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Author Topic: Editing ACR (RAW Images) prior to Photomerge?  (Read 11151 times)

JimAscher

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Editing ACR (RAW Images) prior to Photomerge?
« on: September 07, 2011, 07:52:02 pm »

Let me first narrow this query down more specifically.

I will be employing a 35mm film lens (precise focal length not entirely critical?) with its wider image circle relevant to my Micro 4/3 camera sensor, using a Fotodiox Shift Adapter, all mounted on a tripod.  Shifting the camera 10-degrees right and left of the center, keeping the lens stationary, I will be producing three images, with overlap.

Prior to processing these three images in Photoshop's CS5 Photomerge facility, I may wish to pre-process the images while still in RAW format, before converting them to TIF, which Photomerge requires.

Do I have to edit the three RAW images via ACR individually, hoping to get them tonally alike, before passing them along to Photomerge, or is there some automated ACR function that once I've tonally adjusted the first image, will be duplicated in the other two?

Or do I need to really bother with pre-editing in ACR rather than editing the Photomerge(d) combined image?

Seems like a simple question -- but maybe not!
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madmanchan

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Re: Editing ACR (RAW Images) prior to Photomerge?
« Reply #1 on: September 07, 2011, 09:13:33 pm »

Jim, you can simply sync the settings from one image to the other two (or however many you have). And you don't necessarily have to write out a TIFF first. You can just invoke the photo merge feature directly from Bridge.
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Eric Chan

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Re: Editing ACR (RAW Images) prior to Photomerge?
« Reply #2 on: September 07, 2011, 09:41:03 pm »

Just to expand on Eric's response, simply open all 3 images in ACR.  Make changes to one, click on the Select All button at the top left of the ACR window then click on Synchronize.  A dialogue box will open where you can choose which adjustments you want to make consistent, click OK which will apply the chosen adjustments to the other images.  Then click Done which will close the ACR dialogue with the adjustments all applied.

If you're using Bridge, you then go to Tools>Photoshop>Photomerge.  If you're not using Bridge, use the normal command path from within Photoshop.
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JimAscher

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Re: Editing ACR (RAW Images) prior to Photomerge?
« Reply #3 on: September 07, 2011, 11:15:35 pm »

Hey, guys.  Thanks.  That answers my question (and concern) very succinctly.
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Dave Kocher

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Re: Editing ACR (RAW Images) prior to Photomerge?
« Reply #4 on: October 01, 2011, 11:40:30 am »

This is something I have been looking for too.  However, when I do synchronized adjustments in ACR and then Photomerge, I find the blending is not as good, i.e. the constituent images sometimes have intensity differences where they join.
I do not see this if I do the adjustments after merging.
Any suggestions about what I might be doing wrong?
Dave Kocher
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Kirk Gittings

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Re: Editing ACR (RAW Images) prior to Photomerge?
« Reply #5 on: October 01, 2011, 11:56:40 am »

I have seen a little of this after syncing-usually a small density shift. I always use manual exposure and always use a fixed color balance. I do flat stitches with a T/S lens, which because of lens fall off, the shifted images lose density. But usually PS PM has no problem evening this out. On the rare occasion when I get some density change artifact, I simply go back and adjust the density of the problem image, but I rarely have to do this.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2011, 12:07:02 pm by Kirk Gittings »
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ckimmerle

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Re: Editing ACR (RAW Images) prior to Photomerge?
« Reply #6 on: October 01, 2011, 12:01:09 pm »

Any suggestions about what I might be doing wrong?


You're shooting manual exposure, right?
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Dave Kocher

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Re: Editing ACR (RAW Images) prior to Photomerge?
« Reply #7 on: October 01, 2011, 03:15:09 pm »

Yes, I'm using the same manual exposure for all images.
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eliedinur

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Re: Editing ACR (RAW Images) prior to Photomerge?
« Reply #8 on: October 01, 2011, 08:59:23 pm »

This is something I have been looking for too.  However, when I do synchronized adjustments in ACR and then Photomerge, I find the blending is not as good, i.e. the constituent images sometimes have intensity differences where they join.
I do not see this if I do the adjustments after merging.
Any suggestions about what I might be doing wrong?
Dave Kocher

In the Develop mode select your images and then go to Settings / Match Total Exposures. The other images intensity will be adjusted to match that of the "most selected" image.

Oops, I just realized this relates to LR. Is there similar tool in ACR or Bridge?
« Last Edit: October 01, 2011, 09:01:50 pm by elied »
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Schewe

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Re: Editing ACR (RAW Images) prior to Photomerge?
« Reply #9 on: October 01, 2011, 09:30:06 pm »

Prior to processing these three images in Photoshop's CS5 Photomerge facility, I may wish to pre-process the images while still in RAW format, before converting them to TIF, which Photomerge requires.

Yes, if you shot in raw, you WILL want to optimize the images in Camera Raw prior to doing a stitch. However, you are wrong that you have to actually process the images to TIFF. You can shift select the raw images and from Bridge go to Tool/Photoshop/Photomerge to process the raw files and merge them in CS5.

Now, about optimizing the images. Yes, I suggest you open all of the photomerge images into Camera Raw and use the Film Strip mode of ACR to work with the various images. First off, you do need to match the tone and color across the images. If you select all in the film strip you can adjust all the images at the same time. It's not unlikely that you may need to tweek some of the images individually however. Also note that prior to doing a stitch, it's a real good idea to apply lens correction to all the images. This will fix lens distortion, chromatic aberrations and vignetting. This will reduce the amount of work Photomerge has to do...

I also suggest using Cylindrical as the merge option instead of Auto...Auto sometimes comes back with results that look like it's been on drugs...

Bottom line? Get the images optimized on ACR then use the Bridge call for Photomerge.
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Dave Kocher

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Re: Editing ACR (RAW Images) prior to Photomerge?
« Reply #10 on: October 02, 2011, 11:30:13 am »

This is something I have been looking for too.  However, when I do synchronized adjustments in ACR and then Photomerge, I find the blending is not as good, i.e. the constituent images sometimes have intensity differences where they join.
I do not see this if I do the adjustments after merging.

Today I have had time to look further into the behavior I reported above and have not been able to reproduce it.  Previously a set of synchronized images merged differently depending on whether they were merged out of Bridge (Tools/Photoshop/Photomerge) or transferred to Photoshop and then Photomerged from within Photoshop.  The effect only showed up if a synchronized exposure adjustment was made in ACR before merging, and then the merge was selected from within Bridge.  It was a very strange behavior: The images were a panorama of Machu Picchu, with heavy clouds at the top and the terraces at the bottom of the images.  The clouds stitched fine but the terraces came out light in one of the constituent images whenever the synchronized exposure adjustment was made in ACR and then the merge was selected from within Bridge.  It didn't happen if the same adjusted images were transferred to Photoshop and then Photomerged.  I can only assume operator error somewhere.  Sorry for the distraction. 
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Dave Kocher

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Re: Editing ACR (RAW Images) prior to Photomerge?
« Reply #11 on: October 03, 2011, 07:48:17 pm »

FWIW, I have found the following:
If I make synchronized ACR image adjustments to a set of manually-exposed images that are to be merged, the resulting panorama may have density discontinuities at the stitches.  I have found that use of the Fill slider will produce this effect, while adjustment of the Exposure slider alone (with the other sliders set to zeros) does not.
I did a search (ACR Fill Photomerge) on the Adobe Photoshop Forum and came up with this unanswered post:
http://forums.adobe.com/message/3345569#3345569
That post suggests making only exposure adjustments prior to merging, saving the resulting panorama as a TIFF, and then opening that TIFF in ACR to make any remaining adjustments that may be desired, such as Fill, Blacks, etc.
It works for me.
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JimAscher

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Re: Editing ACR (RAW Images) prior to Photomerge?
« Reply #12 on: October 04, 2011, 01:09:59 pm »


....I also suggest using Cylindrical as the merge option instead of Auto...Auto sometimes comes back with results that look like it's been on drugs...

Bottom line? Get the images optimized on ACR then use the Bridge call for Photomerge.

Jeff:  You seem to be right on the Cylindrical vis a vis the Auto merge.  Trying both, the Cylindrical does seem to give me better results, but why I don't know (or can't explain).  Also, regarding the use of Bridge: I could do this, but for now I'm choosing to come to the PS Merge function through Lightroom, my (for now) still preferred application. But then I do end up with tif rather than raw images.  I'm still experimenting with all this, however.
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