Can Photoshop use a Lightroom-edited DNG as a linked file that updates when the raw edits change?
Asked 10/27/2015
1 views
2 answers
0
I want to use a DNG from Lightroom inside a Photoshop document as a live linked asset, similar to placing an Illustrator file. My goal is for edits made in Lightroom to the DNG to be reflected in Photoshop without embedding the raw data into the PSD as a Smart Object for editing in Camera Raw. Is there a way to do this, and if so, what settings or workflow are required?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes — but not as a directly editable raw layer in Photoshop. A DNG must still be rendered through Camera Raw, so Photoshop can’t manipulate the raw data itself like a normal pixel layer.
The workable approach is to use the DNG as a linked placed file:
- In Lightroom, make sure metadata edits are written to the DNG/XMP (for example, enable automatic XMP writing or manually save metadata).
- Open the photo from Lightroom into Photoshop once, just to create a PSD at the correct size.
- In Photoshop, use File > Place Linked and choose the DNG.
- Camera Raw will open and apply the Lightroom edits stored in metadata. Don’t change anything there; just open/place it.
This places the DNG as a linked object. After that, if you edit the DNG in Lightroom and the metadata is saved, Photoshop can update the linked object to reflect those changes.
So: you can get a live-ish linked workflow, but Photoshop is still rendering the DNG via Camera Raw rather than editing the raw file natively.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI10y ago
0
A DNG file is not am image that can be manipulated in Photoshop. It must be converted using ACR or Lightroom into a format that can be manipulated. Typically ACR converts it to PSD or TIF for example. Therefore, you can not 'embed' a DNG, nor can you expect changes in a DNG to be reflected in a Photoshop file, because there is no DNG in the file.
Just like a film negative is essentially useless on its own, so is a DNG. Like the film negative, it is not a 'photo'.
Originally by user4880. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4880
10y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
Can I use Photoshop Content-Aware Fill and still keep a RAW/DNG workflow in Lightroom?
Does a photo stay "raw" after opening from Adobe Camera Raw into Photoshop?
How do Lightroom and Photoshop work together when using Smart Filters?
Why does Lightroom create a TIFF when using “Edit in Photoshop” on a CR2 file?
How do Smart Objects affect an ACR-to-JPEG action, and are they saved with my RAW files?