Calibrate Your Digital Camera in Adobe Camera Raw
The Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) plug-in for Photoshop and Lightroom uses camera profiles based on only one or two cameras of a given model. You can assume that your camera has the same color characteristics as the camera used to set the ACR profile. Or you can profile your own camera for outdoor and studio conditions and potentially see noticeable improvement in colors. New software tools make this a straightforward task.
Instructions
1. Install the current Adobe Camera Raw for your version of Photoshop. (The directions here are for use with Photoshop CS3 or CS4. If you use CS2, refer to the Chromoholics calibration system noted in Step 7.) For Photoshop CS3, you should have ACR 4.5/6; for Photoshop CS4, get ACR 5.x. Both can be downloaded at the Adobe site (http://www.adobe.com). Also download and install the Digital Negative (DNG) Profile Editor, available at the Adobe site. This is the program you'll use to make the profile for your camera.
Get a Gretag Macbeth Colorchecker Color Rendition Chart: $59 at B&H; $58 at Amazon. To make a calibration profile for your camera, you'll make a RAW photograph of the Colorchecker chart and then use the DNG Profile Editor to create your new profile. You may be able to borrow a Colorchecker chart from a local photographer or print shop.
2. Photograph the Colorchecker chart as a RAW file. For outdoor lighting, choose a sunny day, and position the chart with the sun approximately 45 degrees to the surface of the chart. A black background surrounding the chart will help reduce flare. For studio lighting, set up a standard copy shot (i.e., light heads on either side of the chart at a 45-degree angle). Bracket your exposures to get an image with all chart color patches well exposed.
3. Transfer your RAW file from your camera to your computer. You'll need to convert the image of the Colorchecker chart to DNG before you can use it with the Profile Editor. Open the Colorchecker chart in Adobe Bridge, use "Save Image" in the lower left-hand corner to save it as a DNG file. Or download the Adobe DNG Converter at http://www.adobe.com/products/dng/. Install the converter, then convert your Colorchecker chart to DNG.
4. Launch the DNG Profile Editor and choose File>Open DNG Image, then open your Colorchecker.DNG file. On the Profile Editor tabs, choose Chart (the far-right tab). Four small circles will appear on the image of your Colorchecker chart. Move each to the center of the four corner squares in the Colorchecker image: brown, teal, black and white.
5. Leave the pull-down menu in the center of the Chart tab at "Both color tables." Click the Create Color Table button at the bottom of the screen. You will receive a message indicating the color table was successfully created. Click "OK." This saves what Adobe refers to as a "Recipe." You can tweak your color table to accentuate various colors before you create your new camera profile.
6. Choose File>Export> and save it to your hard drive in the Camera Raw>CameraProfiles folder. Close and then re-open Bridge and Photoshop. You'll find the new calibration profile listed on the "Camera Profile" drop-down when you click the "Camera Calibration" tab under the histogram. Choosing your new profile will cause ACR to use your new color table when importing RAW images.
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