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Try before you buy. Download any Adobe product for a free 30 day trial.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Released - Free Trial Download
Adobe today announced the immediate availability of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 software, the photographer's essential toolbox for managing, adjusting and presenting large volumes of digital photographs. With new enhancements such as dual-monitor support, radical advances in non-destructive localized image correction, and streamlined search capabilities, Photoshop Lightroom 2 is a compelling upgrade that simplifies photography from shoot to finish.
As Adobe’s first application to support 64-bit for Mac OS X 10.5 Macintosh computers with Intel processors and Microsoft Windows Vista 64-bit operating systems, Lightroom 2 also provides improved memory performance for dealing with large scale images.
Photoshop Lightroom 2: Smarter, Faster and More Accurate
The enhanced Library module in Lightroom 2 helps streamline and accelerate photographers’ workflows. With the ability to visually organize images across multiple hard drives, Lightroom 2 and its powerful Library Filter Bar makes it easy for users to quickly find the images they need.
The Suggested Keywords feature helps photographers keyword their images by making intelligent suggestions based on their own previous efforts. New dual-monitor support allows users to expand their workspace, giving them flexibility to edit and organize images in a way that maximizes an additional display.
In the Develop module, the new Local Adjustment Brush lets photographers fine-tune specific areas of an image to precisely adjust color, exposure and tonal range without affecting other areas of the image.
The new Graduated Filter expands the toolbox in Lightroom, allowing for edits to larger areas by applying gradually diminishing or increasing adjustment effects such as exposure, clarity, and saturation, alone, or in any combination.
Lightroom 2 also helps photographers print more efficiently by quickly arranging photos of multiple sizes on one or many pages with flexible and customizable templates to maximize paper and ink.
Ground-Breaking Innovation in Raw Technology
New raw technology gives photographers access to flexible camera profiles. Camera profiles are the visual starting point for the raw processing workflow, but image preferences vary for every photographer. To minimize surprises, Adobe is supplying default camera profiles that closely emulate the visual looks that photographers are used to seeing from their favorite camera, while also providing the ability to create highly customized profiles to suit different tastes.
Pricing and Availability
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 is available now through the Adobe Store in English, French and German with the Japanese language version planned to be released at a future date. The estimated street price is USD$299 for new users with an upgrade price of USD$99 for registered users of qualifying Lightroom customers.
Recommended system requirements are Macintosh OSX 10.4, 10.5 1 GHz PowerPC G4 or G5 or Intel based processor, or Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise, Intel Pentium 4 processor, 1 GB RAM and a 1024x768 resolution screen.
Try Before You Buy - Photoshop Lightroom 2 Free Trial
Try before you buy. Visit the Adobe site to download a free 30 day Photoshop Lightroom trial free download.
Photoshop Photo Retouching E-book - Free Sample Tutorials
Gry Garness, the author of Digital Retouching For Fashion, Beauty And Portrait Photography, a new 190 page e-book on retouching and post-production, has kindly offered us an exclusive free PDF that highlights some of the tutorials from her book. The Free Retouching Sample Tutorial PDF is 1.5 MB. Here's an intro to what you'll find:
RESHAPING FEATURES
This sample tutorial demonstrates step-by-step how you can subtly reshape features using a Warp graft and a bit of clever shading, while maintaining top image quality for those hi-res print images. The tutorial also uses Smart Objects and Refine Edge; both are features which have emerged in the last two versions of Photoshop. You’ll never use the Liquify again!
THREE
COLOR WORKFLOWS
Here are three examples of color workflows using adjustment layers. The book is full of step-by-step tutorials. These workflows are examples where the different approaches and many smaller steps come together to give rich dynamic color. The possibilities and limitations of color adjustment is carefully considered, and the image quality should always be our top concern. These examples are pretty straightforward, with no special effects. They reflect how we work with ‘normal’ images – first a global correction, then a few local corrections – all on adjustment layers, so that the adjustments are totally editable, and available for blending modes and masking.
Gry Garness says:
These days, many magazine covers are starting to look more like paintings or photographic illustrations, rather than photographic images. Of course there’s a place for photo-illustration and airbrushed painterly images – but much of the heavy-handed retouching in evidence around us is unintentional and simply caused by lack of skill. Over-retouching is the biggest mistake I see when I teach beauty retouching courses.
Many people underestimate the amount of skill that goes into retouching – not to mention the patience that goes into it. Many people come to me wanting to learn the ‘one killer trick’ but I have to say I’m sorry – there just isn’t one single killer trick that fixes everything! I believe in gaining a wide repertoire of skills and solutions. It’s the many small and subtle steps that come together to culminate in a successful retouching result. My book is not about producing one particular retouching aesthetic. It’s about finding solutions that suit each particular subject, without leaving obvious evidence of retouching.
Learn more about Digital Retouching For Fashion, Beauty And Portrait Photography.
Download the free Photo Retouching Sample Tutorial PDF.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 For Only $49.99 - Best Price
There's a new even better crazy super deal at Amazon.com right now on Photoshop Elements 6 for Windows. You can purchase it for $49.99 by using their rebate coupon. The regular price for this software is $99.99. Here's the link to the Photoshop Elements 6 super special best price deal. You'll see a link to the coupon under the already discounted price.
Try before you buy. Visit the Adobe site to download a free 30 day Photoshop Elements trial free download.
Adobe has a special area called Creative Suite Trials, with a message that says in part: "To evaluate Adobe's creative software, we are offering fully functional 30-day trials of all Adobe products and editions.
"There are two ways to get a trial: by downloading a trial or by ordering a trial DVD set. When the trial expires, you must purchase the software to continue using it. Our new trial process enables you to evaluate a product and then convert the installed trial to an unrestricted version by purchasing it and entering a serial number.
Visit the Adobe site to download a free 30 day Photoshop Elements trial free download.
Clouds Volume 2 Photoshop Brushes - Free Photoshop Brushes
Here's Stephanie with her latest Photoshop brushes, Clouds Volume 2 Photoshop Brushes.
My first Clouds Photoshop Brushes set remains one of my more popular sets. I’d been meaning to make a new, high resolution set for a while now, but was working on perfecting the technique. In my first set, you’ll notice that not all of the “wispy” edges are necessarily visible around the corners of the brushes. Now, that’s fine if you’re using them small (like the first set was), but not so great for high resolution.
I finally figured it out, and so I now present to you my Clouds II Photoshop Brushes set. Wispy edges and all. These are some of the most realistic looking clouds brushes I’ve ever been able to produce, so I hope you all can find some use for them and enjoy them!
You’ll notice that this set has no brushes that would work for mist like the first did, they’re all pretty hefty clouds. That’s because I’m working on a separate mist brush set, which should be ready in a few weeks! Go Now to the Downloads Page!
Want More Free Photoshop Brushes?
We've collected the most recent of Stephanie's original brushes on a special Obsidian Dawn Photoshop Brushes Page, with big preview images to give you an idea of each set. For her high resolution brushes, you can find a special collection on our high res brush page. Also see our Free Photoshop brushes Page for other places to find brushes.
Forensic Photoshop Tutorial - Correcting Color Shifts
Jim Hoerricks' site, Forensic Photoshop, contains a wide assortment of interesting posts and tutorials that deal with using Photoshop for forensic work. Jim has also written a book, Forensic Photoshop. Here is a new Photoshop CS3 tutorial from him.
Unwanted Color Shifts
Sometimes, the changes that we make to light introduce unwanted colour shifts.
This week at NATIA, we looked at a simple way to stop this from happening using blending modes.
Finding and setting the black and white points on this image proved to be a little challenging. But, we found values that worked using a Threshold adjustment layer. We cancelled the adjustment once we set our points (using the Shift key).
A Curves adjustment was easy once our Black and White points were chosen in the image and the values were set in the dialog box. With this image, there is a bit of a hazy cast that we wanted to get rid of. But, once we set our values - the colours shifted. Not wanting this effect, we needed a way to just affect the light (tone).
We set our blending mode to Luminosity, thus limiting our changes to the tonality of the image and leaving colour unchanged. With that, the haze was gone.
(reprinted with permission - see more forensic tutorials)
onOne Photoshop Plug-In Suite 4 - Exclusive $100 Instant Discount Coupon Code
onOne Software has created an exclusive super discount coupon code— PSPPTPLGN4 — that will get you an instant $100 discount on the full version of Plug-In Suite 4. You can read more about Plug-In Suite 4 at the onOne Software site. This is a limited time offer that will end on August 5th, 2008. The full version price is $499.95, but by applying the special discount code you only pay $399.95.
onOne Software's Plug-In Suite 4 combines full versions of six essential software tools — Genuine Fractals 5 Print Pro, PhotoTools 1.0 Professional Edition, PhotoFrame 3.1 Professional Edition, Mask Pro 4.1, PhotoTune 2.2 and FocalPoint 1.0 — an affordable combination that includes everything a photographer needs to make their images look their best.
(Enter discount coupon code PSSPPT06 during the checkout process at onOne Software for an instant 10% discount on all other onOne Software products. This is a special offer exclusively for PhotoshopSupport.com visitors.)
The onOne Software Plug-In Suite 4 for Photoshop CS2 and CS3 is the latest upgrade to the award winning Plug-In Suite product line that combines several of onOne Software's individual Photoshop plug-ins into a highly affordable package. Plug-In Suite 4 includes full versions of the following onOne Software products:
Genuine Fractals 5 Print Pro
Genuine Fractals 5 Print Pro can resize digital images over 1,000% with no loss of detail or sharpness. It allows poster-sized prints to be made from almost any image.
PhotoTools 1.0 Professional Edition
PhotoTools 1.0 Professional Edition is a flexible yet powerful Photoshop plug-in that utilizes the power of Photoshop Actions to provide a complete library of effects created by Kevin Kubota and Jack Davis. These effects may be previewed, stacked and blended together just like filters over a camera lens to improve creativity. Its built-in batch processing engine improves photographers productivity.
PhotoFrame 3.1 Professional Edition
PhotoFrame 3.1 Professional Edition can be used to create stunning border and edge effects right out of the darkroom. Select from thousands of edges, including authentic film and artistic mediums.
Mask Pro 4.1
Mask Pro 4.1 can easily create high-quality masks and selections even from tough subjects like hair and glass, making it easy to place a subject in a new background.
PhotoTune 2.2
PhotoTune 2.2 is a plug-in that provides professional quality color correction in an easy to use plug-in.
FocalPoint 1.0
FocalPoint 1.0 is a new plug-in that simulates selective focus or tilt-shift lenses, helping photographers selectively blur and/or vignette an image to focus the viewers attention.
The new Plug-In Suite 4 is available to new users for $499.95 — a savings of $799.75 if purchased separately. Existing users of Plug-in Suite version 1, 2 or 3 can upgrade to Plug-In Suite 4 for only $199.95. Customers who own any one or more of the products in Plug-In Suite 4 will be able to upgrade as well.
Exclusive 10% Discount On All onOne Products
Enter discount coupon code PSSPPT06 during the checkout process at onOne Software for an instant 10% discount on all other onOne Software products. This is a special offer exclusively for PhotoshopSupport.com visitors. Below are summaries and reviews for Genuine Fractals, Mask Pro, PhotoTools & PhotoTools Professional Edition, PhotoFrame Pro, Nik Sharpener, and The Photoshop Plugin Suite.
Akvis Magnifier - Standalone Software For Increasing Image Resolution
AKVIS Magnifier allows resizing images without noticeable loss in quality. If you attempt to blow up a picture (increase its resolution) using the standard Resize command of a photo editor, you will notice that the resulting photo is blurred and pixelated. The reason is that the input photo didn't contain enough information for the new size. AKVIS Magnifier will cope with this problem and deliver good results.
Featuring advanced enlrgement algorithms, Magnifier enlarges digital pictures to super-high resolution for producing stunning poster-size prints. The algorithm keeps edges smooth, sharp and clearly defined, while improving image appearance by removing unwanted noise and compression artifacts. Resizing pictures with AKVIS Magnifier yields a much higher quality than simple bicubic interpolation. Depending on particular needs, AKVIS Magnifier can be fine-tuned to produce images that look exactly as required for a given purpose.
The software allows enlarging an image to a super-high resolution of up to 30000x30000 pixels, making a 100x100 inch (2.5x2.5 meter) poster easily printable at typographic quality of 300dpi.
Whether creating poster-size images or adding resolution for a better printing quality, AKVIS Magnifier will make your enlarged image look crisp and clear. AKVIS Magnifier is a standalone program. In the future it is planned to release a plug-in version of AKVIS Magnifier, compatible with the most popular photo editors and supporting the "automate" function (the possibility to include third party modules for task automation, process adjustment, creation of special effects, etc). You can use the software 10 days free of charge.
Photoshop High Dynamic Range - HDR - Training Video
Colin Smith of PhotoshopCafe has released a new DVD - HDR and Photoshop CS3 Training, which features 2 1/2 hours of quality HDR and Photoshop CS3 Training and is priced at $49.99. Here's the promo material:
Have youever looked at a stunning HDR image and wondered, “how did they do that?” Wonder no more! This video will serve as your easy to follow and informative guide to the world of HDR. You will be getting results better than you dreamed of with maximum ease. Colin explains in Plain-English all you need to get going in HDR.
When used correctly the 32 bit tools in Photoshop will enable you to create drop-dead gorgeous images with effortless ease. You will also learn some clever tricks that will enable you to boost the dynamic punch of Low Dynamic images. You’ll be able to supercharge any image with this bag of tricks in your arsenal.
HDR (High Dynamic Range) is not just a trend. It’s the future of Photography. Get a jump start on the newest Photographic technology with this 2.5 hour guide and learn why as well as how! HDR and Photoshop CS3 Training - $49.99 - (DVD set)
PhotographyBB Online Magazine - July PDF Download
PhotographyBB announced today the release of the sixth edition of the PhotographyBB Online Magazine.
Editor in Chief, Dave Seeram has these comments regarding this recent release: "We've made it to our six month milestone, and this issue is by far our best to date. Throughout our relatively short journey we've managed to grow in content as well as readership. We've grown from publishing single tutorial issues, to our recent issue which features tutorials not only for photographic techniques, but tutorials for Adobe Photoshop, Element, Dreamweaver, and Lightroom.
"This month we look at landscape and panoramic photography, the classic art of black & white photography, a photographic trip to Australia, and a handful of extremely useful tutorials. We also have a continuing series on the recently popular High Dynamic Range (HDR) photographic techniques. The contributing authors of all these articles have gone out of their way to do a superb job, and I thank them all for their efforts."
By way of download in either PDF or ZIP formats, PhotographyBB continues its trend through the future of free downloadable magazine distribution. In a completely ad-free format, each issue contains informative and educational tutorials for amateur and intermediate level photographers.
In addition to articles which aide beginners in getting the most from their DSLR cameras, the PhotographyBB Online Magazine also features useful and applicable tutorials on how to use post-processing tools such as Photoshop, Elements, and more, to build on digital photography post-processing skills.
PhotographyBB Online Magazine is available for free download through the PhotographyBB Website.
Photoshop Plugin Reviews From Jay Nelson - July 2008
Here are the latest Photoshop Plugin Reviews by Jay Nelson, the editor-in-chief of Design Tools Monthly.
Software - Mystical Painter Bundle
Through August 31, get Corel Painter X, Auto FX Mystical Tint Tone and Color, Auto FX Mystical Lighting, and training videos for just $349 (reg. $900).
Plug-in - Reduce Noise & Grain
Kodak's Professional GEM 2.1 ($100) is a plug-in for Photoshop that removes visual noise from scans and digital photos. It's effective on the noisiest images, but many photographers also use it to remove noise from their high-quality images. The website has a free set of Photoshop actions that we found produces a better result than we could achieve manually. It's also useful for removing JPEG compression artifacts, and line screening patterns from flatbed scanners. You can download a free trial to try on your own images.
Software - Liquid Resize Preview
onOne Software's Liquid Resize uses a new technology that can stretch an image while not distorting important items. You paint a mask over the items you want to protect, and then Liquid Resize changes the proportions of the image while maintaining the aspect ratio of those elements. The company is making a prerelease standalone version available for free; the final product will be a plug-in for Photoshop. Get it now at www.ononesoftware.com.
(Enter our exclusive discount coupon code - PSSPPT06 - during the checkout process at onOne Software for an instant 10% discount on all onOne products.)
Plug-in - SiteGrinder: Web Pages from Photoshop Layers
Media Lab's SiteGrinder 2 ($129 Basic or $349 Pro) is now compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. SiteGrinder lets you build instantly-usable CSS-based Web pages from objects on Photoshop layers. SiteGrinder converts the layers in a Photoshop document into objects on a Web page, with rollovers and pop-ups attached if desired. All you do is name your layers appropriately ("rollover", "menu", etc.) and SiteGrinder does the rest. You can use it to create Web pages from an entire Photoshop document, or from individual layers. In addition, hyperlinks can be added to the live text from within Photoshop, and Type layers can be converted into styled CSS text. You can create forms, apply background tiles, create automated photo galleries, and add Flash, animated GIF, MP3 music, and QuickTime & Windows video.
Plug-in - Instant Color & Light Fix
Kodak's Professional ROC 2.1 and Professional SHO 2.1 ($100 each) are plug-ins for Photoshop that automatically restore color and light balance to images. ROC restores and balances color, and is great for old, faded photos or photos taken under fluorescent or tungsten lighting conditions. SHO optimizes contrast and exposure and brings out detail in shadow areas, significantly improving photos suffering from poor flash or backlighting. These plug-ins were developed by Applied Science Fiction, famous for its "Digital ICE" technology used by scanners to remove dust, grain, cracks, scratches and wrinkles while scanning.
Photoshop Webpage Creation Plug-in SiteGrinder 2 Updated With New Features
Media Lab today announced a bevy of new features and enhancements to its award-winning product, SiteGrinder 2, the powerful and easy-to-use plug-in for Adobe Photoshop that lets designers, artists, or those with no web coding expertise generate superior webpages directly from within Photoshop.
SiteGrinder 2 lets users effortlessly convert their Photoshop designs into CSS-rich, standards-compliant webpages inside Photoshop with just a click of the mouse. New SiteGrinder 2 features include 100% compatibility with Apple's latest operating system, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard; Macintosh Universal compatibility (PowerPC and Intel processors); full Microsoft Vista compatibility; dramatically improved support for JPEG metadata; much more powerful and robust pop-up menus; and enhanced support for non-English language character sets.
SiteGrinder 2 allows users to focus exclusively on their webpage designs without the having to write a single line of Web code. Moreover, SiteGrinder 2 provides all the tools a professional graphics designer, photographer, or web engineer needs to generate superior, compelling interactive web experiences, including the ability to build automated photo galleries, Flash slideshows, CSS-driven menus, and much more. Pages generated by SiteGrinder 2 retain the exact look and layout of the parent Photoshop file from which they were created.
"We're very excited to be bringing these new enhancements and features to SiteGrinder 2 and our customers around the world," said Thomas Summerall, co-founder and President of Media Lab, Inc. "SiteGrinder 2 puts extremely powerful and easy-to-use webpage creation capabilities in the hands of our customers, letting them focus exclusively on their designs rather than on confusing webpage code. SiteGrinder 2 lets customers take ownership of their websites like never before, and at an extremely reasonable price point."
Priced at US$349.00 for SiteGrinder 2 Pro and US$129.00 for SiteGrinder 2 Basic, both are available directly from the Media Lab website.
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download.
On the PC, SiteGrinder 2 is compatible with Windows 95 and later, including Microsoft Vista, and requires Photoshop 6 or greater, Photoshop CS3, or Photoshop Elements 3, 4, 5, or 6. On the Macintosh, SiteGrinder 2 is compatible with Mac OS X 10.1 or greater, Photoshop 7 or greater, Photoshop CS3 on Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs (Mac OS X 10.5 or greater required for use on Intel-based Macs), or Photoshop Elements 3 or greater.
Photoshop CS3 Upgrade Options And Bundles From The Adobe Store
Photoshop CS3 Extended is ideal for film, video, and multimedia pros and for graphic and web designers using 3D and motion. Get the full version for US $999, or upgrade for US $349. The standard version of Photoshop CS3 is available for US $649, or as an upgrade for US $199. See all upgrade options at the Adobe Store. See our CS3 Resource Center for free Photoshop CS3 tutorials.
Photoshop Extended is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium, which combines all-new CS3 versions of Photoshop, Flash Pro, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat 8 Pro. Upgrade options for customers in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Asia can be found at the Adobe International Store.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Available At The Adobe Store
There are tons of new features in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. From Clone and Healing functionality to metadata browsing, you'll be able to free-up post-processing time like never before. Get it now at the Adobe Store. For more info see our Lightroom Resource Center. If you are a student or teacher you'll find super savings at the Adobe Education Store.
A Thank You To Our Friends, Partners & Sponsors!
We'd like to thank our friends, partners and sponsors: Adobe, Google, Hostway, Apple, Total Training, Peachpit Press, O'Reilly Media, Janita, Wiley Publishing, Creativepro.com, CreativeBits, Heathrowe, Smashing Magazine, The Photoshop Roadmap, Power Retouche Plugins, Wacom, Vertus Fluid Mask, Template Monster, onOne Software, Brusheezy, AV Bros. Plugins, Obsidian Dawn, BittBox, Sue Chastain, Mark Galer, and AutoFX.
