I’ve been a fan of OnOne products for awhile now. I did the review on V4 some time back and it nailed a 7/10. Plugin suite is a nice collection of tools in a single package. V5 is now available for order and the folks at OnOne have hooked readers up with a sweet deal. I’ll be getting hands on for a closer look at whats new in version 5 soon, but for now here’s some details.
The sale is for $200 off the complete suite. That’s over 30% off, making it $399. It ends Dec 5th 2009 however. Here’s the direct link, or you can just use coupon code PPS200 at checkout.
If you found this post after the sale ends you can still use code PRPHTPC for 15% off. You can also check for other specials over the the PPS Deals page. Have fun… Gav
Resize images using Genuine Fractals 6.
Remove unwanted backgrounds with Mask Pro 4.
Color correct photos with PhotoTune 3.
Put the focus where you want with FocalPoint 2.
Get the professional look with PhotoTools 2.5.
Add the perfect finishing touch with PhotoFrame 4.5.
by Gavin Seim: Adobe is taking things up a notch once again. Lightroom 3 will bring lots of revamped and new features that should keep it’s current user base happy and continue to bring Lightroom converts into their fold.
Export HD video sideshows with music.
Yep, it just went into public beta and is available for everyone as a free download that stays active until April of 2010, so presumably the retail version will be out near then. The beta does not support upgrading of LR2 catalogs however. Obviously the final version will, but for now it’s still in the feedback stage so you’ll have to make a fresh catalog to use it.
Lightroom 3 will bring major architecture changes under the hood to help speed things up and run faster, but also a host of new features and perhaps even more when the final version ships. Here’s a few quick and dirty screenshots, musings and details on whats new.
Images stuffed into mat pages, then an album covers is becoming less and less attractive to clients. If you’re designing wedding, event, or portrait albums you’ve probably played with making layouts in Photoshop or another program to then have printed as flush mount albums like Kiss or Asa Books, You might have also used press books like the ones from WHCC. Once you have a good design there’s loads of choices, but it’s the design that’s the challenge.
As many people know the service and support of Adobe has gone in the toilet in recent times and while they need some competition to slap them back on track, their software is still great. Today I want to talk about In Design CS4 and how it relates to album deisgn. I’ve tried various tools for album design, some of which worked really well. When it comes to crunch time however, I’m finding In Design is the king.
I learned the basics about using ID for albums from a video that Kevin Swan made. And now gives free on the Kiss books site. Not required but it was sure a great crash course and I use it often to hone up my knowledge. The bottom line is that it’s fast, easy and powerful. Once you get the hang of it.
In Design was not actually designed for photographers to make albums. Rather it’s the industry standard for designers doing layouts on magazines and other published material. It turns out however that it works a treat for doing albums. Bear in mind it’s not a photo editor. What ID rocks at, is laying out pages and doing it fast.
I cringe when I think of doing individual pages in Photoshop. It’s not a page design tool and it’s tedious to do layouts with. What I love about ID is that the entire project is contained in a single file. All images on the pages are referenced to the original files on your computer similar to when one makes a web page. You can edit and change you design in one place and when it’s finished just export the final file as a PDF of JPEG’s. Kinda like the way we use Lightroom.
The Pro Photo Show Christmas/Winter contest is here. There’s a load of great prizes we’re giving away from a bunch of sponsors including Adobe, OnOne, Kubota Image Tools, B&H Photo Video, Lensbabies, Rick Sammon, Seim Effects.
You must enter by January 1st. What more can I say. All you have to do is enter and it only takes a moment. For prizes, details and rules just hop over to the entry page. Good luck, Gavin
Adobe Photoshop CS4 & Bridge CS4 Pro Photo Show rating, 7.5/10 Links throughout the review will take you to video’s that show features in action.
The Hot:
The new adjustment panel puts you in control and makes adjustment layers a whole new animal. You can add an adjustment layer then edit it in real time from the adjustments panel (think Lightroom or Aperture panels) I’ve added screenshots below.
Content Aware Scale allows you to change the aspect ratio of an image. It’s amazing, and I find myself using it all the time (far more than I expected). For example, I can convert an image from and 8×12 to and 8×10 format without cropping off the edges. While it’s not perfect, it does work well on most images
The interface still looks similar, but new integration and panel styling makes things a bit tidier.
New 3d manipulation features. I can’t offer much personal experience in the world of 3D, but the 3D engine has been totally revamped.
