Capture One Hidden Features – Book Review

If you’ve always suspected that a slew of tools and features are hidden beneath Capture One’s sleek (but complicated) interface, you’d be correct. With his eBook, Capture One Hidden Features, Alex from AlexOnRAW is here to help . He tries to explain the most useful workflow, processing, and performance-enhancing features in Capture One Pro that you may have missed while working with it.

For the last few years, I’ve relied on Capture One Pro to manage and edit almost all of my commercial work. Along the way, I’ve had to relearn how to use Capture One because it isn’t exactly the same as Adobe Lightroom.

I find that I learn to use any software better when I use it to complete tasks as part of my job. In my opinion, this is a good way to quickly learn how to use any tool – to get functional knowledge. So, I’ve learned how to use Capture One while on the job; to solve the unique problems that I encounter when processing my images.

However, this type of learning can leave you with gaps in your understanding of how the tool was intended to be used, its true capabilities, and some of the software’s nuances. That’s why, after I’ve started learning a tool on my own, I like to have guided learning. This is where Alex’s book comes into play.

Who Is This Book For?

Capture One Hidden Features ebook cover
Capture One Hidden Features eBook Cover by Alexander Svet – AlexOnRaw.com

Capture One Hidden Features” isn’t for the absolute beginner… It doesn’t teach you the basics of Capture One Pro. However, it has useful workflow guides that professionals have learned over many years of trial and error, so I would recommend it to the ‘advanced amateur’, or anyone who is thinking of going professional. This is also a book for someone who wants to squeeze more performance out of their tools, so I would recommend it to anyone who is a professional.

That said, there’s a healthy mix of tips, from some that may be slightly obvious, to others that show his expertise in the software. Overall, this is a balanced approach and one that will ensure that there is something in the book for everyone…

Whether you’re just learning about image editing, digging deeper into Capture One, trying to speed up your copy of Capture One, looking to optimize the sequence in which you apply edits to your images, or simply looking for useful shortcuts, this book is one that I would recommend to you.

In short, anyone who is comfortable with the basic working of Capture One Pro would benefit from this book. I would also happily recommend it to many professionals. I’m sure they’ll find something for them in the book too.

Structure of the Book

The book is divided into four parts:

  1. Enhance Your Workflow – shares shortcuts and subtle ways in which to speed up your workflow
  2. Unlock Capture One Tools – explains some of the nuances of various capture one tools that you may not have known. These quick tips allow you to tap the hidden potential of Capture One, and your images.
  3. Get Maximum Out of Your RAW – Image editing (processing) tips of the more creative kind, and power tips for the advanced Capture One user.
  4. Learn What To Learn Next – Since learning never stops, Alex has pointed you in the direction of what to explore next. This segment goes into some power-user tips such as scripting, using the software with other tools like Photoshop, AI-powered plugins, and much more.

Bonus Material

The book purchase comes with some extra material… Symmetry grids, Styles, and Style Brushes… See details on the product page.

How I Like To Use This Book

There is a wealth of information in this book. Alex shows you how to use, and misuse Capture One Pro features to create images that are slightly different. One of my favorites is “Desaturation via Color Inversion” and its usage in portraits.

My suggestion is to keep the book open on a tablet or a second monitor, while you use Capture One Pro on your main monitor.

Pages from Capture One Hidden Features ebook
A few pages from the Capture One Hidden Features ebook

Trying out the tips while you’re reading the book is the best way to learn as Capture One Pro is complex, and there are nuances that you may miss, or misunderstand if you don’t.

The latter parts of the book have some solid advice about image editing processes, so you may want to read it when relaxed, and when you can take it all in and implement it once you have processed it all. You’ll definitely have to come back to it while trying out Alex’s suggestions in Capture One.

The PDF and .ePub formats are ideal for this, giving you the option to read on your mobile device as well as on the desktop.

What I’d Like To See in the Next Edition

I used the PDF version of the book, and while there is also an .epub version, I find that PDFs are easier to use on the desktop. There were a few improvements that I thought could be added to the book to improve the ease of use.

  • Navigation hints – While the chapters are well numbered, they could do with a reminder about where we are in the overall book – parts 1, 2, 3, or 4.
  • More comprehensive Table of Contents and Index. This book has a lot of useful information, and if not for the search function in Acrobat, or your eBook reader, it may be difficult to find exactly what you’re looking for.
  • Typography & Layout- The text is clear, bold, and easily readable on a mobile device. Yet there could be a little more finesse in the layout and spacing.

Read a Preview

If you’re unsure whether you’re the right audience for this book, Alex has generously offered a preview of 4 out of the 40 chapters that make up the book. You can receive the preview by signing up at the bottom of this page.

Where Can You Get the Book?

You can buy the book on the website. And remember, Alex is giving 10% of the revenue to war-affected children in Ukraine. Alex is also offering the book free to people who have donated $40 or more to any organization on his list, in support of Ukraine.

Susheel Chandradhas

Susheel Chandradhas

Susheel Chandradhas is a Product Photographer and Filmmaker based in India. He has been taking photographs (almost) all his life. He has a diploma and a bachelors degree in Visual Communication, where his classmates all believed that he would write a book on photography... Instead, he writes on this website (because - isn't a community more fun?).

His passions include photography, parkour, wide-angle lenses, blue skies, fire extinguishers, and fast computers.

In addition to writing for Beyond Photo Tips, Susheel is a staff writer for Fstoppers.com, and owns and runs ColoursAlive, a photography, and video production studio.

You can connect with Susheel on Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Articles: 148

Share Your Thoughts

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.