There are several ways to upload your photos without importing into iPhoto directly. You can use Image Capture to selectively upload your photos to a folder on your Desktop. If your camera mounts on the Desktop as an external drive then you can simply drag and drop in the Finder to get the files on your Mac. If your camera doesn't mount, then you can place the camera card into a USB card reader, which will mount on the Desktop, then drag and drop.
Once imported into iPhoto, the RAW files are automatically given the keyword "RAW." (Likewise, videos are given a
Movie keyword.) All you have to do to locate those files is click the RAW keyword, and they will pop right up. You could also create a Smart Album where "keyword is RAW" to catch them for you. If you like working in Events view then you could separate your RAW photos from your jpegs by creating Events for them.
You'll have to decide if you want the RAW files in your iPhoto Library. A disadvantage is that your library will contain 2 separate sets of files for photos where you have RAW versions and have imported your edited jpegs. An advantage is you can quickly compare your edited jpegs to the RAW files, and as your editing skills become more proficient you can always edit your RAW files again.
I don't have a camera that shoots in RAW, so I haven't had to make these decisions for myself. I'll tell you my thoughts based on what I have read and what I have learned from a PSE tutorial. I believe that the advantage is that the RAW file has not been processed by the camera, which allows you to process it on your computer to best suit every photo. For example, my camera may have under-exposed a backlit subject because I forgot to turn on the flash and set the exposure to spot-metered. I can fix it in Photoshop, but because the camera incorrectly processed that jpeg, my options are limited, and my subject will most likely be grainy. Take that same shot in RAW, and those exposure decisions aren't made by the camera. Now I could open it in the RAW workspace of Elements, and I could apply the correct settings to turn that photo into the perfect shot. Of course, that depends on my ability to use the RAW editor to make the best adjustments for that photo. RAW used to be primarily for professional and serious photographers, but as cameras have come down in price more casual photographers choose to shoot in RAW. Aperture handles RAW files better than iPhoto, because it is aimed more at the professional photographer, whereas iPhoto is a consumer-level application.
One more question along my road to understanding. When I am finished in the RAW converter and Open in Elements I am able to do all the cropping etc. before I Save As. It still has the dng extension at this point so am I still working on the RAW file?
I don't know for sure. I did play with the RAW workspace in Elements as I worked a tutorial that I bought. I am
guessing that what you have after leaving the RAW space and opening in Elements is an Adobe Raw file. That is what I kept seeing. If I saved the file as Adobe Raw then iPhoto 6 was unable to import it.
Sometimes Photoshop expert [Barbara Brundage|http://discussions.apple.com/profile.jspa?userID=38538] chimes in to answer this type of question here. OR you can ask on the [Adobe Photoshop Elements forums|http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.eeb4f8b>.
Regards.
