[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":467},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guide-raw-workflow":3,"related-raw-workflow":236},{"slug":4,"section":5,"title":6,"seoTitle":7,"description":8,"intro":9,"level":10,"minutes":11,"updated":12,"icon":13,"keywords":14,"presetName":20,"raw":21,"steps":30,"faq":141,"related":151,"order":154,"downloads":155,"images":167},"raw-workflow","pro","How to edit a raw photo, in the order the pros do","How to edit raw photos: a step-by-step workflow on iPhone and Mac","A raw file is where a great photo starts. The order to work in, from profile and white balance to tone, colour and sharpening, with a raw file to practise on.","Most edits go wrong because they're done in the wrong order. Work from the whole photo to the details, and each step makes the next one easier.","Beginner",8,"2026-10-21","i-lucide-aperture",[15,16,17,18,19],"how to edit raw photos","raw editing workflow","edit ProRAW","raw photo editor iPhone","raw editor Mac","Raw Workflow",{"file":22,"title":23,"camera":24,"author":25,"licence":26,"licenceUrl":27,"url":28,"sha256":29},"lightbites-raw-workflow.dng","Landscape in soft daylight","Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (SM-G998B)","raw.pixls.us contributor","CC0 1.0","https:\u002F\u002Fcreativecommons.org\u002Fpublicdomain\u002Fzero\u002F1.0\u002F","https:\u002F\u002Fraw.pixls.us\u002Fdata-unique\u002FSamsung\u002FGalaxy%20S21%20Ultra\u002F20230712_115041.dng","5baeb5f0c4a125647df03b82c2d38b0f02784393bd39eff1a5b23d8f5308dc5e",[31,44,59,69,86,98,111,126],{"id":32,"title":33,"text":34,"do":35,"shot":40},"profile","Start with the profile","A raw file has no look of its own: the profile decides how its colours and contrast are drawn before you touch a slider. Choose it first, because everything after builds on it.",[36,39],{"ios":37,"mac":38},"Tap **Edit**, then **Profile**, and try a few. Each tile is the photo in that profile.","Open **Profile** at the top of the Edit panel, or **Browse Profiles** to see them as pictures.","Pick one that looks natural rather than finished: you'll add the punch later.",{"alt":41,"ui":42},"The profiles for a raw landscape, each shown as a thumbnail of the photo",{"screen":43,"group":32},"edit",{"id":45,"title":46,"text":47,"do":48,"tip":54,"shot":55},"white-balance","Set the white balance","White balance decides whether white looks white. With a raw file it's lossless, so get it right now: every colour after depends on it.",[49,50,53],"In **Color**, choose a **White Balance**: **As Shot**, **Auto**, or the light you shot in (**Daylight**, **Cloudy**, **Shade**…).",{"ios":51,"mac":52},"Or tap the eyedropper and then something that should be neutral grey or white.","Or press `W` and click something that should be neutral grey or white.","Fine-tune **Temp** (cooler or warmer) and **Tint** (greener or more magenta) by eye.","Not sure? Look at something you know is white, a cloud or a wall, and move **Temp** until it stops looking blue or yellow.",{"alt":56,"ui":57},"The Color group with the white balance menu, Temp and Tint",{"screen":43,"group":58},"color",{"id":60,"title":61,"text":62,"set":63,"shot":65},"exposure","Get the exposure right","Set **Exposure** so the main subject is as bright as you want it. Don't worry about the brightest and darkest parts yet: that's the next step.",{"light.exposure":64},0.3,{"alt":66,"ui":67},"Exposure raised a third of a stop in the Light group",{"screen":43,"group":68},"light",{"id":70,"title":71,"text":72,"do":73,"set":77,"tip":82,"shot":83},"tones","Bring back the highlights, open the shadows","This is where raw files shine: there is far more in the bright and dark parts than the camera showed you.",[74,75,76],"Pull **Highlights** down until the sky has detail again.","Push **Shadows** up until the dark parts open, but stop before it looks flat.","Set **Whites** and **Blacks** last: up and down until the brightest and darkest parts just touch white and black.",{"light.highlights":78,"light.shadows":79,"light.whites":80,"light.blacks":81},-60,40,15,-12,"Watch the histogram: the graph should reach both ends without piling up against either.",{"alt":84,"ui":85},"Highlights down and Shadows up: the sky and the shadows both have detail",{"screen":43,"group":68},{"id":87,"title":88,"text":89,"set":90,"shot":94},"presence","Add contrast and presence","Recovering both ends makes a photo flatter, so add some of it back. **Contrast** for the whole photo, then **Texture** for fine detail and **Clarity** for mid-sized detail, both gently. A little **Dehaze** cuts through haze in the distance.",{"light.contrast":91,"effects.texture":92,"effects.clarity":91,"effects.dehaze":93},12,10,6,{"alt":95,"ui":96},"Texture, Clarity and Dehaze in the Effects group",{"screen":43,"group":97},"effects",{"id":99,"title":100,"text":101,"set":102,"shot":105},"colour","Colour: vibrance first","**Vibrance** lifts the dull colours more than the strong ones, and spares skin. Use it before **Saturation**, which pushes every colour equally. For one colour only, open **Color Mixer**: the blue of a sky, the green of grass.",{"color.vibrance":103,"mixer.blue.sat":11,"mixer.green.sat":104},20,-6,{"alt":106,"ui":107,"mac":108},"Vibrance raised in the Color group, the Color Mixer below it",{"screen":43,"group":58},{"sections":109},[58,110],"mixer",{"id":112,"title":113,"text":114,"do":115,"set":121,"shot":123},"detail","Sharpen and clean up noise","Sharpening and noise reduction come last, looked at up close. Zoom in to 100 % on something with fine detail.",[116,119,120],{"ios":117,"mac":118},"In **Detail**, open **Sharpening** and raise the amount until edges look crisp, not crunchy.","In **Detail**, raise **Sharpening** until edges look crisp, not crunchy.","Raise **Masking** to keep the sharpening off smooth areas such as the sky.","Add **Noise Reduction** only if you see grain in the shadows.",{"detail.sharpenAmount":79,"detail.sharpenMasking":122,"detail.nrLuminance":92},35,{"alt":124,"ui":125},"The Detail group: sharpening and noise reduction",{"screen":43,"group":112},{"id":127,"title":128,"text":129,"edit":132,"shot":136},"crop","Straighten and crop",{"ios":130,"mac":131},"Open **Crop**, tap **Auto** to level the horizon, and crop out anything at the edges that pulls the eye away.","Open **Crop**, level the horizon with **Angle**, and crop out anything at the edges that pulls the eye away.",[133],[134,135],"crop.autoStraighten",{},{"alt":137,"ui":138},"The finished photo with the horizon levelled",{"screen":127,"cropTab":139,"cropGuide":140},"aspect","thirds",[142,145,148],{"q":143,"a":144},"Why shoot raw?","A raw file keeps everything the sensor saw: much more detail in the bright and dark parts, and white balance you can change without losing quality. A JPEG has already thrown most of that away.",{"q":146,"a":147},"Does this work for iPhone ProRAW?","Yes. ProRAW is a DNG file, and LightBites edits it like any raw. Turn on ProRAW in the Camera settings of your iPhone.",{"q":149,"a":150},"Why this order?","Each step changes what the next one sees: the profile and white balance change every colour, exposure changes every tone. Working from the whole photo to the details means you don't undo 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to edit a sunset photo","How to edit a sunset photo: bring back the sky, keep the glow","Bring back a burnt-out sky, lift a dark foreground, and keep the warm glow of a sunset without making it look fake. With the raw file to follow along.","A sunset is the hardest light to photograph: the sky is far brighter than the land. A raw file holds both. Here's how to get them back without a fake glow.","Intermediate",7,"i-lucide-sunset",[246,247,248,249,250],"how to edit sunset photos","sunset photo editing","recover sky","golden hour edit","landscape editing","Sunset Glow",{"file":253,"title":254,"camera":255,"author":256,"licence":257,"licenceUrl":258,"url":259,"sha256":260},"lightbites-sunset.dng","Sunset with light rays over the fields","Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (SM-G990B)","dnzm (discuss.pixls.us)","CC BY-SA 4.0","https:\u002F\u002Fcreativecommons.org\u002Flicenses\u002Fby-sa\u002F4.0\u002F","https:\u002F\u002Fdiscuss.pixls.us\u002Fuploads\u002Fshort-url\u002FgW9ixh7rLGG3XLW8L7MuLMRm8wC.dng","52e8ea67eeb87591bcee79cb2e16bb51fe6f260ddc5bd6cfccfbc5bdd139323e",[262,269,281,291,321,332,345],{"id":263,"title":264,"text":265,"shot":266},"warmth","Keep the warmth","Auto white balance fixes what it thinks is a colour cast, and at sunset the cast is the point. Start from **As Shot** or **Daylight**, and if anything nudge **Temp** a little warmer, never cooler.",{"alt":267,"ui":268},"The Color group with the white balance set to As Shot",{"screen":43,"group":58},{"id":270,"title":271,"text":272,"set":273,"tip":277,"shot":278},"sky","Bring back the sky","Pull **Highlights** well down and **Whites** a little: the colour comes back into the bright clouds and the sun's glow gets a shape.",{"light.highlights":274,"light.whites":275,"light.exposure":276},-80,-15,0.1,"If the sun itself stays white, that's fine. It was.",{"alt":279,"ui":280},"Highlights pulled down: the clouds have their colour back",{"screen":43,"group":68},{"id":282,"title":283,"text":284,"set":285,"shot":288},"foreground","Lift the foreground","Raise **Shadows** until you can see into the land, but leave it darker than the sky: that's how a sunset looks to the eye. Keep **Blacks** a little down so it still has depth.",{"light.shadows":286,"light.blacks":287,"light.contrast":11},45,-10,{"alt":289,"ui":290},"Shadows raised: detail in the foreground, still darker than the sky",{"screen":43,"group":68},{"id":292,"title":293,"text":294,"do":295,"edit":301,"shot":317},"gradient","Balance it with a gradient","A **Linear Gradient** from the top of the frame down to the horizon darkens the sky a little more, and only the sky. Add a touch of **Dehaze** in it to give the clouds shape.",[296,299,300],{"ios":297,"mac":298},"Open **Masking**, tap **+** and choose **Linear Gradient**.","Open **Masking** and choose **Linear Gradient**.","Drag from the top edge down to just above the horizon.","Lower its **Exposure** a little and add **Dehaze** and **Saturation**.",[302,311],[303,304],"mask.add",{"kind":305,"start":306,"end":309},"linear",[307,308],0.5,0,[307,310],0.45,[312,313],"mask.adjust",{"values":314},{"exposure":315,"highlights":316,"dehaze":91,"saturation":92},-0.35,-20,{"alt":318,"ui":319},"A linear gradient over the sky, darkening it down to the horizon",{"screen":320},"masking",{"id":322,"title":323,"text":324,"set":325,"shot":327},"glow","Make the colours glow","Raise **Vibrance**, then open **Color Mixer** and lift the **Saturation** of the oranges and yellows a little. Leave the reds: they turn neon fast.",{"color.vibrance":326,"mixer.orange.sat":91,"mixer.yellow.sat":11},25,{"alt":328,"ui":329,"mac":330},"Vibrance up and the orange and yellow saturation raised in the Color Mixer",{"screen":43,"group":58},{"sections":331},[58,110],{"id":333,"title":334,"text":335,"set":336,"shot":339},"grade","Warm the light, cool the shadows","In **Color Grading**, give the highlights a warm, golden hue and the shadows a little blue. The contrast between warm and cool is what makes a sunset feel like a sunset.",{"grading.highlights.hue":79,"grading.highlights.sat":337,"grading.shadows.hue":338,"grading.shadows.sat":92},18,220,{"alt":340,"ui":341,"mac":342},"Color Grading: warm highlights and cool shadows",{"screen":43,"group":58},{"sections":343},[58,344],"grading",{"id":346,"title":347,"text":348,"set":349,"shot":350},"finish","Finish","A gentle **Vignette** darkens the corners and leads the eye to the light. Then press and hold the photo to compare with where you started.",{"vignette.amount":81,"effects.clarity":93},{"alt":351,"ui":352},"The finished sunset with a soft vignette",{"screen":43,"group":97},[354,357],{"q":355,"a":356},"Why does my sunset look grey after editing?","Usually from pulling Highlights down without adding anything back. Raise Vibrance and add warmth in Color Grading's highlights, and keep a little contrast.",{"q":358,"a":359},"Should I use Saturation or Vibrance for sunsets?","Vibrance first: it lifts the weaker colours and leaves the already strong oranges alone. Saturation pushes everything, and a sunset's reds clip quickly.",[361,4],"masks",{"photo":363,"preset":364,"raw":367,"xmp":369},{"width":157,"height":158},{"file":365,"bytes":366,"name":251},"edit-sunset.lcpreset",4970,{"file":253,"bytes":368},24026127,{"file":370,"bytes":371},"lightbites-sunset.xmp",5429,{"edit-sunset-after-1600":373,"edit-sunset-after-800":374,"edit-sunset-warmth-mac-dark-1600":375,"edit-sunset-warmth-mac-dark-800":376,"edit-sunset-warmth-mac-light-1600":377,"edit-sunset-warmth-mac-light-800":378},"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F75b2c4e9-67d6-46f8-9c0f-2f226d9b1e27.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F7348a8c6-addb-476a-9530-0cd63c546ead.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002Fb331fcf9-f0da-486c-81d6-6683d3c2de69.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F0f3136a6-be35-4894-84c3-0bf3e0ad2493.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F87a46183-d0d7-4807-8730-ea1a49c11ac5.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002Fb0389c28-ce2f-44a1-9563-6a309d75bebe.webp",{"slug":153,"section":380,"title":381,"seoTitle":382,"description":383,"intro":384,"level":10,"minutes":385,"updated":12,"icon":386,"keywords":387,"photo":392,"steps":393,"faq":451,"related":458,"order":460,"downloads":461,"images":462},"app","Edit a photo: the basics","How to edit photos on iPhone and Mac: the LightBites editor in five minutes","The editor in five minutes: the edit groups, Auto, the Light and Color sliders, comparing before and after, undo, and dials or sliders.","Every edit in LightBites can be undone and none of them touches the original. Here is the editor, and the few sliders that do most of the work.",5,"i-lucide-sliders-horizontal",[388,389,390,391],"photo editor iPhone","edit photos Mac","exposure contrast highlights shadows","Lightroom alternative","lake-louise.jpg",[394,406,420,429,443],{"id":395,"title":396,"text":397,"tip":400,"shot":403},"open-edit","Open the editor",{"ios":398,"mac":399},"Open a photo and tap **Edit** (the sliders) in the bar at the bottom. The groups run along the panel: **Auto**, **Light**, **Color**, **Effects**, **Detail**, **Optics**, **Lens Blur**, **Calibration** and **Profile**.","Open a photo and click **Edit** in the tool strip. The panel has **Auto**, **B&W** and **HDR** at the top, the profile, then the groups one under another: **Light**, **Color**, **Effects**, **Detail**, **Optics**, **Lens Blur** and **Calibration**. Click a title to open or close it; `⌥`-click opens only that one.",{"ios":401,"mac":402},"**Auto** gives a balanced starting point to adjust from. Tap it again, before you change anything else, to take it away.","**Auto** (`⇧A`) gives a balanced starting point to adjust from.",{"alt":404,"ui":405},"The editor open on a photo of kayaks on a mountain lake, with the Light group's sliders",{"screen":43,"group":68},{"id":68,"title":407,"text":408,"set":409,"tip":414,"shot":417},"Set the light","Work down the **Light** group. **Exposure** sets the overall brightness. **Highlights** down brings back a bright sky; **Shadows** up opens the dark parts. **Whites** and **Blacks** set the brightest and darkest points, and **Contrast** comes last.",{"light.exposure":410,"light.highlights":411,"light.shadows":412,"light.whites":92,"light.blacks":413,"light.contrast":92},0.15,-45,30,-8,{"ios":415,"mac":416},"Double-tap a slider to put it back to zero.","Double-click a slider to put it back to zero.",{"alt":418,"ui":419},"The Light group: Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites and Blacks moved",{"screen":43,"group":68},{"id":58,"title":421,"text":422,"set":423,"shot":426},"Fix the colour","In **Color**, the **White Balance** menu (**As Shot**, **Auto**, **Daylight**, **Cloudy**…) and the eyedropper take a colour cast away; **Temp** and **Tint** fine-tune it. Then add **Vibrance**, which boosts the dull colours more than the bright ones, before you reach for **Saturation**.",{"color.vibrance":424,"color.saturation":425},22,4,{"alt":427,"ui":428},"The Color group: white balance, Temp, Tint, Vibrance and Saturation",{"screen":43,"group":58},{"id":430,"title":431,"do":432,"shot":439},"compare","Compare, undo, start again",[433,436],{"ios":434,"mac":435},"Press and hold the photo to see it as it was; let go to come back.","Hold `\\` to see the photo as it was; tap it to keep the original on screen.",{"ios":437,"mac":438},"**Undo** at the top left takes back the last change. Hold it for **Redo**, **Reset**, **Versions** and **History**.","`⌘Z` undoes and `⇧⌘Z` redoes. **Photo ▸ Reset Edits** (`⇧⌘R`) starts over.",{"alt":440,"ui":441},"Before and after: the original photo beside the edited one",{"screen":43,"group":68,"beforeAfter":442},true,{"id":444,"title":445,"text":446,"shot":447},"dials","Dials or sliders","On iPhone and iPad, choose how you adjust in **Settings ▸ Interface ▸ Adjustments**: **Dials**, a row of dials like the Photos app's, **Sliders**, like Lightroom's, or **Automatic**: dials under the photo, sliders beside it on a wide screen. Both edit the same way.",{"alt":448,"only":449,"ui":450},"The Light group as a row of dials under the photo","ios",{"screen":43,"group":68,"editStyle":444},[452,455],{"q":453,"a":454},"Can I undo an edit later?","Yes, at any time. Edits are saved as instructions, not baked into the photo: reset a slider, step back through History, or reset the whole photo, even weeks later.",{"q":456,"a":457},"Is LightBites a Lightroom alternative?","It works the way Lightroom does, with the same kind of sliders, masks, presets and raw processing, but it runs entirely on your device, with no account and no subscription.",[4,459],"crop-and-straighten",3,{},{"editing-basics-open-edit-mac-dark-1600":463,"editing-basics-open-edit-mac-dark-800":464,"editing-basics-open-edit-mac-light-1600":465,"editing-basics-open-edit-mac-light-800":466},"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F341898eb-bd18-4717-b9e5-cbd256278dda.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F1e09ac99-4d2f-4846-b5ab-a5ffb7077513.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F7c5fd437-fc3c-4ad0-b5c0-f00e1ca71d3e.webp","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.eliasruiz.com\u002Fhelp-bites\u002Ftb4A2EAxRx\u002Fblog\u002F6e60365b-0d73-4f78-8924-797822605df9.webp",1792693337598]