ACE Photo Studio v1.1.1

ACE Photo Studio is a macOS Electron desktop app for DJI DNG bracket workflows:

1. Import single photos/folders or HDR RAW folders.
2. Detect 3-shot or 5-shot bracket groups.
3. Merge each valid bracket set into a 16-bit TIFF master.
4. Load merged TIFFs into the editor.
5. Apply cleanup adjustments/presets.
6. Export final JPEGs.

Current focus areas:

• merge correctness and workflow safety
• practical editor workflow quality
• ongoing Lightroom-like pro-app polish direction in the UI

This README is implementation-aligned with the current codebase (not aspirational behavior).

Install on macOS

1. Choose the correct DMG for your Mac:
   • Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3): arm64
   • Intel Mac: x64
2. Open the DMG and drag ACE Photo Studio into Applications.
3. Open Applications and launch ACE Photo Studio.

If macOS says the app cannot be verified

1. Try opening the app once from Applications.
2. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security.
3. Scroll to the security message for ACE Photo Studio and click Open Anyway.
4. Confirm the follow-up prompt to open the app.
5. Optional: right-click the app in Applications and choose Open.

Current Feature Set

• Top-bar workflow:
  • Import menu (Add Photos..., Add Folder..., Add HDR Folder...)
  • single Export button that opens Export Settings
• Photo library import (buttons + drag/drop)
• DJI DNG pipeline checks before RAW-heavy workflows
• Batch HDR merge queue with:
  • bracket detection
  • queue progress/error reporting
  • cancel (safe stop after current write)
  • retry failed sets only
• Merged HDR master validation:
  • merged outputs validated as 16-bit TIFF
• Editor controls:
  • library + preview + adjustments workflow
  • split/slider compare
  • fit/zoom/rotate controls in preview toolbar
  • top-row adaptive presets (Natural, Real Estate, Punchy, Soft)
  • PICK PRESET dropdown with user preset save/load/delete
  • auto fix workflow
  • luminance histogram panel
  • luminance-only Tone Curve (point curve v1, reset, histogram backdrop)
  • per-photo adjustments
• Export (modal-based normal flow):
  • Export Settings scopes: Current Preview, Current Selection, All Loaded Photos
  • output-folder-first export flow (normal path)
  • Current Preview uses folder-based export in normal flow (no per-file Save dialog when output folder is set)
  • ACE-styled Export Complete result modal
  • strict-named merged-HDR JPEG export via Batch HDR Export
• HDR queue completion:
  • ACE-styled HDR Merge Complete result modal
• Recent usability polish:
  • cleaner Batch HDR area/queue readability
  • right Adjustments panel scroll behavior for longer control stacks
  • 90/270 rotation path keeps geometry stable
  • large-batch library insertion now yields between chunks and defers unnecessary full thumbnail hydration
• Validation coverage:
  • merge isolation test
  • bracket grouping test
  • sample HDR workflow validation
  • editor regression test suite (tests/validate-editor-regressions.js)

Lens Correction Status (Current)

• For DJI Mavic 3 DNGs, manual/profile lens correction is active in both contexts when camera detection matches:
  • hdr-merge-source (batch/manual HDR merge inputs)
  • single-import (normal imported RAW photos)
• Safe disable override is available:
  • ACE_DISABLE_DJI_M3_LENS_CORRECTION_PREMERGE=1
• Embedded-opcode correction is probed, but is not the active production path in the current helper stack.
• Current production path is DJI Mavic 3 manual/profile correction with neutral fallback when not applicable.

Architecture At A Glance

• Renderer/editor responsibilities are partially split:
  • renderer.js: UI orchestration/wiring and editor flow integration
  • preview-pipeline.js: preview processing path helpers
  • histogram.js: histogram rendering helpers
  • auto-fix.js: Auto Fix estimation helpers
  • renderer-state.js: renderer state creation/aliasing helpers
  • editor-regression-core.js: shared editor logic used by regression checks
• preload.js: secure bridge exposing explicit aceApi IPC methods/events
• Main process responsibilities are beginning to split:
  • main.js: app bootstrap, queue orchestration, normalization, menu/wiring
  • presets-ipc.js: cleanup preset IPC handlers
  • exports-ipc.js: export-related IPC handlers
• raw-service.js: RAW -> TIFF conversion and preview JPEG generation
• hdr-service.js: per-set merge orchestration and worker launch
• merge-worker.js: alignment/fusion/HDR helper execution, set-isolation checks, final TIFF validation
• bracket-detector.js + file-grouping.js: bracket grouping/partitioning/validation

See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for flow-level detail.

Primary Workflows

1) Standard Photo Cleanup

1. Add photos/folder.
2. Main process normalizes inputs (RAW files become preview-backed working assets).
3. Edit in renderer preview.
4. Use top-bar Export -> Export Settings (Current Preview / Current Selection / All Loaded Photos) -> export JPEGs.

2) Batch HDR Merge (DJI DNG)

1. Add HDR folder.
2. Detect bracket groups.
3. Start merge queue.
4. Merge outputs are validated as 16-bit TIFF masters.
5. Completed merged TIFFs are loaded into library with HDR metadata.
6. Review ACE-styled HDR merge completion modal, then edit/export as JPEG.

Setup / Run / Test

npm install
npm start

Validation scripts:

npm run test:editor-regressions
npm run test:bracket-grouping
npm run test:merge-isolation
npm run test:hdr-samples

Packaging / helper checks:

npm run stage:helpers
npm run verify:helpers
npm run pack
npm run dist

Documentation Map

• docs/USER_QUICK_START.md
• docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
• docs/IPC_CONTRACT.md
• docs/PRESETS_AND_AUTOFIX.md
• docs/OUTPUT_NAMING_AND_FILE_RULES.md
• docs/RELEASE_GATE_CHECKLIST.md
• docs/QA_BASELINE_2026-03-13.md

Current Limitations / Known Status

• Some interactive release-gate behaviors still rely on manual human verification (compare interaction, visual parity checks, full UI sweep).
• Embedded DNG opcode correction is not the reliable active production path in the current helper stack.
• DJI Mavic 3 manual/profile correction is the active path for both merge-source and single-import contexts.
• Preview quality/performance tuning is ongoing and should continue to be validated with hdr-set-2 and hdr-set-5.