Nik Tools (now called the Nik collection) has been around since 1995 as an Adobe plugin. Google bought the tools, then dropped them, and DXO rescued the popular photo-editing aids in 2017. They've undergone continuous upgrades since then, and this new version will please Mac users with the new M1 chips.
CyberLink has an update for its long-available PhotoDirector image editor, which runs on Mac OS and Windows. This latest version is called PhotoDirector 13. New light effects and color adjustment features have been added. The company claims you can turn any photo into a "visual masterpiece with a comprehensive set of AI tools, including AI-powered Sky Replacement and Photo Animation effects."
Skylum created a bit of a late summer storm when it announced a new image editor, Luminar Neo. The complaint from users has been that Skylum drops development on an editor, only to release a new one, while essentially going end of life on the current software.
Photographers have gear, and gear needs to be packed without being forgotten. If you’re like us, you obsess about systems that will make sure you have everything you need to create the work you want. Packaroo is an app we have been using to streamline this process.
Imagine an application that can write music for your video with only some hints from you about the style of music and the length of the video. Imagine an app that will write music that fits with your dissolves or add a punchy note wherever you like for emphasis.
Frame.io, a leader in building software for collaboration, client review and sign-off, and cloud-based workflows in moving image productions, is being acquired by Adobe for $1.275 billion. Why is this such a big deal?
Adobe is pushing out an update to Photoshop today that includes some improvements to its Sky Replacement feature, and they are adding some features to the iPad version of Photoshop.
When comparing the two, Photoshop CC and CS6, it's clear that the CS6 users don't want to upgrade because of the rental business model Adobe enforces. But, what are the actual advantages, and, is it possible to be more productive and make more money when you deliver more work because it's easier to do?
There is often talk about how great smartphone cameras are now — and I'm one of the people saying it — but with modern apps, they are so much more than their camera for photographers. Here are 10 apps that can improve and aid your videography.
It's a massive time-saver if you don't have to write out text, get it into your video project, align it correctly, and make corrections. It's now automatic in Premiere Pro, and it's something that puts Adobe ahead of Final Cut and Da Vinci Resolve.
When I look at product photography and video in the fashion and beauty product industry, many of the shots are now computer-generated. It might be at a steep cost initially to get the team to create the products in 3D space, but once that’s done, the product can be used in any scene you need for the client. Are we beyond photography?
Non-Linear Editing software is rather simple. Footage clips are dragged into a timeline, and the editor can cut clips to shorten them and arrange them in an order that makes up the visual part of the video.
Photographers of Instagram, rejoice! We can now upload content directly from our computers. Check out how to add photos right from your desktop with this step-by-step guide.
For astrophotographers who use Photoshop, here's some interesting and some good news. A just-released plug-in called APF-R (Absolute Point of Focus) can do wonders for your images. Astrophotographer Christoph Kaltseis has developed APF-R in order to achieve high-resolution, ultra-sharp images that still look natural. As astro-imagers know, trying to sharpen point sources like stars can result in ugly halos and other unwanted artifacts.
Apps have undoubtedly revolutionized modern life and there are few areas untouched by them. Photography is no exception and with the help of the right app, your shoots and your workflow can improve tenfold. Here are four apps one photographer reaches for when planning his next shoot.
I shoot solely raw. However, I know some tremendous photographers whose cameras are set to record just JPEGs, and they will never change. I am envious because they spend less time in front of the computer. Shooting raw is worth learning, but maybe there's also a good reason to shun it.
It doesn't matter what type of photographer you are, having the ability to accurately document and locate hard-to-find spots is worth its weight in gold. This app is about to revolutionize how we all shoot on location.
President Biden brings sanctions against Russia for cyber-attacks. As cyber-attacks become ever more sophisticated, we photographers need to tighten our security and awareness of the risks, with twelve hints to keep you safe.
Today, a wide range of solutions are available for capturing a 360 degree still or video movie. You can even produce these on your phone.
A heritage website has found fame for its web app that can animate old photographs to bring the dead briefly back to life. But how effective and realistic is it?
Avalanche for Mac is an interesting product for Mac photographers, and it has one function: to get your images out of one application catalog into another. With all the changes in photo applications, it's easy to switch to something that seems more useful, but often, the catalogs don't come along with your move. As catalogs embed more and more editing metadata, it gets even harder.
If you have been around Facebook and other social media platforms, it’s almost certain that you have heard of Clubhouse. But what exactly is it and should you even be interested?
Nickelback’s 2005 post-grunge soft-rock hit “Photograph” has always been ripe for parody and now Nickelback themselves have joined in by creating a hilarious new advert to promote Google Photos. Is it my hair or just a ramen bowl?
I have seen a lot of uses of artificial intelligence in the editing of photos, particularly in the last couple of years. This app, however, might be the most impressive yet, albeit walking a questionable line of "editing gone too far."
My favorite editing software, DaVinci Resolve, has just released the newest version, and for a limited time, you can get a full license to the latest version and an incredibly powerful keyboard editing interface for just the price of the license alone. The Speed Editor bundle includes a purpose-built portable keyboard with a unique set of features, including dedicated keyboard shortcuts and a weighted search dial. Want to know what makes it such a good value?
I don't much like being wrong, but it happens and by degrees. Some years ago, I would scoff and tut at adverts and posts purporting to have found a brilliant new plugin for Photoshop, writing them off instantly as a waste of money. But are they?
Has it been 25 years? Amazing. I remember when Nils Kokemohr founded Nik Multimedia in 1995, which later became Nik Software in 2006. The package included plugins for color management and editing, another for enhancing or creating black and white images, sharpening tools, and later HDR software to help photographers increase the dynamic range of their images.
Adobe has announced early Black Friday deals for its Creative Cloud subscriptions packs, including more than 20 creative apps.
I don't know about you, but many of us, your humble author included, had a pretty horrific upgrade to Big Sur, the latest and apparently, not the greatest OS from Apple.
Earlier this year, Apple announced its two-year timeline for a transition to its own silicon — to Macs without Intel, that is. With that shift come many questions about the future of our pro applications, so we reached out to Adobe to get some answers.
Today, DxO is taking the wraps off their latest update to their PhotoLab series, PhotoLab 4. It's a major update of its multiple award-winning photo-editing software. This latest version features DxO DeepPRIME, a revolutionary demosaicing and denoising technology based on artificial intelligence and trained with deep learning.
ACDSee's brand new edition of Photo Studio Ultimate has arrived on the scene and offers a powerful new tool to revolutionize color editing in your photography workflow. With plenty of fantastic new features, upgrades to old favorites, and a few time-saving innovations, this software is a strong contender in the world of photo editing.
Fall is here! The leaves around you have hopefully taken on some great colors, but you might not be getting the draw dropping pictures you want. Fortunately, there’s 5 easy tricks you can try and they all work with your phone.
The new venture fund of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has made its first investment, in that of a disposable camera app. Known as David’s Disposable, users take photos but must wait until 9am the next day to see them, in order to replicate the real effect of getting disposables developed.
In this video you’ll learn about one of the founders of Adobe being taken hostage for $600,000 ransom, and how Steve Jobs once owned 19% of the company before they opened the flood gates to cater for Windows and the mass market of the time.
There are many apps for photographers. Developing a workflow and testing each of them is all part of the process of developing a style and unique look. Some of us use Lightroom, others prefer Capture One or Photoshop or a combination of them all. And every once in a while, something is released that invigorates your work in a new way.
Sharing your work on social media, you may come across a few people who ask "what are your camera settings for this shot" or something similar. There are even a few groups on Facebook that have this as a requirement to post your work. There are a few different ways you can do this, but here's an app that makes it easy.
Luminar software from Skylum has had a tremendous impact with many photo editors, bringing a lot of Photoshop and Lightroom-esque features along with some one-of-a-kind capabilities like one-click sky replacement and AI-based features for landscape and portrait photographers.
The day has finally come when photographers can sync their powerful off-camera flashes with their Apple iPhone using Profoto's new AirX syncing system. Being the skeptic I am, I had to see for myself if using 500 Ws of powerful strobe light with your cell phone was simply a gimmick or potentially an industry game-changer. Today, I'm left swallowing my pride.
How often is it that you miss that great selfie expression, kid photo, or sports play because you didn't have your camera running at the right time? It happens to me a lot, but a new app for iOS and very soon coming to Android called SnipBack has some good ideas to fix this issue, and it makes me think that our pro gear could learn a few lessons here.
It's going to be virtual, but for all of us based in different places in the world, this is great news. They're showcasing everything new, so you can be an early adopter and work more efficiently and learn something new. Keanu Reeves, Annie Leibovitz, and award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay will be participating too, so it's going to be interesting and entertaining.
The next generation of cameras are going to be competing in a market that’s tougher than ever. While the launch of mirrorless camera hardware from Nikon and Canon may have prompted some to upgrade, the next round of camera purchases also needs to offer something new in software. Want to know what needs to be there?
Instagram has introduced Reels, which is similar to TikTok and Snapchat, and you can basically edit videos all within Instagram. The app also now has a Reels feed, which is similar to Facebook videos and TikTok with one video playing after the next.
If you look into the night sky long enough, you will see the stars move. Because it is dark at night, you will need a longer shutter speed to capture the beauty of the stars and constellations. But don’t expose too long, or they will turn into trails.
August is the time for photographing the annual Perseid meteor shower. It is one of the most spectacular ones, and definitely worth photographing. If you want to get the best pictures, some preparations have to be made.
When Adobe changed its Creative Suite software to a subscription-based Creative Cloud a few years ago, there was much gnashing of teeth and consternation amongst the photo community. We were used to paying a one-time payment for software to use for many years, without being forced to upgrade. So why is it that photo apps get a pass for doing the same thing when it comes to subscription models?
If you’re like me, you’re one of Instagram’s billion active users, and if you’re a photographer, it’s a natural choice to have a presence on the platform that has been synonymous with photography over the last decade. Instagram, however, doesn’t seem to care about photographers — only users. Should that change? Can it?
The ZHIYUN Smooth-X can have you do a lot with a mobile phone. It also folds up so it can fit into any bag and the hardware and Bluetooth-connected app works together seamlessly.
Instagram appears to be testing a new layout on select user accounts across the globe, as users wake up to find a big change to their Instagram home feed.
The rollout begins today, so you'll see the updates soon if you haven't already. Adobe is calling this a major set of updates, and I'll highlight the ones that apply to photographers.
