OMATOOLS/OmaRAW guide

Guide / Develop

Image Match in detail

Match a reference with independent exposure, colour, tone and grain controls.

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Film recorded with an earlier version; the written reference is current.

Where it is

Develop → Colour & Look → Image Match

Quick overview

  • Capture the current edit or choose an image reference. Consistency and Creative Look serve different matching goals.
  • Preview and Apply save an editable match with separate exposure, white balance, tone, colour and grain controls.
  • Match selection analyses each target separately. It differs from syncing the same numerical settings to a batch.

In this film

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  1. Use a reference to estimate a correctionImage Match uses local statistical analysis, separate from downloaded AI tools.
  2. Capture this edited photograph as the referenceThe reference stays fixed while you change the target.
  3. Make this photo darker for the demonstrationThe captured reference keeps the earlier appearance.
  4. Choose Consistency for related photographsCreative Look transfers a stronger palette and contrast.
  5. Choose components independentlyExposure, white balance, tone, colour and optional grain.
  6. Preview the proposed matchThis comparison does not save the edit until Apply.
  7. Inspect the target against its referenceFit judges balance; 100% is needed for grain and fine texture.
  8. Return to the component controlsColour and tone strengths do not set exposure or white balance.
  9. Apply one editable Image Match adjustmentYour other tools retain their settings.
  10. Adjust the saved component strengthsAfter Apply these controls change the saved photo directly.
  11. Skin-like protection is based on colourSimilar colours in wood or fur can be protected too.
  12. Open the saved controlsThese settings are still available without a reference.
  13. Clear the analysis referenceThis does not remove the already applied match.
  14. For a batch, Match selection analyses each targetSync Settings instead copies the same chosen values to every target.

Watch the current tool demonstration for the complete workflow in the current interface.

Match a reference without losing the rest of the edit

For a control-by-control lookup, see Colour & Look → Image Match.

Image Match analyses a reference image's exposure, balance, tone, colour and optional grain, then proposes a correction for the target. It runs locally using statistical image analysis. It is separate from the bundled object-selection, removal and RAW-denoise models.

Use Consistency to bring related photographs from a shoot closer together. Use Creative Look when transferring a reference's palette and contrast is the intention. Neither mode can make different lighting, subjects or composition identical.

A reference-to-target workflow

  1. Finish a useful source edit and choose Use current edit, or choose/drop a JPEG, PNG, TIFF or WebP reference. The captured reference stays fixed when you change photos or edit further.
  2. Open the target and choose Consistency or Creative Look.
  3. Enable only the components you want to estimate: Exposure, White balance, Tone / contrast, Colour and optional Grain.
  4. Press Preview match. Compare Before/After on the target and inspect the reference beside it. Use Fit for composition and 100% for grain and detail.
  5. Adjust Colour strength, Tone strength and Grain strength separately. They do not control the exposure or white-balance correction.
  6. Choose Apply to photo. It saves one editable Image Match adjustment while keeping other tools' settings. A repeated match replaces that adjustment rather than stacking another copy.
  7. After applying, component switches and strength controls work directly on the saved match. Edit applied match exposes the saved exposure, warmth, tint, tone, colour and grain settings, even after the reference is cleared.

Controls that are easy to confuse

Protect skin-like colours limits colour shifts in skin-like hues, including some wood and fur. It is colour protection, not a face or skin mask. Review it with strong looks; turn it off when those colours should follow the palette.

Clear reference removes the analysis reference, not the match already saved on a photo. The heading's eye bypasses the entire match; its Reset removes that tool's adjustment. Turning a component off keeps its saved strength, so switching it back on restores that component. Preview starts a new draft; Apply commits that draft.

Grain adds only the estimated missing grain. It does not denoise a target that is grainier than the reference. The panel reports uncertain texture or compression samples and cases where separate denoising is needed. Inspect the grain controls at 100% rather than relying on a fitted comparison.

Match a selection

Select targets in Library or the filmstrip, open a target in Develop, and choose Match selection. Each target is analysed separately against the same reference and component choices. This differs from Sync Settings, which copies the same chosen settings to every target.

A source captured with Use current edit is skipped if it is selected. Stop matching leaves completed matches editable. Undo last batch reverses completed matches but skips a photo edited since that batch; individual photo Undo remains available. Test a representative light and dark frame before matching a varied collection.

Full component and grain reference

The controls below describe the current implementation, including the grain estimate's limitations. Related subject matter and lighting produce more meaningful estimates than unrelated images. The film demonstrates a local captured reference and a real applied match; use its Before/After as a workflow example rather than a universal recipe.

Image Match

Open Colour & Look → Image Match. Drop a JPEG, PNG, TIFF or WebP onto the reference thumbnail, choose a file, or press Use current edit to capture the rendered appearance of the photo open in Develop, including RAW edits. The reference stays fixed while you edit or change photos. Replace and Clear reference change the reference without removing an applied match.

In Choose or Replace, click a photograph to see its preview beside the file list. Arrow keys browse the images too. Press Open to use the selected reference, or Cancel to keep the current one.

Choose Consistency for photographs from a shoot, or Creative Look for the reference's palette and contrast. Select Exposure, White balance, Tone / contrast, Colour and optional Grain separately. Colour, tone and grain have independent strengths. Changing these strengths does not change the exposure or white-balance correction.

Protect skin-like colours limits colour shifts in skin and similarly coloured subjects, including some wood and fur. Turn it off when those colours should follow a stronger treatment. It affects the draft before Apply and the saved match afterward, with ordinary Undo.

Press Preview match to compare the reference and target. Before / After changes the target view without writing an edit. 100%, or a click on the fitted target, shows native pixels for checking grain and detail; drag the target to inspect another area. Fit returns to the whole image. Both sides use OmaRAW's viewing transform and monitor colour profile.

Apply to photo saves one editable Image Match adjustment. Your other tools keep their settings. After Apply, the five component switches, Colour strength, Tone strength, Grain strength and Grain adjustment controls update the photo directly, without another Preview or Apply. Switching a component off keeps its settings and strength; switching it on restores them. Switching all five off shows the photo as it was before the match. Each switch or slider drag can be undone. They read the saved settings when you return to a matched photo, even without a reference. Preview match starts a new draft; its switches and strengths affect the comparison until you apply it. Open Edit applied match to change its exposure, warmth, tint, tone, colour and grain controls. The heading's effect switch hides or shows the entire match; its reset removes only Image Match. Ordinary Undo and Redo restore the complete previous match. Repeating a match replaces this adjustment rather than stacking another correction over it.

For a batch, select photographs in the Library or filmstrip, open a target in Develop and press Match selection. Each target is analysed separately using the same reference and choices. A reference captured with Use current edit is skipped if it is in the selection. Stop matching leaves completed photos editable. Undo last batch reverses the completed matches, skipping a photo if you have edited it since. Individual photo Undo remains available afterward.

Grain adjustment edits the proposed amount, size, roughness, coloured character and shadow/midtone/highlight distribution before applying. Grain size is relative to a 3000-pixel long edge so differently sized photos have a similar apparent scale at equal output size. Check at 100% as well as Fit. After applying, the same settings remain available in Edit applied match.

Analysis uses quiet areas at native resolution and adds only the estimated grain missing from the target, including noise revealed by the proposed tone correction. A clean reference adds no grain. If the target is already grainier, the panel explains that a separate denoise step is needed. Image Match never automatically denoises or smooths detail. Uncertain texture or compression samples are rejected and reported; you can still set grain manually.

The first version runs locally using statistical colour, tone and grain analysis. It works best with related subject matter and lighting. Consistency keeps corrections conservative for different compositions. Creative Look transfers contrast even when exposure cannot be estimated reliably; use Tone strength to control the effect. Bright highlights limit nearby tone adjustments without suppressing the entire shadow lift. Mostly grey references keep small coloured subjects coloured. Extreme looks can need manual refinement; check the warning and comparison before applying. Re-preview existing matches to use the revised estimate; saved settings keep their original appearance. Grain and skin protection are estimates, so review difficult textures, mixed lighting, strong colour treatments and compressed references before applying a batch.

See the user guide for the complete workflow.