Just wondering how many are using Affinity Photo?

[Phil Vetra]

I have been using Affinity Photo for a while. I think that Photoshop is more advanced but by how much?

 

[Brownie]

I use it sometimes, but it doesn't do batch processing so I can't use it for event photography. I typically end up back at Darktable. I use DXO Deep Prime for noise.

Photoshop doesn't do anything that the others won't do.

 

[davidzvi]

I used it before I finally caved and subscribed to Adobe for Lightroom. Affinity had said they would release an LR alternative, still waiting.

 

[dcisive]

I use DXO Photolab 7 for some of my work, but have been smitten by the new ON1 Photo RAW 2024. They have some mind blowing settings available along with their exceptional AI features. So easy to use yet so powerful. Their masking tools are simply the BEST with superb results. They have one setting you simply touch called "Brilliance AI" and it will blow your mind how it can instantly transform your shot if not to perfection very close so not much is needed. I would highly recommend anyone who hasn't tried it to download a free trial........trust me you'll be hooked.

 

[Phil Vetra]

I use it sometimes, but it doesn't do batch processing so I can't use it for event photography. I typically end up back at Darktable. I use DXO Deep Prime for noise.

Photoshop doesn't do anything that the others won't do.

I understand that batch processing would be good for the pro's, but I shoot in a lot of different conditions with bad light. For me I like to own and not rent if you know what i mean. If the situation arises and i cannot afford the rent at least I have something I can still use.

 

[Phil Vetra]

I use DXO Photolab 7 for some of my work, but have been smitten by the new ON1 Photo RAW 2024. They have some mind blowing settings available along with their exceptional AI features. So easy to use yet so powerful. Their masking tools are simply the BEST with superb results. They have one setting you simply touch called "Brilliance AI" and it will blow your mind how it can instantly transform your shot if not to perfection very close so not much is needed. I would highly recommend anyone who hasn't tried it to download a free trial........trust me you'll be hooked.

Well sounds interesting I'll have to check it out.

 

[Brownie]

I understand that batch processing would be good for the pro's, but I shoot in a lot of different conditions with bad light. For me I like to own and not rent if you know what i mean. If the situation arises and i cannot afford the rent at least I have something I can still use.

Darktable does everything lightroom does, is ridiculously powerful, updated twice per year, and is 100% free. I've been using it for years. And I fully understand bad light and extreme conditions.

DSC06280 by Shotglass Photo, on Flickr

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I'll try Affinity, ON1 etc when they issue Linux versions (I'm not xepecting that they will be free, just available on the same terms as Win and Mac).

That's probably never.

 

[Clix Pix]

I primarily use DXO PhotoLab 7 but I also have Luminar AI and Luminar Neo for occasional finishing touches. Last year I bought On1 Photo 2023 but have to admit I really haven't used it that much and now they've already come out with the newer version. I'll probably upgrade to that and then take another stab at it and learning to use the program properly.

In addition I use Topaz Photo AI for certain functions and that is very useful. I do also have Affinity Photo but haven't used it in a long time.

 

[Brownie]

See, there's the problem. You buy a program thinking you'll use it, then you revert to your old comfy couch. The end result it a bunch of programs on your computer taking up space, and none is markedly better than the other.

I had Affinity for a year before I really did anything with it. I tried Luminar, friends don't let friends use that program. I keep going back to DT.

DXO Deep Prime is a bit different in that all it does is noise and basic lens adjustments, I still take everything to DT after running it through DXO.

 

[Clix Pix]

Years ago I used Photoshop, but stopped at I think it was CS 3. When Apple released Aperture, that quickly became my editing program of choice and I used it even after Apple stopped issuing updates right up to when it was no longer possible to install or use on newer Macs. That's when I started looking around for something to replace it, and that was challenging! Tried various ones, bought a couple., still wasn't quite happy and then I stumbled upon DXO PhotoLab and that was The One. Finally!

Somewhere along the lineI picked up Luminar because it had a couple of interesting features and functions that I thought I'd use, but it definitely is not a program I would use solely to completely edit my images.... I have continued with it for just a few specific finishing touches to some of my images.

Last year I noticed that ON1 was having a sale and thought, hey, sounds like a reasonable price, worth trying.....and again there were a couple of features in which I was most interested. The program had a bit more of a learning curve than I'd anticipated and right about then I was really busy with a lot of images to work on, so, yep, retreated to the tried-and-true, familiar process of DXO PhotoLab and occasionally Luminar AI.

So now I'm thinking that this winter when things are slower with regard to editing and such, would be a good time to once again tackle On1 and see if I can really get comfortable with it. I haven't checked yet but I am assuming that because I already have an earlier version (2023) that I should get some sort of discount when updating. If that isn't the case I'll probably just skip the whole idea of On1 altogether and delete the 2023 version from the computer. I also want to take a better look at exactly what the new features and functions in the 2024 program are, too, before taking the leap, even if I would be eligible for a nice discount to do so.

 

[liggy]

I love Affinity Photo for focus stacking and for panos. Really appreciate the non-subscription model. Works a treat on iPad too and it's a super affordable app.

Lately though I'm using Topaz Photo AI for most things. Fun and easy.

 

[Phil Vetra]

Darktable does everything lightroom does, is ridiculously powerful, updated twice per year, and is 100% free. I've been using it for years. And I fully understand bad light and extreme conditions.

DSC06280 by Shotglass Photo, on Flickr

Well I've down loaded Darktable and this Old Chemo Brained Old Timer is going to have a learning curve to deal with. Cant knock it till you try it! At least the price is quite right!

 

[Brownie]

Well I've down loaded Darktable and this Old Chemo Brained Old Timer is going to have a learning curve to deal with. Cant knock it till you try it! At least the price is quite right!

There is definitely a learning curve. Start by using the beginners mode. Plenty of tutorials, this guy is the best:

https://www.youtube.com/@audio2u/videos

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Well I've down loaded Darktable and this Old Chemo Brained Old Timer is going to have a learning curve to deal with.

A message from not far long the dt learning curve...

1. Don't worry about the things that dt has already done.
2. Learn to customise your Quick Access tools (modules in dt-speak) panel.
3. First steps... You probably want to turn on Lens correction and De-noise (Profiled).
4. 2nd steps... Exposure, Tone equaliser, local contrast, sharpen, Colour Balance RGB
5. Crop, wherever it fits in your workflow.

There. You used darktable and got a nice picture already


And next... learn about masking from youtube. It is really easy to make new instances of modules like exposure, with masks so that they affect (or not) only specific areas. For example brighten the eyes.

(But I can still pleasingly tweak a jpeg in GIMP in about 25% of the time it takes me to do the same in dt)

Oh wait, this thread is about Affinity

 

[Clix Pix]

Update to my earlier post about ON1..... The timing was perfect for this discussion, as today while I was checking my email there was a reminder from ON1 about their special offer for ON1 Photo RAW 2024 -- aha! I thought, OK, so why not check this out? The price was good, definitely worth it, and the sale price ends on January 31st, so I thought I'd better hop-to if I were going to move forward with the upgrade.

Looked over the info about the new version and decided to go for it. I have now purchased and duly downloaded the program plus the .pdf of the user guide so I'm good to go. I have a bunch of images waiting to be edited and so rather than automatically jumping into DXO PhotoLab 7 I'll see if I have better luck with ON1 than I did last year. At least I have more time to experiment with it than I had earlier, so that helps.

 

[Brownie]

Well I've down loaded Darktable and this Old Chemo Brained Old Timer is going to have a learning curve to deal with. Cant knock it till you try it! At least the price is quite right!

Definitely pay attention to @Thad E Ginathom's post. When I started using DT, there was no 'basic' module. The program has changed to much since I first downloaded it that I've never used the basic modules or the beginner's layout. I have my favorites set up and don't change unless they force me to, like some of the more recent updates. Sometimes their changes are irritating. A couple updates ago they did away with the contrast/brightness/saturation module, took me forever to figure out the new method. Now it's second nature.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

There is this chosen paradigm called "scene-referred." Many dt modules belong to the previous paradigm. They work, but are considered what software folk call deprecated.

The vast majority of my work on jpegs is done simply with the tone curve. There are several alike tools in dt, but the preferred one is called Tone Equaliser. It is, essentially, a curve but with just a few points. It is useful (ignore the tab labels: the "advanced" tab is easier to use than the simple one!) But I still need to make adjustments in Colour Balance RGB. Some of that seems duplicated. But hey, it all works out. I find it easier to get on with, on the whole, than Rawtherapee, although Rawtherapee has some lovely stuff like the L*A*B tools.

 

[Brownie]

There is this chosen paradigm called "scene-referred." Many dt modules belong to the previous paradigm. They work, but are considered what software folk call deprecated.

The vast majority of my work on jpegs is done simply with the tone curve. There are several alike tools in dt, but the preferred one is called Tone Equaliser. It is, essentially, a curve but with just a few points. It is useful (ignore the tab labels: the "advanced" tab is easier to use than the simple one!) But I still need to make adjustments in Colour Balance RGB. Some of that seems duplicated. But hey, it all works out. I find it easier to get on with, on the whole, than Rawtherapee, although Rawtherapee has some lovely stuff like the L*A*B tools.

I have all but stopped using tone equalizer. I used to use it religiously and had several presets made for different lighting. After the middle of the year update in 2023, I was getting a greyish tone to my images. It took forever for me to figure it out, but I think the new Color Balance and Filmic RGB take the place and are applied automatically to a RAW file, so the tone equalizer is like a double application. I don't think those modules kick-in for jpeg, so it's probably still viable there.

 

[Clix Pix]

Another update: I spent a fair amount of time this afternoon and early evening becoming acquainted with ON1 Photo RAW 2024 and I agree that it seems to be easier (more intuitive?) than last year's version. So far I am liking it, although if I were in a hurry to edit an image right now it wouldn't be my first choice.... Still on the learning curve here! Lots of nice features and functionality and I am pleased that I did go ahead and purchase this latest version.

Update 2: Still experimenting but so far, so good, and I'm really liking this program much more than I had thought I might. I do believe it's a keeper!

 

[Phil Vetra]

I use it sometimes, but it doesn't do batch processing so I can't use it for event photography. I typically end up back at Darktable. I use DXO Deep Prime for noise.

Photoshop doesn't do anything that the others won't do.

Tim,
Is this what you mean about Batch processing in Affinity Photo? Youtube link.

How to Edit Photos like a PRO in under 12 minutes || Batch Editing in Affinity Photo

How to edit photos like a PRO in under 12 minutes! This is how you batch edit in Affinity Photo! I hope this helps simplify and speed up the photo editing pr...

www.youtube.com

Or is that way off base?

 

[Brownie]

Tim,
Is this what you mean about Batch processing in Affinity Photo? Youtube link.

How to Edit Photos like a PRO in under 12 minutes || Batch Editing in Affinity Photo

How to edit photos like a PRO in under 12 minutes! This is how you batch edit in Affinity Photo! I hope this helps simplify and speed up the photo editing pr...

www.youtube.com

Or is that way off base?

Kind of the same principal, but no. I watched that video when I was trying to learn batch processing in Affinity. What I learned is that their version of batch processing isn't like what other programs do.

This thread from Affinity's forum explains it better than I can. Yes, it's from 2017, and that's one of the problems. People have been asking for it for a long time but Affinity hasn't delivered. the thread continues on through 2021 before people give up.

Batch Processing in Affinity Photo

Hello everyone! I'm new to the Affinity scene and love it so far. I've been a Lightroom user for years and decided that it's time to put the presets and sliders aside for a while and really take control of my editing. Enter Affinity. The purpose of this thread is to discuss workflows used when ed...

forum.affinity.serif.com

DT (and others) are easy, you don't have to deal with any of that. The workflow for me is like this:

Choose photos that will be batched the same, like same camera/lens combination, same or very similar light.
Load images as a group to DT's library.
Pick a typical image from the set and process it.
Save the settings as a preset profile. I'll name it something like: "A7 IV/24-105, daylight", or "A1/135 track lighting".
'Select all', then 'apply'.

It takes DT less than a minute to apply my settings to a hundred or so images. Then I can skip through the images and decide if I want to do any more to any of them, usually about 30 seconds per image. When done I can save the entire group to my chosen location/file type. And, if I shoot the same camera/lens combo under similar lighting at another event (and I often do), then the profile is already there. Just load images, apply preset, skim through.

When all done, I'll have the original unedited RAW, the sidecar RAW file that DT created with the processing included, and whatever file I saved it to, almost always a jpeg.

One change to my workflow is now the use of DXO Deep Prime for NR when needed. It also applies lens corrections, so denoise and lens corrections are two modules I don't use in DT if I run through DXO first.