Mondays 2, 9, 16 & 23 March @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm UK
This four-part series of workshops has been designed to help photographers build confidence and fluency in the free Affinity application.
(As well as access to the live event, you will automatically receive a link to the recordings, valid for 28 days after the final session)
James will introduce Affinity as a free-to-use, complete post-processing environment, explaining its background, core principles, and how its tools are designed to support thoughtful, non-destructive image making.
The opening session establishes a practical foundation, demonstrating essential features such as RAW development, layers and masking, HDR merging, tone mapping, and image stacking, alongside a sneak peek at some new functionality being worked on for the next major version.
The workshops then move into structured, end-to-end editing workflows, showing how to take an image from initial RAW adjustments through careful retouching, refinement, and export. Emphasis is placed on maintaining flexibility throughout the process, using non-destructive techniques that allow creative decisions to evolve without compromising image quality.
Later sessions explore more specialised and demanding scenarios, including HDR processing and wildlife photography. James will discuss how to manage tonal complexity, avoid common pitfalls in high bit-depth editing, and make considered decisions that strengthen subject emphasis while controlling noise and visual distractions.
The final session focuses on low-light imagery, covering approaches to enhancing detail, managing colour, and building depth through dodging, burning, and stacking. This leads into Astrophotography and other workflows, examining how Affinity can be used to process challenging files while retaining subtlety and atmosphere.
James Ritson, part of the software development and research team at Affinity, is a programmer, photographer and software specialist with extensive experience working with Affinity for image processing workflows. He is known for his clear, methodical teaching style and deep understanding of non-destructive editing workflows, helping photographers develop efficient, flexible, post-processing practices grounded in careful observation and creative intent.
