choice of parameters that will be synchronized in the selected images. Here you can check or uncheck the checkboxes of the parameters, thus flexibly setting up synchronization according to certain settings (for example, you want to synchronize only the white balance, in this case you need to check only opposite this parameter).

But, in our case, we need to apply all the processing options to the rest of the images, so we will not change anything, but immediately click OK

Processing options will be applied to all images, and the appearance of thumbnails will change accordingly

Any more or less advanced camera allows you to shoot not only in JPEG format, but also in a “raw” format, also known as RAW format.

In everyday life as soon as it is not called. Connoisseurs of English correctly pronounce "ro-format". The slang name "Rav" has settled almost everywhere.

The structure of a RAW file is highly dependent on specific model camera. Even from the same manufacturer different models cameras produce different RAW files. Therefore, usually a RAW file cannot be opened by any standard image viewer program - for this, the program must know hundreds of different formats from hundreds of camera models. You need a special program.

By the way, the RAW file extension is also different. Canon has CRW and CR2, Nikon has NEF, Pentax has PEF, Minolta has MRW, etc.

Why such hemorrhoids? Why do we need a "raw" format at all? The fact is that you can get a much better photo from a RAW file than from a standard JPEg file. What does "higher quality" mean? That means less digital noise, better colors, better detail in highlights and shadows.

The payoff for higher quality will be additional manipulations with the converter program.

If you are satisfied with the quality of the JPEG format, then do not bother with the raw format

So, how to convert RAW files to the familiar JPEG and TIFF graphic formats?...

There are a whole bunch of programs of varying degrees of complexity, cost and quality of results.
Below are the most popular (and therefore the highest quality). I immediately warn you - the best converter does not exist. Each converter has its own advantages and disadvantages. All the converters mentioned here give excellent results in their own way (if used correctly). If you do not know what to look at, look at the appearance. Also not the worst selection criterion.

Adobe Camera RAW (ACR)

It - component latest versions of Photoshop, starting with Photoshop CS. It can be updated like a regular plug-in. ACR is triggered when trying to open a RAW file in Photoshop. Supports a large number of cameras, including new models.

So, if you have Photoshop, then you don't need anything else. ACR converts RAW files pretty well. I for a long time used it and was quite satisfied, but eventually switched to Capture One(according to points C1 still better).

When converting files Adobe Camera RAW allows you to correct image imperfections. For good shots, this is not essential, but too dark or too light pictures, unsharp, with a color imbalance, can be “pulled out” and turned into candy. Not always, however.

What can be done:

Make fine adjustments to color temperature
Adjust brightness, contrast and color saturation
Pretty good sharpness control
fight the noise
Correct lens errors (chromatic aberration, vignetting, geometric distortion)
Control the histogram during all manipulations.

In general, if you “pull the mustache” of ACR, then you can from not too good original extract quite acceptable quality, and then polish the image in Photoshop itself.

Adobe Lightroom

This is a specialized "full cycle" program aimed only at working with photos. It can be used as a photo cataloger, RAW file converter, image editor and slide show in one package.

Some photographers I know quite rightly rave about this program. We can say that this is a Photoshop cut down only for working with photos, supplemented with the functions of a photo library.

The cost of Adobe Lightroom is much lower than that of its older brother, Photoshop, and is about $300.

Apple Aperture

Works just on Apple computers under operating system macOS. Under Windows does not work in principle. Therefore, for the vast majority of Russian amateur photographers, it is not interesting.

One of the most user-friendly interfaces and very good quality of results (for the latest versions). Plus, the sane price is about $350.

Like Adobe Lightroom, this program is complete solution for the photographer "in one bottle"- file manager, RAW converter, photo editing program and slide show.

Bibble Labs Pro

Bibble is one of the oldest converters, its first version dates back to 2000. Bibble can work both under Windows, and under MacOS, and under Linux.

Bibble is slightly inferior to Adobe Camera RAW in terms of the number of supported digital cameras, so check the manufacturer's website to see if your camera is listed.

Bibble's signature feature is batch conversion.

(Batch conversion or Batch Processing is the processing of a large number of photos at the click of a button).

Almost all converters have batch processing, but only Bibble works with a large amount of photos very quickly, giving a consistently high-quality result. 90% of pictures converted with default settings will look great. I don't know what the joke is, but according to reviews, the main advantage of Bibble is its intelligent automatic processing algorithm.

Bibble works very well with overexposed and underexposed areas of the image, "pulling out" as much detail as possible. Also Bibble has one of the best denoisers.

The price of the Pro version is quite adequate - $130.

DxO Optics Pro

According to the developer, the advantage latest version(5.0) is a completely redesigned color interpolation technology that provides “better results in terms of detail and color reproduction”. this is one crown piece.
Another key feature of DxO Optics Pro v5 is a brand new digital noise suppressor that works early in the conversion process, preserving more detail.

Highly useful feature converter - technology for removing traces of dust on the matrix and artifacts. It works in much the same way as the automatic red-eye correction tool. It is enough to click on the area with the artifact, and it is immediately “smeared” by the program.

The cost of the Pro version is $170, the Elite version is $300 (the difference between the versions is in the class of compatible cameras - cool DSLRs like the Canon Mark III will require the Elite version).

Lens-specific downloads are available. This feature of the program increases efficiency in automatic processing - the converter automatically tracks which lens the frame was taken with and adjusts the conversion parameters accordingly.

This leads to one of the main advantages of DxO Optics - in good results batch processing. The developers have paid special attention to automatic functions that allow you to achieve high-quality results without user intervention (elimination of optical distortions, color settings, exposure compensation).

Here you can see the features of version 4.5:
http://www.ixbt.com/soft/dxo-optics-451-1.shtml
(I have not yet found a clear overview of version 5.0 - without advertising hype and loud statements).

Lightcraft LightZone

LightZone is a "full cycle" program that provides not only RAW file conversion, but also full processing capabilities for RAW, TIFF, JPEG and DNG files. Price full version for Windows and MacOS - $250, and under Linux program distributed free of charge.

LightZone takes a "visual" approach to working with images. All operations are carried out in 16-bit representation, which ensures maximum preservation of information in the image. The program allows you to work with layers and masks, and also has several unique tools that are not found in other image editing programs.

As an archiver/cataloger, LightZone is way behind Aperture, Picasa, and Lightroom.

But distinctive feature LightZone is a set of processing "styles": High Dynamic Range (HDR processing), Contrast and Pop (pop art style), Lomo Look (lomography) and others. Styles are not just a set of specific options. When you select one of the presets, an automatic processing algorithm is launched that takes into account the properties source file, even when batch processing is in progress. Styles can be combined into groups (folders) and even shared with your colleagues.

Overview of program features:
http://www.ixbt.com/soft/lightzone1.shtml

Official page of the program:
http://www.lightcrafts.com/products/index.html

Nikon Capture NX

Highly good program converting NEF files, also works with TIFF and JPEG. Supplied with Nikon D300 and D3 SLR cameras. Supports all Nikon digital cameras released over the past few years that have RAW mode. Without a camera costs about $200.

Capture NX allows you to mark individual areas of an image and perform complex masking or layer processing.
The program has standard means optical distortion correction (aberration, vignetting, barrel effect), exposure (curves, levels), colors, noise reduction, etc.

The functionality of the program can be extended using the Color eFex Pro filter plug-in from Nik Multimedia.
A description of Nikon Capture NX functionality can be found on the manufacturer's website. Make adjustments for the objectivity of the manufacturer :)
http://www.nikon.ru/product/ru_RU/products...0/overview.html

Phase One Capture One Pro

One of the most famous pro converter in circles. It costs very well - $500. In terms of compatibility, it is inferior to Adobe Camera RAW or LightZone, as it is aimed at "professionals" with "professional" cameras.

The bad news. It does not work too fast (a few minutes to process one photo). At default settings, it does not give the most top scores.

Good news. If you work with each image individually, you can get great results.

The noise filter is quite simple, so it's better to work with noise after converting to good editor, for example, in Photoshop.

Silkypix Developer Studio

Converter from Japanese developers. Supports a lot of cameras, DSLRs and compacts - about 120. License price - $150.

Silkypix has a large number of white balance and sharpening presets. Therefore, those who feel insecure with color correction and other manual manipulations will surely find something suitable among the offered ready-made options. For connoisseurs there is an opportunity fine tuning color, exposure and noise reduction, including separately for color channels and brightness, which often saves small details.

Selected conversion options can be saved as individual user preferences (Tastes), and then applied to other images.

Silkypix version 3.0 is one of the best converters in terms of image detail. Another advantage of the program is consistently accurate color reproduction when using the default settings.

What else?

I think you are already tired of reading about converters. Here are some more worthy programs, and I'll wrap it up.
So it's worth mentioning:

ACDSee Pro 2 from company ACD Systems
Official product page:
http://store.acdsee.com/DRHM/servlet/Contr...ductID=78701700

UFRaw is a free program.
"Official" page of the program:

Digital Photo Professional(DPP) from the company Canon
Description
http://www.ixbt.com/digimage/canon_dppix.shtml

Oh... You won't believe it, but I actually forgot about one of the most interesting (and free!) converters-catalogues-editors-managers. it Google picasa -

Whatever converter you use, I recommend installing Google Picasa. It helps a lot when searching for pictures scattered across hundreds of folders. It converts well from RAW to JPEG (it doesn't know how to TIFF).

As an editor, this program looks rather strange, and I personally do not like it. I would say that this is for chickens to laugh at. I would say ... If not for one of my friends - a photographer Elena Onishchenko. She uses "picas" when processing her photos. And here's what happens:

You can see more of her work here:
http://www.photosight.ru/users/66659/
As far as I know, all processing is done by picasa.