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super pretty edit! I would like to download the .xmp but it seems it is not available can you fix this?
Hello, dumb question sorry I am new to the forum: how can we tell which software people have used to produce an image in play raw? I mean that if I downloaded the .xmp how am I supposed to know if I should open it with Darktable, Raw Therapee etc… ? Right now what I do is to download the .xmp and read its content to see if for instance “darktable” is written here so I know the person used Darktable. Is there an easier way? I think maybe it would be better if people told in their comment which software they used.
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Hello @kiwi: Darktable works with *.xmp files, RawTherapee uses the extension *.pp3.
And I also used the tag “darktable” for the topic. You can see the tags above; see screenshot:
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ok thanks a lot 
Thanks. I used to always do that, but I didn’t realize it was providing value to others. I will resume doing so.
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Hi, actually it is ok I think to not say the software if only Darktable uses .xmp and only Raw Therapee uses .pp3. But maybe people are using other software on this site that produce .xmp or .pp3? In this case saying the software used in the comments would be useful!
Also even if for advanced users it is clear that .xmp->Darktable and .pp3->Raw Therapee it is however not very clear for newcomers on the forum and beginner at photography. So saying the used software could help make the forum more beginners friendly!
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I think saying the version matters too. If someone is using dt master branch vs release, the xmp from master might not work on the release version.
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i didn’t think about that. It is one more reason to say the software and the version you used
@kiwi I will try and attach the correct xmp file from DT 5.1 which should work with DT 5.0.
IMG_7730.cr2.xmp (14.5 KB)
But here are the steps I used.
Autumn in Norway
1. Activate local contrast with the HDR tone mapping preset
2. Activate color equalizer and increase chroma of blue and darken lightness of blues. I have created a preset called blue skies that you can copy if the xmp file is loaded.
3. Apply basic denoise and sharpening to fix the noise that is now apparent in the sky. The xmp file will show denoised profiled is applied an a sharpening preset from the diffuse or sharpen module.
4. In the exposure module reduce the exposure to optimise the sky and make it look dramatic.
5. In the sigmoid module move the skew slider half way to the right to increase the contrast in the sky and bring out the blue a bit more.
6. Create a second instance of exposure and adjust the exposure slider to optimise the valley (ignore the sky).
a) Then use a parametric mask to isolate the valley with the blend mask showing
b) Turn off the blend mask and the transition is poor, so move the blur radius slider to achieve an invisible transition.
7. Create a second instance of local contrast set to default values.
8. To relight the valley and add interest to the image create a third instance of exposure and increase the exposure slider by about 0.7 EV. Then isolate the effect to the valley floor using a path mask with lots of feathering.
9. There is still a bit of noise in the sky and we can reduce that by creating a second instance of denoise (profiled)
10. We can also isolate the sharpening to the valley by using a raster mask based on the exposure module where we isolated the valley with a parametric mask.
11. Part of the sky is blown out to white and we can fix this with the tone equalizer
a) use the auto adjust option to set the mask exposure compensation slider
b) now hover the mouse over the whitest bit of cloud and scroll the mouse wheel to darken
12. Final contrast, vibrance and brilliance grading can now be done in color balance rgb module if needed
13. If any further exposure adjustments are needed these are probably best achieved in the tone equalizer module.
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thanks a lot for the detailed answer and .xmp file
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