Raw processing in Affinity Photo 2

Most serious photographers shoot raw files for processing later rather than in-camera JPEGs (or they shoot both). The advantage of raw files is that they contain extended tonal and color data so that you can recover shadow and highlight detail later and change the white balance and other color settings with higher quality results.

But not all raw processing software is the same. While it’s built into most photo editing applications these days, the tools you use – and the results you get – will vary. This article is a guide to the dedicated raw processing ‘Develop’ Persona in Affinity Photo 2, how the tools work and how to get the best from it.

Interestingly, in this version it’s possible to produce a ‘re-editable’ raw file layer when you develop an image. In the past, raw processing was a one-off job you couldn’t revisit without starting again, but now it’s possible to re-develop your raw file even after you’ve carried out editing work.