Creating a Natural-Looking HDR Image with RawTherapee and Luminance HDR When it comes to creating an HDR image that still feels natural, rather than screaming "overcooked", a careful workflow and thoughtful tone mapping choices are crucial.Let me walk you through how I recently processed a water lily to maintain realism while bringing out depth and... Continue Reading →
Every image has a story, and this one starts as a humble RAW file—just data, just potential. But like the forest floor quietly waking up in spring, it only needed the right touch to bloom. With a careful edit in RawTherapee, some luminance tone mapping (Reinhard 02), and a bit of patience, this wood anemone... Continue Reading →
3 minute read time - header credit : Image by prostooleh on Freepik Let’s be honest — when you’re earning (part of) your living through photography, you want tools that are reliable, fast, and get the job done without fuss. But do those tools have to be Adobe’s Lightroom and Photoshop? Or can you deliver... Continue Reading →
Read this six-minute tweak for RawTherapee, and get a total workflow upgrade. A Fresh Start with RawTherapee: Setting Up Your Favorites for a Smarter Workflow, and Color Management with Adobe Camera Profiles. In a previous article, we talked about ART and other RawTherapee forks. One thing ART definitely has going for it is a simpler... Continue Reading →
Reading time: 7 minutes. Recently, my fellow blogger and good friend Mark G Adams from One Camera One Lens – https://onecameraonelens.com/ – mentioned an alternative version of RawTherapee: ART.ART is indeed just as powerful, but it offers a slightly simpler interface compared to the standard RT version - So I thought, why not discuss all... Continue Reading →
6 minutes read. Well, I said I was pretty happy with this quick and simple edits – and I meant it. Honestly, in most cases I’d just throw this kind of result straight into my gallery without chasing perfection.But… can it be improved? Sure. In my first version, I used Shadows & Highlights to bring... Continue Reading →
5 minutes read Well, it’s been a few weeks since I started the Deep Dive series and published that article on GIMP 3.0 — and let’s just say, it didn’t go unnoticed. I’ve received quite a few responses, mostly via email, a handful in the comments, and they all share one thing: things don’t always... Continue Reading →
Well no, it’s not some magical recovery job – this is just a plain RAW file, shown in Neutral. But yeah... it is very dark. So the question becomes: can you still make something out of it in RawTherapee? Absolutely! RawTherapee’s bag of tricks can handle way worse than this. And honestly, with just a... Continue Reading →
8 minutes reading time + video Welcome to a new Open Source Photography Deep Dive tutorial! In this guide, we'll focus on editing with RawTherapee, and I'll show you the simplest ways to get great results quickly. In RawTherapee version 5.11, the 'Toolbox' in the 'Editing' section has nine tabs. One of them is the... Continue Reading →
While some readers here on OSP express interest in moving away from the well-known flow of LR, PS, and others, the general feeling tends to be one of 'Hesitation'—"Is it really that good?" or "I've looked into it, but the switch seems too difficult," and "That program has a steep learning curve." This sentiment is... Continue Reading →
6 minutes read + video Once you've downloaded your latest photos to your computer and given them proper names, it's time to sort them and delete any unusable shots right away. Since we shoot in RAW, we’ll do this directly in RawTherapee. A quick note: if you shoot in both RAW and JPEG, you can... Continue Reading →
6 minutes reading time I can promote RawTherapee (RT) all I want, but if people are set in their ways with certain software, camera brands, and habits don’t allow themselves to take a peek over the fence… well, who knows? Maybe, just maybe, there’s a patch of grass out there that’s greener. Or even a... Continue Reading →
5 minutes read time Version Management in RawTherapee: A Flexible Approach When it comes to version management in photo editing, Adobe Lightroom offers a history panel and virtual copies, allowing users to revert to previous edits and compare different versions easily. However, this system is deeply tied to Lightroom’s catalog, which has some drawbacks: the... Continue Reading →
5 minutes read time I’ve been holding off on releasing this for quite some time. What started as a simple experiment with PictureFX CineStill 800T v1.0 back then in 2021, turned into an unexpected success. With over 42,000 downloads and countless likes, it became by far my most downloaded LUT. Not only that, but it... Continue Reading →
Less than 2 minutes to read. The graduated filter in RawTherapee or Lightroom is typically used to correct featureless skies, reduce overexposure in bright skies, or enhance cloud contrast to create a more dramatic atmosphere. In this case, however, I’m using it to recover details in the snow, which became overexposed and lost texture after... Continue Reading →
Only 5 minutes to read + the first 5 minutes of a video For a while, I’ve been encouraging others to explore RawTherapee—not to push them, but to share my experience. It’s a reliable, user-friendly program that’s often misunderstood as overly complex. In reality, it’s straightforward to use and can save you money by eliminating... Continue Reading →
5 minutes reading time Let me start with this : Not Every Photographer is the SameI often hear people obsessing over pixel sharpness, minor lens distortions, flares, edge blur, and so on—but what about the photos themselves? Isn’t that what truly matters? Sharpness matters, but does your audience care ? Sharpness is subjective. Some chase... Continue Reading →
4 minutes read time. The tool, initially called "Local Adjustment Tool" in RawTherapee 5.10, was renamed "Selective Editing" in version 5.11, likely reflecting expanded capabilities. It took me a while to realize the true potential of this tool. I first noticed it in RawTherapee 5.10 but didn’t grasp what a fantastic feature it is for... Continue Reading →
There are plenty of excellent free photo editing programs available, such as RawTherapee, Darktable, and DigiKam, to name a few. But whether they suit your needs is something only you can determine. Even if a program is widely praised or deemed "the best," it’s the subtle differences between them that ultimately matter—and those differences can... Continue Reading →
Here's a breakdown of Olympus/OM System and Panasonic micro four-thirds (MFT) lenses suitable for bird and wildlife photography. These lenses are evaluated with their key strengths and weaknesses, along with an average new price/second-hand sorted table. The pros and cons listed here are sourced from well-known review sites, but I don’t always agree with them. If I own or... Continue Reading →
When photographing general subjects like architecture, street scenes, and landscapes, I typically shoot in both JPEG and RAW formats. However, for the past year, when it comes to birds or wildlife, I’ve switched exclusively to RAW. All three of my OM System cameras—the OM-1 Mark II, E-M1X, and E-M1 MKIII—are set to shoot in RAW... Continue Reading →
The Year is Ending: Looking Back and Forward As the year draws to a close, we're just days away from the start of the final month. Before we know it, another year will have passed. What will the next photographic year bring? Hopefully, plenty of good weather! As the holiday season approaches, the pace of... Continue Reading →
In Today’s Photo Gallery: A Female Roe Deer Today's gallery features a small series of photos of a female roe deer. These images tie into topics from previous articles on Open Source Photography, such as which camera settings to use or what makes the ideal telephoto lens for birds and wildlife. While many YouTube professionals... Continue Reading →
I've noticed there's a lot of interest in this topic, so I've added a small but valuable update to the article. This update can be helpful whether you're just getting started with the software or you're more advanced in your editing journey. With this tip, you can customize RawTherapee to fit your personal workflow. You’ll... Continue Reading →
On October 15, 2024, Amateur Photographer reviewed RawTherapee as the best free RAW editor. However, the well-known magazine didn’t shy away from pointing out some drawbacks alongside their praise. As a long-time RawTherapee user since its very first version, I was naturally curious to read their take on it. What immediately caught my attention—after skimming... Continue Reading →
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