Darkroom Photo Editing App Gains New Highlight and Shadow Recovery Tools

Photo editing app Darkroom today announced the launch of new highlight and shadow recovery tools, which are available as an expansion of the existing recovery sliders.

darkroom update highlight shadows
Darkroom says that the Exposure, Whites, Highlights, Shadows, and Blacks sliders have been rebuilt from the ground up in a major technical investment that allows users to access edits that were previously out of reach.

A luminance curve adjusts the dark and bright areas of the image, while a histogram-equalization algorithm enhances clarity in the midtones to avoid a flat look. A frequency-domain algorithm detects busy areas in the image and enhances contrast, and all of the new algorithms are spatially aware to allow for tweaks to each part of an image.

darkroom sliders before and after
The highlight and shadow recovery tools are available for all image types, but Darkroom says they work particularly well for RAW photos as there is more detail to recover.

With the launch of the new tools, Darkroom is discontinuing the Photos Editing Extension that allowed the Apple ‌Photos‌ app to be used to make Darkroom edits. The feature is being discontinued because of memory constraints and resolution limitations.

Darkroom is free to download, but premium Darkroom+ features are available for $5 per month or $30 per year. Darkroom can be downloaded from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
Apple Watch Series 9

2024 Apple Watch Lineup: Key Changes We're Expecting

Tuesday July 16, 2024 7:59 am PDT by
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...

Top Rated Comments

darkroomapp Avatar
22 months ago

Always scepticle of these before/after, does RAW really capture enough to bring back all the colour and contrast?
Hi Ryan, these images are exports from Darkroom, both of them. If you look at our launch video, you can see usdemonstrating it live:
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GtrDude Avatar
22 months ago
I used to like this app and used it a lot. Bought it a while back for 9 dollars.
Then they went to monthly ($5) and annual ($30 bucks!!) subscription services, that's when I found another app.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
robfoll Avatar
22 months ago
As an ex-app-dev (failed), I can tell you it costs many tens of thousands $$ just to keep up with Apple OS updates, required coding changes, fix bugs and that's all before adding features. As @PeteBurgh says, it costs a fortune just to stand still. I gave up on my app as, despite good reviews, I could not generate enough revenue to cover the costs of regular updates. @darkroomapp is being honest and fair here IMHO. PS just downloaded Darkroom to try.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DaveTheRave Avatar
22 months ago

Hi, when we switched to subscriptions, we did not remove access to any features you paid for, rather added Flag & Reject and Video editing as add-ons to your purchase for free.

Since the release of Masks, we no longer include new premium features in your "Legacy" purchase, but you continue to have access to what you purchased for free.
I think this is fair to both the user who made a purchase and the developer who needs to make a living.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
darkroomapp Avatar
22 months ago

I used to like this app and used it a lot. Bought it a while back for 9 dollars.
Then they went to monthly ($5) and annual ($30 bucks!!) subscription services, that's when I found another app.
Hi, when we switched to subscriptions, we did not remove access to any features you paid for, rather added Flag & Reject and Video editing as add-ons to your purchase for free.

Since the release of Masks, we no longer include new premium features in your "Legacy" purchase, but you continue to have access to what you purchased for free.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Dee Avatar
22 months ago
If someone told me 10 years ago I would be able to do desktop level photo editing on a phone; I would have laughed them out of the room. These are the things that amaze time and again. The miniaturization of technology is just mind boggling. There is just no limits anymore.

We just need flying cars at this point.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)