Notes: "Introducing Camera Raw" by Chris Orwig

I'm referencing Chris Orwig's 15-hour tutorial called "Photoshop CS4 Tutorials for Photographers" on lynda.com (I only have Adobe Photoshop CS 4 ).

Instead of doing a review, I'll be posting notes I took while watching "Chapter 11: Introducing Camera Raw" (1 hour 15 min). Each italicized bullet represents a section within the chapter.

• What is Camera Raw?: shoot in raw because it's nondestructive, saves file size, and gives more control.
• Understanding the Camera Raw preferences: don't change anything.
• Opening files in Camera Raw: open ACR in PS to increase workflow by continuing to work in PS when you process multiple files.
• The Camera Raw interface and essential controls: discussed the following: 
• full screen view mode; tool box - zoom (100% view), hand tool (fit in view), rotation, preferences, etc.; preview (for before and after comparisons).
• basic adjustments: temperature (cool --> warm), tint exposure (more for portraits), 
• exposure (darker, lighter), recovery (highlighted area only affected), fill light (3/4 tones), blacks (darken shadows) [if u increase fill light, should increase blacks], brightness (1/4 tones, highlights, midtones). contrast (increase whites & blacks & vice versa). 
• White Balance, Straighten, and Tone: 
• white balance: to sample, hover over something white or black. 
• recovery: detail in blown out part. 
• fill light: brighten up parts in shadows. 
• Crop, Rotate, and Vignette: 
• Lens Corrections/Vignetting adds density to image, so must increase exposure and fill light.
• Post crop vignetting
• amount: black/white.
• midpoint: how far it reaches inward. 
• roundness: oval/round, how round. 
• feather: gradual change/hard edge.
• Improving color and tone: 
• clarity: adds more midtone contrast/depth or lose definition. 
• vibrance: add more color variety [then decrease saturation].
• Saturation vs. Vibrance: 
• vibrance: nonlinear color adjustments, helps muted colors/protects saturated colors, good for skin.
• saturation: makes linear adjustments (increase/decrease everything), increase bad for skin.
• Converting an image to black and white: HSL/Grayscale 
• hue: shift colors. 
• luminance: brightness or darkness of tones. 
• convert to grayscale: becomes black & white.
• Split-toning an image: can do black & white and color images.
• Working with tone subjectively: practice.
• Adjustment Brush essentials: flow = how quickly the adjustment is built up. density: intensity
• Using the Adjustment Brush: practice.
• Working with the Graduated filter: practice. can click and drag beyond the picture for subtle adjustments.
• Sharpening and noise reduction: 
• color (noise reduction): gets rid of color artifacts.
• luminance (noise reduction): for trapped shadows. 
• radius sharpening: deepens reach of sharpening. 
• detail: mainly for landscapes, little for portraits. 
• masking: just sharpens edges
• Working with multiple images: 3 ways to speed up workflow: 
• use synchronize(...).
• select all, modify.
• copy and paste camera raw adj. in bridge.

Overall, this was an excellent introduction to how to use Adobe Camera Raw (better than any other introduction I've ever had). I highly recommend this as the primary method of learning ACR. Although the actual tutorial is less than an hour and a half, you'll probably be rewinding it to catch a few things because of how fast it is. But, it will be time well spent.