Planet Photoshop

Using Camera RAW Images As Smart Objects

You can add any RAW image to your existing document as a Smart Object. Just use the Place command (under the File menu) and navigate your way to the RAW image. When you choose the RAW image, Photoshop will first open Camera Raw so you can process it. When you click Open in the Camera Raw dialog, it will place itself into your document as a Smart Object (and it will have a bounding box around it so you can determine the size you want it to appear within your document). Once you’ve sized the placed image, press Return (PC: Enter) to lock it into position. If you need to make any edits to the RAW photo after it’s placed into your document as a Smart Object, just double-click on the Smart Object’s thumbnail in the Layers palette and your RAW image will reopen in Camera Raw. Make your changes, click OK, and it will automatically update in your main document. Sweeeeeettttt!

Posted by Corey Barker

Corey is the newest education and curriculum developer for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. He is a graduate of the Ringling School of Art & Design in Sarasota, Fl, with a degree in Illustration. Over the years, Corey has worked as a graphic artist in a variety of disciplines such as illustration, commercial design, large format printing, motion graphics, web design and photography. His expertise in Photoshop and Illustrator have earned him numerous awards in illustration, graphic design and photography. Using Photoshop since Version 2, his expertise and creativity have evolved exponentially with every new version, which makes Corey an invaluable addition to the NAPP team.

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