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Comment by bfrog | Hacker News Reader

I’ve just recently started with a real camera and editing raw files. Darktable has so many modules and options it’s quite intimidating. After a month of tinkering and trying it out I still don’t really have a solid handle of what module i need for the outcome I want which I think maybe just comes to experience?

I still don’t fully grok what filmic is supposed to do, it seems like several things in one.

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Just stick to a few modules, you really don't need much if all you want is to get a lot out of your photos.

Here's a tutorial with a suggested list: https://luxagraf.net/essay/craft/darktable-getting-started

    Exposure (lighten or darken an image)
    Filmic RGB (control how light the whites and how dark the blacks)
    Color Calibration (set the white balance)
    Color Balance RGB (enhance colors and color contrasts)
    RGB Primaries (rarely, but color correction)
    Diffuse or Sharpen (Sharpen)
    Crop
    Tone Equalizer (raise shadows)
    Retouch (fix spots)
    Rotate and Perspective
    Len Correction (fix distortion in wide angle lenses)

For the most part, I don't even touch most of these. But I'd add profiled denoise, though it's probably auto applied and you don't need to touch it (like lens correction).

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