My Photoshop World Plug-in Presentation: Before & After Images

I am getting ready for my Awaken The Artist Within presentation at Photoshop World in Atlanta, Georgia next week.

For those of you who are attending the session, here are the photographs that I will be using, the end-result images, and the plug-ins that I used.

All the plug-ins I use are listed on my Play & Save on Plug-ins page.

Freight Train, Gallup, New Mexico

• Photoshop: Select All >Edit > Transform > Perspective and Distort
• Nik Color Efex Pro: Detail Extractor > Tonal Contrast
• Nik Silver Efex Pro
• Topaz DeNoise
• Nik Color Efex Pro: Darken/Lighten Center
* Also used Camera Raw filter in Photoshop.

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Route 66, Tucumcari, NM

• Topaz Simplify > BuzSim > Edge Strength > Transparency

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Camargue Horses, Provence, France

• Topaz Simplify > BuzSim > Feature Boost > Edge Strength > Transparency

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Route 66, Tucumcari, NM

• Photoshop: Select All >Edit > Transform > Perspective
• Photomatix
• Nik Gradual filter

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Woman on the Sand Dunes, Death Valley, CA

• onOne Perfect Photo Suite > Perfect B&W

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Cathedral, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

• Topaz DeNoise

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Motocross, Tampa, Florida

• Photoshop > Tight Crop
• Nik Silver Color Efex Pro > Infrared

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Route 66, Tucumcari, NM

• Topaz Restyle > Street > Gray & Tail Light Red

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Butterflies, Butterfly World, Coconut Creek, Florida

•  MacPhuh Focus 2

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Myanmar

• Nik Color Efex Pro > Darken/Lighten Center
• MacPhun > Focus Pro 2

I also have sessions at Photoshop World on travel photography and shooting in chilly conditions. I hope to see you there, or on one of my workshops, where I teach it all.

I also save several on-line classes on KelbyOne. A great place to learn, too.

Explore the Light,
Rick

Awaken the Artist Within at Photoshop World – with Plug-ins & Some Basic Photoshop Enhancements

I'm a big fan of plug-ins, because then can transform an OK image (below) into a much more creative image (above). Combined a plug-in effect with some basic Photohshop/Lightroom enhancement and you are on your way to awakening the artist within.

I teach plug-ins on my workshops - and I am giving a seminar on plug-ins (Nik Sofware, onOne Software, Photomatix and Intensify Pro) at Photoshop World 2014 in Atlanta. So yes, HDR will be included. Sign up for Photohshop World today!

Above, after. Below, before.

I am looking for 10 or so original images (straight shots) to play with during my plug-in class. I set up a new Google+ Community – Awaken Your Inner Artist – for just that purpose. Check it out, and post a picture if you plan to attend PSW.

Hope to see you at PSW in Atlanta.

Until then, below is another before-and-after example of how a plug-in (Nik HDR Efex Pro) and few Photoshop enhancements turned a dull shot into a cool shot.

All the plug-ins I use are on my Play and Save on Plug-ins page.

Topaz simplify, just one of the plug-ins I use, is on sale for 50% off until the end of February. Use this code - febsimplify - and this link. I used that plug-in to create the image below.

It's amazing how much we can pull out of a RAW file, and how plug-ins can be used to enhanced an image.

The above image is the result of using some of the controls in Camera RAW and Nik's Color Efex Pro. . .  and then mostly the Spicify filter in Topaz Adjust. The image below is a screen shot of my RAW file in Camera RAW. If you don't have the Topaz Labs plug-ins, you can save a bundle on a bundle. Again, info on all my plug-ins here.

Explore the light,
Rick

Ditch the Noise with this Teriffic 50% off Deal on Topaz DeNoise

Ditch the Noise with Topaz DeNoise - which is 1/2 price from today, March 11, to March 31. Use this code - mardenoise - when you check out from the Topaz web site to save 50%.

My favorite DeNoise feature: you can control the noise in the highlight and shadow areas independently - which is what I did on this iPhone image.

All the plug -ins I use (and teach on my workshops) are listed on my Play and Save on Plugs-ins page.

Explore the light,
Rick

Try Topaz DeNoise: A noise-cancelling plug-in

I'm on the plane (again!!), playing with plug-ins in Photoshop, while wearing my noise-cancelling headphones. Ahhhh, the peace and quite. 

As you may know, noise-cancelling headphones don't totally cancel all noise. They reduce noise, to different degrees, depending on the noise level and your definition of noise. A baby crying, for example, is not considered noise. :-)

While thinking of noise, I opened a picture that I took with an early iPhone in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. That image, with a fair amount of noise, is below.

To cancel the noise (actually greatly reduce the noise), I used Topaz DeNoise. I first used the sliders on the left to select the amount/type of noise to reduce. Then I used the slider on the right to fine-tune the noise reduction, in particular, in the shadow and highlight areas . . . somewhat independently.

By the way: all images have noise, even images shot at ISO 100 on a sunny day. 

The result of using Topaz DeNoise is the image that opens this post. As you can see, the noise is greatly reduced.

Topaz DeNoise is only one of the plug-ins I suggest to my workshop students who want to improve their images. All the plug-ins I use are listed on my Save On Plug-ins page.

Explore the light,
Rick