This workflow starts with a folder of RAW files and ends with a JPEG containing both an SDR and an HDR rendition. Its order is deliberate: choose the frame, judge the light, then decide how to deliver it.
1. Select before you develop
Open the folder in Acutance Photo-View, check focus at 100%, and review the capture data. If you enable the included shell extension, File Explorer shows thumbnails for supported RAW files using decoders already included in the software. Rejecting blurred or missed-focus frames early prevents a great deal of work on the wrong photograph.
Photo-View is free and can already display Ultra HDR JPEGs in the folder. Switch between SDR and HDR in the same file to see whether your monitor and viewer are interpreting its gain map.
2. Develop one exposure
Open the selected RAW in Acutance Studio. Start with the camera's As Shot white balance, or sample a neutral surface with the eyedropper. Then inspect the histogram and the important areas at 100%. A white surface should not lose its texture merely to make a reflection appear brighter.
For a large folder, Full Auto multiplo calculates an initial interpretation; Smart ON uses the program's photographic scene logic. Treat that result as a starting point, not an aesthetic instruction. Exposure, tone curve, scene choice, crop and optical corrections remain editable on each image.
Adjustments are saved in .set sidecar files alongside the RAW files. The original negative remains untouched. If you move the originals, keep the sidecars with them to retain the edit.
3. Judge both renditions
Acutance Studio maintains separate SDR and HDR profiles. Examine the midtones first: skin, leaves, stone and clouds should remain plausible. Then inspect the highlights that can use HDR headroom. Split-screen and diagnostic views help locate clipping or out-of-gamut colour; 100% view helps assess fine detail without mistaking sharpening halos for optical acutance.
This review does not require a bracketed sequence. If an area of the RAW was already saturated, however, the HDR profile cannot reconstruct it. Return to the capture and respect that limit.
4. Export and verify the delivered file
Choose Ultra HDR JPEG when a photograph will be viewed on different screens. It includes an SDR base and an HDR gain map. For a destination that strips gain maps, you can also export a separate SDR JPEG. The suite offers 16-bit TIFF for printing or further editing.
Finally, open the exported file in Acutance Photo-View, press H and inspect both versions. If you plan to upload it to a third-party service, check the file again after upload: some platforms recompress images and may discard the HDR map.