Clipping path / alternative?

[Kalyori]

So at this stage my only solution is to change my workflow to this:

Shoot in JPG (or other format)
Open in Affinity Photo and apply levels, etc., touching up and the clipping path/mask, save as Affinity File
Drop Affinity File into Publisher

The only foreseeable issue I have with this is that the larger file size of Affinity Photo files will result in a PDF of around 150-250MBs instead of 40-50MBs.

Fortunately when I open in Affinity previous JPGs that have been cut out in Photoshop, I simply need to save it as an AF file and it will show correctly (cut out) in Publisher.