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Posts Tagged ‘AfterShot’

Announcing the Winners of the Corel AfterShot Pro Editing Software

16 Aug

A huge thank you to everyone who entered our recent contest to win one of 10 copies of Corel’s AfterShot Pro 3 Photo Editor Software. This was an “After” themed competition, and so many of you shared your beautiful photographs, that we encourage everyone to go back and scroll through the comments section to view these wonderful images.

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As a bonus to the entire dPS Readership, Corel is offering a 30% discount on their AfterShot 3 leading Photo Editing Software for a limited time, and you’ll also receive FastFlick Instant Slideshow Maker for free! Just click here.

Yet again, the response was absolutely wonderful! But now, onto the winners! Drum roll please, and the winners are:

The Winners of the Corel After Photo Contest for 10 copies AfterShot Pro 3 Photo Editor Software are…

Winner 1: Huston Traviss

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Used the AfterShot Pro 3 free demo to finally fix a lightning picture of mine that was close but not perfect because of a raindrop on the lens. In 5 minutes I fixed something that was bothering me for months. If given a copy of this wonderful software, I would be able to finally salvage shots that are slightly off that I’d normally delete.

Winner 2: Glenn Lancaster

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I picked this sunrise picture of the Grand Tetons to edit with AfterShot for one reason – I captured this picture with my Nikon D800 using a 50mm lens and a UV filter. The RAW file (.NEF) is 74 MB, and with some of the other post-production programs I use, there is a huge download time, but AfterShot opened the file in the shortest amount of time.

I use Adobe Lightroom (LR) 6, Creative Suites 6, Elements 14 and DXO Pro 10 to edit my photography and with that knowledge base, judging a new post-production editing program is based on experience and not guess work. The format of AfterShot appears to be directly off the layout of LR, so if you’re familiar with Adobe programs, the learning curve will be near zero.

In reality I find LR non-user friendly for beginners, especially importing files, AfterShot has a direct system of importing and exporting files. AfterShot has a simple editing sequence, with a color engine generator slightly clearer & cleaner than LR. Bottom line – if you’re looking for a post production editing program for less $ $ $ and you don’t need hundreds of different selections to confuse your efforts, AfterShot is the answer.

Winner 3: Jayme Hunt

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I have to say that I’d never even heard of this software prior to reading this article. I did go ahead and download the trial, specifically to see what could be done with a low-light shot of lights. I certainly wasn’t expecting much. However, it warmed the whole scene up and made my photo look much more the way I envisioned it in my head! The presets produced some stunning visuals, but, in the end, I played with the histogram and produced exactly what I was after.

Winner 4: Andy Dines

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I use Lightroom as part of my job as a graphic designer but AfterShot Pro 3 really appeals to me for my own personal photography use, for the improved file opening times. Typically I can be loading several hundred photos at a time and this will make such a difference. Here is my ‘after’ photo.

Winner 5: Zabi Zafari

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Well this is a very nice software! When I first started out with Lightroom, it was nearly impossible to learn how to use any part of the program… But AfterShot is an extremely user friendly, simple yet powerful software, that almost anyone can use. The tools are right there, the histogram is great and much more refined compared to LR. And oh my, I have a MacBook pro from 2014 with 8 GB of ram and a SSD, yet Lightroom lags when opening, importing, exporting and saving files which is not convenient at all.

As they say for professionals, time is money and AfterShot is the real deal. The photo I have taken is with a standard 18-55 mm lens from my backyard, I edited in AfterShot and it gave me amazing results! great job to my friends at Corel.

Winner 6: Chris

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I have moved from Windows to Linux and have used AfterShot Pro 2 (edited the above image). Linux has some pretty good open source software but I find AfterShot works well for my needs. Very easy learning curve going from Lightroom to AfterShot. The price is more reasonable too!

Winner 7: Claudia Najhar Raphael

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I have AfterShot 2, and now I’m trying the AfterShot Pro 3, and so far I’m enjoying! There are some useful new features that make a lot of difference for me when editing my photos. I’m used to Corel products, since I’ve been using PaintShop since version X4, and AfterShot 2, and for me they work better than Lightroom or Photoshop. I like the fact that I don’t have to import my photos to edit, it makes everything much faster, and I directly export them as batch to finish my editing in PSP X8. …I call my photo After party, because that was a beautiful flower gift that’s been given to me. I edited in AfterShot [Pro 3] and finished in PaintShop Pro X8.

Winner 8: Dennis Fisher

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Well this little program made this little flower pop. A program for times when you thought you got it right but didn’t.

Winner 9: Jakob Maruši?

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Most of the time I shot macro photos of flowers and animals. For this contest I picked one of [my] newer photos of a tiny butterfly who was just having dinner. I would use AfterShot to mainly correct colors and composition…

Winner 10: Jake Nunnelee

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…I downloaded AfterShot Pro [3] and picked this image. I did some tweaking and made this picture look 10 times better using this program. I would love to win Corel AfterShot Pro! It would make editing pictures so much easier.

We were all very happy with the entries. You made us smile, but most importantly, you made us want to do more of what we do; provide you quality information and guidance to become a better photographer. We were so pleased to see that you came from every part of the world. Thank you all for your entries!

Again, for those of you that didn’t win, Corel is offering a 30% discount off their AfterShot 3 leading photo editing software for a limited time, AND, you will also receive FastFlick Instant Slideshow Maker for FREE!

Click HERE to receive your discount and free FastFlick.

The Winners will be emailed with details of how to collect their prize. Please make sure to look for our email. Thank you again for all the wonderful submissions and to Corel for sponsoring this competition.

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Learn more about AfterShot Pro 3 HERE.

Disclaimer: Corel is a paid partner of dPS.

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The post Announcing the Winners of the Corel AfterShot Pro Editing Software by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Software Review: AfterShot Pro 3 by Corel

12 Jul

ASP3-box_front.jpgI remember seeing a poster on the wall of my fourth grade elementary school class that said, “What’s right isn’t always popular, and what’s popular isn’t always right.” The quote is attributed to Albert Einstein, and while he was most likely speaking with regard to issues of ethics, justice, and social equality, he might as well have been referencing the current state of image editing software.

The king of the hill when it comes to photo editing programs is Adobe, with their extensive suite of applications designed for creative professionals and hobbyists. But just because their software is widely used, does not mean it is the best. Corel, a software company based in Canada, has been making its own image and video editing programs for years, and is a stalwart in the ever-changing software industry with roots that go back to the early days of the personal computer revolution in the mid-1980’s.

The most recent version of their photo-editing software, AfterShot Pro 3 by Corel, may not have the sheer quantity of features offered by Lightroom or Photoshop, but it has a few tricks up its sleeve that make it a very attractive alternative to those looking for a solid solution outside of Adobe’s offerings.

The user interface is instantly familiar to anyone who has used Lightroom or other image editing programs.

The user interface is instantly familiar to anyone who has used Lightroom or other image editing programs.

Overview

At its core, AfterShot Pro 3 is an end-to-end workflow solution that is designed to suit the needs of demanding photographers as well as casual hobbyists. It allows you to sort your images, edit them, and export them for print, sharing, or use in other programs. Its core features are centered on a robust set of tools that allow you to have a great deal of control over several parameters of your images, and adjust fairly basic elements like white balance, exposure, saturation, and contrast, while also giving you fine-grained control over settings like individual RGB color balance, hue/saturation/luminance, and tone curves.

Pixel peepers and image tweakers will find little to complain about here, though some of the tools are a bit lacking compared to those offered by Lightroom. Sharpening and noise removal work quite well, but don’t allow the same degree of control as in Adobe’s software, but there are some automatic “Perfectly Clear” options for noise removal and color adjustments that I have found to be quite useful.

You can of course edit metadata, use presets, and even insert watermarks or access a growing library of plugins, but a proper evaluation of this program isn’t necessarily about comparing features tit-for-tat to see how it stacks up to the competition. Anyone who is looking at sheer numbers of options and adjustment sliders, will likely find everything here that they could ask for. Rather, deciding if this is the right program for you will likely come down to whether it is suited to your own particular way of actually using the features it has.

The built-in watermarking tool can accommodate text or allow you to insert a logo or other graphic.

The built-in watermarking tool can accommodate text or allow you to insert a logo or other graphic.

Workflow

AfterShot Pro 3 has its own unique workflow, which does bear some resemblance to how Lightroom and other programs function. But, in order to make full use of the program’s capabilities you might need to learn how to do things in a way that seems strange at first, but will feel like second nature over time.

One of the most notable differences is that AfterShot Pro 3 does not import your pictures into a database, and does not store changes to files in one single master catalog like Lightroom. Instead, it works by leaving your pictures exactly where they are and does not copy them, even from a camera memory card. You must first save your images where you want them, and then as you make edits, a record of all the changes you have made to your image get stored in a unique XMP file.

Instead of keeping a master catalog file with all your edits, a single data file is created for every photo that you have changed. To let someone else edit a photo you have already started, give them the original and the XMP file.

Instead of keeping a master catalog file with all your edits, a single data file is created for every photo that you have changed. To let someone else edit a photo you have already started, give them the original and the XMP file.

This approach may seem counterproductive at first, because you end up with thousands of XMP files instead of one single all-encompassing catalog. However, it makes your editing much more portable and flexible, since you can transfer your photos and their editing instructions across devices, and share them with other users in a way that Lightroom simply does not offer. If I edit an image on my computer and want to hand it off to another team member to tweak even further, all I have to do is send her the original RAW or JPG file, along with the very small related XMP file. She can now open the image on her machine, make changes to any of my edits, and add alterations of her own. I can even edit an image right on my camera’s memory card without ever copying it to a hard drive, and then physically hand that card to someone else who can make further edits or go back and revise any changes I have made.

From this standpoint, AfterShot Pro 3 could be a boon to those who work in a collaborative or fast-paced environment, as well as casual or hobbyist photographers who want a little more flexibility.

Work space

AfterShot Pro 3 also operates in a single combined environment, as opposed to the discrete modular-based approach taken by Lightroom, where you use the Library module to organize and sort your images, the Develop module to make edits, the Print module when making prints, etc. In AfterShot Pro 3 everything happens from within a single module, from organizing your images, to editing them, to adding watermarks, and finally printing or sharing. Neither one is necessarily good or bad, and neither approach can be said to be objectively better than the other, but personally I have found the interface in AfterShot Pro 3 to be a refreshing change from Lightroom, where I am forced to switch between Library and Develop to do simple things, and even the function of quick keys changes depending on which module I am in at the time. Your mileage may vary, but it’s an important distinction to know if you are considering changing over to Corel’s program, or even just trying it out.

Use of Layers and Flexibility

Layers contain a set of edits and can be made more or less opaque, and enabled or disabled at will.

Layers contain a set of edits and can be made more or less opaque, and enabled or disabled at will.

One hugely useful aspect in AfterShot Pro 3, that really stands out from much of the competition, is its intuitive use of layers. You can apply any number of edits in terms of tint, hue, curves, etc., then stash them all into a single layer, which can then be set to anywhere between 100% and 0% opacity. This is an incredibly helpful way of stacking various types of edits on top of one another, and I’m surprised it is not available in Lightroom. For instance, you could easily create a layer wherein you convert your image to black and white, but then set that overall layer opacity to 25%, which would lend a subtle desaturated look to the actual image. You can use multiple layers of edits on a single picture, and even use layers specifically for cloning and healing adjustments as well. It’s a clever, and highly useful way of editing your images, and once you get used to it, you may not ever want to be without it again.

Is the software right for your needs

New in version 3 of the program, is a highlight recovery tool that allows you to coax a bit more out of your RAW files than before, along with other tweaks and improvements compared to earlier iterations. However, as I mentioned in the opening paragraph it’s not really a productive exercise to simply compare a list of features when deciding if an image editor is right for you, since nearly all of them have extensive options that will likely suit your needs.

What matters is whether the program suits your needs and your workflow, and in the case of AfterShot Pro 3 it is certainly worth considering if you are a casual user who wants something with much more power and flexibility, or are simply seeking a worthy (and far cheaper) alternative to one of the more popular editors like Lightroom.

One of my favorite parts of AfterShot Pro 3 is its speed, which honestly could be a make-or-break decision if you are comparing programs. Photos load almost instantly and switching between RAW files is as smooth as butter, which is a far cry from some other programs where you might as well go make some coffee while you wait for a picture to load.

You can view up to six images at once and apply edits to individual photos while in multi-image view.

You can view up to six images at once and apply edits to individual photos while in multi-image view.

In the end, I found Corel’s latest entry into the image-editing fray a worthy competitor that can certainly hold its own against the competition. I especially like that it’s priced well under $ 100, which is a one-time purchase, as opposed to a monthly subscription.

I did find a few things to quibble over, like like its lack of a clarity slider (which can be mitigated by using a combination of other sliders) and a black and white conversion function, that is in my opinion, far behind Lightroom’s use of color filters to take fine-tune control over monochrome conversions. However it is a speedy and full-featured image editing program that is certainly worth checking out.

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Editor’s note: if you want to check it out Corel has a free trial and you can enter to win a copy right here on dPS. 

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The post Software Review: AfterShot Pro 3 by Corel by Simon Ringsmuth appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Enter to Win one of 10 Copies of Corel’s AfterShot Pro 3 Photo Editor

27 Jun

Win one of 10 Copies of AfterShot™ Pro 3 Photo Editor from Corel!

Enter the After Photography Contest Today!

After dark, after thought, after noon, after work, after school, after life, after all…

You pick your after theme and have fun with it.

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Over the last few years here at dPS, we’ve run very some very popular contests with our partners, to give away some of their great photographic products to lucky dPS readers. We are lucky enough to be able to do it again now.

For this competition, Corel is giving away TEN copies of AfterShot™ Pro 3 Photo Editor!

These prizes are designed to help every level of photographer create BETTER pictures. Since 1989, with the introduction of CorelDRAW, Corel boasts a range of award-winning products that includes graphics, painting, photo, video, and office software with a community of over 100 million strong. Each copy of AfterShot Pro 3 will be won by a different dPS reader.

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Our 10 prize winners will receive the full version of Corel’s leading RAW Photo Editor – A $ 79.99 Value

Corel® AfterShot™ Pro 3 is up to four times faster than Adobe® Lightroom (claim based on a batch export workflow, using Lightroom CC 2015.5.). It’s the photo editor that helps you reveal your true creative potential. With AfterShot™ Pro 3 there are no subscriptions, and no longer a need to spend hours editing at your computer. You can import, process, output faster, and get back to taking photographs. Take a look at a few of the new, improved and classic features:

  • Faster workflow
  • Simple photo management
  • New comprehensive watermarking
  • Enhanced highlight recovery
  • New blemish remover tools
  • New image preset library
  • Powerful batch processing

Adobe®, Lightroom® and Photoshop® are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

ASP 3 Highlight Recovery

New Blemish Remover

Learn a little more about AfterShot Pro 3 HERE:

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How to win

To win this contest you’ll need to:

  • Edit your favorite ‘After’ photo. To make it even better, download a free trial of AfterShot Pro 3 HERE
  • Post your After photo, along with a few words on how you feel AfterShot Pro 3 would help your photography in the comments section below, and of course, your After themed image. It’s as easy as that!
  • Do this in the next 21 days and on August 5, 2016, the team at Corel will choose the 10 best photos and comments, and we will announce the winners in the following days.
  • Deadline Is July 19, 2016, at 11:59pm PDT. Photos and comments left after deadline will not be considered.

By best – we’re looking for people who have an understanding of photography post-processing, and how AfterShot Pro 3 may best suit your needs. So you’ll need to check out the product page to put yourself in the best position to win. Don’t forget to grab a free trial download.

There’s no need to write essay length comments to win – but we’re looking to hear what you like about the software, and how it would help your development as a photographer. Don’t forget to include your favorite After themed photo. We encourage you to have fun and be creative!

This competition is open to everyone, no matter where you live – but there is only one entry per person. To enter – simply leave your photo and comment below.

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Disclaimer: Corel is a paid partner of dPS.

By entering the After photo contest, the Entrant is providing permission to Corel to publish their photo, if it is chosen as a winner, to be utilized within media post(s) by Corel announcing the winners and promoting. Entrants will be provided a full photo credit if photo is used, and will retain their copyright – Please click HERE or full contest rules, terms and conditions.

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The post Enter to Win one of 10 Copies of Corel’s AfterShot Pro 3 Photo Editor by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Corel AfterShot Pro 3 launches with new touchup tool, recovery algorithm

12 May

Corel has launched AfterShot Pro 3, the latest version of its photo editing software. The newest version brings several added features and updates, including a Lens Correction Development Kit for creating custom lens corrections, an in-app plugin manager, and a few new and improved tools for touching up photos.

AfterShot Pro 3 is equipped with a completely new Highlight Recovery algorithm, and as such Corel claims the Highlight Recovery Range slider can pull more tones and details from overexposed Raw photos. Joining the new algorithm is the addition of ‘comprehensive watermarking,’ including the ability to watermark in batches, rotate the watermark’s angle, adjust its size, and alter its transparency. 

Another new editing tool is Blemish Removal & Correction, which aims to eliminate the need to use a separate app like Photoshop to remove blemishes and perform other touchups and small corrections. Photo presets can also be applied via the new in-app preset library; both premium and free presets are offered.

Finally, AfterShot Pro 3 features a new modular delivery system for providing updated and new Raw profiles more quickly than the previous software version. With this, new camera profiles are available to download in-app as soon as they’re released by the company’s development team.

Corel AfterShot Pro 3 is available in English, German and Japanese through the product’s website; Windows, Mac and Linux are supported. The price for new customers is $ 79.99 USD/CAD, while existing customers can upgrade to the newest version for $ 59.99 USD/CAD.

Via: MarketWired

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AfterShot Pro 2.3 offers missing link for Photoshop CS6 users with External Editor function option

05 Nov

The latest version of Corel’s AfterShot image editing and Raw conversion application introduces a ‘Send To External Editor’ button that allows Raw files to be opened and worked on in AfterShot, then exported directly to Photoshop. This creates another way for PhotoShop CS6 customers to continue to add Raw support for new cameras to their workflow, in addition to Adobe’s DNG converter application.  Read more

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