RAW is one of two file formats in which digital cameras record images. RAW files are uncompressed files of data captured by a camera's image sensor when you press the shutter button. Shooting in the RAW format gives the photographer more ability to fix mistakes in post-processing. It also gives the photographer more control over items such as white balance, exposure, brightness, contrast and sharpness. RAW files must be converted before they can be used. Photoshop Elements has a built-in RAW converter, Adobe Camera RAW.
Highlight a file in the Photoshop Elements organizer and click on "Editor." Select "Full Edit."
2
Adjust the white balance. This can be done by picking a setting in the drop down menu (auto, daylight, cloudy, shade, tungsten, fluorescent, flash or custom) or by sliding the temperature bar to achieve the desired temperature. Sliding the bar to the left makes the picture cooler (more blue), while sliding it to the right makes it warmer (more orange).
3
Adjust the tint slider. To increase the green in the photograph, move it to the left. Move it to the right to get more magenta. This is usually only needed if you used the temperature slider to adjust the white balance.
4
Adjust the exposure. Move the slider to the left to darken the photo. Move it to the right to lighten the photo. Elements has check boxes above the preview window that turn on mask showing blown highlights in red. Blown highlights are places in the photo that are so bright you can not see any detail. Move the slider to the left to decrease exposure until the red mask disappears. If the photo looks too dark, move the slider to the right.
5
Adjust the shadow slider. Move the slider left to decrease shadows (pixels that are black in the photo). Move the slider to the right to increase shadows. Be careful not to move the slider too far to the right, turning the shadows into black with no detail.
6
Adjust the brightness slider to control the overall brightness of the photo.
7
Adjust the saturation. It controls how vivid the colors look. Most RAW photos can take a little increase in saturation, but be careful. Using too much saturation can make your photograph look unnatural.
8
Click on "open image" to open the photograph in Photoshop Elements to make further adjustments.
Tips & Warnings
Before doing any adjustments, click "auto edit." Photoshop Elements often gets the adjustments right on its own. If you do not like the adjustments, you can cancel them and make the adjustments manually as outlined above.
As digital photography increased in popularity among professional photographers, an increasing number of them began using an unprocessed file format called camera...
