Vibrance Adjustment - Adobe Camera Raw vs. Photoshop CS4

The Vibrance command was designed for safely increasing saturation and was originally offered in RawShooter Pro from Pixmantec. Adobe acquired Pixmantec, further refined the Vibrance command and incorporated it into Adobe Camera Raw. In Photoshop CS4, the Vibrance command was added as an image adjustment control outside of the raw image processor. This short article will demonstrate via image swaps the differences in results between the Vibrance control in ACR and Photoshop CS4. The effect of Normal vs. Color/Saturation blends are also included for your reference.

Image Evaluation

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1. Original raw camera data rendered to ProPhoto RGB, 16 bpc
2. ACR Vibrance control on raw camera data, maximum setting
3. Photoshop CS4 Vibrance adjustment (ProPhoto RGB, 16 bpc), maximum setting
4. ACR Vibrance control on TIFF (ProPhoto RGB, 16 bpc), maximum setting
5. ACR Vibrance control blended over original image in Color blend mode 
6. Photoshop CS4 Vibrance adjustment blended over original image in Color blend mode

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Notes:

Images 2 and 3 demonstrate that maximum Vibrance adjustments in ACR result in more intense saturation than when using the Vibrance adjustment offered in Photoshop CS4, even when working in a wide gamut space such as ProPhoto RGB (either standard 1.8 gamma or custom linear response). Adobe Camera Raw is not limited to raw camera input data, it can also process regular RGB gamma encoded files such as camera rendered JPEG or TIFF files, where the visual results are  comparable to the raw camera data adjustment results (image 2 vs. image 4).

Comparing image 2 and 5; ACR Vibrance adjustments in Normal blend mode affect the luminosity of the image, rather than only affecting the Saturation component of the image. The same is true although to a lesser extent when comparing image 3 with image 6. In order to preserve the original luminosity values of the image, the Vibrance edit should be blended over the base image in Saturation or Color blend modes. It may depend on the image content and the creative intent of the end user whether Normal or Color blend Vibrance adjustments are favoured.

Related Links:

How To - Safely Increase Saturation