Listening to Photographers and Building What Comes Next

Every improvement we make to ON1 Photo RAW starts with photographers. By listening, observing, and acting on feedback, we build tools you can trust in your everyday photography workflow.

At ON1, we believe the best ideas do not come from a conference room. They come from photographers.

They come from the professional trying to get through a client gallery faster. From the hobbyist who wants powerful tools without a steep learning curve. From the longtime customer who has trusted us for years and is honest enough to tell us where we can do better. They come from people who rely on their photos to deliver for clients, build a portfolio, or preserve something that matters.

That is a big part of my role at ON1.

My name is Nathan Keudell, and I serve as the Senior Product Marketing Manager at ON1. A core part of what I do is represent the voice of the customer internally. I spend my time listening to photographers, understanding their needs, identifying patterns in their feedback, and working closely with our product and development teams to help shape our future roadmap. That work is not separate from innovation. It’s how we build with a purpose and deliver photo editing software tools photographers can rely on.

Over the past year, we have made a deeper commitment to meeting photographers where they are and involving them earlier in the process. That means more one-on-one interviews, more web-based surveys, more small group meetups, more roundtable discussions, and more in-person usability sessions where we can observe how people actually work. We are not just asking what photographers want. We are seeing where workflows break down, where time is lost, where tools feel unclear, where they hesitate, , and what matters most in a photo editing workflow. These moments reveal more than a survey alone.

In March 2026 we held a usability session with local photographers to understand key pain points in the workflow. We were blown away, some users drove over 4 hours to attend this session. Those conversations have been incredibly valuable.

Some of the clearest themes we continue to hear are around raw processing improvements, performance and stability, and ease of use. Photographers want software that consistently delivers results they can trust. They want great image quality. They want speed and consistency. They want powerful tools, but they also want a workflow that feels intuitive and approachable. These priorities directly shape how we develop ON1 Photo RAW, from core performance improvements to new AI-drive capabilities. These are not side conversations for us. They are central to how we think about the future of ON1.

That is why customer feedback is not something we collect and set aside. It is something we act on.

That can mean validating new ideas through surveys, sharing early concepts with customers, or looking over the shoulder of photographers as they edit to see where things break down… And sometimes it means hearing the same feedback over and over again until it becomes clear that it needs to move higher on the priority list. That consistency in feedback is often what drives our most important product decisions. It’s also where frustrations turn into opportunities for improvement.

This kind of work helps us make better decisions. It helps us avoid developing tools based on assumptions and focus on what actually improves the ON1 editing experience. . It also keeps us grounded. We are not building for an abstract user. We are building for photographers withdeadlines, and creative goals.

That is also why you will continue to see us show more of our work earlier, talk more openly about where we are headed, and create more opportunities for photographers to participate in the process. We want feedback before a release, not just after. We want to test assumptions. We want to learn sooner. And we want the photographers who use ON1 to know that their voices genuinely help shape what comes next. That level of transparency is a key part of how we’ve built and are continuing to build trust over time.

The events and meetings we have been holding are a reflection of that mindset. Whether it’s a one-on-one conversation, a virtual feedback session, a local meetup, a roundtable discussion, or full usability testing. Every interaction helps us better understand the needs of how photographers work. These insights directly influence how we build and prioritize what comes next.. These are not just marketing activities. They are a core part of our product development process.

For me personally, one of the most rewarding parts of this role is being able to bring those insights back to our internal teams and advocate for the customer in the decisions we make. When photographers share what is working, where they are getting stuck, or what they wish existed, that feedback has a path inside ON1. It is heard. It is discussed. And it helps influence the direction of our products. Connecting customer insights to product execution is where innovation happens.

We know trust is earned over time. It comes from listening, improving, and following through. That is the standard we are working toward every day.

If you have participated in a survey, joined a meetup, submitted a feature request, taken part in a virtual conversation, or sat down with us for a usability session, thank you. Your feedback matters, and it is helping shape the future of ON1.

And if you are interested in providing feedback, whether in person or through a virtual meeting, I would love to hear from you. Please fill out this form.