Luminance masks sound like the perfect solution to a perennial problem – restricting masks to specific brightness ranges. But how useful are they really?
Tutorials
Preset picks: Analog Efex Pro Double Exposures
Analog Efex Pro’s double exposure tool is one of the features that makes this program unique. Here’s a breakdown of how its Double Exposure presets work and how they combine double exposures with other effects.
Lightroom Color Grading tool: how does it work and is it useful?
I have to admit I wasn’t massively impressed by the Color Grading panel when it was added to Lightroom. It looked like it was replacing the Split Toning panel with something less focused and more complicated. I was wrong!
Dramatic skies and silhouettes with Silver Efex Pro
I love Silver Efex Pro. It’s a black and white photography plug-in developed by Nik Software and now part of the DxO Nik Collection. What makes it great is that it recaptures the look and feel of traditional darkroom black and white in a way that other plug-ins don’t. The preset effects down the left […]
Color Efex Pro’s B/W Conversion filter is surprisingly good
Color Efex Pro might not be your first choice for black and white conversions when the Nik Collection also has Silver Efex Pro and Analog Efex Pro, but if you want strong results fast, it might be just what you need.
Open in Camera Raw: the Lightroom alternative right under your nose!
Adobe Bridge and Camera Raw make a great alternative to Lightroom, with all the same editing tools but in a simpler workflow with no tiresome imports, just ‘live’ image browsing and editing.
Volume distortion: this is what it looks like and this tool can fix it
Volume distortion (or volumetric distortion) is not a familiar term to most photographers, but it’s what makes ultra-wide shots look distorted at the edges, and it can be fixed… by the right software.
The Lightroom Select Subject mask tool and how it works
Lightroom’s masking tools have had a major overhaul. The old Adjustment Brush, Linear Gradient and Radial Gradient tools are still there, but they’ve been joined by new Select Subject and Select Sky AI masking tools and Color Range, Luminance Range and Depth range tools. Here’s how Select Subject works.
Panoramic photography tips: how to shoot panoramas successfully
Panoramic photography is really easy to do but not so easy to get right. Your software can work wonders, but you have to give it a fighting chance. Here are 10 panoramic photography tips that might help.
How to use HDR merge in Capture One 22 – and how well does it work?
Capture One 22 brings an HDR merge feature that quickly combines several exposures into a single fully editable DNG file with extended dynamic range. But how well does it work?