What is Arams?
What Arams is
Section titled “What Arams is”Use Arams to take a shoot from selection to finished files in one project. The Windows and macOS application combines Retouch4me tools for individual photographs and entire series with photo organization, color correction, cropping, and export.
You can choose cloud retouching or separately purchased local plugins, adjust the available tools, compare the results with your originals, and check the exported files. Retouching is optional: you can also use Arams to select, organize, correct, crop, and export photographs.
Cloud or local retouching?
Section titled “Cloud or local retouching?”| Cloud retouching | Local retouching | |
|---|---|---|
| Access and payment | Requires a subscription and/or credits under the applicable plan. | Local plugins are purchased separately. Purchased plugins provide unlimited local retouching without per-photo cloud retouching credits. |
| Processing | Photographs are sent to the service; an internet connection is required. | Processing runs on your computer using the installed, activated plugins. |
| Available controls | Cloud tools can have their own controls, including a separate adjustment for moles. | Controls depend on the installed plugin; do not assume they match the cloud version. |
The two modes are not identical feature sets. Choose a mode by the tools and controls you need as well as its payment model. Unlimited local retouching applies to the plugins you own; it does not include all plugins or make cloud services free. See local processing and cloud processing for the detailed workflows.
When Arams is useful
Section titled “When Arams is useful”- Portrait sessions: inspect faces, compare similar photographs, choose keepers, and compare retouching with the original before exporting.
- Studio and beauty photography: adjust portrait retouching, clothing and background cleanup, and color. Inspect fine detail: an automatic result may leave defects or need different settings.
- A series that needs consistent treatment: configure tools and presets, apply settings to a selection, and check representative photographs before processing the series.
- A shoot with several people: find photographs containing a person, combine that selection with ratings, and prepare separate deliveries. A shared photograph can belong in more than one person’s delivery.
- A growing project that needs organization: use folders, ratings, labels, groups and search to find the photographs you need; preserve access to the original files.
Start with your first photo workflow for a short route from import to export.
Capability catalogue
Section titled “Capability catalogue”Use this catalogue to find the next task in your workflow. It covers the features explained in this manual; the features available to you can depend on your Arams version, plan, and installed plugins.
| Area | Capabilities and details |
|---|---|
| Account and access | Sign in to Arams with an existing account. Available capabilities depend on your account. |
| Projects | Create, open and manage, reopen, and back up and restore projects. |
| Source files and import | Import photographs, organize folders and filenames, and keep projects and original files available. |
| Selection and inspection | Select photographs, zoom and inspect detail, and inspect detected faces. |
| Culling | Ratings, filters and labels, groups of similar photographs, and a selection workflow for delivery. |
| Finding photographs | Search by filename, manual tag, date, or detected person in Find photographs and people; automatic AI tagging is a separate workflow. |
| Photo and face analysis | Run Analyze, review visible image- and face-quality filters, and inspect candidates in Review AI analysis. AI classifications still require visual review. |
| Crop | Crop and straighten photographs. |
| Retouching controls | Choose tools and settings, use presets, and apply settings by gender. |
| Portrait results | Retouch a portrait while preserving natural detail and compare the processed result with the original. |
| Clothing and backgrounds | Use Fabric and Clean Backdrop and inspect fabric, edges, texture, and real studio-floor scuffs. |
| Color | AI color correction, curves and LUTs. |
| Series processing | Retouch a consistent series, including presets and copied settings, and review completed processing tasks. |
| Processing routes | Use local processing with an installed plugin or cloud processing with its upload, connection, and credit requirements. |
| Plugin access | Activate a plugin available to your account. A local plugin must be installed and activated before you can use it. |
| Export and delivery | Prepare delivery settings, export and verify saved files, and deliver separate selections for different people. |
| Metadata | Exchange ratings and color labels using XMP sidecars. If other metadata matters to your delivery, check it in the exported files. |
| Workspace | Explore the interface, customize the workspace, change general settings, and customize keyboard shortcuts. |
| Troubleshooting | Diagnose import failures and stalled processing or export. |
Free tagging, analysis and processing
Section titled “Free tagging, analysis and processing”Automatic AI tagging is free and does not consume analysis credits. Download its model and enable automatic tagging in Settings. You do not need to press Analyze to obtain these tags. Open the bell icon at the top to follow the tagging operation; the same area can also show other background work. Generated tags may be inaccurate or missing, so inspect the results before relying on them.
Cloud photograph and face analysis through Analyze is a separate operation that consumes analysis credits. Local retouching, cloud retouching, and plugin activation have their own requirements. Free tagging does not mean that all processing or all plugins are free. See the linked chapters before choosing a processing route.
Plugins and advanced workflows
Section titled “Plugins and advanced workflows”This manual includes workflows for Heal, Dodge Burn, Portrait Volumes, Fabric, and Clean Backdrop. The plugin catalogue can change, and the tools available to you depend on the plugins installed and activated for your account.
Open a plugin’s gear icon to adjust its detailed parameters; these controls are separate from the application’s global Settings. Lab, Face Make, Frequency Separation, and Color Match run at the pre-export stage rather than in the regular preview. The controls available at that stage depend on the plugin.
Protect your originals and review the result
Section titled “Protect your originals and review the result”Keep your original photographs available and maintain backups. Inspect processed previews and exported files at useful magnification: automatic processing still needs a photographer’s judgement.