Doodle Bumps

Adobe just released an update to Adobe Photoshop CC (Creative Cloud) version 13.1.2. New and improved features include:

• Non-Destructively edit with blur gallery and liquify using new Smart Object support.
• The ability to export text and shapes as CSS.
• The option to create conditional actions.
• Support for new HIDPI displays that enable a dramatic improvement in image fidelity and resolution.
• Photoshop Extended will also receive new 3D options including improved live previews and a 32-bit color picker.

PhotoFXlab is the ultimate Topaz workshop. It is a standalone application that can also be accessed as a plug-in. What’s nice about it is if you don’t have a photo editing program like Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Lightroom it allows you to use the Topaz plug-ins thanks to it being a standalone application. If you do have a photo editor being able to access any of the Topaz plug-ins without having to manually switch from one to the other is a real time save.

Besides being a hub it also has some interesting features of its own. For example InstaTone allows you to pull the tone from one image and apply it to another. PhotoFXlab allows you to access 500px.com, 1x.com, you can do a web image search access and included image library or use one of your own images.

As I said it is a hub for all of the plug-ins inside the application there are four tabs on the left hand side of the screen Effects, Plug-ins, InstaTone and History. Effects allows you to apply presets from any of the plug-ins, Plug-ins allows you access to any of the plug-ins, we already talked about InstaTone and History is exactly that a history of the steps you have taken while in the application.

On the right hand side of the screen you have access to adjustments like Temperature, Tint, Saturation, Exposure, Contrast and more. You can also access Brushes like Burn and Dodge, Saturation and Smooth/Detail, the brushes include edge-aware technology. There is also a Tools Tab with Rotate, Move and Scale functions. The last tab is Masks which allows you to access the masking features. Below this set of tabs is the layers palette so you can layer effects and even control opacity and blending modes.

PhotoFXlab also features Intellicolor technology. When making color and tonal adjustments, the last thing you want to worry about is unwanted saturation changes in your image’s tonal ranges and highlights – also referred to as color shift. Instances of color shift can include: increased saturation, highlight desaturation, color artifacts, hue variation, or even colors taking on a neon appearance.

photoFXlab1.1 features an advanced color processing technique called IntelliColor – that allows you to apply color and tonal adjustments without comprising the color integrity in your image. When working with your normal curves or saturation adjustment tools, you may find an unpleasing color shift that can make your colors look too deep and very unnatural. The benefit of IntelliColor is that it makes it possible to maintain natural and well-balanced color throughout your image.

You also have all of these features when the application is used as a plug-in inside of Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, etc.

While not a must have it is certainly a nice to have. I really like having access to all of the plug-ins and presets in one place without having to switch from plug-in to plug-in. Having layers and masks without a photo editor is a nice touch as well. Not everyone can afford Photoshop. For $79.99 you get a lot of convenience and power in one place as a standalone application or as a plug-in the choice is yours.

Topaz Labs makes some of the nicest and coolest Photoshop plug-ins around. They are powerful, easy to use, fun and they offer some really useful tools and effects all at an affordable price and with a generous upgrade policy. If you use their free Fusion Express app you can even use most of the plug-ins in Lightroom version 2-4. Otherwise the plug-ins are compatible with Photoshop CS4 – CS6 32-bit and 64-bit, Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 – 11 and with Fusion Express Photoshop Lightroom 2 – 4.

Your video card will need to support OpenGL 2.1 or higher which today is pretty much every video card. ReMask is the only odd plug-in in that it is compatible with PhotoFXlab, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Paint Shop Pro. ReMask is not compatible with iPhoto, Aperture, Photoshop Lightroom, Photo Impact or Irfanview.

If you don’t have a host program (aka Photoshop, etc.) you can purchase their PhotoFXlab program and access them through it.

If you need help learning their plug-ins they have free tutorial video available that both complete and very well done. They should help you get up to speed with the plug-ins in no time flat.

I recommend getting the bundle. It includes all of their Photoshop plug-ins including

Topaz Adjust

Topaz Adjust Optimizes exposure, color and detail strength. You can go from natural but more detail and better color to strong detail, exposure and color making your image look like and HDR (High Dynamic Range) image. Included are dozens of presets that you can use as is or change, You can also create your own.

Topaz DeNoise

Topaz DeNoise removes noise, color noise and banding while recovering and preserving image detail. Of all of the noise reduction programs on the market I find Topaz DeNoise to be the most reliable and it does the best job. With tons of presets you may never need to touch a slider, but the power is their in the sliders if you need to tweak your noise reduction. You can also create your own presets.

Topaz B&W Effects

Create traditional and stylized looks with the most versatile tool for B&W Enhancement on the market. With a wide range of presets converting color images to black and white has never been easier or you can use the wide range of tools to do your own conversion. Then of course you can save your conversion settings as a preset for ease application to other images later.

Topaz ReMask

I have not had very good luck with masking plug-ins. They are either too complicated to use or they just don’t do a good job. Topaz ReMask on the other hand is easy to use as does do a good job. I have to hand it to Topaz Labs they really have their interfaces down and in the case of Topaz ReMask they have really thought out the features you will need to mask out simple objects and complex objects like whispy hair.

Topaz Lens Effects

Create bokeh, vignettes, color tone balance, motion blur and more after the shot. There are other plug-ins on the market that does this type of effect. However none of them has the presets or the features that Topax Lens Effects has. Here again Topaz Labs really has exceeded all the others on the market.

Topaz Detail

Selectively control 3 levels of image detail without creating halos or edge artifacts. When you want to extract the most detail from an image only one plug-in does the job right and that is Topaz Detail, the level of detail you can extract from an image is simply amazing.

Topaz Simplify

Create digital art and painting effects in your images for a wide range of artistic enhancements. This plug-in is simply fun. From creating line art to creating painting effects Topaz Simplify can do the job and do it well. With its wide range of presets as well as wide range of controls the number of effects that you can create is nearly limitless.

Topaz Clean

Smoothing and edge stylizing for creating smooth, flawless skin and curly, vectorized effects. Topaz Clean can do the job. This is one plug-in that I have very seldom had to use the wide range of controls on, the presets that are included have always had what I wanted and needed.

Topaz InFocus

Sharpens and refines to improve image quality and reverse minor instances of blur. This is a wonderful sharpening tool. However, the blur correction is not up to par, in fact of all of Topaz plug-ins Topaz InFocus is the least capable. They really need to change the name to Topaz Sharpen as it does a wonderful job of sharpening, but correcting blur leaves a lot to be desired and has proven time and time again to be a big disappointment for me.

Topaz DeJPEG

Have and image that has too much JPEG compression applied to it? Topaz DeJPEG can remove the blockiness and restore a modest amount of detail. This is another plug-in where I have been able to rely on just the presets.

Topaz Fusion Express

Integrate the power of your favorite Topaz plug-ins without leaving your workflow. Want to use your favorite Topaz plug-in in iPhoto, Aperture & Lightroom Topaz Fusion is what you need to do it. This plug-in is free and works with all of the Topaz’s plug-ins with the exception of Topaz ReMask it is only compatible with Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.

For $299.99 you get one hell of a package of powerful, easy to use and useful plug-ins. Of all of the plug-in packages on the market Topaz’s is the best. Besides getting free point updates they sometimes give you free updates to major new versions. I haven’t seen many companies do that and I have to applaud Topaz Labs for doing this it really makes their plug-ins a heck of a value. If you can buy only one plug-in bundle make it Topaz Labs’s package, you won’t regret it.