HDR Expose 2
Price: $149.00 US
Company: Unified Color
32 Float V2
Price: $99.00 US
Company: Unified Colour
HDR photography has made its mark in recent years among many photographers and enthusiasts. The technique has become very popular and many software producers offer solutions to create HDR images. I had the opportunity to review two products from Unified Color: HDR Expose 2 and 32 Float V2.
In 2012 Adobe released Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 and a new version of its Creative Suite 6 that included the new Adobe Photoshop CS6. If you bought either of those software packages, you may need some literature to learn or improve your skills. I review a list of books that may be useful. And I kept my favorite book for the end of this review.
Photoshop Elements 11
Company: Adobe
Price: $99.99 new, $79.99 upgrade brazzersxhamster
Every year Adobe updates its consumer line of products, which includes Photoshop Elements. Every time this happens you probably find yourself wondering if it is worth your money to upgrade or if you should stick with what you have. In the case of Elements 11, a lot depends on your expertise.
As the title of this article suggests, this review is geared towards the advanced user. In other words, someone who has Photoshop experience (Elements or full Photoshop). In this reviewers opinion, the more advanced user should save your money and pass on this update. Read on to find out why.
Adobe Photoshop CS6 review
Price:
Standard Edition: $699.00 US, upgrade $199.00 US
Extended Edition: $999.00 US, upgrade $399.00 US
Company: Adobe
In the spring of 2012, Adobe released Creative Suite 6, or the CS6 version of their content creation and editing software suite. Among the updates, the flagship Photoshop got a CS6 version as well. Is it worth upgrading or buying? Read on to see what’s new about Adobe Photoshop CS6.
Adobe Muse CS6 Creative Cloud subscription software enables designers to create websites without writing code.Click on the links below to listen to our informative two-part interview with the Muse Product Manager, Dani Beaumont. If you are taken to another page with each audio link, click on them in there, please. Thanks.
Nemo attends media event in San Jose, California. Photos with captions below. Interviews with Illustrator and InDesign CS6 Creative Suite product managers to follow.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4.0 Review
Price: $149 Full Version; $79 upgrade US
Company: Adobe
Adobe announced on March 6 the new Photoshop Lightroom 4.0. This version of Lightroom adds many new features. In this full review, we will explore the major ones.
Photo Transformer
Company: Prosoft Engineering
License: $9.99 (available only from the Mac App Store)
What if you have a large folder full of vacation photos you’d like to share with your family or friends. However, all your photos are on your hard drive at full resolution and some are in RAW or Photoshop format so the file sizes are huge.
What you really want is to keep all the originals organized in your own folders or in your iPhoto albums, but put together a small selection of the best photos reduced to a manageable size so they can be sent easily. That can be a big, fussy, time-consuming task. Now’s the time for Photo Transformer from Prosoft Engineering.
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Digital Photos from Concept to Completion – Learn By Video Workshop
Peachpit Press
US 34.99, CAN 36.99 – Shop online for better pricesISBN-13: 978-0-321-80956-8
This video workshop consists of four hours of instruction on selecting subjects for photography, shooting the pictures, and processing them with Adobe Photoshop. The tutorial is theoretically aimed at the beginner to intermediate level student, but you must take that with a grain of salt. If you’re not familiar with the use of Adobe Photoshop, you’ll quickly find yourself in the dark.
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CameraBag 2
NEVERCENTER LTD. CO.
Price: $24 to $29
CameraBag began as an iPhone app in 2008. It was wildly successful. 2009 saw the release of the desktop version for Mac and PC, again, very successful. In 2012 CameraBag 2, “a total rewrite” as the company describes, has been freshly released. If anyone was waiting for this software the wait was worth it.
CameraBag 2 is an ingenious photo editing program, offering a combination of cutting-edge filter technology with the clout of classic tools. Escalating the use of presets into a new dimension, Nevercenter has thought long and hard about the tools and presets photographers need in order to achieve almost boundless control over images at a price that is, in my opinion, a steal. What’s not to like with an interface as simple and elegant as this?
Understanding Adobe Photoshop CS5
By Richard Harrington
Peachpit Press
ISBN: 978-0-321-71426-8, 312 pages plus DVD
Price: $49.49
The book Understanding Adobe Photoshop CS5 is described by the author as a book for people who are beginner Photoshop CS5 users, and need a global understanding of the software. As written in the introduction, many Photoshop books are geared towards really basic Photoshop introduction, specific features (such as layers or working with image modes), or new features only. This book is billed as a learning tool for beginners, but it will get you to almost every aspect you need to understand for using Photoshop CS5.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Learn by Video
Presented by Tim Grey and Mikkel Aaland
Produced by video2brain http://www.video2brain.com
Peachpit Press
$64.99 US, $77.99
As a digital photographer I find I use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom almost as often as I use Adobe Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 is the current version and is a powerful software program for digital photographers. The advantages about using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 are the non-destructive editing features, cataloging and organizing images, slideshow and web gallery options, and the ability to print from the application. I recently reviewed Adobe Photoshop CS5 Learn by Video and was impressed with this well-produced series by video2brain. This handsomely packaged 10 hour instructional DVD and 120 page reference guide is all anyone needs to familiarize themselves with the application and achieve proficiency in a short amount of time.
Adobe Photoshop CS5 Learn by Video
Presented by Kelly McCathran, Scott Citron, and Ted LoCascio
Produced by video2brain
Peachpit Press
ISBN: 9780321719805
$59.99 US, $71.99 CN
Like many Photoshop users I upgrade to the current version when the need for the newest features becomes too tempting to ignore. The latest version of Adobe Photoshop is CS5. A bevy of extraordinary new improvements such as Content-Aware Fill, Camera Raw 6, Brushes, Puppet Warp, Refine Edge Dialog, amongst others, make this application a creative and more efficient way to process workflow.
A four minute interview with our newest writer, in which Suzé discusses digital photography, Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, iPhonongraphy, book reviews, and video reviews. We hope you like our new audio content. Thanks for listening.
Click on the link below:
As digital photography has rapidly increased in popularity in recent years, so have advanced photographic techniques such as High Dynamic Range Imaging, commonly known as HDR. Digital cameras are limited in the range of light intensity they can handle in a given scene. Situations with both very bright and dark areas will exceed the dynamic range capability of the camera sensor. This requires the photographer to decide whether to expose for the dark areas and blow out the light areas, or to expose for the light areas and lose detail in the dark sections of the image. In short, they have to make a compromise and choose to preserve detail in some areas of the photo, and allow it to be lost in other areas. HDR seeks to overcome this issue by allowing for a wide dynamic range within one photograph.
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Book review: Photoshop CS5 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide
By Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas
Publisher: Peachpit Press
Price: $34.99 with free shipping
This book is not a dictionary, although it works as a kind of operations lexicon for users of Photoshop CS5, and it offers readers a more exciting experience than a dictionary. The bright typography and compelling layout, coupled with the large number of images, illustrations, and screen shots, make for a book that invites browsing.
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Guest review by Suzé Gilbert
Book Review: The Photoshop CS5 Pocket Guide
By Brie Glyncild
Peachpit Press
$14.99 US, $17.99 CN
I recently upgraded to Photoshop CS5 and came across Brie Glyncild’s new book, The Photoshop CS5 Pocket Guide. The book’s 5” x 7” size makes it convenient to keep near the computer. This volume contains black and white photos and illustrations, and its chapters are interspersed with the author’s quick tips.
Brie Glyncild states “…that this is a pocket guide to Photoshop, not a photography primer,” and her description is apt. She begins with a simplistic and brief explanation of the tools and workspace. Subsequent chapters discuss resolution, layers, masks, resizing, tonal corrections, editing in RAW, painting, effects, preparing images for the web, printing, working in Bridge, and actions. A lot of information is in a very small book.
Photoshop.com Mobile
Company: Adobe Systems, Inc.
Price: Free.
http://mobile.photoshop.com/iphone/
IS IT PHOTOSHOP FOR THE IPHONE? NOT REALLY, BUT IT IS FREE!
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ArtText 2
Company: BeLight Software
Price: $39.95
http://www.belightsoft.com
Do you want a cool logo for your business card? or a fancy button for your website? but can’t afford the high end programs like Photoshop or Illustrator to create them? or maybe you don’t have the skills to make one from scratch If so ArtText 2 by BeLight Software allows you to do just that for a lot less money ($39.95).
ArtText allows you to make a logo, button for your website, funky text designs and more with a few clicks of the mouse. Once you have those parts of the design done you can apply numerous textures, patterns, and even make the design have a 3D look to it. the amount of materials you can apply to your design for a dimensional look is impressive. From glass to metal to “artistic” you’ll find something that works for you.
Just because the name implies a Text/Font program there are more than fonts in ArtText 2. If you don’t consider yourself artistic there are over 200 pre-made designs that you can start with. Pick a design, change the text or color or materials, save, and you’re done.
Fluid Mask 3
Company: Vertus
Price: $239
http://www.vertustech.com
The age of digital photography has transformed the way we take pictures. Using fabulous software such as iPhoto, it is a simple matter for any user to store, catalogue and keyword their photos on their Macintosh, and these photos can cropped and corrected for exposure and colour in seconds – adjustments that used to be only available to those dedicated individuals who had access to a darkroom of their own.
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