WORKING WITH RAW FILES
6
Close the file
After processing a raw file you can click Done. This
will store all the settings and cropping information
alongside the raw file, so that you can continue fine-tuning
the image at a later date. If you click Open Image you take the
processed shot into the main Photoshop Elements Editor.5
Boost the colours
Boost the Vibrance to +54 to reveal the green
vegetation on the rocks. The clouds look a little bluer
too, which adds variety to the scene. Set Saturation to +10 for
a gentle overall colour boost. Our digital negative is looking
much better now that we’ve developed it in Camera Raw.4
Increase midtone contrast
The clouds consist of fairly flat-lit midtones. Drag
the Clarity slider to +41 to increase the contrast of
the midtones. This teases out texture detail in the clouds. It
also reveals more texture and detail in the sand and the rocks,
which helps give the shot more impact.3
Lighten the midtones
The shot lacks detail in the midtones, but it has
plenty of shadow and highlight information. If we
increased the Exposure value we’d brighten it up, but this
would blow out detail in the highlights. To selectively lighten
the midtones, drag the Shadows slider to +49.2
Crop the shot
The horizon is tilted. Grab the Crop tool and draw a
crop box that’s slightly smaller than the image. If you
place the cursor outside the crop overlay, a rotate icon will
appear. Drag this to rotate the crop box so that its top edge
runs parallel with the tilted horizon. Click the Zoom tool.1
Open the image
Go to File>Open and browse to the ty_elements32.dng
starting image. The file is a .dng (digital negative), so it
will open in the Camera Raw editor. There’s no universal raw
format, which is why Adobe invented .dng. Different camera
manufacturers produce their own unique raw format files.