Question about Opening raw image into PS from Lightroom Classic: I thought that when using Photoshop, raw format images were opened into Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) by default. But that...

JD750 Loc: SoCal

I thought that when using Photoshop, raw format images were opened into Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) by default. But that does not seem to be the case when handing them off to Photoshop from Lightroom (LR) Classic CC.

When I open a raw format image into Photoshop (PS) from LR Classic CC, by right clicking on the image and using the "Edit In" menu, it opens directly into PS. However when I open that same raw image using MacOS (Finder) or if I open it directly from Photoshop, it opens into ACR. This is consistent and repeatable.

Is a Mac "feature" or does this happen to the PC users as well?

Hardware/Software:
MacBookPro
MacOS Mojave
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC, 8.2 release, ACR 11.2, Build 120463
Adobe Photoshop CC 20.0.4 release

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

AFAIK, however you open it in Photoshop, ACR is/has been used. Best of luck.

Linary Loc: UK

JD750 wrote:

I thought that when using Photoshop, raw format im... (show quote)

Lightroom Classic is ACR - therefore when sending from LR to PS there should be no real need to send the image to the ACR in Photoshop. If you have need of the the ACR in Photoshop then you may use the Camera Raw filter. All the sliders and tools in LR also appear in the PS version of ACR. It is only the user interface that is different.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Linary wrote:

Lightroom Classic is ACR - therefore when sending from LR to PS there should be no real need to send the image to the ACR in Photoshop. If you have need of the the ACR in Photoshop then you may use the Camera Raw filter. All the sliders and tools in LR also appear in the PS version of ACR. It is only the user interface that is different.

Just to clarify, Lightroom is NOT ACR, they are two different programs, LR is LR and ACR is ACR whatever programs you use to activate it!

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

speters wrote:

Just to clarify, Lightroom is NOT ACR, they are two different programs, LR is LR and ACR is ACR whatever programs you use to activate it!

I am pretty sure ACR is shared by Lightroom and Photoshop. The results are exactly the same, they produce the same xmp file if you want, and the only difference is the user interface. Adobe has only one raw converter and that is ACR.

For clarity's sake. . . Just sayin'

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

JD750 wrote:

I thought that when using Photoshop, raw format im... (show quote)

In Windows, when you use the "edit in" option on a raw file in LR, it creates a bit-map file based on the rules you have set up, and opens that file in Photoshop. I use a 16 bit TIFF file with ProPhoto color space while in Photoshop. If I were to open the raw file from Windows Explorer with a right click, I have my file association set up to open it in Photoshop - which brings it into an ACR window. You can associate the raw file type with Lightroom so when you right click it will start LR, then add the file to the catalog so you can edit it.

Linary Loc: UK

speters wrote:

Just to clarify, Lightroom is NOT ACR, they are two different programs, LR is LR and ACR is ACR whatever programs you use to activate it!

To reclarify, LR and ACR both have the same engine. The user interface on both is very different.

Easy to check (using the xmp files)

Make a duplicate of a raw file - import one into Lightroom, make some adjustments but note exactly what adjustments you have made.
Open the 2nd raw file in PS (should open in ACR). Make the same adjustments (using the notes) and click done.

Both the original and the copy will now have xmp files attached. These can be opened as text files, and if you have the patience to compare them, you will find the changes you have made in both - the same. This is a long and tedious process.

Another way is to ask the experts on the Adobe forums.

If you have twin monitors, providing they both display the same kind of colour and resolution, just put LR on one and PS on the other and again load duplicate raw files into each program. There could be a colour space problem on this method because I am not sure if ACR uses the same C/space as LR Develop module. (My twin monitors never match exactly as one is white LED and the other is CCFL).

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Set the preference option in LR Classic to write XMP files when you work a RAW in the Develop module. Then make some adjustments. Then open that same RAW file from Explorer or Finder. ACR will open showing the sliders in the position you left them when you were in the Develop module.

In other words, the part that interprets the RAW file is the same in both applications but with different graphical interfaces.

When you "Edit in" from Lightroom with RAWs you normally get a choice of keeping/using the LR adjustment in a TIFF or PSD. There is an advantage because that file is recorded in the catalog and your Photoshop work will be part of your LR file management system.

(On edit. I made a mistake. RAWs open directly. JPEGs and TIFFs open with a choice of keeping/using LR adjustments.)

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Gene51 wrote:

In Windows, when you use the "edit in" o... (show quote)

Thank you Gene for the info.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

bsprague wrote:

Set the preference option in LR Classic to write X... (show quote)

Interesting. That makes sense.

I have not been seeing the choice of keeping/using LR adjustments. Maybe that is because I use LR primarily as a cataloging/editing/sharing tool and I use Photoshop for retouching. So if I am handing a raw file from LR to PS it has not been edited in Lightroom.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

JD750 wrote:

Interesting. That makes sense.

I have not been seeing the choice of keeping/using LR adjustments. Maybe that is because I use LR primarily as a cataloging/editing/sharing tool and I use Photoshop for retouching. So if I am handing a raw file from LR to PS it has not been edited in Lightroom.

"I have not been seeing the choice of keeping/using LR adjustments."

RAWS work differently than JPEGs or TIFFs. (I mistyped/made a mistake above)

Open Lightroom with the image displayed in the Develop, Library, Slideshow or Web modules. Right click the image and choose Edit In > Adobe Photoshop. If you chose a RAW file then the image is sent direct to Photoshop. The "ACR" adjustments link directly.

If you chose a JPEG or TIFF file, then other options are available. You can choose Edit a Copy, Edit Original or to Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments. If you want to take the changes that you’ve made to the image in Lightroom with you to Photoshop, then use the Edit a Copy with Lightroom Adjustments option.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

All my photos are going to end up in Photoshop, and I have my own organization system, so I just open RAW files in Photoshop ACR and skip Lightroom altogether.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

JD750 wrote:

Interesting. That makes sense.

I have not been seeing the choice of keeping/using LR adjustments. Maybe that is because I use LR primarily as a cataloging/editing/sharing tool and I use Photoshop for retouching. So if I am handing a raw file from LR to PS it has not been edited in Lightroom.

But if you hand off a raw file that you edited in LR to PS, those edits will be intact, and burned into a jpeg/tiff/psd for additional editing in PS.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

JohnSwanda wrote:

All my photos are going to end up in Photoshop, and I have my own organization system, so I just open RAW files in Photoshop ACR and skip Lightroom altogether.

Some of my files end up in PS, some end up in On1, others make a trip through DXO and back, and end up in either PS or ON1, and yet others only get cataloged in LR and are processed in Capture One. The edits are then added to the LR catalog, which are then processed like any other file - ON1 or PS usually.

I use LR as an organizational tool, export platform, publishing platform, tethering, quick and easy slide show creator, and on occasion, a geotagging app. I never use it for printing. It is often where I use plugins to work in as well. I've come to depend less and less on PS, except for those things that it does exceedingly well.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Gene, you wrote, "I've come to depend less and less on PS, except for those things that it does exceedingly well."

I'm on a concerted effort to learn what parts of Photoshop work best for Lightroom photographers. Object removal is exceptionally good. What are some of the things you rely on in Photoshop?