The DAM Book, 2nd Edition

Chapter 2. Non-destructive Image Editing

Non-destructive image editing is a broad term for any image-editing technology that lets the user make image adjustments without permanently altering the original source image. It’s an advantageous way to work because it lets you explore interpretations of an image without going down a path you can’t turn back from. If you work in layers in Photoshop, you’re probably working nondestructively, and if you work in Lightroom, Aperture, Bibble, or Capture One, you’re definitely working non-destructively.

Non-destructive image editing is the most important area of development in image adjustment, particularly from a DAM perspective. It offers significant advantages in terms of the storage required for your image assets and the freedom it gives you to explore interpretations of your images.

• Parametric Image Editing: An Introduction

• Advantages of Parametric Image Editing

• Limitations of Parametric Image Editing

• DNG as a Parametric Image-Editing Solution

Parametric Image Editing: An Introduction

Parametric image editing (PIE) is a class of non-destructive image editing in which the editing software does not alter original files, but instead records changes to images as sets of instructions or parameters. Software that adjusts images in this way—like Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), Aperture, Bibble, and Capture One—is particularly well-suited to the challenges ...