Lars Smith
Level 1 (7 points)

Q: Edit raw files photos for mac

I am using a Fuji X-T10. The raw files are now supported by OS X. When I download them to Photos, I do not seem to be able to edit the raw files. The "Use RAW as original" menu option is greyed out. Can anyone explain how to use Photos to edit the raw file directly? Thanks!

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014), OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Dec 27, 2015 10:07 AM

by léonie,Solvedanswer
léonie léonie
Level 10 (105,838 points)
iCloud
A:
The "Use RAW as original" menu option is greyed out. Can anyone explain how to use Photos to edit the raw file directly?

This option is only available, if you are in Edit mode. Then it will be active in the Image menu, but only for RAW and JPEG pairs.

 

If you imported only RAW files, the RAW file is already the original and will be used, when you edit a photo.

 

I am not sure, what you want to achieve.  Photos does not edit the original RAW file. The original will always be preserved unchanged. Photos will open the RAW file, apply the adjustments to the image and then create a preview. You can export the edited photo in many formats, but not as an edited RAW file; export the edited photos as a TIFF for high quality, or as a JPEG file.

 

Screen Shot 2015-12-27 at 19.11.13GMT.jpg

Posted on Dec 27, 2015 10:18 AM

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Lars Smith

Q: Edit raw files photos for mac

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  • by léonie,Solvedanswer

    léonie léonie Dec 27, 2015 10:18 AM in response to Lars Smith
    Level 10 (105,838 points)
    iCloud
    Dec 27, 2015 10:18 AM in response to Lars Smith
    The "Use RAW as original" menu option is greyed out. Can anyone explain how to use Photos to edit the raw file directly?

    This option is only available, if you are in Edit mode. Then it will be active in the Image menu, but only for RAW and JPEG pairs.

     

    If you imported only RAW files, the RAW file is already the original and will be used, when you edit a photo.

     

    I am not sure, what you want to achieve.  Photos does not edit the original RAW file. The original will always be preserved unchanged. Photos will open the RAW file, apply the adjustments to the image and then create a preview. You can export the edited photo in many formats, but not as an edited RAW file; export the edited photos as a TIFF for high quality, or as a JPEG file.

     

    Screen Shot 2015-12-27 at 19.11.13GMT.jpg

  • by Lars Smith,

    Lars Smith Lars Smith Dec 27, 2015 10:39 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (7 points)
    Dec 27, 2015 10:39 AM in response to léonie

    Thanks for the reply and the answer. I completely missed that. To answer your question, my goal is to have a jpeg available to upload quickly if I want to post to social media right away, but be able to have more control over editing the photo later for other uses (such as printing). I understand that Photos is a non-destructive editor, and so changes would not be saved to the raw file itself. But I believe that even in Photos for Mac you would have more ability to correct for things like white balance and noise with the raw file, rather than the jpeg.  I was hoping to move most of that to Photos for easy syncing between devices, with changes saved across such devices. If I misunderstood how Photos for Mac works with the raw file, then I guess I need to continue using Lightroom in my workflow. Your thoughts on this are much appreciated.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Dec 27, 2015 11:53 AM in response to Lars Smith
    Level 10 (105,838 points)
    iCloud
    Dec 27, 2015 11:53 AM in response to Lars Smith

    To answer your question, my goal is to have a jpeg available to upload quickly if I want to post to social media right away,

    The Share menu in Photos will let you share the edited photos to social media; you can also access them from the media browser in most applications.

    But I believe that even in Photos for Mac you would have more ability to correct for things like white balance and noise with the raw file, rather than the jpeg.

    When you use adjustments like Noise Reduction or White Balance in Photos they will always be applied starting from the original RAW file, not the JPEG.  Have you added all possible adjustments to the Adjustments tab by clicking the Add Button? And revealed all advanced adjustments by clicking the down arrows?

  • by Lars Smith,

    Lars Smith Lars Smith Dec 28, 2015 11:27 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (7 points)
    Dec 28, 2015 11:27 AM in response to léonie

    When you use adjustments like Noise Reduction or White Balance in Photos they will always be applied starting from the original RAW file, not the JPEG.

    léonie,

     

    Perfect, and thanks for all your help! This means it works the way I hoped. As for the reference to the JPEG uploads, I was actually thinking about quick uploads from the camera to my phone, not after downloading to my iMac. Sorry, I didn't make that clear.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Dec 28, 2015 11:37 AM in response to Lars Smith
    Level 10 (105,838 points)
    iCloud
    Dec 28, 2015 11:37 AM in response to Lars Smith

    You're welcome, Lars!

  • by HelgeKreutz,

    HelgeKreutz HelgeKreutz Dec 28, 2015 11:53 AM in response to Lars Smith
    Level 1 (40 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 28, 2015 11:53 AM in response to Lars Smith

    For maximum clarity, I would set the camera to save "raw + jpg" and import both together into photo. They will appear as 2 pictures next to each other, and you just work with the one that you choose.

     

    One more hint: be careful in setting your preferences when you use raw images and photos/icloud. See here: How Photos and iCloud Photo Library handle RAW images - Apple Support

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Dec 28, 2015 11:57 AM in response to HelgeKreutz
    Level 10 (84,217 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Dec 28, 2015 11:57 AM in response to HelgeKreutz

    HelgeKreutz wrote:

     

    For maximum clarity, I would set the camera to save "raw + jpg" and import both together into photo. They will appear as 2 pictures next to each other, and you just work with the one that you choose.

     

     

    IMHO that is not the way to go and has no advantages - and you can not see the photos side by side in Photos - they are stacked so only one shows (it is possible to duplicate the image and then show both but why?) - and when you import a RAW to Photos a JPEG preview is immediately generated - so shooting both has no advantages - it complicates your work flow, fills up your memory card faster and uses more storage on your Mac and you gain nothing - Pick the format you want and use it - having an extra copy that you do not use is not an advantage but a complication

     

    LN