Pairing RAW and JPG files in Capture One

When importing images or shooting tethered, Capture One offers the option to Pair RAWs and JPGs. This setting can be helpful if you shoot in both formats and want to keep your workflow organised.

What does “Pair RAWs and JPGs” do?

Enabling this option ensures that corresponding RAW and JPG files share the same filename (with only the extension differing). This becomes particularly useful when renaming files during import or shooting tethered — for example, if you apply a counter in the naming template.
Because of this, the option is located in the Naming section of the import dialog and in the Next Capture Naming tool in Tether tab.

Syncing metadata between RAW and JPG files

The pairing option on its own does not synchronize metadata such as ratings, color tags, or keywords between RAW and JPGs. However, you can leverage Capture One’s support for XMP sidecar files to achieve this.

Suggested workflow:

1. Work on JPGs first

   • Hide the RAW files in your browser.

   • Apply ratings, color tags, and keywords to your JPGs.

2. Sync metadata to XMP files

   • Select all JPGs.

   • Go to Image > Sync Metadata.

   • Capture One will create XMP sidecar files for each JPG.

   • If you used Pair RAWs and JPGs during import, the RAW, JPG, and XMP files will now all share the same base filename. This allows Capture One to interpret the XMP as belonging to both the RAW and the JPG.

3. Load metadata into RAWs

   • Hide the JPGs and select the RAW files.

   • Choose Image > Load Metadata.

   • Capture One will read the XMP files and apply the ratings, color tags, and keywords to the RAWs.

Automatic syncing (with caution)

In Preferences, Capture One provides an option to automatically sync XMP sidecar files. While convenient, this can come with a performance cost — as described in our documentation on metadata in XMP files.