Camera Profiles in Adobe Camera Raw

Q:

Why is it when I view my rendered raw files in Adobe Lightroom the images look different from the JPEG files shot at the same time?

A:

The Adobe software, which includes Lightroom and the Adobe ACR module, both use default rendering profiles that can produce changes in color and saturation from the look of the camera processed JPEG’s. Adobe Camera Raw 5.3 and Lightroom 2.3 both incorporate custom camera profiles that can mimic the default look of your cameras JPEG’s.

The first step in utilizing these profiles is to make sure you have the most recent version of either Lightroom 2.3 or Adobe ACR 5.3 (current for Adobe Photoshop CS4) loaded on your system. Since the process of using these profiles is slightly different in the two programs, I’ll start with the description for Lightroom first.

Adobe Lightroom 2.3

The camera profiles are located in the Camera Calibration panel at the bottom of the Develop Module. From the profile drop-down in this menu select the appropriate profile to match the picture style you want to use. These profiles are unique for each camera model supported by Adobe Lightroom 2.3, and match the same names you would find in the camera’s menu. Depending on the profile you select, you will see a greater or lesser degree of change as the on-screen preview is updated to match the new profile.

You can in fact save this as the new default profile for your camera by creating a new user preset. This preset can subsequently be invoked during the initial import of raw files.

Adobe Photoshop CS4

For Adobe Camera Raw 5.3 the camera profiles are found under the Camera Calibration tab. Select the appropriate style from the Camera Profile drop-down menu. Your chosen profile can also be stored as a new default preset. This can be invoked from the Edit / Develops Settings menu in the Adobe Bridge.