Software News

If you’re new to Lightroom, or just need some help streamlining your workflow, fear not: After watching this six-minute video tutorial you’ll feel much more confidant when editing your images.

Anthropics Technology has unveiled LandscapePro, an easy-to-use, full-featured software package designed to take your photo retouching to the next level. Created specifically for enhancing scenic photography, LandscapePro is available in standalone and Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and Elements plug-in editions.

Designed to save photographers time and money and boasting lots of exciting new features, PortraitPro 21 is powered by a new generation of Artificial Intelligence and is faster and easier than ever to use. Retouching is an integral part of photography but can sometimes be tedious and time-consuming.

The folks at DxO just released their second major upgrade to the popular Nik Collection of plug-ins for Photoshop. Here’s the rundown on what’s new in version 2.5 of this popular photo editing software and some examples of the new filters.

Color Efex Pro 4 is Nik Software’s (www.niksoftware.com) latest version of its digital photographic filter plug-ins for retouching and creative enhancements. It is Mac OS and Windows compatible and installs as a 32-bit and 64-bit plug-in for Adobe Photoshop CS4 or later, Lightroom 2.6 or later, Photoshop Elements 8 or later, or Apple Aperture 2.1.4 or later. The installer searches for all of the hosts that are on your computer and if you already have Photoshop, Lightroom, and Aperture installed, as I do, it will install Color Efex Pro 4 for all of the host applications.

What’s New
One of the biggest improvements in Color Efex Pro 4 is the ability to use Filter Combinations that let you stack multiple filters, adjust each one’s opacity, and make selective adjustments to get the desired look. Each filter contains single-click starting points, making it possible to explore different options. Shades of Emeril Lagasse, there are Filter Recipes that let you customize and share filter combinations with others. Bam! Reminiscent of HDR Efex Pro, the 10 recipes that are part of the package are a quick way to get started using Color Efex Pro 4 and more are available for download on Nik Software’s website.

Everybody knows the basic concept and conceit of High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging but first let’s get rid of yet another unnecessary acronym. What does HDRI—High Dynamic Range Imaging—add to the discussion other than just another letter?

Nikon just released NX Studio, a new all-in-one software application that integrates functions from Nikon ViewNX-i and Nikon Capture NX-D. It’s available as a free download and you don’t have to shoot with Nikon to use it.