This site documents a modern RAW photography workflow built on open standards, file-based metadata and open-source tools – and the tech that makes them possible.
6 minutes read time The Recovery Tool That Came with Your Cornflakes Most SD cards come with a “free” recovery tool in the box, which sounds reassuring until you think about what that really means. These tools, things like RescuePRO or Image Rescue, are designed to solve the most common and simplest problems. Someone deletes... Continue Reading →
6 minutes read time Ok, I think the explanation of how wavelets work for denoising in the quick start was fairly clear. I mostly heard “thanks,” and no real questions. Still, it’s worth circling back for a moment, because that was the quick start. There is a bit more you can do with it. Those... Continue Reading →
“Think of it as the OSP version of RawPedia: smaller, sharper, and built from real editing experience.” Over time quite a few RawTherapee articles have appeared on Open Source Photography, covering everything from basic workflow to some of the more powerful tools like Wavelets, Retinex and noise reduction. To make things easier to navigate, the... Continue Reading →
Alright folks, RawTherapee Pro is properly underway. We started with the first tab inside Wavelets: Retinex, and that one matters. Especially for birders and wildlife photographers like me, but just as useful in macro, flowers, and anything where subtle tonal separation makes the difference between flat and alive. Below you’ll find a link to a... Continue Reading →
6 minutes tutorial - 4 minutes intro If you already have a solid idea of what Retinex does, you can skip the introduction and jump straight to the Tools, or, if patience isn’t exactly your strongest trait, just dive right in 🙂 Intro Retinex Retinex is one of those tools you notice in RawTherapee, hover... Continue Reading →
5 minutes read time The article The Best Linux Distro for Photography in 2026? The Boring One. wasn’t written by accident. Quite a few readers had asked me over time which Linux distributions I considered the best, and more importantly, why. That article is essentially my answer to those questions. By coincidence, I also had... Continue Reading →
This article is a direct continuation of the earlier Linux example.The logic and workflow are exactly the same: search IPTC metadata embedded in the files and immediately turn the results into a visual selection of photographs. The only difference is the platform. Where the original article used a small Bash script on Linux, this one... Continue Reading →
Windows users: there is a second article that builds directly on the explanation in this one, showing how the same script-based workflow can be implemented on Windows. macOS users work in a Unix-like environment and, if they choose this kind of workflow, can usually adapt the Linux version with only minor changes. The Terminal Problem:... Continue Reading →
8 minutes read time This first part covers a simple script that creates a list to help you locate the photo you’re looking for. In the second part, we’ll turn that search into a visual display in your favorite photo viewer, so you can pinpoint the right image more easily. The next video gives a... Continue Reading →
6 minutes read time A Digital Asset Management (DAM) system is supposed to organise and remember your photos for you - I just chose to let the files do that themselves : IPTC as Database: No Catalog, No Problem Where Does the Meaning Live? At its core, most DAM software does the same thing as... Continue Reading →
4 minutes read time. Impulse Noise Reduction: The Small Tool That Fixes Big Pixel Problems If you’ve ever pushed a high-ISO RAW a little too far, added gritty microcontrast for that 35 mm look, and suddenly ended up with a miniature galaxy of bright white pixel dots… congratulations, you’ve met impulse noise. It’s not grain,... Continue Reading →
Well, this is the one I’ve been putting off for a while - the Contrast Mask. Why? Because it’s a tricky beast, and in my view it only really clicks once you’ve spent some time in RawTherapee, especially with the Focus Mask. That’s why I tackled the other workflows first.Sharpening with a Contrast Mask isn’t... Continue Reading →
2 minutes read time. This part ties into the “Stop Calling It RAW” series - this time tackling the myth of editing order - some of you might be surprised by what’s coming next, and it can be a tough one ! During a recent bushcraft weekend, I ended up talking to a professional woodworker... Continue Reading →
5 minute read. Or, better yet - do you actually know what it does? Intro This weekend, by pure accident, I got hit in the face twice - metaphorically speaking. First came the RAW confusion - and the deeper I looked, the worse it got. Turns out only a small fraction of photographers, ever realized... Continue Reading →
5 minute read. Well, “Stop Calling It RAW” caused a bit of a stir, didn’t it? I’ve never seen that many readers on a single day for one article - that says something. Not everyone agreed with me, and that’s perfectly fine. But one truth remains hard to ignore: RAWs are never truly raw. So... Continue Reading →
4 minutes read time. In my last deep dive, we wrestled with the Pixel Paradox - why image size, storage, and the ever-looming threat of theft keep photographers awake at night. If that struck a chord, it’s time to take the next step: watermarking. In this follow-up, I’ll show how a tiny signature on your... Continue Reading →
Everyone’s heard of them: CineBloom, Black Pro-Mist, White Mist, and the rest of the gang, glass soft filters sound romantic until you actually live with them. Then the cracks show. First, the money pit. A decent CineBloom, Black Pro-Mist or Glimmerglass will happily eat €50–200 from your wallet. Own lenses with different diameters? Congratulations, you... Continue Reading →
To keep the original article from turning into a novel - and because many prefer visual step-by-steps - I added this extra section that shows the Capture Sharpening workflow in action. Remember, Capture Sharpening isn’t just another knob you twist at the end, it’s the first step. In fact, you might not even need any... Continue Reading →
7 minutes reading time Chasing birds with tiny sensors - MFT - did I get it all wrong? Let’s find out. In the last year, I got a lot of questions by e-mail. Some are technical: something doesn’t work, or how to fix it. Others are about gear: what’s the best setup for this or... Continue Reading →
Capture sharpening is one of those tools that most people never touch, simply because they don’t really know what it does or even don't know where its hidden. And let’s be honest, the name doesn’t exactly scream excitement either. But here’s the thing: if you’re working with RAW files in RawTherapee, this is one of... Continue Reading →
Some time ago I wrote a couple of pieces on recreating the Polaroid SX-70 look inside your photo editor (like Rawtherapee), later followed by how to turn that look into a cross-platform LUT, and - because not everyone enjoys fiddling around - for the “make-it-easy” crowd, a ready-made PictureFX Polaroid SX-70 LUT. We also talked... Continue Reading →
Part Two: From Identity Files to Cross-Platform LUTs In part one, we built a “film simulation” inside RawTherapee by tweaking the Tone Curve, Channel Mixer, and Color Toning. Those adjustments were saved as a RawTherapee preset with the familiar .pp3 extension. That’s fine if you only ever work in RT. Load a neutral RAW (preferably... Continue Reading →
2 minutes read time Bored? Pick a Project. Every photographer hits that wall. Camera sitting there, batteries full, and still no urge to use it. The classic escape hatch is to blame your gear. “If only I had that new camera or lens.” Sure. And if you buy a treadmill, you’ll suddenly become a marathon... Continue Reading →
10 minute read time A Deep Dive into Film Simulation, Polaroid SX-70 Instant Film Open an attic shoebox and you’re opening a time capsule. Sometimes the photos are yours, sometimes your parents, and if you dig deep enough, maybe even your grandparents. The smell hits first - dust and paper - then the images: faded,... Continue Reading →
9 minutes read time "Your Favorite Styles, Anywhere You Want." Not Only for RawTherapee! Well, it might’ve looked like this whole workflow was tied to RawTherapee - but nope, not even close. You can use ANY software that can open a DNG, apply effects, and export as PNG.This method - turning presets, XMP styles, or... Continue Reading →
