Camera Calibration

Why does Adobe interpret my camera’s files differently?

Have you ever imported a RAW photograph and found that it did not quite look the way it did on the camera’s display? Part of the explanation is that a RAW file needs to be interpreted by software. Adobe applies a starting profile, but that profile may not reproduce the colour and tonal response you prefer.

When you import a photograph, Lightroom or Camera Raw may select Adobe Color or another default profile, depending on the software version and your settings. You can choose a different profile to change the starting point for colour, contrast and tone. These profiles are not a correction for a defective sensor; they are different interpretations of the data recorded by your camera.

I prefer to experiment with camera-matching profiles where they are available. They can bring the initial rendering closer to the look I enjoyed when taking the photograph, before I make my own adjustments.

Finding and installing camera profiles

When I originally wrote this article, I used profiles shared by Piraccini. Check that any downloaded profile is compatible with your camera and your current version of Adobe software. Older third-party profiles may no longer be supported.

Windows: Older versions of Adobe Camera Raw used the following folder for camera profiles:

C:\Users\your-username\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\CameraProfiles

Replace your-username with your Windows account name. The AppData folder is hidden by default. Folder locations can differ between Adobe versions, so check the current Adobe instructions before copying files.

Mac: On older macOS and Adobe installations, the Library folder could be hidden. In Finder, use Go > Go to Folder to navigate to the relevant Adobe CameraRaw profile directory. The exact path has changed over time, so do not assume the historic location shown in older tutorials will work today.

What difference does it make?

I took the following photographs around Kaløvig on a hazy day. The conditions were far from ideal, but the examples illustrate how the initial profile can change the rendering of the same RAW file.

Do not forget to apply lens corrections where they improve the photograph. Camera profiles and lens profiles solve different problems: one changes the interpretation of colour and tone, while the other addresses optical characteristics such as distortion and vignetting.