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Free Lightroom alternative: Moving your images from Darktable to GIMP

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This is the final part of a five-part series on the free and open-source Lightroom alternative, Darktable by photographer Chris Parker. Chris didn’t write a post to accompany the fifth video in the series, but we didn’t want to leave the series of posts unfinished, so here we are.

If you missed them, check out parts 1-4, covering Getting started with Darktable, Importing your images into Darktable, Processing your RAW files in Darktable, and Exporting images from Darktable for editing in another application. Another application like GIMP (which is also free and open-source). And that’s what this final video is about.

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Free Lightroom alternative: Exporting images in Darktable

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This is part four of five in a series. Check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Now that you’ve completed your editing, you’re ready to share it with the world. But how? Well, the answer lies within this tutorial.

It should be noted that edits to your image are not saved directly to the image file. Instead, the editing data is recorded in darktable’s database and an XMP file if the preference default settings are left unchanged. To share your images, you’ll need to “export” them, and the edits you applied will be included.

If you’re ready to learn how to export your images with darktable… let’s do it!

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Free Lightroom alternative: Processing and editing images in Darktable

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Feeling a little overwhelmed with editing in Darktable? After using Lightroom exclusively for 13 years, I too found myself scratching my head when I first fired up darkroom. A lot of the editing tools are similar to Lightroom. Although, those tools have more built-in features vs. Lightroom. Plus, there’s a bunch of new tools that not even Lightroom has!

This is part three of five in a series. Check out Part 1 and Part 2. In today’s tutorial, I’d like to share some basic edits to help you get started with editing in Darktable. If you’re ready… let’s do it! Oh, and here is the before and after image that I’ll be demonstrating for you…

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Free Lightroom alternative: Importing images into Darktable (quick start guide)

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This is part two of five in a series. You can see Part 1 here. Before you can start editing your images with Darktable, you must first import them! There’s a couple of things we should get out of the way first. One, Darktable does not create a catalog like Lightroom! Two, your image files are not being imported.

So, what you see is a preview of your original file. Therefore, do NOT use Darktable as a way to back up your files… since that’s not what it was designed for. Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let’s explore two different options for importing your images; via your hard drive or your camera.

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Free Lightroom alternative: Getting started with Darktable part 1

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Darktable is a fantastic alternative to Lightroom. It has more tools, and those tools have more advanced features to help you achieve your creative vision.

Today I want to show you how to get started with Darktable. This is part one of five in this series. At the bottom of this tutorial, you’ll find a link to the next article for getting started with Darktable.

Ready to cut the Adobe cord?  Awesome!  Let’s get started…

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I bumped a 100 MP photo to 375 MP using Photoshop’s Super Resolution tool

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Today, March 10, 2021, Adobe dropped its latest software updates via the Creative Cloud and among those updates is a new feature in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) called “Super Resolution.” You can mark this day down as a major shift in the photo industry. I have seen a bit of reporting out there on this topic from the likes of PetaPixel and F-stoppers, but other than that the ramifications of this new feature in ACR have not been widely promoted from what I can see. The new Super Resolution feature in ACR essentially upsizes the image by a factor of four using machine learning, i.e. Artificial Intelligence (AI). From the PetaPixel article on this new feature they interviewed Eric Chan from Adobe, who was quoted as saying:

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Filmulator is an open source raw photo editor based on the film developing process

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If you’re looking for a free raw photo editor, a new option has just appeared online. Filmulator is a simple raw photo editor based on the process of developing film. It’s easy to use, and it’s an open-source app, so it’s free for everyone to download and use it.

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Reviewing the low-budget XP-PEN Deco mini7W Bluetooth graphics tablet

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XP-Pen has just launched its new tablet, the Deco mini7W. It’s a small but powerful table and the fact that it connects wirelessly to the computer makes this tablet much easier to use and much more versatile. I just had to test it, and when XP-Pen sent me this one to test, I was completely delighted with it.

I’ve been editing my images with a pen for a long time. With the mouse, I can’t get the level of control and detail that a graphics tablet and a stylus pen can give me. Working with a stylus pen is, for me, much more natural.

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Use the lockdown to master these seven photo editing skills

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Many countries are in lockdown again, and many of us are stuck at home. If you don’t feel like learning and being creative, that’s perfectly fine. But if you do – this is the video for you. Spending time at home is ideal for mastering editing skills, and Nigel Danson has seven suggestions for you.

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Moderation is key: In-depth tutorial for editing documentary photos

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In his recent tutorial, photographer Mitchell Kanashkevich drew our attention to some major mistakes we make when editing documentary and travel images. Now he’s taking things to a higher level. Mitchell has just announced an in-depth tutorial for editing these kinds of images. He guides you through editing one of his photos, so you can follow along, one step at a time. Even though you can edit Mitchell’s image, it’s not about following a certain trend or replicating a certain look. The goal is to learn how to edit a documentary photo of life to be lifelike.

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