LIghtroom has many limitations and restrictions. I’m talking about the web-based Lightroom here, not Lightroom Classic. But at the same time, Lightroom has some clever features that use Adobe’s Sensei AI technologies. One of these its AI-powered preset suggestions.
Presets
Presets are specific adjustment settings, or groups of settings, saved for re-use. Presets are used widely by image-editing and effects software to apply a sophisticated set of adjustments to a photo with a single click.
Cataloguing software explained
Cataloguing software can organize your entire photo collection, but how does it work and what do you look for?
How to customise Analog Efex Pro presets
Analog Efex Pro, part of the DxO Nik Collection, has some great vintage film effect presets, but you don’t have to use them exactly as they are provided. It’s very easy to customise and adapt these presets to give exactly the kind of look you want.
Nik Collection presets: Even on a Cloudy Day (Color Efex Pro)
You can learn a lot from experimenting with manual adjustments and individual filters in a program like Color Efex Pro, but you can learn even more by dismantling a preset to see how its individual parts work together.
Non-destructive editing and how it works
Traditional photo editing is ‘destructive’. That means every adjustment you make permanently changes the pixels in the photo and there’s no way back unless you’ve saved a copy of the original and you’re willing to start again. ‘Non-destructive’ editing is fully reversible. You can go back and undo or redo all of your editing work at any point in the future. Naturally, there’s a catch
Free Analog Efex Pro presets (and how to install them)
Welcome to the fourth and final part of this mini-series on Google’s brand new film and camera simulation plug-in, Analog Efex Pro. It joins the existing plug-ins in the Nik Collection, now owned and distributed by DxO. Note: Following many requests, I’m republishing this article with the download link restored but the content unchanged. This […]
Luminar 4.2 Augmented Skies: is this photography or illustration?
I’m in two minds about this feature. The AI Augmented Sky filter in Luminar 4.2 is spectacularly effective at blending in all sorts of other-worldly objects into regular outdoor skies, even supplying a range of ready-made objects like these twin planets via a drop-down menu. The AI technology merges these objects with your sky so […]
Preset picks: Capture One ‘Seasonal’ SN-04
Preset Picks: The SN-04 Style from Capture One’s Seasonal Style pack (sold separately) has a very rich, warm look. Here’s how the Style is created.
SN-05 from Capture One’s Seasonal Style pack
SN-05 is a pretty unromantic name for an image style, but it’s worked quite a transformation on this sunlit winter tree and sky. It’s one of 15 Styles in the Seasonal pack, which is sold via the Phase One website here: Seasonal Styles & Presets for Capture One – Preview Images & Buy The price […]
The power of adjustment layers and masks
Adjustment layers started out in Photoshop as a way of altering the look of an image without actually changing its pixels. It was the start of non-destructive editing. Now, adjustment layers are everywhere, not just in Photoshop, and for me they are the key to successful image enhancements. There’s a second factor, though – layer […]