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 →
Picture this:No clients. No stress. No “can you tweak this one by tomorrow?”Just you, your camera… and that magical morning light you actually woke up early for. Sounds like freedom?Welcome to the wonderful life of the hobby - enthousiast photographer. ✌️ You don’t have to. You get to. Here’s the big win:You don’t owe anyone... 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 →
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 →
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 →
Beware of Upgrading to GIMP 3.0: What You Need to Know! GIMP 3.0 has finally been released, bringing numerous improvements and a refreshed interface. However, before you rush to upgrade, there are some important issues to consider. Some popular features and plugins, such as the 'Resynthesizer' plugin, may no longer work properly. This can have... 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 →
2 minutes reading time I use RawTherapee for editing my photos. It's a completely free and open-source tool that offers a powerful and flexible workflow. Now that I've started working with video, I needed an editing program that met the same criteria—free, open-source, and feature-rich. For me, that choice was Shotcut. Just like in RawTherapee,... Continue Reading →
If you haven’t seen the photo series in La Gallerie yet, it might be best to check it out first and then come back here for the technical details. 5 minutes reading time. "Ok, here we go!" – The Only Line I Spoke in the Video At 2:19 in the video, you’ll hear my only... 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 →
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 →
Less than 6 minutes read time - Latest update below I’m always looking for ways to improve, and recently, I focused on optimizing my website's limited storage while presenting larger, high-quality photos to my audience. During this search, I discovered an alternative image format: WebP. WebP and JPG (JPEG) are both widely used image formats,... Continue Reading →
Less than 1 minute read time. The article linked below discusses a color issue in RawTherapee, where images looked different on-screen compared to after being uploaded to WordPress. I resolved this by adjusting a setting in RawTherapee. However, this isn't exclusive to RawTherapee—it could also occur in your editor or be related to the output... 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 →
Attention Olympus and OM System Camera Users: The LightSnowDev firmware SD Card update tool is no longer operational, even via their new page. But don’t worry—there’s another way! Important Disclaimer The following method is entirely at your own risk. I tested it today on an older camera, and it worked perfectly. However, there’s no guarantee... 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 →
Did you happen to see the header photo on the main page? It’s a misty landscape, a bit blurry and painterly. The idea was to create an image that feels like a dreamy, perhaps even slightly ethereal, painting. Some time ago, I experimented with this style, inspired by the techniques of Jo Stephen, a photographer... Continue Reading →
You’ve probably encountered this situation yourself: suddenly, a new follower appears or someone likes your post, and they’re someone you don’t know. Our natural curiosity often leads us to investigate further, maybe by checking out their website. However, that’s when you might start realizing this person may not have the best intentions. These bad actors... Continue Reading →
Before we move on to what was promised on Wednesday about gear for wildlife photography and rain protection, let's first cover the final part of my RawTherapee workflow. In the first part of my RawTherapee workflow, I covered the Exposure section using Adobe Camera Profiles. After that, I discussed Sharpening in RawTherapee, and today we’ve... Continue Reading →
After editing my pictures with an Adobe Camera Profile, LUT, Preset, or fully manual adjustments, it's time to sharpen and denoise. My initial plan was to cover both sharpening and denoising in a single article. However, after some thought, I realized it would probably be better and clearer to address them separately, especially since opinions... Continue Reading →
Open Source Photography