Corel PHOTO-PAINT Image Adjustment Lab: Working with RAW files & snapshots

The applications and features described in this tutorial require CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 or newer to be installed.

When you edit photos in Corel PHOTO-PAINT, you have the option to import your images as RAW files. These files are like digital negatives with many more editing options than other image formats.

You can save your picture as a RAW-file, or import it directly from the camera into Corel PHOTO-PAINT.

You will then get a dialog box as shown below.

The dialog box looks much like the Image Adjustment Lab in Corel PHOTO-PAINT, but you have the White Balance option that works much like resetting your camera before you shot the picture.

You can adjust the image even further by clicking the Detail Tab, and in the Properties area, you can find details about the camera settings etc.

But when you do not have access to the RAW-format you can edit the image in this way:

  1. Open the image in Corel PHOTO-PAINT, and select the Adjust menu | Image Adjustment Lab, and you will see the same window as mentioned before.

In both cases, there is an excellent feature: The Create Snapshot feature

  1. Click the Create Snapshot button in the bottom of either of the screens, and you have created a snapshot of the image as it is. This is shown by the small thumbnail picture below the image.
  2. Make some adjustments in the picture by dragging the different sliders to the left or to the right.
  3. Click the Create Snapshot button again, and you have made a new thumbnail showing the adjustments.
  4. Click the Reset to Original button, and make some other adjustments,
  5. Click the Create Snapshot button again, and you have made a new thumbnail showing the second adjustment.
  6. Click on the Snapshot thumbnails, and you can browse through the different adjustments to find the best adjustment.