Tutorial

Tutorial: your first photo, from import to export

Updated 15 October 2026 · about 10 minutes

In about ten minutes you'll take one RAW photo through Raw Smith from start to finish: import it, choose a profile, fix the light and white balance, darken the sky with a mask, straighten and crop, compare it with the original, mark it as a keeper and export it. It works the same way on iPhone, iPad and Mac; where the controls differ, each step says so.

What you need

Raw Smith on an iPhone, iPad or Mac.
One RAW photo. Any file from your camera works, as does Apple ProRAW from an iPhone. A landscape with some sky is ideal for the mask step. No RAW to hand? raw.pixls.us has free CC0 sample files from most cameras. Check that yours is on the supported cameras list.

Step 1: Import a RAW

Open the Import RAWs menu in the toolbar and choose where the photo is: From Files…, From Photos…, or a camera or card reader connected over USB.

Pick your file and Raw Smith brings it into the library. If Offer an album and names after importing is on, a short sheet asks whether to add the photo to an album, rename it or add keywords. Tap Skip for now. The library then shows Last Import, with your photo in it.

Mac: files picked in Finder stay where they are; Raw Smith refers to them in place.
iPhone and iPad: the RAW is copied into Raw Smith's folder in the Files app (On My iPhone › Raw Smith).
From Photos: Raw Smith imports the RAW or ProRAW behind a photo. Photos that only exist as JPEG or HEIC are skipped.

Step 2: Open the photo in the editor

Tap the photo on iPhone or iPad, or double-click it on the Mac, to open the editor.

The first time, a short tour points out the tools; follow it or tap Skip Tour. The editor's tabs are Edit, Crop, Remove, Masks and Presets. On iPad and Mac they run down a rail on the right; on iPhone they sit in a bar under the photo, and tapping one opens its panel over the photo.

Step 3: Choose a profile

In Edit, open Profile and tap the thumbnail that looks best as a starting point.

Each thumbnail shows your own photo in that profile: Standard (balanced contrast and colour), Neutral (flat, for grading), Vivid, Monochrome and Apple (Apple's own camera rendering). Standard is a good default; Neutral leaves you the most room if you plan heavy edits.

Step 4: Set the light with Auto, then fine-tune

Open Light, tap Auto, then adjust Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites and Blacks to taste.

Auto sets Exposure, Highlights and Shadows from the photo; the rest is up to you. A few habits make sliders quicker:

Double-tap or double-click a slider's name, value or knob to reset it.
Tap or click the value to type an exact number.
On iPad and Mac, the histogram sits at the top of Light. Its corner triangles show clipped shadows (blue) and highlights (red) on the photo; J shows both.
On a Mac or an iPad with a keyboard, hold E and scroll to change Exposure without touching the panel. H, S, W and B do the same for Highlights, Shadows, Whites and Blacks.

Step 5: Correct the white balance

Open Color and choose a setting from the White Balance menu, or tap Sampler and then tap something white or gray in the photo.

The menu has As Shot, Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash and Custom. For finer control, move Temp (in kelvin) and Tint. Vibrance and Saturation are below them; Vibrance is the gentler of the two, because it holds back colours that are already strong.

Step 6: Darken the sky with a mask

Open Masks, add a Sky mask, and lower its Exposure or Highlights so the sky has more depth.

Raw Smith finds the sky on your device; the tile says Looking for subjects… while it works. Once the mask exists, its own Light, Color, Effects and Detail controls change only the sky. Press O, or turn on Overlay, to see what the mask covers in red. No sky in your photo? Use Subject instead and raise its Exposure a little to lift the main subject. The masks tutorial goes further.

Step 7: Straighten and crop

Open Crop, tap AUTO to level the horizon, then choose an aspect ratio and drag the crop box.

If AUTO can't find a horizon it says No horizon found; drag the straighten dial instead (double-tap it to return to level). The ratios include Freeform, Original, 1:1, 3:2, 4:3, 5:4, 7:5, 16:9 and 65:24. Tap the selected ratio again to switch between landscape and portrait. On iPhone, tap the Crop tab again when you're done.

Step 8: Compare with the original

Press and hold the photo to see it without your edits; let go to see them again.

An ORIGINAL badge shows while you hold. On iPad and Mac, the Before button in the toolbar (or \) switches until you switch back, and Y shows a split view with a divider you can drag. On iPhone, Show Original is in the Actions (⋯) menu. If an edit went too far, Undo steps back, and every panel has its own Reset.

Step 9: Mark it as a keeper

Pick the photo and give it a star rating, so you can find it again later.

On iPad and Mac, use the flag and star buttons at the top right of the photo, or press P to pick and 1–5 to rate. On iPhone, swipe up on the photo to open Info and Ratings. A short message confirms each change with an Undo button.

Step 10: Export

Tap Export in the toolbar and save the photo as JPEG, HEIC or TIFF.

iPhone and iPad: the Export sheet shows a preview. Choose a Format (JPEG, HEIC, TIFF or PNG) and a Size (Full Resolution or Web / Social (2048px)), then tap Save to Photos. The arrow next to it offers Save to Files…, Copy and Share….
Mac: click Export to save at full resolution, or open its menu to choose the Format (HEIC, JPEG or TIFF (16-bit)) and Save To Files or Photos.

That's a whole photo, start to finish. Your RAW is unchanged, and you can come back and change any edit at any time.

Where to go next

Cull a whole shoot before you edit.
Every editing panel, including the tone curve, Color Mixer, Point Color and Color Grading.
Masks, crop, Remove and presets.
Export, including batches, and iCloud sync.
Keyboard shortcuts for Mac and iPad.

Questions

Do I need a camera to follow this tutorial?

No. Any RAW file works, including Apple ProRAW from an iPhone. If you don't have one, free CC0 sample RAWs for most cameras are at raw.pixls.us.

Does editing change my original RAW file?

No. Raw Smith edits non-destructively: every change is stored as settings and rendered from the RAW, so the original is never touched and Reset brings it back exactly.

What does Auto do in the Light panel?

Auto sets Exposure, Highlights and Shadows from the photo itself. The other sliders stay where they are, and you can adjust everything afterwards.

Which format should I export?

JPEG for sharing almost anywhere, HEIC for smaller files with more colour depth on Apple devices, and 16-bit TIFF when the photo is going into another editor.