RAW THERAPEE Manual. Version 0.9.

0.- Initial considerations.

1.- Differences between JPEG and RAW. The need to process the development of the
photographs.

2.- The RAW photo developer Therapee.

2.1.- Characteristics of the application.
2.2.- General preferences.
2.3.- Interface elements.
2.3.1.- File and directory explorer.
2.3.2.- Preview window.
2.3.3. Histogram.
2.3.4. History.
2.3.5.- Processing profiles.

3.- Image processing.

3.1.- Exhibition.
3.1.1.- Exhibition.
3.1.2.- Recovery of high beams.
3.1.3.- High shadows/lights.
3.1.4.- Luminance curve.
3.2.- Detail.
3.2.1.- Approach.
3.2.2. Luminance noise reduction.
3.2.3. Color noise reduction.
3.3.- Color.
3.3.1.- White balance.
3.3.2.- Channel mixer.
3.3.3.- Color enhancement.
3.3.4. Color change.
3.3.5.- GIC. Entry and work profile.
3.4.- Transform.
3.4.1. Distortion.
3.4.2.- Correction of chromatic aberrations.
3.4.3.- Vignetting correction.
3.4.4. Change size.
3.5.- Metadata.
3.5.1. EXIF data.
3.5.2.- IPTC Data.

1
4.- Final considerations.
4.1.- Processing sequence.
4.2.- What is RGB?

2
0.- INITIAL CONSIDERATIONS.

The following is a manual for using the free development application.

Raw-Therapee photographic based on documents and freely distributed information that I have indicated.
at every moment and also, of course, based on my own considerations based on my
photographic experience and in the use of this program.

My intention is to create a document that is also freely distributed in which I would like to express my gratitude.
any consideration that allows for its improvement and I would also appreciate any notice if I have
used any information with any type of reserved rights to make the modifications
timely, my apologies and my intention to make those modifications come first.

If you wish to contact me, you can do so through the following website address:

[Link]
[Link]#post1631756

3
1.- DIFFERENCES BETWEEN JPEG AND RAW IMAGES.
NECESSITY TO CARRY OUT THE REVELATION OF
PHOTOGRAPHS.

A RAW image is the equivalent of the image contained in an undeveloped film.

Unlike this, the RAW can be 'developed' as many times as we want, because the result of
we will save this development in a separate file, however, in chemistry we can only
process it once said negative (in different ways, of course... using different products for the
developing process, but only once)

Many photographers think they don't earn much using RAW instead of JPEG and that the
post-processing generates more problems than advantages, if only because of a matter of time
employee for each photograph or a matter of disk space used.

Post-Process.

First of all, the post-processing time should not be a long process; in fact, the most
It is logical to apply the marked parameters 'tagged' that the file contains as attached information.
RAW (the most common is the white balance) and these are all the ones that the camera would need to
create the JPEG if we worked only in this format and only slightly adjust those shots we see
badly exposed.

Fundamental.

Let's not forget that the camera creates RAWs and converts them to JPEG, which means we lose between 4 and
6 bits of information per pixel... which corresponds to a number of colors between 60 million and
more than 4 trillion colors. Said like that it sounds tremendous, but it's true.

8 bit JPEG (24 bits of computation) that gives a total of 16,777,216 different colors.
12 bit RAW(36 bits de cálculo) que dan un total de [Link] colores diferentes.
14 bit RAW (42 bits of calculation) that results in a total of 4,398,046,511,100 different colors.

If the RAW were only for adjusting levels in post-processing, it would mean that we are
technically bad photographers, since we need those adjustments to achieve the exposure
correct… and that is not the case. The RAW is fundamentally a matter of image quality of
departure… So let's see this format where we should.

Matter of 'Tones'.

Lost notes those who give the colors, this is the main contribution of a RAW with
Regarding a JPEG, the greater the number of tones, the more natural the colors are.

8 bits (JPEG) contains 256 levels of brightness or different tones per pixel
12 bits (RAW) contains 4,096 levels of brightness or different tones per pixel
14 bits (RAW) contains 16,384 levels of brightness or different tones per pixel.

4
 12-bit RAW image

Available levels Affected areas

2.048 Higher lights (first step of the diaphragm, higher).

1.024 Light zones (second diaphragm step).
512 Medium tones (third step of the diaphragm).
256 Shadow zones (fourth step of the diaphragm).
128 Darker shadows (fifth step of the diaphragm).

8-bit JPEG image

Available levels Affected areas

69 Higher lights (first stop of the diaphragm, higher).

50 Light zones (second diaphragm step).
37 Mid tones (third diaphragm step).
27 Shadow zones (fourth step of diaphragm).
20 Darker shadows (fifth diaphragm step).

Example image at the end of the post (Darker Shadows).

In the image you can see a dark area of any photograph, apparently underexposed.
(it is an extension)

A. – JPEG 8 bits - 20 tones

B.–RAW 12 bits - 128 shades

This effect is very visible if

do you make expansions of areas in the
image, ultimately, the algorithm of
JPEG compression of cameras not
it has another alternative to represent
some tones and strips that he/she thinks
similar.

In high beams, the effect is greater.

2048 vs. 69 tones... but it's not that
extreme and goes unnoticed in many
cases, not in extensions. It usually appears as grayish spots on backgrounds
whites, which are nothing more than textures that have been lost... (Example: wedding photos, since the
bride's dresses have very light tones.

Let's not forget that JPEG is a lossy image format, as its algorithm is
designed to save space while sacrificing image quality.

5
Level adjustment in post-processing.

Once the differences in tones that each format provides are explained, let's apply that to the post.
process... when we are altering the original exposure of the shot, we have a greater number of
work levels, with which we have less probability of failure if we force the exposure of a
photography.

Once we adjust the RAW photograph, if we save it in JPEG we will lose information, but it
They will discard those tones that we do not need, since we have worked with a greater number of tones.
and the computer is more efficient than the camera when it comes to calculating them for compression, so the
The loss effect will be less apparent, though not nonexistent. However, if we want to maintain all
the tones, ideally it would be to post-process the images generating TIF files (16 bits) for example, but
this is another topic, as other factors appear, such as the ICC, that is, the job profiles with the
photographs (sRGB, Adobe RGB, CMYK) that we use in that conversion or at the moment of
RAW shot and they have different tonal ranges...

The source of this explanation is

[Link]

my gratitude to the author of this post.

From what has been explained above, we realize that in the digital world, now the user
with the processing of RAW images, it has under its control two processes that characterize the
taking a photograph: on one hand the preparation of the shot and its execution
the camera and on the other hand the development of it which was previously a process foreign to that
was carried out in the laboratories. Therefore, it is not correct to think, in my opinion, that the development of the
RAW file involves manipulating the image obtained with the camera on the computer, no,
the correct thing is that now we have control over the photographic development that was previously foreign to us.
majority of photographers.

But of course, the most important factor in any photograph is the quality of the image.
obtained in the camera, because the real limit of all subsequent development is in the
quality of that initial image.

6
2.- THE RAW PHOTO PROCESSOR - THERAPEE.

2.1.- Application characteristics.

Raw-Therapeeno is an application that is part of free software, that is, software that
respects the freedom of users regarding their acquired product and, therefore, once obtained, can
to be used, copied, studied, modified, and redistributed freely (source: Free Software
Foundation), unlike many of the applications we have used in this course.

It is a program developed by its author and distributed for free on the Internet.
from their website

[Link]

my gratitude to the author of the application.

According to numerous sources, for example [Link] Raw-Therapee is

probably the best free editing software and even better than some paid ones. It allows
resize the image, make advanced optical corrections, apply the shadow command
lighting and perform the 'demosaicing' with different algorithms. Full of options, it is
especially suitable for advanced users.

The program is a front-end, that is, it adds a graphical interface that facilitates the use of another one that
It is the one who really does the hard work and is called craw, a program that doesn't even have half.
mega capacity. Dcrawes a RAW developer offree distribution developed by David
Coffin

[Link]

that supports countless RAW formats in continuous update to accommodate new cameras
The main drawback of dcraw, which handles RAW format, is that it runs in-line.

El autor lo desarrolla para Linux (of course) y para windows.

The application in its internal processes handles the image with a image depth.
of 16 bits that can be preserved if the developed image is saved in TIFF or PNG format, without
embargo, when we save the result in JPEG format, it only does so with 8 bits, at least in this.
moment of its development.

The development of the contents in this document is largely based on the manual of
user of version 2.3 of the application that is located at the following address

[Link]

my gratitude to the author of this manual and to its translator.

7
2.2.- General preferences.
The first thing we do with the application is configure it so that in its default options
we work in the way we need, for this we press the button

By clicking the button, a window appears with five tabs that we explain below.

- General.

Of this window
we highlight the options of
Indication of cuts with the
default options. When
let's see the indicator buttons
of shadows and cut lights
better what it means.

We can choose both the

Language how the style
predetermined.

Let's observe what the

Default date format
year-month-day.

We also indicate how

External editor GIMP.

We leave the other options as they appear in the image.

- Image processing.

In this tab we choose

the default modes of
revealed both for files
RAW for files of
any images.

Raw-Therapee also
can manipulate files that
Sean JPEG and others.

By default for both

file types we choose in the
option Parameters
determined of
image processing
neutral option.

8
 In this window, we indicate how to handle the treatment of the profiles.
processing that we are assigning to the images as well as the Algorithm of
demosaicked, which is the algorithm used by Raw-Therapee to display the image
RAW in the preview area. The HPHD option seems the most effective, although if you
If you want more quality, you can select the EAHD. The VNG-4 option is recommended.
for Olympus users.

We leave the other options as shown in the image.

- From the file explorer.

In this window in the

folder section of
images on startup
we marked the last option
folder visited on startup
again the application.

Options appear about

the EXIF data that we want
see in the image in the section
Explorer Options
of files and about the
memory configuration
intermediate for the best
functioning of the application
in the section of Adjust
intermediate memory.

We leave the rest of the options as shown in the image.

- Exit options.

In this window we choose

the file format of the
photograph once developed that
it can be TIFF, JPEG or PNG in
the section Format of
Files.

The TIFF format is a

file format with little
compression and is the most suitable
to use when we want
make many modifications
later in the image
preferably in the option of
16 bits of color depth.

The most common format

because the best quality of file size is obtained concerning the size of

9
 the file is JPEG, however, to achieve this file size a
compression algorithm in which information from the image is inevitably lost.
However, it is the most used as we have mentioned.

Unfortunately, in this option we do not have the 16-bit color depth.

available bits still. It is expected that it will eventually be implemented.

PNG is a type of file where lossless compression is performed.

quality in the image. The main advantage is that it is a free format, that is to say without
patents.

In the Output Folder section, we have the option to choose where

save the images once processed. Ideally, save them in a subfolder
call converted by default within the folder where they are saved
images.

- Color management.

This is an option with the

what we have to have special
care.

Each device (camera,

monitor, printer...) produce
colors in a different way.
A colored profile is used for
to say how the colors are engraved
for example with a camera
photographic must be
recalculated to fit the
working color space or
Job Profile.

The heart of management

therefore it is the color
translation between devices of different gamuts, that is, the number of colors that
the device can interpret and files with different color spaces. The
Translation of gamuts is done with colorimetric attempts.

In the Colorimetric Attempt option, four options appear:

Perceptual. If the gamut of the image is higher than what the device can handle
reach, that is, if the number of colors in the image is greater than the monitor or the
printer can have, then the gamut of the image is reduced to fit that of the
device. This could produce an image with reduced saturation although the hue is
conserve. By reducing the saturation, the image might become a little dull, although this
The effect is not really very visible. It is the method that is enabled by default.

Relative colorimetric. If the image and device gamuts are

similar and there is a color that does not exist within the device's gamut, the value is taken
as close as possible.

10
 Saturation. It is very similar to the perceptual, except that in this case it is preserved the
saturation and the hue changes. It is useful for designing wallpapers, for example. It
It is usually used when changes in some color nuances do not matter while the
image does not appear off.

Absolute colorimetric. It is similar to relative colorimetric. Again, it

use in cases where the gamuts are similar and, in this case, it forces the
device that matches the image gamut.

There is a lot of information available on this, for example at:

[Link]

It seems more advisable to use the colorimetric color management option.

relative.

We can also specify the folder on the hard drive where they are located.
color .icc profiles associated with the camera found on the accompanying CD
the same. This option is in the ICC Profiles Folder section.

In the Screen Profiles option, we will choose, to match as closely as possible the
gamut of the monitor with the gamut of the image the [Link] profile. As explained
previously, this is the reason why in the Colorimetric Attempt option
we will choose the Relative Colorimetric option.

To understand the importance of the different

color spaces it's worth taking a look at the following
graph that shows the loss that is
producing when choosing one space or another regarding the
visible light space that is perceived by the eye
human.

From the explanation given above, we see that it is

it's important to standardize the job profiles of the different
devices that we use, in general, Adobe RGB as well
for the camera as well as for others.

11
2.3.- Interface elements.
When the application starts, its appearance is as follows:

2.3.1.- File and directory explorer.

This is the lower left and central area of the application interface:
Explorer of Show all the Show Show Content of Show queue of
files images of the images without images with thetrashcan processing
folder valuation any assessment

View EXIF data Define size Choose how we see

basics fromthethumbnail the miniatures

Each of the buttons and options naturally has contextual help about its
meaning, which is activated when we hover the mouse pointer over each of them.

12
 The thumbnails that appear in the explorer give us
information about the image file, as well as some data
EXIF of the photograph.

As we can see in some of them, unticque appears.

It means that they have been processed in some way. Given in the own
thumbnail a preliminary image of how the image would look once completed
revealed.

The miniatures also have some associated icons that

They allow for some tasks to be completed quickly, such as ordering the
file to the recycle bin or recover it from there as well as send it to the task queue to be
processed with the chosen parameters.

The miniatures have a very complete contextual menu that favors

enormously the handling of the application when multiple are revealed
images, which makes the workflow with this application optimal.

13
2.3.2.- Preview window.

It is the area of the interface where, if we wish, we can see the effect of each one of the
options for development that we will choose.

When we double-click on one of the thumbnails, the RAW file is displayed in the
preview window adjusting by default to the size of the window. If we want to see
quickly an enlargement 100% we double click on the image.
Move the image White balance Cutoutaportionof
inside the window customized image that is revealed

Hide/show Draw a line on the image

the EXIF which must be horizontal or
vertical and rotate the image in
consequence

Hide/show
the histogram

Hide/show
the explorer Rotate the image

Coordinates
punctual and RGB
of the current pixel Show area
subexposed
overexposed

Zoom / Adjust to Activate detail

the window and its size

The buttons that show the overexposed and underexposed areas play a very important role.
important regarding the treatment of photographs, a fact that we will discuss extensively in one
of the examples within the histogram section.

There is an interesting option in the window of

preview that allows us to correct the
verticality or horizontality of the image.
It consists of marking with a line on the image that
it must be a horizontal or a vertical line, once
marked the program will rotate the image as needed
so that it may be.

14
2.3.3.- Histogram.

This is one of the most relevant parts of the application and of almost any application.
image processing.

It is a graph that contains the number of pixels of a given brightness, from the most
dark on the left (total black) to the lightest on the right (total white). As we will see in this graph
it gives a lot of information depending on the image we are dealing with.

If the graph is uncomfortable to view, you can modify its scale by double-clicking on the
same.

One of the elements that indicate the great quality of this application, as we can see, is that
In the histogram, four lines appear: three of them belong to RGB colors, that is, not only
we can know how many pixels there are of a given brightness only if we find them decomposed
In the basic RGB colors (Red - Green - Blue) or channels, the fourth belongs to luminance, that is,
of the amount of light of each pixel.

2.3.4.- History.

The history, like other applications, shows the

actions that are being carried out.

Here it is important to remember the use of the keys Ctrl + Z

that allows undoing actions taken.

2.3.5.- Processing profiles.

When you have extensive experience in the

management of the application one can come to the conclusion that
that the images being processed
they can be grouped in general terms according to certain characteristics
relevant.

This allows, on a strictly personal basis for each photographer,

predefine some image processing profiles to be used
more frequently. In my particular case, I have the profiles available by
defect shown in the image.

15
 By default, three profiles come installed with the application:

- Neutral: some default values are used. The image is not processed.
- The brightness is adjusted automatically and a bit of sharpness is applied.

- Crisp: Just like default but it applies increased contrast and enhanced sharpness.

The use of these predefined profiles is very convenient through the contextual menu of the
miniatures that we saw on page 9.

16
3.- IMAGE PROCESSING
We proceed to analyze the different parameters that the application contains for processing.
of the images. All these parameters are located in the right area of the application interface
and, as we can see, they are distributed across five tabs.

For what comes next, it is important to keep in mind that the button with the double arrow
The blue that appears to the right of all the options allows you to undo the change made in that.
option.

Throughout the presentation, we will provide examples that serve to support the explanation of
the different characteristics, by default, before applying the new features, students must
revealing the images with the options already explained.

3.1.- Exhibition.
3.1.1.- Exhibition.

- Exposure compensation. It is used to correct the

exposure of the RAW image, especially when the
the image has come out underexposed or overexposed.

- Automatic levels. It is used to modify the brightness of the

image ensuring that there are no underexposed areas or
overexposed as we saw on page 12.

- Brightness. It is used to increase or decrease the brightness of the...

manual photography.

- High beam compression. Allows for detail recovery.

in the high beams areas after having performed
modifications in brightness.

- Black. Increasing the level of black improves the

images with fog or with a halo.

- Shadow compression. Allows recovery of details in

the dark areas of the image after having done
modifications at the black level.

- Contrast. Increase the brightness of the pixels more

brighter than the average and darkens the darkest pixels than the average. The application
it uses an algorithm that prevents detail loss when modifying the detail.

17
 As we will see next, many of the options we have seen before are
they can be done with tone curves.

- Tone Curve. This is a very professional image management option.

curve makes modifications to the RGB channels of the image taking into account that the
the horizontal axis represents the brightness of the image (black on the left side, side
white right) and the vertical axis represents the brightness of the result that
we want to achieve (black below, white above). That is why when the curve is linear like
By default, the original brightness of the image's pixels is preserved, the pixels
dark remain dark, the mediums remain medium, and the light remain light.

In the following examples, notice that as we do

Modifications in the tone curve are transferred to the image, so we can
view in real time the result of these modifications in the outcome.

This is the default curve in which all the pixels of the

images retain the brightness they have and, therefore do not
do not make any modifications to the brightness of the RGB channels.

This curve, however, changed the brightness of all the

pixels turning the dark into light and the light into dark,
obtaining the photographic negative of the image we previewed.

A curve of this type does what we can see

take the midtones on the horizontal axis and light them on the axis
vertical. As we can see, the completely light tones and
completely dark remain as they are.

18
 In the curves of tonopodemos we can introduce more than one node to do
modifications, for example, if we introduce a curve of this type into the image:

We clarified the dark pixels a lot. The second node as

we will see is essential to avoid burning the light pixels and that the
Curve do not stick to the top side of the graph.

This curve, however, would act the opposite, darkening the

mid tones.

This curve would illuminate the dark pixels and

darken the clear areas.

This curve would change the black point of the image by changing
the brightness of the pixels that remain to the left of the node
inferior to absolute black.

This would act in reverse, modifying the white point, of which

we will talk more extensively later, changing the
luminosity of the pixels that remain to the right of the top node
to absolute white.

Regarding the last two curves, we have to be very careful.

because when passing to black or white we will lose the brightness of the pixels
information that is stored in them and we can bind therefore some areas
from the image. To avoid this, we cannot lose sight of the histogram of the image.
in my opinion, this process is better done using the Gimp Levels option.
as we will see.

19
 One could write an entire treatise on tone curves. There is a lot of information on
regarding, for example, at the following link in case you want to take a look

[Link]

In particular, by default, in this Exhibition block I give a bit of contrast and add that
curve that has a very subtle effect of lightening the shadows a bit and darkening the lights a bit.

20
3.1.2.- Recovery of high beams.

In moderately overexposed images, it may occur that

in the light areas, details are lost that can be recovered with
this option in case any of the color channels contains
information.

If we want the options in this box to take effect on the image development we have
Check the Activate box.

3.1.3.- High Shadows/Lights.

It is a section that allows us to recover details in the

shadows without modifying the lights and vice versa. It's a very similar option to
the Shadows/Lighting of Photoshop, only with the advantage of
do it on the Raw image.

In some images, the effects of these options can

surprising results. We must take into account that the sensor of the
camera captures more information than it shows by default in the
image. The areas where by default more will be lost
information is the darkest and the clearest. The handling of the
options of this box allow extracting the information captured by the
sensor and transfer it to the image.

If we want the options of this box to have an effect on the image processing, we have to
check the Activated box.

- High Lights. It serves to darken the bright areas while leaving the shadows unchanged.

- High beam tonal width. Establishes the threshold above which the program
it will consider that a pixel is of high lights and will then be modified by the
high beam control. For example, set to 100 means that all pixels more
clear that the average brightness of the image is considered high lights. If it is adjusted to
0 means that no pixel is of high lights.

- Shadows. The shadows are lightened, leaving the bright areas of the image as they are.

- Tone Width of Shadows. It has an equivalent meaning to the Tone Width of the
high beams only for the shadows.

- Local contrast. It is a very subtle effect contrast that is achieved with a slight
contrast in small areas without modifying the global contrast we saw in the section
of Exposure. The effect is similar to that of a high radius sharpening mask and value
small. For optimal results, the slider should be between 5 and 20.

- Radio. This value guides the program to decide if a pixel is dark and therefore goes
to be clarified or clear and therefore it will be darkened. When handling the
Shadow/Highlight controls must be used carefully to avoid halo effects.
In the image. If this happens, the value of the radius must be lowered to the minimum.

21
 However, despite the aforementioned comments, we must be careful with the management.
from these controls since it is very easy to introduce noise into the image deteriorating its quality.

3.1.4.- Luminance curve.

The options are very similar to those of the Exhibition block,

however, instead of being applied to the RGB channels, they are applied to the
luminance channel CIELAB, so even though they are almost the same
the options on how they are translated in the image are different.

The effects of these options are very personal and the best thing is to go
testing until achieving the desired objectives, to try we could go
doing tests similar to those we did in the Curve option
Tone of the exhibition block.

In particular, I increase the contrast level by default to 10 and

I use the curve of the image which gives me a very subtle contrast effect.
about the image that is applied in the L channel of the CIELAB color space.

22
3.2.- Detail.
3.2.1.- Approach.

The options in this block handled with subtlety allow

add a great sharpness to the images. Just like the block
Shadows/High Lights we have to be careful because a use
inadequate would add noise to the images losing quality.

Additionally, obtaining a default approach for the

images of each user, that is, when we do not pursue obtaining
of some particular effect, it depends on the camera used so it does not
General configurations can be given.

In order to visualize the effect that these controls have, it is necessary for us to visualize the
image at 100% size to determine whether we introduce noise into it or not.

If we want the options in this box to take effect in the image processing, we have
that check the Activated box.

This program uses two focus methods which are:

- The Sharpening Mask.

- The RL deconvolution method.

We will focus on the first one.

The options that appear in the sharpening mask are:

- The radio determines the width that the program will use in the focus halo.
In general, the quality of focus is best if the focus radius is as small as possible.
This parameter is sometimes related to the number of megapixels of the sensor, so
the greater this is, the 'softer' the images are, which favors the use of
Radio values slightly higher.

- The Quantity controls the focus force.

- The Threshold is used to control noise.

- Focus Only Edges. This option allows avoiding the focus on the noise that may have the
image. If the image has noise in the shadow areas and work is done on it
the quality of the photography in those underexposed areas deteriorates significantly.

- Halo Control. If an overly aggressive focusing task is carried out, it promotes the
appearance of halos in the images. These halos are controlled with this option.

23
3.2.2.- Luminance Noise Reduction.

When a high ISO is used when taking a photograph

The chances of noise appearing in dark areas increase.
from the image.

To see the effect of these options on the image, it is advisable to have it at 100% of its size.
in the preview area.

If we want the options in this box to affect the processing of the image, we have to
check the Activated box.

This option allows you to control that noise called luminance noise. The options are:

- The radiograph is used for noise detection. It should be proportional to the amount of
image noise.

- Edge tolerance. It is similar to the sharpening mask threshold parameter.

Determine how much a pixel has to differ from its neighbor to be considered
as an edge of the image and not as noise.

3.2.3.- Color Noise Reduction.

At times during the image processing, we see that

noise appears in areas that are not dark. We call this noise
color noise and is reduced with the options of this block,

If we want the options in this box to take effect in the

In the image reveal, we need to check the Activated box.

The Radio and Border-sensitive options work similarly to their analogs in the
previous blocks.

24
3.3.- Color.
3.3.1.- White balance.

One of the notable options in the digital world that in the

analog means that in analog photography the images were taken
always with daylight balanced rolls regardless of
whether we did them in full sun, at sunset, during the night or in a
interior. The difference that we notice
of light in every situation receives the
name of color temperature.
That's why the photographs didn't come out as we saw them, but rather they came out
with a dominant color. The reason is that our brain
remember the colors of things and tend to see them in that tone
regardless of the ambient light.

Digital cameras have the ability to read the

color temperature present in the image and to adapt it
white balance of the camera so that the image comes out with the
real colors without any dominance. But sometimes the cameras do
they confuse...

This is one of the aspects in which the RAW format differs greatly from JPEG.
that once the image is taken we can decide the appropriate white balance in case of
the chamber has not selected the suitable one.

The options in this block are:

- Method. We have the cameras.

configured by default to make the balance of
automatic whites. In this option we will choose Camera
by default to support the white balance of the
camera. If it doesn't seem appropriate we have two options:

- Auto. In this case, Raw Therapee analyzes the image and chooses a balance of
whites.

- To Measure. We choose the color temperature on the slider.

Temperature.

- Temperature. Moving this slider to the left increases the

image temperature, that is, it makes it bluer, if we move it to the right
we make the color temperature decrease, that is, it makes it warmer.

- Ink. If we move it to the left, we make the image more violet.

(purple) and to the right it is more greenish.

- Show [Link]. This option allows us to choose the lightest area of the image to
That the application takes it as a reference to perform the white balance, being able to
choose the size of the selection area in the Size option.

25
3.3.2.- Channel Mixer.

This option is used to apply some effects to the images

modifying the characteristics of one or all RGB channels

The value of the sliders is in percentage and for each one

From the channels, we can modify three sliders with the RGB channels.

3.3.3.- Increase of Color or Saturation.

Unlike other programs, this application intensifies the

color amplifying the chrominance channels a & b, that is, the part
from the image that contains color information, in the color space
CIELAB using the slider:

- Amount. With which we decided the level of saturation of

the image.

- Avoid Color Clipping. When we increase the saturation of an image, if it

If we do it wrong, we can burn one of the three RGB channels. This option prevents that at the cost of
of a slowdown in image processing.

- Activate Saturation Limiter. Again, when we excessively saturate a

the image can leave us with a false and artificial result, unless we want to achieve
this effect for some reason. With this option we set a limit by which the
Pixels with more chrominance than set by the slider will be less.
intensified than the other pixels.

We can also choose the saturation in the Channel option.

channels a&b separately.

26
3.3.4.- Change of colors.

The sliders of this tool change the tones of the

channels a&b of CIELAB.

This option is useful for correcting any color cast that

has appeared in the image or, if you want to achieve some kind of effect to add a dominance.

- The Green-Magenta slider changes the channel to.

- The Blue-Yellow slider changes channel b.

3.3.5.- GIC (Internal Color Management).

In this option, we define how the application is going to handle the

information about the color contained in the images.

- Input Profile. By default, we will choose the values

default camera settings found in the
image that the application can assume.

- Job Profile. We will always try to choose a profile

the widest possible, usually Adobe RGB.

- Output Profile. It is the profile that will contain the image.

once processed.

27
3.4.- Transform.
In this tab are the options that allow us to transform the photograph.

Two of them, Crop and Rotate, are better used with the buttons in the preview area.
explained on page 10.

3.4.1.- Distortion.

This is a very interesting option.

The all-terrain objectives that are commonly used present, in

greater or lesser extent. barrel distortion in wide-angle areas. This option
it allows you to correct them with the Quantity control.

3.4.2.- Correction of Chromatic Aberrations.

If mediocre quality lenses are used, as in most

of compact cameras, there are situations where they can be
cause chromatic aberrations, for example, in the areas of the
photographs that separate areas of heavy shadow from areas of high light
light.

This control allows for correcting these distortions. To appreciate the effect, it is advisable to have
enlarge the image to 100% or perhaps more.

3.4.3.- Vignette Correction.

When we use wide-angle lenses, that is, from

35mm or less, sometimes the edges of the lens appear darkening
the vertices of the photograph, or if the effect is very pronounced, a
dark circular halo at its edges. This effect is called
vignetting.

This option allows you to correct vignetting by brightening those areas of the image with the options:

- Amount. Allows you to lighten or darken the edges of the images.

- Radio. It is used to decide which area will be lightened or darkened from the edge of the
image.

3.4.4.- Change Size.

This option is used to resize the image by choosing the o

well theScale we can define the size in pixels in the option
Full Image Size.

The most important thing in this option is the chosen method for
process the image as it will influence the quality of the photograph
resulting. The options are:

28
 - Closer. The scaling happens quickly, it
they retain the colors but lose details.

- Bilineal. Better than the previous one.

- Bicubic. It is the best method as it preserves all the information very well.
image.

- Bicubic (Softer). A smoothing is added to the image.

- Bicubic (More focused). An additional focus is made after scaling the

image.

29
3.5.- Metadata.
In this tab, the EXIF information generated by the associated camera appears on one side.
image and the IPTC information that we can add as users of the application. There isn't much.
more than to add.

3.5.1.- EXIF Data. 3.5.2.- IPTC Data.

30
4.- FINAL CONSIDERATIONS.
As I mentioned earlier, when we develop numerous images we
we realize that we do it almost by default for most of them

4.1.- Processing sequence.

One might think that the order of the factors does not change the result, that is, when we reveal
a RAW image the processing order of the different features we have seen is
indifferent but it's not like that.

It seems that certain partial processing can interfere with the quality of execution.
from other processing in the image, leading to the conclusion that it is necessary to have
an order when executing each of the developing options if we want to have quality of
maximum image in the final result. This order is as follows:

1.- White balance.

2.- Transformations:
- Change size.
- Rotate.
- Distortion.
- Correction of chromatic aberrations.
- Vignette correction...
3. Exhibition Options.
- Shine.
- Contrast.
- Tone Curve.
4.- Luminance Curve Options.
5. Color change options.
- Color change.
- Increase of colors or saturation.
- Channel mixer.
6. Shadows/Lights.
7.- Recovery of high beams.
8.- Reduction of luminance and color noise.

And very very very important...

9.- The focus is left for the end.

But of course, as I mentioned at the beginning of this manual, the most important factor in all
photography is the quality of the image obtained in the camera because the real limit of
all subsequent revealed is in the quality of that initial image.

31
4.2.- What is RGB?

The RGB description (from English Red, Green, Blue) of a color refers to
to the composition of color in terms of the intensity of the primary colors with which it is formed: the
red, green, and blue. It is a color model based on additive synthesis, with which it is possible
represent a color by mixing the three primary light colors through addition. The model of
RGB color does not define by itself what exactly red, green, or blue mean, so the
the same RGB values can display noticeably different colors on different devices that
use this color model. Although they use the same color model, their color spaces can
vary considerably.

To indicate the proportion in which we mix each color, an assignment is made

a value to each of the primary colors, in such a way that, for example,
the value 0 means that it does not intervene in the mixture and, as that value
increases, it is understood that it adds more intensity to the mix. Although the
the range of values could be anything (real values between 0 and 1,
integer values between 0 and 37, etc.), it is common for each primary color to
encode with a byte (8 bits). Thus, usually, the intensity of each
one of the components is measured on a scale that goes from 0 to 255.

Therefore, red is obtained with (255,0,0), green with (0,255,0)

and the blue with (0,0,255), obtaining, in each case, a resulting monochromatic color. The absence of
color —what we know as black color— is obtained when the three components are
0, (0,0,0).

The combination of two colors at level 255 with a third at level 0 results in three colors.
intermediates. Thus, yellow is (255,255,0), cyan (0,255,255), and magenta (255,0,255).

Obviously, the color white is formed by the three primary colors at their maximum level.
(255,255,255)

The source of this text is

[Link]

32