⁂ Article
How to Get Started with darktable
No matter your experience with raw photo editing, darktable can be intimidating and has a number of unique features which can be hard to understand at first. So just jumping in and flailing around is not a good strategy for learning. With that in mind, here are my recommendations for getting started properly.
For help and discussion, join the discuss.pixls.us forum, which is the “official” darktable forum and were you'll find the power users and developers. The Play Raw section, in particular, can be a great way to learn.
The Basics
It's important to understand that the workflow and many tools are nothing like in Lightroom or most other raw editors, and trying to fit your old workflow into darktable is almost certainly going to be frustrating. If you have experience color grading video in programs such as Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve, you should find the workflow fairly familiar, though.
The FAQ
Read the new users section before anything else, since that will probably answer some of your questions. https://www.darktable.org/about/faq/
Beginner Tutorials
This tutorial is getting a bit old, so some details have changed, but it's still the best for understanding the core workflow: http://youtu.be/5CmsxxxsMDs
I recommend this tutorial next, since it's more recent, and covers the newer Sigmoid tonemapper: http://youtu.be/ZUc6LOzg_Nk
By watching those two tutorials, you'll already understand more than some YouTubers making darktable videos... Do not skip them, no matter your previous experience.
The Manual
Keep it handy and don't be afraid to read it. There's a good chance that what you want to know is in there. https://docs.darktable.org/usermanual/development/en/
Next Steps
There are other YouTube channels and tutorials, of course, but they vary greatly in quality, so these are the only ones I can recommend, without reservations, to new users.
Bruce Williams
Has done a very good job of explaining most features in darktable. His YouTube channel is like an annotated manual. https://youtube.com/@audio2u
Boris Hajdukovic
The darktable wizard. He's the one to watch to take your editing to the next level and learn all the little tricks. https://www.youtube.com/@s7habo
Darktable Landscapes
This is a solid channel for general editing. There are even some videos for users coming from Lightroom. https://www.youtube.com/@DarktableLandscapes
Nicolas Winspeare/A Dabble in Photography
Also solid. Often a bit more technical. https://www.youtube.com/@adabbleinphotography8721
Aurélien Pierre
A former darktable developer, he has videos going deep into certain modules and topics. https://www.youtube.com/c/Aur%C3%A9lienPIERREPhoto