After two years deep in insect photography, Mark Overmars pointed his Canon R7 at a new subject: flowers. In his third free ebook, Photographing Flowers, he shares what changed when he traded fast-moving insects for subjects that hold still, and why that change turned out to be harder than it sounds.

In this post, Mark talks about the moment that revealed how much there was to learn about flower photography, his approach to editing every image in the book with ON1 Photo RAW, and the one thing he wants beginners to focus on before anything else. You can also download the free ebook Photographing Flowers, for free, packed with techniques, editing breakdowns, and 246 pages of images from his garden visits across the Netherlands.

Why Switch from Insects to Flowers?

Mark spent 2022 through 2024 photographing insects almost exclusively. The work was rewarding, but it came with a built-in problem: insects don’t wait around.

“You have very little time to take the shot and often the insect is gone before you can take a good photo,” he says. “You are always in a hurry.”

Flowers offered the opposite. They stay put, which gave Mark room to slow down and think through each composition before pressing the shutter. What he didn’t expect was how much that extra time would expose new problems he’d never had to solve before.

Download the free ebook →

The Shot That Changed Everything

Ask Mark when flower photography stopped looking easy, and he points to a single morning.

He was out shooting insects when a dew-covered flower caught his eye. He set up for the shot and ran into a wall: no aperture he tried gave him enough depth of field to keep every drop of dew sharp.

“That is one of the challenges of flower photography, dealing with the depth of field,” he explains. The fix was focus stacking, a technique he now walks through in the book using that exact image as the example.

The background turned out to be just as demanding. Mark had already noticed its importance while photographing butterflies, but with flowers the background usually sits much closer to the subject, which makes it far harder to control.

What’s Inside the 246-Page Book

Photographing Flowers runs 246 pages and follows a structure Mark calls fairly standard: equipment, technique, composition, and light, with a dedicated macro chapter because flowers reward attention to detail. A large portion of the book covers editing, which Mark sees as inseparable from the photography itself.

What sets the book apart is the why behind each technique, not just the how. “I believe that when people understand why something is the case, it will be easier to remember,” he says.

One chapter might surprise readers: UV fluorescence photography. Mark stumbled onto the technique after seeing an online image of a flower lit with UV light. “It turned out to be a lot easier than I thought,” he says, and the response from early readers convinced him it belonged in the book.

Don’t expect chapters on intentional camera movement or multi-flower stills, though. Mark’s approach favors single flowers shown in natural detail over heavily stylized or composite shots.

Gear: Less Than You’d Think

Mark shoots with a Canon R7 and an RF 100mm macro lens, but he’s quick to point out that’s not a requirement.

“You can take great flower shots with any camera and lens, even with mobile phones,” he says. The one limitation with phones is background blur, but for most flower shots, a dedicated macro lens isn’t necessary at all.

Indoors vs. Outdoors: The Wind Problem

A full section of the book covers shooting flowers indoors and in greenhouses, and Mark’s reasoning comes down to one word: wind.

“Wind is the number one enemy of flower photographers,” he says. It throws off focus, ruins composition, and causes motion blur. Indoors, none of that applies. Long exposures become possible without extra light, harsh sunlight and ugly shadows disappear, and Mark can shape his own lighting with backlight or multiple sources. Greenhouses bring their own set of challenges, which he breaks down separately in the book.

Editing Every Image in ON1 Photo RAW

Mark has used ON1 Photo RAW for five years, ever since he picked photography back up seriously and ran an extensive comparison of editing tools before committing to one.

“What I liked about ON1 Photo RAW was that it could do both image organization and editing, that it was only meant for photography, that it had the right balance between ease of use and being in control, and that the structure was logical,” he says. The one-time license over a subscription was a deciding factor, and Mark adds that he prefers supporting a smaller company over the larger players in the space.

Where the Book Connects with ON1 Tools

The editing chapter is one of the longest in the book, covering everything from basic tone adjustments to background separation to creative effects. Mark’s biggest observation: most photographers underuse editing because they don’t realize how much modern tools can do.

“I want to show that editing is easy, takes little time, and can considerably improve your work,” he says. He also points out that knowing what editing can fix changes what he shoots in the first place. If a flower has a distracting element he knows he can remove later, he takes the shot anyway.

Throughout the book, Mark connects specific ON1 Photo RAW tools to specific problems:

• Background separation: Select the background, then reduce vibrancy, lower dynamic contrast, or darken it to push focus onto the flower.
• Local adjustments: Add or remove light selectively to fix uneven lighting from the original shot.
• Standard editing workflow: Mark follows the same process for nearly every image, which he breaks down step by step using two full before-and-after examples in the book.

One of those two examples starts from an already-strong photo, showing how editing can turn good into great. The other starts from a shot Mark calls a near-failure: not enough light reached the flower, and he couldn’t get close enough. He knew both problems were fixable in ON1 Photo RAW before he even pressed the shutter, and the final edit proves it.

From Medium Articles to a Free Ebook

Like his previous two books, Photographing Flowers started as a series of articles on Medium. Reader feedback shaped what made it into the final version.

“When people tell you that they learned new things and liked your image, that motivates you to continue and write more,” Mark says. “Without those comments, I might not have written the book at all.”

And like his earlier books, this one is free. “I find it more important that many people have access to my work than to make some money with it,” he says.

One Thing Beginners Should Watch For

Mark’s advice for someone about to read the book cover to cover: don’t.

“I would not recommend first reading the entire book,” he says. “You will appreciate the content more after you tried to take some flower shots. Read chapter one and go out shooting. After a while, read the rest of the book.”

Once you’re out there, watch the background. Most beginners focus entirely on the flower itself, but the background determines whether the image works. Mark’s rule of thumb: pick a position where the background sits far away and stays uncluttered, often by shooting from a lower angle.

About the Author: Mark Overmars

Mark is a retired computer scientist and amateur nature photographer based in the Netherlands, where he shoots flowers in gardens around Utrecht, including the city’s botanic gardens. After spending 2022 to 2024 focused on insect photography (the subject of his first two free ebooks), he shifted to flowers in 2025 for Photographing Flowers, his third book.

He shoots with a Canon R7 and RF 100mm macro lens, and edits every image in ON1 Photo RAW. You can find more of his work, including his Medium articles, at insectenfotograferen.nl.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ebook Photographing Flowers about?

The free ebook by Mark Overmars covers flower photography techniques, from equipment and composition to macro photography, focus stacking, UV fluorescence, and a full editing workflow in ON1 Photo RAW.

Is the ebook really free to download?

Yes. ON1 offers Photographing Flowers as a free download from the ON1 Bookshelf, no purchase required.

What camera gear does Mark Overmars use for flower photography?

Mark shoots with a Canon R7 and an RF 100mm macro lens, but notes that flower photography doesn’t require specialized gear. Most shots, including many in the book, don’t need a macro lens at all.

How did Mark edit the photos in the book?

Mark edited every image in ON1 Photo RAW, using background separation, dynamic contrast, and local adjustments to control light and draw focus to the flower.

What’s the biggest challenge in flower photography?

Depth of field and background control. Flowers often require focus stacking to keep fine details like dew sharp throughout the frame, and because backgrounds sit close to the subject, they need careful handling to avoid distraction.

Why does Mark recommend shooting flowers indoors?

Wind is the biggest obstacle to flower photography outdoors. Shooting indoors or in a controlled setup removes wind entirely, allows for longer exposures, and gives full control over lighting direction and quality.

Have you ever looked at a photo and thought, “There’s no saving this?” In our upcoming ON1 Plus course, you’ll learn how to rescue and improve images that don’t quite go according to plan. From noisy photos and focus issues to flat landscapes, distracting elements, and difficult lighting, we’ll show you practical techniques for turning struggling photos into images worth keeping. Join us on June 23 for the course launch and a special live webinar, Before You Delete It: How to Rescue Your Most Challenging Photos.

Every photographer has them.

The image that came out too noisy. The landscape that looks flat and lifeless. The photo that missed focus by just enough to be disappointing. The image with distracting elements, poor lighting, or a composition that never quite worked.

Too often, those photos end up ignored, archived, or deleted.

But what if they still had potential?

On June 23, we’re excited to launch a brand-new ON1 Plus course focused on one of the most valuable skills a photographer can develop: learning how to rescue and improve photographs that don’t go according to plan.

Throughout this course, we’ll explore practical techniques for identifying common image problems and applying the right tools to solve them. Instead of focusing on perfect photos, we’ll focus on the images that need a little extra help.

You’ll learn how to:

• Add depth and dimension to flat landscapes
• Restore vibrancy and impact to dull colors
• Remove distracting elements and visual clutter
• Improve weak compositions using crop and perspective tools
• Recover detail in dark foregrounds and difficult lighting situations
• Reduce noise while preserving important detail
• Improve slightly out-of-focus photographs
• Restore damaged or low-quality modern photos

The goal is simple: help you get more keepers from the photos you already have.

Whether you’re photographing landscapes, wildlife, travel, family moments, or everyday scenes, these techniques can help you recover images you may have otherwise given up on.

Join Us for a Special Live Webinar

To celebrate the launch of this new course, we’ll also be hosting a live webinar on June 25th.

Before You Delete It: Rescue Your Most Challenging Photos

Register for the webinar here →

During this live session, we’ll walk through real-world examples, demonstrate practical photo rescue techniques, discuss common editing mistakes, and answer your questions live.

If you’ve ever looked at a photo and thought, “There’s no saving this,” this webinar is for you.

We look forward to sharing the course and helping you discover what’s possible when you give your photos a second chance.

A progress report on what we are committed to and what we’ve delivered since the Photo RAW 2026 launch.

In January, we published a vision post that made a specific promise: fewer surprises, faster updates, and photo editing software built around trust rather than hype. We said we were going to build ON1 the way a great camera gets built — something you stop thinking about and start relying on.

Over five months in, here’s what that looks like in practice.

Four Free Updates to ON1 Photo RAW 2026 and Counting

Since Photo RAW 2026 launched in October 2025, owners have received four substantial free updates. Not minor patches, each one advanced something photographers asked for.

2026.1 (November 2025) brought faster AI masking, 20+ new Styles, cleaner menus, and expanded camera support for the latest Canon, Fujifilm, and Sony bodies. It also introduced a new method for customers to submit feedback in the app directly to our dev team.

2026.2 (December 2025) focused on workflow speed and smarter AI results: faster exports, an improved Face Restoration model inside Resize AI, built-in Module Tips to guide new users through each editing module, faster exporting, and additional camera and lens support.

2026.3 (February 2026) went deeper on performance and stability. Faster folder browsing, improved Generative Crop, better color label flexibility, and targeted fixes along with another round of speed optimizations in the 2026 cycle.

2026.4 (May 2026) was the biggest release yet of the 2026. The headlining addition is Restore AI, a new module inside Photo RAW MAX that recovers old, faded, and damaged photos. Scan a print from a shoebox. Rescue a soft shot from an old phone. Colorize a black-and-white image with results that look realistic, not like a filter. 2026.4 also redesigns the Home experience to get you into your editing faster and delivers meaningful performance improvements across the board.

This cadence was intentional. We committed to more frequent releases so improvements reach you sooner. Four updates in seven months. That commitment, kept. And we aren’t don yet.

Delivering on the Vision: Four Priorities, Six Months In

The January vision post outlined four priorities: better image quality, AI that assists without taking over, performance you can feel, and a user experience that earns your confidence. Here’s where each one stands.

Better Image Quality in Your RAW Files

Raw processing improvements are in progress. The goal is photos that look more accurate straight out of camera and respond faster in the Edit module. We’ll share results when they’re ready to show. This is the kind of work that takes time to do right, and we’re doing it right.

AI Photo Editing That Assists Without Taking Over

Restore AI is a clear example of how we want AI to work in Photo RAW. You give it a damaged photo. It recovers detail, removes fading, and optionally adds color. You stay in control of the result. The same philosophy applies to every AI tool we ship, AI speeds up the work, the photographer makes the call.

Performance That Compounds Over Time

Faster browsing. Faster exports. Faster AI masking. Smoother previews. These are not headline features. But photographers who use Photo RAW every day feel them compound across a session, across a week, across a year.

A First-Class User Experience

The redesigned Home module in 2026.4 is one visible result. Built-in module guidance in 2026.2 was another. Every release addresses friction points photographers reported. The goal isn’t novelty, it’s making the app feel familiar and reliable faster, for more people.

New Products and a Cleaner Lineup

ON1 Effects 2026: Professional Results, Instantly

In January, we launched ON1 Effects 2026 as a standalone release. It brings AI-powered Subject and Background masks, a layered masking system, and several new creative filters. Whether you use Effects inside Photo RAW or as a standalone plugin for Lightroom Classic or Photoshop, version 2026 delivers professional finishing tools that behave predictably and produce results you can trust.

ON1 Photo Studio: One Name, Everything Included

We also tightened up our product lineup. ON1 Photo Studio (formerly ON1 Everything Plus) is the name we should have been using all along. It includes Photo RAW MAX, all individual titles, all major and minor updates, 1TB of Cloud Sync, full ON1 Plus access, and up to five activations. The name changed. Nothing else did.

Innovation Beyond the Desktop App

Trust is built across every touchpoint, not just inside the desktop app. A few things from this year that reflect that.

AI Photo Restoration Software: Restore AI

Before 2026.4 shipped, we gave photographers an early look at Restore AI and explained exactly how it works, why it requires Photo RAW MAX, and what the cloud processing model means for perpetual license owners. We didn’t bury the details. Photographers got the full picture before being asked to upgrade.

ON1 Photo RAW for Mobile: The Same Engine, Anywhere

ON1 Photo RAW for Mobile is a free iOS and Android app that uses the same non-destructive RAW processing engine as the desktop. Owners of Photo RAW 2026 unlock all premium features automatically. Combined with ON1 Cloud Sync (included in Photo RAW and Photo Studio subscriptions), photos, edits, albums, and most presets stay current across every device.

The ON1 Photo RAW Awards 2026

To mark the launch of 2026.4, we opened the ON1 Photo RAW Awards 2026, a community photo competition celebrating real work produced and edited with Photo RAW. Three prize tiers, open to photographers worldwide. One clear rule: all editing must be done in Photo RAW. No third-party tools and the work has to be yours.

The Outdoor Photography Conference

In February, we hosted the ON1 Outdoor Photography Conference, a three-day live virtual event built for landscape, wildlife, travel, and environmental portrait photographers. Not a product demo. A working conference built around helping photographers edit with more confidence and efficiency. Anyone can also purchase the recordings from the conference.

Learning, Training, and Community

Innovation without education is just software sitting on a hard drive. This year, ON1 invested significantly in making sure photographers know how to use what they paid for.

The ON1 Learn hub covers everything from first-time imports to advanced masking, with free getting-started courses for Photo RAW 2026, Effects 2026, and Resize AI 2026. Live and recorded webinars run throughout the year across skill levels.

ON1 Plus members have received fresh content every month in 2026: new tutorials, presets, LUTs, eBooks, and photo challenges. The May recap alone included Restore AI walkthroughs, Sky Swap best practices, and a Milky Way live edit. The monthly Photo Remix Challenge gives members a shared image and a prompt to bring their own interpretation. It’s just one of the more genuinely creative things happening in the ON1 photo editing community right now.

Building Photo Editing Software With Photographers, Not Just For Them

In May, our Senior Product Marketing Manager Nathan Keudell wrote about the research process behind every feature: one-on-one interviews, usability sessions where we watch how photographers actually work, roundtable discussions, small group meetups, and surveys. Not asking what people want. Watching where workflows break down.

VP of Product Dan Harlacher has been taking those findings back to the team and letting real-world friction shape what we build next.

That same commitment to honest dialogue shows up in how we handle criticism. When the Restore AI announcement drew pushback from photographers who felt the pricing structure wasn’t fair to existing customers, I did my best to respond directly in the comment thread, not with marketing copy, but with a plain acknowledgment: you’re right that it’s an upsell, and here’s exactly why the pricing is structured this way. That kind of response isn’t easy and isn’t required. It’s how we want to operate.

What Comes Next for ON1 Photo RAW

Raw processing improvements are coming. You’ll see more accurate color and better shadow and highlight recovery across a wider range of cameras. More tools are in development that simplify everyday editing without removing control. Updates will keep arriving frequently.

The goal has not changed since January: give you outstanding results, keep you in control, and build photo editing software you can rely on year after year, with no subscription required.

If you own Photo RAW 2026, every update in the 2026 cycle is included at no additional cost. If you haven’t tried it yet, a free 30-day trial is available today.

Explore ON1 Photo RAW 2026.4 →

May was one of the most packed months yet inside ON1 Plus, the #1 resource for ON1 Photo RAW training and photography education.

The big story this month was the launch of ON1 Photo RAW 2026.4 and its all-new Restore AI tools in Photo RAW MAX, which opened up a completely new category of editing: repairing and reviving old, damaged, and faded photos. On top of that, members got deep dives into sky swapping, Milky Way editing, landscape exposure, and a brand-new eBook. Here’s everything that dropped in May.

Webinar: Bring Photos Back to Life with ON1 Photo RAW MAX 2026.4

May 22, 2026

This recorded webinar with Dylan Kotecki was the official first look at ON1 Photo RAW MAX 2026.4. If you missed it live, it’s worth watching from start to finish.

Dylan walked through the new Restore AI tools, showed how the new Home module simplifies your editing workflow, and ran through real-world demos before taking questions from the live audience.

You’ll see:

• How Restore AI repairs damaged and faded photos
• Detail recovery and sharpening for soft images
• Colorizing black-and-white photos with AI
• The new Home module and how it fits into your daily workflow

What’s New: Restore AI in ON1 Photo RAW MAX 2026.4

May 22, 2026

This tutorial covers the Restore AI workflow inside MAX 2026.4 from top to bottom. Think of it as the companion piece to the webinar above just tighter, faster, and built for photographers who want to get straight to the techniques.

What you’ll learn:

• Repairing damaged and degraded photo scans
• Sharpening soft images and recovering lost detail
• Removing scratches, dust, and imperfections
• Colorizing black-and-white photos with AI

Whether you’re working on a box of old family prints or a collection of vintage film scans, this is your starting point.

Dreamy Monochrome Presets (Creative Library)

May 28, 2026

The Dreamy Monochrome Presets are a 20-preset collection designed to transform your photos into timeless black-and-white images with a cinematic, atmospheric feel. Rich contrast, subtle glows, gentle vignettes, and artistic overlays work together to add depth and mood to any image.

These presets work beautifully across a wide range of subjects:

• Landscapes
• Portraits
• Travel and street photography
• Fine art scenes

For best results, make sure you’re running ON1 Photo RAW 2026.4 or later.

Best Practices for Sky Swapping in Landscapes

May 28, 2026

Sky Swap AI is one of ON1’s most popular tools, and this lesson covers how to use it the right way. The focus is on realism and how to make sky replacements that actually look like they belong in the scene, not like a cutout pasted on top.

What you’ll learn:

• Choosing the right sky for different lighting conditions
• Matching foreground tones and colors to a new sky
• Using Sky Swap AI controls for natural-looking results
• Blending skies and landscapes with LUTs and creative effects
• Creating dramatic day-to-night transformations

Looking for creative inspiration? Check out the May ON1 Plus Photo Remix Challenge, where members used Sky Swap AI to transform a dull landscape sky into everything from subtle enhancements to bold creative reimaginings. Visit the Webinars page on your ON1 Plus dashboard for details on upcoming Remix Challenges.

Live Edit: Milky Way Landscapes

May 29, 2026

Milky Way photography is humbling in the field and challenging in post. Your camera captures a flat, noisy file that looks nothing like what your eyes saw at 2am on a dark hillside. This live edit session walks through exactly how to fix that.

Using tools inside ON1 Photo RAW, this video session covers practical techniques for turning flat night sky captures into images that actually convey the scale and drama of the Milky Way.

Techniques covered:

• Enhancing stars and increasing contrast
• Recovering detail in the foreground and sky
• Reducing noise without softening stars
• Selective sky editing with Super Select AI, Luminosity Masks, and Curves

Exploring Restore AI With Old Images

May 29, 2026

This lesson puts Restore AI to the test with a wide variety of real-world images — faded prints, damaged scans, vintage film, and aging digital captures.

It’s a practical, honest look at where Restore AI delivers its biggest improvements, where other ON1 tools might serve you better, and how to choose the right restoration workflow for each image type.

Best for:

• Photographers restoring family photo archives
• Anyone digitizing old prints or negatives
• Editors who want a clear workflow comparison between Restore AI and other ON1 tools

How to Fix Underexposed Landscapes

May 31, 2026

Balancing a bright sky with a darker foreground is one of the most common challenges in landscape photography. This video lesson gives you a practical framework for handling it without resorting to HDR or heavy-handed processing.

What you’ll learn:

• Brightening dark foregrounds while keeping skies intact
• Using Shadows and Midtones adjustments instead of relying on Exposure alone
• Using AI-powered Sky Masks for selective sky enhancements
• Adding depth and mood with the Glow tool

These techniques produce balanced, polished landscape photos without blowing out your highlights or losing the drama in your skies.

eBook: Crafting a Black & White Wildlife Portrait

May 30, 2026

This step-by-step editing guide takes a color wildlife photograph and transforms it into a dramatic black-and-white portrait using ON1 Photo RAW. The techniques work across wildlife subjects — lions, birds, mammals, and more.

Inside the guide:

• Building contrast and selectively illuminating the subject with AI masking
• Creating a rich black-and-white conversion
• Enhancing fur and feather detail with Dynamic Contrast
• Softening the background with Glow
• Finishing the image with a subtle vignette

The download includes a practice file and companion video, so you can follow along with the exact image used in the guide.

Missed Something? It’s All in ON1 Plus.

Every tutorial, live edit, preset collection, eBook, and creative asset in this recap is available inside ON1 Plus. If you’re not a member yet, this is the kind of month that shows what you’re missing.

New content drops throughout every month. Keep an eye on your inbox for monthly member emails, or check the Webinars and Videos pages on your ON1 Plus dashboard to stay current.

ON1 Photo RAW 2026.4 is available today as a free update for all 2026 owners, and it’s the biggest release of the 2026 cycle. The headline addition is Restore AI, a new module inside Photo RAW MAX that brings old, faded, or any damaged photo back to life. Scan a print from a shoebox, recover a soft or noisy shot from an old phone, or colorize a black and white image with realistic results. Restore AI handles all of it, in seconds, without sending you to a separate app. 2026.4 also redesigns the Home experience to get you into your editing faster, delivers meaningful performance improvements throughout the app, and rounds out the update with new lens profiles and targeted bug fixes. If you’ve been using ON1 Photo RAW 2026 as your primary photo editing software, this update makes it better in ways you’ll feel every time you open the app.

Just launch ON1 Photo RAW 2026 to get the update, or download it from your ON1 account.

“This is the kind of update we set out to build this year. Meaningful new capabilities alongside the steady refinements that make the software easier to rely on every day,” says Dan Harlacher, VP of Product at ON1.

Restore AI: Every Photo Has a Second Chance

You have photos you never open. Some came from your first smartphone, a starter DSLR, a point-and-shoot from fifteen years ago. The moments were real, but the cameras couldn’t do them justice. And somewhere in a closet, there are shoeboxes of prints and negatives from your film days.

Restore AI, a new module inside ON1 Photo RAW MAX, fixes that. It sharpens soft images, recovers lost detail, corrects faded and shifted color, and removes noise that made you shelve the shot. It works on scanned prints and old film, but most of the photos it will improve are ones you shot yourself in the last twenty years. What used to take hours of retouching now takes seconds.

What Restore AI can do:

• Rebuilds lost detail, improves clarity, and reduces noise in soft, grainy, or poorly digitized images, with the option to add natural film grain back in.
• Transforms black-and-white photos into realistic color images and restores natural tone to photos affected by fading or color shift, with full user control over the result.
• Detects faces and restores lost facial detail while maintaining recognition.
• Steers the restoration with natural language prompts. Improve colorization, fix or add text, blur backgrounds, adjust ages, and more.
• Fine-tunes tonal correction, warmth, saturation, and tint, including monochrome photos.
• Restores entire albums automatically and supports negative conversion, organization, metadata, and easy export and sharing.
• Cloud-powered processing handles complex restoration tasks that go beyond what desktop computers can manage on their own.

Restore AI is fully included with ON1 Photo RAW MAX or ON1 Photo Studio with no credits or tokens required.

What to Expect from Restore AI

Restore AI does work that used to require hours of careful retouching. Results are very good on landscapes, architecture, nature shots, and photos where fine facial detail isn’t the main subject. For those, most photos come out looking genuinely great.

Faces are the hardest part, and an area we’ll keep improving. Restore AI detects and enhances facial detail, but it won’t be perfect every time. A portrait that would have taken hours of manual work may now be 90 percent of the way there in seconds. From that point, you have the full toolkit of ON1 Photo RAW MAX to finish it your way. The goal is to save you hours, not make every decision for you.

A New Home Experience

The 2026.4 update introduces a new Home module that serves as the default starting point when you open ON1 Photo RAW. It’s built to help you get into your work faster and make more of the app discoverable over time.

• Quick shortcuts to Open a Photo, Browse a Folder, and Import from Device.
• Access to Recent Edits, folders, and albums so you can pick up right where you left off.
• What’s New and Training content to help you get more out of the software over time.

Faster Performance in ON1 Photo RAW

Browsing a large library in Browse is faster in 2026.4. Thumbnails populate almost instantly when you open a new shoot, and scrolling is noticeably more responsive. We’ve also tuned the number of thumbnails displayed so you can see more images at once without extra clicks. The right-click context menu has been cleaned up too so it’s shorter and easier to scan.

Editing with many local adjustments is faster as well. Moving sliders and painting uses less memory and responds more quickly.

More Lens Support, Bug Fixes, and Stability Improvements

2026.4 includes new lens profiles, a targeted set of bug fixes, and under-the-hood stability improvements. These are the refinements you may not notice individually, but they add up to a more reliable, consistent editing experience across macOS and Windows.

Trusted Innovation, Built for Photographers

2026.4 is one more step in a year of steady, purposeful progress. Not features built for headlines, but improvements photographers feel in their daily work.

Since October 2025, we’ve delivered consistent updates across performance, AI tools, compatibility, and workflow. Each release builds on the last. Raw processing is an area we are actively working on and are excited to show these results soon. Your photos will look more accurate straight out of the camera and respond faster in the Edit module. More tools are coming that simplify everyday editing without taking control away from you. Updates will keep arriving more frequently, so fixes and improvements reach you sooner.

The goal stays the same: give you outstanding results while keeping you in control. Photo RAW should be a tool you can trust and rely on, year after year.

If you haven’t read our vision for what’s next, it’s worth a few minutes. It explains why we’re focused on faster releases, practical AI, and improvements that compound quietly over time. Every update in the 2026 cycle is included at no additional cost for Photo RAW 2026 owners. Subscribers to ON1 Photo RAW MAX and ON1 Photo Studio receive the latest updates and major releases automatically. More is coming in 2026.

Available Now for macOS and Windows

ON1 Photo RAW 2026.4 is available today for macOS and Windows. If you own ON1 Photo RAW 2026, just launch the app to get the update.

Restore AI is available exclusively inside ON1 Photo RAW MAX. If you own ON1 Photo RAW 2026 and want access to Restore AI, you can upgrade to Photo RAW MAX to unlock it.

Not yet an ON1 user? Try ON1 Photo RAW free for 30 days.

More is coming in 2026.

We are thrilled to announce the ON1 Photo RAW Awards 2026! To celebrate the launch of ON1 Photo RAW 2026.4 we want to showcase the exceptional photography created and edited by our community using Photo RAW.

From striking landscapes and intimate portraits to bold creative composites, the ON1 Photo RAW Awards recognizes the outstanding work photographers are producing with ON1. Whether you’ve been part of the ON1 community for years or recently made the switch, we want to see your best work. Submissions are open now through May 31, 2026. Here’s everything you need to know to enter.

Prizes

We’re recognizing the top images across three prize tiers, plus honorable mentions.

Grand Prize

• $1,000 B&H Photo Gift Card
• Feature on ON1’s official blog and social media channels
• Official title: ON1 Photo RAW Awards 2026 Winner

Second Place

• $100 ON1 Merchandise Gift Card
• 1 Year of ON1 Photo Studio
• Feature on ON1’s official blog and social media channels

Third Place

• $50 ON1 Merchandise Gift Card
• 1 Year of ON1 Plus
• Feature on ON1’s official blog and social media channels

Honorable Mentions

• Featured in ON1’s official blog
• Community spotlight on ON1 social media

How to Submit

Entering is simple. You may submit up to 3 images, and each submission must include:

• Your final edited image (JPEG or PNG, maximum 10MB)
• An image title
• A short description of the image and your edits (1–3 sentences)
• Your camera settings
• Your social media handle or name

Head to on1.com/photo-raw-awards to submit your entry.

Eligibility and Editing Requirements

The ON1 Photo RAW Awards 2026 are open to photographers worldwide who are 18 years of age or older. All editing must be performed using ON1 Photo RAW 2026.4 or an earlier version.

Additional requirements to keep in mind:

• Composite images are welcome, provided all elements are original and created by the entrant
• All submitted work must be original — the use of third-party generative AI to create non-original elements is not permitted
• No watermarks on submitted images
• Accepted formats: JPEG or PNG at a maximum file size of 10MB

Judging Criteria

A panel of judges will evaluate entries based on the following criteria:

• Creativity — Does the image bring a fresh perspective or unexpected approach?
• Composition — Is the image well-constructed and visually intentional?
• Technical Execution — Is the photography technically sound?
• Editing Skill — Does the editing serve the image and demonstrate a strong command of ON1 Photo RAW?
• Overall Visual Impact — Does the image make an impression?

Not Yet on ON1 Photo RAW 2026?

If you haven’t upgraded yet, now is a great time to get started. ON1 Photo RAW 2026.4 includes a full suite of AI-powered editing tools all in a single, non-destructive workflow. You can try it free for 30 days and get your submissions in before the May 31 deadline.

Submit Your Entry

We look forward to seeing the incredible work that photographers in our community have been creating with ON1 Photo RAW. Submissions are open now through May 31, 2026.

Submit Your Entry Here →

Thank you for being a valued member of the ON1 community.

Every improvement we make to ON1 Photo RAW starts with photographers. By listening, observing, and acting on feedback, we build tools you can trust in your everyday photography workflow.

At ON1, we believe the best ideas do not come from a conference room. They come from photographers.

They come from the professional trying to get through a client gallery faster. From the hobbyist who wants powerful tools without a steep learning curve. From the longtime customer who has trusted us for years and is honest enough to tell us where we can do better. They come from people who rely on their photos to deliver for clients, build a portfolio, or preserve something that matters.

That is a big part of my role at ON1.

My name is Nathan Keudell, and I serve as the Senior Product Marketing Manager at ON1. A core part of what I do is represent the voice of the customer internally. I spend my time listening to photographers, understanding their needs, identifying patterns in their feedback, and working closely with our product and development teams to help shape our future roadmap. That work is not separate from innovation. It’s how we build with a purpose and deliver photo editing software tools photographers can rely on.

Over the past year, we have made a deeper commitment to meeting photographers where they are and involving them earlier in the process. That means more one-on-one interviews, more web-based surveys, more small group meetups, more roundtable discussions, and more in-person usability sessions where we can observe how people actually work. We are not just asking what photographers want. We are seeing where workflows break down, where time is lost, where tools feel unclear, where they hesitate, , and what matters most in a photo editing workflow. These moments reveal more than a survey alone.

In March 2026 we held a usability session with local photographers to understand key pain points in the workflow. We were blown away, some users drove over 4 hours to attend this session. Those conversations have been incredibly valuable.

Some of the clearest themes we continue to hear are around raw processing improvements, performance and stability, and ease of use. Photographers want software that consistently delivers results they can trust. They want great image quality. They want speed and consistency. They want powerful tools, but they also want a workflow that feels intuitive and approachable. These priorities directly shape how we develop ON1 Photo RAW, from core performance improvements to new AI-drive capabilities. These are not side conversations for us. They are central to how we think about the future of ON1.

That is why customer feedback is not something we collect and set aside. It is something we act on.

That can mean validating new ideas through surveys, sharing early concepts with customers, or looking over the shoulder of photographers as they edit to see where things break down… And sometimes it means hearing the same feedback over and over again until it becomes clear that it needs to move higher on the priority list. That consistency in feedback is often what drives our most important product decisions. It’s also where frustrations turn into opportunities for improvement.

This kind of work helps us make better decisions. It helps us avoid developing tools based on assumptions and focus on what actually improves the ON1 editing experience. . It also keeps us grounded. We are not building for an abstract user. We are building for photographers withdeadlines, and creative goals.

That is also why you will continue to see us show more of our work earlier, talk more openly about where we are headed, and create more opportunities for photographers to participate in the process. We want feedback before a release, not just after. We want to test assumptions. We want to learn sooner. And we want the photographers who use ON1 to know that their voices genuinely help shape what comes next. That level of transparency is a key part of how we’ve built and are continuing to build trust over time.

The events and meetings we have been holding are a reflection of that mindset. Whether it’s a one-on-one conversation, a virtual feedback session, a local meetup, a roundtable discussion, or full usability testing. Every interaction helps us better understand the needs of how photographers work. These insights directly influence how we build and prioritize what comes next.. These are not just marketing activities. They are a core part of our product development process.

For me personally, one of the most rewarding parts of this role is being able to bring those insights back to our internal teams and advocate for the customer in the decisions we make. When photographers share what is working, where they are getting stuck, or what they wish existed, that feedback has a path inside ON1. It is heard. It is discussed. And it helps influence the direction of our products. Connecting customer insights to product execution is where innovation happens.

We know trust is earned over time. It comes from listening, improving, and following through. That is the standard we are working toward every day.

If you have participated in a survey, joined a meetup, submitted a feature request, taken part in a virtual conversation, or sat down with us for a usability session, thank you. Your feedback matters, and it is helping shape the future of ON1.

And if you are interested in providing feedback, whether in person or through a virtual meeting, I would love to hear from you. Please fill out this form.

If you’re looking to learn ON1 Photo RAW and take your editing to the next level, April was packed with new content inside ON1 Plus, the #1 resource for ON1 & photography.

From hands-on tutorials and live edits to new presets and an in-depth eBook, everything released this month was designed to help you become a master of ON1 Photo RAW. Whether you’re refining your workflow, improving color and tone, or exploring creative styles, this recap walks you through everything added so you don’t miss a thing.

Muted Drama Presets (Creative Library)

April 7, 2026

Kick off April with a powerful creative boost. The Muted Drama Presets bring a refined, cinematic look to your images with softer contrast and desaturated tones.

These presets are perfect for:

• Landscapes with subtle mood
• Portraits needing softer tones
• Creating a consistent editing style

If you want faster edits without sacrificing control, this is a great place to start.

Relighting a Backlit Portrait

April 10, 2026

Backlit portraits can be tricky, but this tutorial shows how to recover detail and balance exposure without losing the natural look.

You’ll learn how to:

• Bring back detail in shadows
• Balance highlights and skin tones
• Guide the viewer’s attention to your subject

This is essential for anyone shooting outdoor portraits or golden hour sessions.

Fixing a Blown-Out Sky

April 17, 2026

A blown-out sky doesn’t mean a lost photo. This tutorial walks through different approaches so you can choose what fits your style.

Key takeaways:

• Recover highlights when possible
• Replace skies when needed
• Blend edits naturally for realistic results

This flexibility is what makes ON1 Photo RAW such a powerful editing tool.

eBook: Creating Mood & Drama in a Flat Cityscape

April 21, 2026

Flat lighting can make cityscapes feel lifeless, but this in-depth ON1 Plus eBook shows how to transform them into striking, dramatic images.

Inside, you’ll learn:

• How to shape light and contrast
• Build mood with color grading
• Create depth and atmosphere in urban scenes

This is a must-read if you want to elevate your storytelling in photography.

Birds Live Edit (Recording)

April 23, 2026

This recording of a live edit session focuses on bringing wildlife images to life—especially birds.

You’ll see:

• How to enhance feather detail
• Improve sharpness and clarity
• Reduce noise without losing texture

Perfect for wildlife photographers looking to refine their editing workflow.

Editing Low-Contrast Scenes

April 28. 2026

Low-contrast images often feel dull, but they hold a lot of hidden potential.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to:

• Build contrast without overprocessing
• Add depth and dimension
• Maintain a natural, realistic look

A foundational skill for any photographer using ON1 Photo RAW.

By now, you’ve probably heard about Restore AI. If not, it’s an upcoming feature inside ON1 Photo RAW MAX designed to breathe new life into your photos—both old and new.

Restore AI goes far beyond basic cleanup. It uses advanced AI photo restoration to remove dust, scratches, and wrinkles, correct faded color and tone, sharpen blurry images, and even enhance detail or colorize black-and-white photos. In many cases, what once required hours of careful retouching can now be accomplished in seconds. That’s the kind of innovation we believe in—practical, reliable, and built for real photographers.

It’s Not Just About Old Photos

Most of the examples you’ve seen so far focus on very old family photos—images that are 50 to 100 years old. And while Restore AI excels at restoring those, another big opportunity lies in the photos you’ve captured over the last 20 to 30 years. Over the past two or three decades, we’ve all created thousands of digital images—on early DSLRs, smartphones, and compact cameras. At the time, they captured meaningful moments. Today, many of those same images feel soft, noisy, or lacking the detail we’ve come to expect.

Restore AI gives those images a second life—bringing modern quality to moments that still matter.

Fix the Photos You Thought You’d Never Use Again

This is where Restore AI becomes more than a feature, it becomes useful. Photos that once felt outdated or unusable can now become images worth sharing, printing, and preserving. Restore AI recovers detail, clarity, and color in a way that feels natural without over processing.

One Tool. Your Entire Photo Library.

Restore AI is built directly into ON1 Photo RAW MAX, part of a complete workflow designed for photographers. No jumping between apps. No reliance on plugins. Just one place to restore, enhance, and finish your photos. It’s designed to simplify your workflow and not add to it. From century-old prints to early digital captures, Restore AI helps you reclaim your entire photo library with confidence.

Don’t Let Your Best Photos Stay Stuck in the Past

Some of your most meaningful photos aren’t your sharpest ones, they’re the ones you took before the tools caught up to the moment. Restore AI will help bring those photos forward, so they can finally match how you remember them. If you’re ready to bring the older photos in your library up to today’s standards, now is the time to upgrade to ON1 Photo RAW MAX and experience Restore AI.

Availability

ON1 Restore AI will be available soon as a new module exclusively inside ON1 Photo RAW MAX 2026. Existing ON1 Photo RAW 2026 (and earlier versions) owners can upgrade to Photo RAW MAX to access Restore AI, while current Photo RAW MAX 2026 owners will receive Restore AI as part of a free update coming soon.

Perpetual license owners of ON1 Photo RAW MAX 2026 will receive unlimited restorations for one full year using cloud-powered AI. Upgrading to future major versions renews that one-year access, ensuring continued restoration capabilities over time. Subscribers to ON1 Photo RAW MAX or ON1 Photo Studio receive unlimited restorations for as long as their subscription remains active.

March was a strong month inside ON1 Plus, packed with new tutorials, creative tools, and training designed to help photographers learn ON1 Photo RAW, improve their workflow, and create more compelling images. If your goal is to become a master of ON1 Photo RAW, this month’s content focused on practical, real-world techniques—from foundational editing skills to advanced compositing and cinematic color grading.

As the #1 resource for ON1 Photo RAW & photography, ON1 Plus continues to deliver step-by-step education, creative inspiration, and tools that help you edit faster and with more control. Below is everything that happened inside ON1 Plus in March.

Control Light Fast with Blend Modes

March 3, 2026

Start the month with a powerful but simple technique for shaping light. This lesson shows how to use Blend Modes inside the Curves filter to quickly fix exposure and enhance contrast in portrait photos.

What You’ll Learn:

• How Multiply darkens overexposed images
• How Screen brightens underexposed photos
• Using Soft Light to add contrast
• Combining masking and opacity for precision

This is one of the fastest ways to improve portraits without complex edits.

ON1 Photo RAW Editing Essentials (Onboarding Course)

March 10, 2026

If you’re new—or want to tighten your workflow—this course is the foundation. The ON1 Photo RAW Editing Essentials course walks you through everything from organizing photos to exporting finished edits.

What You’ll Learn:

• Browse module navigation and file management
• Importing, organizing, and culling images
• Core editing tools in Develop and Effects
• Masking, layers, and exporting

This is the fastest way to learn ON1 Photo RAW and build confidence in your workflow.

Modern Cinema LUTs (Creative Library)

March 11, 2026

Bring cinematic style to your photos with this new LUT pack. Modern Cinema LUTs are designed to add depth, mood, and refined color grading to your images.

What You’ll Get:

• Strong contrast with muted tones
• Subtle warmth or cool color shifts
• Film-inspired looks for modern edits
• Works across portraits, landscapes, and travel

Perfect for photographers who want a bold, polished aesthetic without complicated adjustments.

Master Black & White Photography

March 16, 2026

Black and white photography is more than removing color—it’s about seeing light differently. This tutorial walks through capturing, converting, and refining monochrome images using ON1 Photo RAW.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to shoot with black and white in mind
• Converting RAW files to striking monochrome
• Enhancing contrast, tone, and texture
• Creating timeless, high-impact images

Creative Masking & Compositing Video Course

March 20, 2026

Take your editing to the next level with full creative control. This ON1 Photo RAW masking course dives deep into masking, layers, and compositing to help you build complex, story-driven images.

What You’ll Learn:

• Advanced masking and blend modes
• Adding atmosphere, fire, and effects
• Building surreal scenes and reflections
• Blending subjects into new environments

This is where you move from editing photos to creating images.

Portrait Live Edit (Depth, Light & Mood)

March 25, 2026

Wrap up the month with a real-world portrait edit. This recording of the live session shows how to take a flat image and turn it into something eye-catching using ON1 Photo RAW tools.

What You’ll Learn:

• Shaping light with Depth Lighting and Depth Masks
• Blurring backgrounds with Lens Blur
• Adding glow and sun flare for mood
• Using layers for creative cleanup

A perfect example of how multiple tools come together in a fast, efficient workflow.

Creative Blurs in Landscapes

March 29, 2026

Take your landscapes beyond basic edits by adding motion, depth, and focus. In this video lesson, you’ll learn how to use creative blur effects in ON1 Photo RAW to guide attention and transform your images into something more dynamic and eye-catching.

What You’ll Learn:

• Simulating long exposure with motion blur
• Keeping your subject sharp using reflected gradients
• Creating a tilt-shift effect for a miniature look
• Using blur creatively to add depth and storytelling

These techniques go beyond style—they help direct the viewer’s eye and bring a stronger sense of motion and depth to your landscape photography.

Light & Airy Flowers (PDF Editing Guide)

March 30, 2026

Create a soft, bright, and polished look with this step-by-step ON1 Plus editing guide. In the Light & Airy Flowers PDF editing guide, you’ll learn how to build a clean foundation in ON1 Photo RAW and layer in subtle creative effects to achieve a dreamy, professional result.

What You’ll Learn:

• Building a strong base using the Develop module
• Enhancing tones and color for a balanced image
• Adding light and atmosphere with local adjustments
• Using glow and light leak textures for a soft, airy style

This guide is perfect for photographers looking to create a light and airy editing style with more control and consistency in their workflow.

Why ON1 Plus Matters

ON1 Plus continues to be the #1 resource for ON1 & photography, giving you access to:

• Step-by-step training and courses
• Real-world editing tutorials
• Creative tools like LUTs and presets
• A faster path to mastering ON1 Photo RAW

Whether you’re just getting started or refining advanced techniques, ON1 Plus helps you edit smarter, faster, and with more control.

Start Learning ON1 Photo RAW Today

If you want to become a master of ON1 Photo RAW, there’s never been a better time to dive in. Explore ON1 Plus and start building your workflow, your style, and your confidence—one edit at a time.