Darkroom software generally does not have painting, drawing, and pixel-level editing tools that a general-purpose photo editor has, and it may or may not offer features for organizing and publishing your photos. Some are plug-ins to other software such as Photoshop, and most include Raw camera file support. Here are some of the best darkroom software programs for digital photographers. Adobe offers two versions of Lightroom: Lightroom CC for consistent features across mobile and desktop platforms and Lightroom Classic CC with robust desktop-editing features. With batch processing for multiple images, PhotoLab can produce some impressive results, but it also allows for manual adjustments for creative control. DxO PhotoLab can work along-side Adobe Lightroom and a detailed document is available on how to use the two programs together. The software is not terribly complicated, but the well-written user guide will help you get the most out of it. DxO PhotoLab is available in Essential and Elite editions, with the Elite edition offering support for high-end cameras in addition to all the equipment combinations included in the Essential edition. DxO’s website offers an online tool to guide you to the version you need as well as a free 30-day trial. RawTherapee can output processed files to JPEG, TIFF, or PNG formats. As a free program, RawTherapee can be useful if you’re still deciding whether a Raw workflow is right for you.
