looking for a step-by-step-guide for RawTherapee (like 7-point-system for Lightroom from Scott Kelby)

[Hyper_Ornstein]

Hi guys,
I’m a beginner and once bought the e-book from Scott Kelby (https://www.amazon.com/Scott-Kelbys-Lightroom-7-Point-System-ebook/dp/B093WB8PYV/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8).
I find it really great, but now I discovered RawTherapee and I’m really impressed (and overvelmed)…
Really like the idea of open source and my favorite operating system is Linux!
Do you know some easy tutorials like the one from Scott? Or is there a way to know what sliders/buttons equals the ones from Adobe Lightroom?
Thanks!

[Claes]

Hi @Hyper_Ornstein, and welcome!

Brusquely put: no.
Forget lightroom and start to think in other ways.
Search youtube for RawTerapee
and you will find a trillion tutorials, for
instance https://www.youtube.com/c/AndyAstbury/videos
or Intro to Rawtherapee - YouTube
or … … …

Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden

[paperdigits (Mica)]

Hi and welcome! Maybe you could give an overview of the 7 points and that’d help us get you moving in the right direction.

[Hyper_Ornstein]

@Claes thanks, I’ve already seen some videos, but didn’t look that beginner friendly like the book. I really like the checklist-style so I don’t forget anything…

@paperdigits Thank you! Ok, I’ll try to give an overview with Adobe-specifics in brackets (have to translate from German… ):
1.) add a RAW-Profile (like Adobe landscape, color, sharp…)
2.) color-correction
3.) extend the tonal range (hold shift and double-click white and then black; if necessary use the exposure-slider)
4.) correct sensor-issues (depth-slider to the right to get hidden details; lights-slider to the left if lights are cut)
5.) painting with light and retouching (use the mask/brush tool to only change a few parts of the picture)
6.) lens corrections (and transformation with “Upright”)
7.) detail work (add a small Vignette of -11; sharpen a little bit or use the structure- and clarity-sliders; use the dynamic-slider if you want more colors)

I hope it’s understandable and not to much text!
If I should clarify anything, please let me now.

[Claes]

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rawtherapee+deutsch

[Wayne_Sutton]

Hi @Hyper_Ornstein,

If you haven’t come across it, the “Getting Started” section of Rawpedia Getting Started - RawPedia is a good place to start

There’s also a similar discussion in the following thread which may help.

Question on simple work flow in Rawtherapee

Hello! I’ve been trying to switch from LR to RT since I got a new laptop and I was kind of used to it when I used Linux. I’m very fond of open source, so I wanted to stick to it and use it as a main raw processing tool. However, just to let you know, I’m very minimalist regarding processing, and I like to use only a few tools. When I used LR, I liked its flow placed just in my processing order (Temperature, exposition, contrast…). With RT, I’m finding difficult to set in a flow since I very o…

Wayne

[Hyper_Ornstein]

Thanks again!
I think I just have to work through some tutorials and videos…
One last question:
Is there a brush anywhere for masking some details?

[Jade_NL (Jacques)]

@Hyper_Ornstein

One last question:
Is there a brush anywhere for masking some details?

Short answer: No. But…

The Local Adjustments section is based on powerful masking and has its own toolset. This can be used to target specifics in an image, be it based on colour, lightness etc, etc. that a user wants to target.

The rest of the modules in RawTherapee, except one section of the Colour Toning module, do not have any masking (or what LR calls brushes).

Andy Astbury made some entry level videos about the Local Adjustments module:

• Raw Therapee Basics: The New Local Adjustments - pt1
• Raw Therapee Local Adjustments - pt2

---

EDIT

This might be a nice-to-know for an LR user that’s switching to RawTherapee: Andy Astbury is also a LR user and his RawTherapee videos often-times make comparisons between the two.

For example: in Part 1 of the Local Adjustment video he starts out with a short section about how LR brushes work as an intro to working with the Local Adjustment tool in RT.

[martbetz]

Hi, @Hyper_Ornstein, and welcome to the wonderful world of RawTherapee!

In my experience, the best way to ‘learn’ your way around is to dive staight in and have a play about; just open up a raw file, hit the Auto Levels tool in the Exposure tab, and have some fun! RawTherapee is a non-dustructive editor, so it won’t apply any changes directly to your photos.

If you have any questions or need any help along the way, you’re already in the right place — all you need do is ask. You don’t really need to know that much to start off with; there’s plenty of time to watch videos and read tutorials later on. For now, just click those buttons and adjust those curves!

[lphilpot (Len Philpot)]

I found that reading RawPedia, watching the YouTube videos from @Andy_Astbury1 and simply playing with RT was pretty effective. I’m not an expert by any means but they got me going. Andy’s videos aren’t designed as a “RawTherapee in 57 Easy Steps” program. They’re usually focused on some specific technique / solution (often augmenting or replacing LR on a particular point) but his easy pace and depth of understanding helps illuminate quite a bit more about RT than just the issue at hand.