We all have our preferred ways of working when processing our RAW files by developing a consistent and logical workflow you can,

• Speed up your processing.
• Exploit presets.
• Be consistent in how you process your RAW files.
• Develop your own style.

My preferred RAW file processor and photo editor is DxO Photolab, why? Because DxO’s main thrust is the development of RAW files and correcting lens defects found in specific lens/camera combinations. DxO Photolab optic corrections address; chromatic aberrations, distortion, vignetting, and lens softness!

I like to breakdown my processing workflow into the following;

1. Camera and lens flaw corrections.
2. RAW file processing.
3. Creative enhancements, photo edits.

DxO Presets (step 1)

Presets simply allow you to apply a set of corrections to one or more images at the same time. DxO Photolab comes with a number of ready made presets to help you get started. When you first load your images into DxO Photolab uses a default preset that does the following;

• DxO Smart Lighting on Slight.
• Color rendering unchanged for JPEGs, camera default rendering for RAW files.
• Protection of saturated colors on Auto.
• Noise reduction on Auto.
• Distortion on Auto.
• Vignetting on Auto.
• Cromatic aberration on Auto (and lateral chromatic aberration correction activated).
• Lens softness activated, Global slider on 0, and both the Details and the Bokeh sliders set to 50 (or Sharpness Maskdefaultsettings, if a DxO Optics Module is not available).

But I have created my own preset that applies the following corrections;

This first preset takes care of camera / lens like; chromatic aberrations, distortion, vignetting, and lens softness!

RAW File Processing (step 2)

Once I have taken care of any camera / lens defects that might affect my image I then go onto processing my RAW file using a custom made Workspace in DxO Photolab that allows me to work with the following, and generally in the order you see.

The idea here is to create a balanced RAW file for either further editing or as a final image.

Below is a JPEG output from a non corrected RAW file that I will be working on using my default workspace.

Local and Global Adjustments

When assessing and processing my RAW files, I am always thinking in terms of local and global adjustments. I use global adjustments to even out or balance the image (see below).

Creative enhancements, photo edits (step 3)

And finally, for me, the secret sauce to any image processing is to apply local adjustments, in terms of colour, contrast, highlight, and shadow adjustments to enhance and bring the photo to life.

I think the final image is shows how by following a good workflow you can achieve excellent results when editing your images.

You can get a free trial of DxO Photolab here

There are three photo editing software packages that I own, each has a new release and are worthy of consideration.

DXO Photolab 3 – Advanced editing software

The first is DXO Photolab, I love this software, it’s my ‘goto photo editor’. And with its latest release DXO have really upped their photo editing game. To mark its release DXO are offering current and new users a discount. If you do not own the software you can download a trial version.

On1 Photo RAW 2020

ON1 Photo RAW 2020 is often pitched as being an alternative to Adobe’s Lightroom or Photoshop. It has a set of rich features and will cover most, if not all of your photo needs. Its features are user-driven and the team at On1 provide plenty of how-to videos.

You can get a copy to try here, or upgrade ON1 Photo RAW 2020 Now Available

Luminar 4

Luminar 4 from Skylum is due for release in November and can be pre-ordered at a discount price. Luminar 4 makes use of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance your images and as such looks to make post-processing images easier and less time-consuming.

There is no better photo editor than DXO Photlab, If you have not checked it out, you should. It has the ability to make advanced corrections automatically based on optical flaws like a lack of sharpness, vignetting, chromatic aberrations, and distortion are automatically and effectively corrected. And the new line of tools makes this a powerful photo editor.

However, If you are the type of photographer that goes about swapping skies, working with layers and removing or replacing objects etc in your images DXO Photolab will not be enough. ON1 Photo RAW 2020 will probably be more suited to your needs. On1 bills itself as the only post-processing editor that you will need but it is a lot more complex than DXO Photolab.

Luminar 4 perhaps sits between DXO Photolab and ON1 Photo RAW. Skylum is marketing their product as the ‘next generation all in one imaging editor and photo management software.  It is pushing the boundaries with its AI technology and more product developments are in place to enhance the software further.

Personally, I have 4 products. DXO Photolab and NIK collection. On1 and Luminar 3. I mainly use DXO Photolab along wth the NIK collection from DXO. I use ON1 Photo RAW largely for object removal and their filters.

I don’t have Luminar 4 but have Luminar 3 and Aurora HDR 2019. 

Bottom line

If you want the best RAW Photo editor out there that’s DXO Photolab.

If you do a lot of photo manipulation, ON1 Photo RAW might be the way to go.

If you’re looking to have an advanced photo editor that’s easy to use then Luminar 4 might be the option for you when it is released in November.

You can download trial versions of On1 and DXO Photlab. You will have o wait for Luminar 4 but you could download a trial of Luminar 3 to see if it fits your needs.