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Date Created: 7/23/2009   Date Modified: 4/11/2019

-Creating DNG Profiles in Lightroom

If you are using Adobe Lightroom, the ColorChecker Lightroom plugin makes building a DNG profile a very simple and automated process.

  • Open the Raw image of the ColorChecker target that you previously shot.
  • Do not edit the image. In fact, any edits will be ignored when you begin building the profile.
  • Make sure to verify that your image was exposed properly. See Exposure Verification and Correction for more information.
  • Under the File menu, select Export… and click anywhere in the banner at the top of the window, below the “Export Selected Photos” message. When the menu appears, select “ColorChecker Passport” from the list.
  • Enter a name for the profile that describes the lighting conditions of the shot and click the Export button. It’s not necessary to include the camera model in the name because the resulting profile will only be available when you are editing images from that camera.

You can continue to work while Lightroom finishes the profile. Watch the progress bar in the upper left corner. The new profile will be created automatically and placed in the location where Adobe stores DNG profiles for Camera Raw and Lightroom. You will need to re-launch Lightroom before you can select the new DNG profile. Follow the steps below to apply the profile to your images.

  • With an image selected, go to the Develop module.
  • In the right panel, scroll down to Camera Calibration and select the Profile pull-down. Choose the new DNG profile from this list. Keep in mind, this new profile can also be used by all ACR applications, such as Photoshop, Bridge and Elements.

Tip: See Automating Color Control in Raw for ways to use this profile on multiple images in Adobe applications.