Buy. Download. Create. Get Photoshop CS3 now at the Adobe Store.
Try before you buy. Download any Adobe product for a free 30 day trial.

The Photoshop Blog offers the latest Photoshop news and software updates, Photoshop tips and tutorials, and random thoughts from graphic artist and Photoshop expert Jennifer Apple.



The Plugin Site Releases ContrastMaster - Photoshop Plugin
August 07, 2008

The Plugin Site is proud to announce the release of ContrastMaster for Windows, a new product in the PhotoWiz series. ContrastMaster is a plugin for effective contrast enhancement as well as creating dramatic contrast looks, photorealistic paintings and HDR-like effects. It can turn low-contrast photos into vivid and detailed images and transforms ordinary photos into interesting and dynamic shots.

ContrastMaster works with dozens of graphics applications including Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop Elements, Photo-Paint, IrfanView and PhotoImpact under Windows. For accelerated rendering it supports hyperthreading as well as multiple processors and cores. ContrastMaster works with 8bit and 16bit RGB images.

Overview
ContrastMaster offers three local and four global contrast adjustment methods as well as various masking, saturation and brightness options. The three local adjustment methods allow you to dramatically improve contrast in small image details without blowing out highlights or damaging the image. You can apply these three methods separately or use various options to mix them together for even better results.

The four global methods (S/H-Contrast, Stretch, Equalize and Polarize) work on the tonal range of the image and help to improve the result even further. There is also an option for changing the brightness of the image. The masking options let you conveniently remove the ContrastMaster effect from an image area where you do not want to have it applied, e.g. skin areas, a blue sky or a wall. This can be done with the help of shadow/highlight and color masking options. Additionally, a saturation mask feature lets you improve saturation without oversaturating the image.

Sophisticated Algorithms
ContrastMaster offers three sophisticated methods for enhancing contrast in small image details. They are called Dynamic, Adaptive and Local. In fact, these three methods utilize five algorithms in total, because the dynamic and adaptive methods each use another algorithm for certain control settings. Each of these algorithms adjusts the contrast of image details in its own special way, which makes ContrastMaster useful for different types of images and allows you to produce a variety of effects and looks.

Each of the three methods lets you adjust the size of the image details that are affected, the effect intensity and the way the contrast is adjusted.

Additionally, the Dynamic Contrast methods lets you avoid artifacts or noise without lowering the effect intensity, the Adaptive Contrast methods automatically adjusts image details of different size at the same time, and the Local Contrast methods lets you independently increase and decrease the contrast in image details as well as influence the brightness character of the effect. Each of the three methods also offers special shadow/highlight adjustment options as part of the algorithm.

For Beginners as well as Experts
ContrastMaster offers six modes from the simple Novice mode to the sophisticated Expert Mode. Whereas Novice and Expert mode let you apply all contrast effects at the same time, the remaining four modes let you apply each of the three local effects and all the global effects individually. Moving the mouse over a control displays a detailed explanation in the Help box, so you don't need to read the manual before using ContrastMaster.

Each of the seven tab sheets offers a button menu with various local presets for quickly applying useful settings. Furthermore, there is a global preset feature that allows you to save and reuse useful settings later. Several global presets are already delivered with ContrastMaster. There is a FX Values check box on the Prefs tab for using strong instead of medium effect intensities as the defaults.

That way people who mainly want to produce special effects with ContrastMaster do not need to readjust sliders all of the time. ContrastMaster also lets you adjust up to three different effect settings at the same time and switch between them by using the Preview tab sheets, so you can experiment with different effect settings and conveniently compare them without leaving the ContrastMaster dialog.



Why ContrastMaster Is Different
There is no other tool available that offers as many methods for contrast adjustment as ContrastMaster. ContrastMaster is not only more effective at squeezing image details and contrast out of photos than most other tools, it also offers more options for fine-tuning and controlling image contrast than any other tool. Additionally, the Adaptive Contrast method is not available in any other software.

You can also use ContrastMaster to give a single photo the look of a HDR image while avoiding the overhead of HDR photography. With its masking options you often do not need to create selections or layer mask for selectively applying the ContrastMaster effect, which saves you a lot of time. ContrastMaster also offers special features that are not found in most other tools, e.g. spilt views, logged settings, 17 histogram types, own defaults, blown highlights detection, rendering time estimation, novice/expert modes, local presets and preview tab sheets.

Availability & System Requirements
ContrastMaster is available for Windows. A Macintosh version is planned for the end of the year. ContrastMaster sells at $69.95 (Regular License) or $39.95 (Academic/Educational License). It can be purchased at The Plugin Site. A demo version can be downloaded at the same URL.

posted by Jennifer Apple | permalink | RSS feed | bookmark | comment

SiteGrinder Photoshop Plugin - Create Websites Instantly

There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.

Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.

Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.

Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.

Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.

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

Adobe has 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. Visit the Adobe site to download a free 30 day Photoshop Lightroom trial free download.

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. Find the latest Lightroom 2 tutorials on our Photoshop Lightroom 2 Tutorials page.

Photoshop Masking Plugin Fluid Mask 3 - $15 Discount Special

The 4 1/2 out of 5 star review of Fluid Mask 3 at MacWorld begins by saying that this "Photoshop plug-in takes the pain out of extracting backgrounds," and goes on to recommend the latest version, stating that "Fluid Mask 3.0.2 is a very effective tool for separating objects from their backgrounds. It offers a variety of useful features for tackling almost any difficult image, from wispy hair to complex foliage. Online video tutorials and live training sessions help ease the learning curve."

Our friends at Vertus, the makers of Fluid Mask 3 Photoshop Plugin, have set up a special exclusive discount for PhotoshopSupport.com. Just follow this discount link and instantly get $15 off your purchase of Fluid Mask 3.

Fluid Mask 3 is designed for photographers, image editors, graphic designers and all those who take digital image editing seriously. In a streamlined interface and workflow, Fluid Mask 3 instantly shows key edges in the image and provides comprehensive easy to use tools that work with difficult-to-see edges and tricky areas like trees & lattices. Features include: