A Camera Raw file is a digital negative. It can be stored in the DNG format, a non-proprietary file format pioneered by Adobe Systems, or in a proprietary camera format like a NEF or CR2 file. (This is the raw file saved directly from higher-end digital cameras.) You can non-destructively edit Camera Raw images in Lightroom, used by digital photographers. Even easier for those of us who are primarily InDesigners, we can also use the Camera Raw plug-in using Photoshop or Bridge to do incredible image manipulations non-destructively. In InDesignSecrets.com podcast #80, David Blatner said, “Camera Raw is one of the best ways to be making edits to images. Even now you can do that with JPEG and TIF images.”
InDesign doesn’t support directly placing Camera Raw files. If you try to place them, you’ll get an error message. But, by using an easy-to-use trick, you can do it. The trick to to save a Camera Raw file out of the Camera Raw plug-in as a Smart Object. You can use this trick with either Adobe Creative Suite 3 or 4 because Smart Objects can be saved as a Photoshop PSD file by Photoshop CS3 or CS4. And virtually any version of InDesign can place PSD files.
Rather than go through all the steps here, I’ll give you an easier way to learn about this trick. Terry White just recorded a short video on his Adobe Creative Suite Video Podcast that tells you how to do it. He shows you that after you’ve placed such an image into InDesign, you can always go back to make adjustments in the Camera Raw plug-in, save the results, and have them immediately linked in InDesign!
To be fair, Terry didn’t originate this idea. David credited it to Mike McHugh showing it at the InDesign Conference last year in New Zealand. He and Anne-Marie mentioned it on podcast #80.
This article was last modified on December 19, 2021
This article was first published on February 2, 2009
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