How to Edit RAW Photos with Aperty

The great thing about Aperty is that it doesn’t take hours to achieve professional-looking results, so I’ll walk you through everything you need to know to set you well on your way to creating great edits.

So presuming you have your shot ready to edit, let’s jump in to Aperty and get to work. 

Shooting With RAW

If you’re already familiar with the benefits of shooting in RAW over JPEG, feel free to skip to the next section.

RAW photos offer a greater dynamic range than JPEG, which is why they are essential to work with. This means that across the range of tones in your image, you can retrieve more information in both the darker and highlighted areas.

When shooting portraits, we want to expose for the skin so that it appears well-lit and not overexposed. This may leave other areas of the image a little darker, but worry not, as the RAW file format allows you to recover shadows during editing and achieve a nicely balanced result.

JPEG’s dynamic range is much narrower, so when brightening shadows in a JPEG, you may notice more noise and grain, which is something we want to avoid.

It is generally easier to recover details in darker areas than in overexposed highlights, even with RAW, which is why the photographer’s rule of thumb is to always expose for the highlights or the skin.

So if you haven’t already, make the switch from JPEG to RAW, and you’ll quickly notice an improvement in the quality of your images.

Importing your Image

Now we are ready to jump into Aperty and start our edits. I personally really like the projects feature that the app offers, as it helps keep my workspace neat and organised. It’s also extremely useful if I need to go back and find work months later.

Start a project by going to the menu bar at the top of the screen and clicking on the folder icon. From here, click Create a Project, give it a name, and then drag and drop your RAW photo files onto the screen.

Once that’s done, you can begin your edits.

Basic Adjustments

Once you have imported the image, we want to get the balance of tones right so that it gives us a good starting point before moving on to retouching and styling the photo.

I always start by adding contrast and increasing exposure or highlights if needed. RAW images often look flat before editing, so I deepen the shadows and add more depth to the shot. I then fine-tune the look using the Tone Curve, often bringing out the mid-tones a little more.

However, if you have had to shoot underexposed to protect the highlights and your subject’s skin tones, now is the time to bring up the overall exposure slightly and then reduce highlights and whites to restore balance. From there, add contrast and deepen darker areas if needed.

Next, I move on to the Structure tool, which adds clarity and brings the image to life. This is followed by the Details tool. Depending on the subject, I may adjust the medium details, but I almost always boost the smaller details. I rarely touch the large details, but go ahead and experiment to see what works best for your shot.

This is also a good time to apply Noise Reduction if your image needs it.

Once you are happy with how your image looks, you can move on to retouching, which is one of the most exciting parts of Aperty.

Retouching

There are many adjustments you can make to your subject, but I always start with the skin. Open the Retouching menu and find the Skin Blemish tool. Here, I begin working to achieve flawless skin. I increase the Blemish Removal slider while being mindful of my subject’s skin texture. We want to avoid the over-processed look, so only go as far as necessary. If heavier adjustments are required, use the Details slider to preserve natural texture.

Next, I smooth the skin for a more editorial look. Inside the Face Skin section, I again increase the Skin Smoothing slider, keeping an eye on texture. The Details slider is on standby if needed. You can also brighten the face slightly to draw attention and remove any shine.

The face-brightening tool should only be needed if you have followed the RAW photo rule of exposing for the skin and keeping the highlights under control. Boost it gently so that it looks natural while still drawing attention.

I then enhance the brightness of the eyes and irises to make them more captivating. They are the most important feature in a portrait, so take care with this step.

You can also enhance or apply make-up with highly realistic results.

There are also Reshaping Tools available if you need to make subtle adjustments to your subject’s face, such as enlarging eyes or slimming the face. You can use the Reshape Body tool too, with realistic outcomes. Aperty offers a wide range of tools here to help you achieve a professional finish.

Once your retouching is complete, it is time to move on to colour grading and add style to your shot.

Colour Grade

There are a few options available when it comes to colour grading. Aperty offers LUTs that you can use as a starting point, as well as creative tools such as Light Control, which allows you to mimic studio lighting with coloured gels, achieving very realistic results.

You can also use a more traditional approach by working with the Tone Curve. I still enjoy this method, using RGB channels to create a style that suits my image. Once I am happy with the tones I have introduced, I fine-tune them using the Colour Tool, adjusting hue, saturation, and luminance to perfect the look. I always do this as my final step to ensure all tones harmonise for a professional finish.

Exporting

Now all that’s left is exporting and sharing your work with the world. Head to File > Export or use the shortcuts (Shift + Cmd + E or Shift + Ctrl + E). You will then see options for outputting the file as a JPEG or TIFF, along with quality and file size settings. Adjust these according to your needs, and that’s it, your work is complete!

The Bottom Line

For your next shoot, be sure to give RAW a try if you haven’t already, and enjoy the professional results you can achieve with Aperty, the portrait-specialist editing app. Start by balancing the tones, adding depth, and introducing contrast to your image. Once you are happy with how it looks, move on to retouching tasks such as smoothing skin, brightening the face, or making subtle adjustments to facial features and body shape.

When your subject looks just right, finish off with some creative styling. You can use LUTs for quick results or take the traditional route by adjusting the RGB tone curves. Give it a try and enjoy the results. You’ll have everything polished in no time and be ready to get back to your next shoot.