How to convert a raw photo to JPEG in your browser
A raw file (Sony ARW, Canon CR3, Nikon NEF, Fujifilm RAF, DNG from a phone) isn't a photo yet: it's what the sensor measured. To send it, post it or print it, it has to be developed, and the result saved as a JPEG, PNG, TIFF or WebP. Here's how to do that in LumiRaw, without installing anything and without uploading the file anywhere.
1. Open the file
Drop the raw file on the page, or tap it on a phone to choose one. You can open several at once, or a whole folder: they appear in a strip along the bottom and are developed one at a time. The file is read on your device and isn't sent anywhere.
If all you want is the photo with the automatic settings, tick "Open photos straight at Download" before opening them and skip to step 4.
2. See what was decided for you
When it opens, the photo already has an automatic development applied: exposure, white balance, contrast, noise reduction, and lens correction if the lens is in the database. The Before / after step has a slider to compare it with the file as it came off the camera, and a list of every correction, each of which you can switch off.
3. Change what you don't like
The steps go in order and none of them is required. The ones people reach for most:
- Framing to straighten the horizon or crop.
- Brightness: if the photo comes out too dark or too bright, draw a box over what matters (a face, say) and the exposure is metered there.
- White balance: if the colours lean blue or orange, mark something that should be grey or white.
- Grade to give it a look, with curves or a .cube LUT.
To judge focus or noise, the 100 % button shows the photo at its real size. Your adjustments are saved in the browser: close the tab, open the same file again, and they're still there.
4. Download in the format you need
| For | Format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sending or posting | JPEG | Everything opens it. The default quality of 92 can't be told apart from the original and takes a fraction of the space. |
| Editing further | 16-bit PNG | Lossless and with every tone, so you can keep editing in another program without banding in smooth gradients. |
| Your own website | WebP | Smaller than a JPEG of the same quality. |
| Printing or archiving | TIFF or PNG | Lossless. The TIFF is 8-bit. |
Under "Long edge", "Full resolution" keeps every pixel. For Instagram and similar feeds, 1080 px is the size they show a landscape photo at; upload a bigger one and they shrink it themselves, and not as well.
With several photos open, "Develop all N marked, as one zip" downloads them all together, each with its own adjustments.
Before you post it
The downloaded file keeps the camera's metadata, including the GPS position if the camera recorded one. If the photo was taken at home, you may not want to share that.
Questions
Is it free?
Yes, with no account and no limit on the number of photos.
Are my photos uploaded to a server?
No. All the developing happens in your browser; you can check in the network tab of your browser's developer tools.
Does it work offline?
Yes, after the first visit. It can also be installed as an app.
My file won't open
If the camera is newer than the decoder, convert the file to DNG with Adobe's free DNG Converter and open that. The list of supported cameras says which models are recognised.
Can it edit a JPEG?
No: it's made for raw files, which hold far more than a JPEG does. A JPEG has already been developed.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, including DNG files from iPhones (ProRAW) and other phones. A large raw file needs a lot of memory, so an older phone may struggle.