Software News

ACD Systems recently announced the release of two new image-editing/management products: ACDSee Pro 8 and ACDSee 18. Offering users a variety of imaging features in an easy to use, affordable package, ACDSee Pro 8 is designed to be the complete solution for image enhancement and the control of image production for professional level photographers.

With each successive release of ACDSee Pro, the photo management suite adds ever-more-powerful features. In this review I hope to help you decide whether or not its features match up with your own workflow, meet your needs, or even improve on existing features to enhance your photographic creations.

In my own workflow, the new version, ACDSee Pro 5, smoothed over a few rough edges in the editing process and made my management chores a bit less time-consuming. The release is not so groundbreaking that it might make you consider abandoning Adobe Lightroom or Apple Aperture altogether, but there are some pro-level additions that are definitely worth considering. The program never crashed and operated quickly for just about any task on a standard desktop PC. Note I said PC—there is no Mac version available or considered at this point.

Think of Generative Expand as Cropping in reverse gear.  It's mind-blowing. Instead of making the image smaller and deleting pixels, the new feature allows you to expand image content beyond its original borders by using the Adobe Firefly-powered Generative Fill function to create additional content that never existed but blends naturally with the original image. The new content can be an extension of the original data or based on the Command Prompt you type. This description is an oversimplification—read on for some real-world examples you haven't seen anywhere else.

Adobe has announced Photoshop Elements 13 and Premiere Elements 13, which are the latest versions of Adobe’s popular consumer photo and video editing software. Filled with a variety of new creative features and tools, Adobe Photoshop Elements 13 and Premiere Elements 13 are designed to be fun, easy to use and affordable. The new Elements Live portal (found within the software) is an educational tool that offers users a constant supply of fresh tips, tricks and inspiration designed to enhance their image-editing skills—from beginner to advanced level and beyond.

Adobe Photoshop, the popular innovative imaging software, turns 25 today. At this point, it's hard to deny that Photoshop touches much of the imagery that surrounds us: from striking commercial photos to high-impact logos; the apps on your iPhone; the sleek design of your running shoes; and blockbuster movies.

Adobe is hoping you’ll take the latest version of its popular Lightroom photography software everywhere. Called, simply, Lightroom CC, the new cloud-based app is designed to let you edit and organize full resolution versions of your images from your mobile phone to your iPad, laptop and desktop computers. (And, if you’re like most photographers these days, you probably have all those devices.)