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Posts Tagged ‘Editing’

Portrait Editing with Luminar 4 – Using Artificial Intelligence

02 Nov

The post Portrait Editing with Luminar 4 – Using Artificial Intelligence appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this video by Jacques Gaines, he looks at Portrait editing in Luminar 4 using the artificial intelligence features.

Luminar 4 is a stand-alone software or works as a plugin in Adobe Photoshop (which is great if you like working in Photoshop and don’t want to completely swap to new software).

This video uses the plugin version with Photoshop.

Jacques uses a retouched, flattened image in Photoshop and then opens the Luminar 4 plugin and does further editing work on his portrait.

He discusses the different portrait enhancement options that Luminar 4 offers.

Within Luminar, there is a section called “Portrait.”

This is the section that consists of:

AI Skin Enhancer
Portrait Enhancer
High Key
Orton Effect

AI Skin Enhancer

Smoothes out the skin on a portrait and does it realistically. You can decide how much you want to apply it from 0-100%.
If you don’t want it to apply to certain sections, you can also mask it out using a brush tool.

Portrait Enhancer

The Portrait Enhance panel consists of:

Face Light
Red Eye Removal
Eye Whitening
Eye Enhancer
Dark Circles Remover
Slim Face
Enlarge Eyes
Eyebrow Improve
Lips Saturation
Lips Redness
Lips Darkening
Teeth Whitening

Jared shows the effects these settings have on a portrait.

When you apply the changes in Luminar, it makes the image as a new Photoshop layer. You can then use a mask to paint out any areas in the image that you don’t want the effects applied to.

Have you done portrait editing with Luminar 4? Share with us your thoughts in the comments!

The new Loupedeck Creative Tool editing console packs improved software integrations

30 Oct

Loupedeck has introduced Loupedeck Creative Tool (CT), the latest product in its line of editing consoles for creatives. The Loupedeck CT is small and nearly square at 160 x 150 x 30mm (6.3 x 5.9 x 1.2in) with a weight of 365g (12.9oz). The new model joins the previously released Loupedeck and Loupedeck+ consoles, offering a design that can ‘work in sync with all editing tools and software.’

The Loupedeck CT is a plug-and-play console with native integrations for a variety of popular software, including Final Cut Pro X, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and Lightroom Classic. This model also introduces Loupedeck console support for Adobe Illustrator and music production software Ableton Live; later on this year, there will also be support for Autodesk Fusion 360.

The ‘fully adaptable’ Loupedeck CT is made with a high-quality aluminum cover and dials, plus it features LED backlighting, touchscreens, and what Loupedeck says are machine-quality ball bearings. The console packs preset workspaces designed for each software product integration, as well, though users retain the ability to customize the workspaces to meet their own needs.

Loupedeck designed its latest console with portability in mind; joining its small size is a removable USB cable. In addition to its software integrations and various buttons, dials, and touchscreens, the Loupedeck CT features Bluetooth 5 LE connectivity and support for macOS 10.12 or later and Windows 10. Below is a short intro tutorial shared by Loupedeck:

The new model is available to preorder now for $ 549 from Loupedeck and B&H Photo; shipping is expected to start on November 11.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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New Loupedeck Creative Tool: Smoother Editing for Creative Professionals

29 Oct

The post New Loupedeck Creative Tool: Smoother Editing for Creative Professionals appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Loupedeck-creative-tool-announcement

Do you ever feel like you want more control over your photo editing?

If so, you’re in luck.

Because Loupedeck has just launched one of the most innovative editing products out there: a console that’s designed to speed up your editing workflow and give you a smooth editing experience.

It’s called the Loupedeck Creative Tool, and it’s truly unique.

How exactly does it work?

The Creative Tool is a photo editing console. It hooks up to your photo editing program of choice, and allows you to use many buttons, touchscreens, and more to achieve the photo editing workflow that you desire.

Loupedeck-creative-tool-announcement

Note that the Creative Tool itself doesn’t work in place of a computer and monitor. Instead, it works alongside your computer to provide an efficient editing experience like the Loupedeck+, another Loupedeck product.

Currently, the Creative Tool is compatible with Adobe Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Ableton Live, Adobe Illustrator, and Final Cut Pro X. The company promises to integrate Autodesk Fusion 360 before the year is out, and you can certainly expect additional compatible programs as Loupedeck update the Creative Tool.

Here’s a video explaining how the product works with Lightroom Classic:

Who’s it for?

Now, while the Loupedeck Creative Tool seems like an intriguing option, who should actually consider the product?

First, I’d recommend beginner photographers stay away from the Loupedeck Creative Tool. It’s a lot to handle, and doesn’t offer much benefit to anyone who doesn’t have a consistent editing workflow and very specific needs.

On the other hand, for more serious photographers (including professionals), the Loupedeck is a great choice. You’ll use the Creative Tool to enhance your editing. And it’ll enable you to edit faster without compromising quality.

As explained by the Loupedeck CEO:

The rise in popularity of professional editing within the digital workspace has sparked a new generation of creative professionals who require absolute precision, versatility, portability and endless customization possibilities in the tools they use, which was considered in the design and development of the Loupedeck Creative Tool.

If you’re one of these serious creative professionals, then you should seriously consider the Loupedeck Creative Tool. It’s available for preorder on B&H Photo Video, and the company will begin shipping on November 11th.

New Loupedeck Creative Tool: Smoother Editing for Creative Professionals

Now I’d like to know your thoughts:

Would you be interested in a product like the Loupedeck Creative Tool? Are you looking for increased customization in your editing?

Let me know in the comments!

The post New Loupedeck Creative Tool: Smoother Editing for Creative Professionals appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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LumaFusion 2.1 video editing app adds external drive support, new aspect ratios and more

24 Oct

Mobile video editing app LumaFusion has been updated to version 2.1 to take advantage of new iOS 13 and iPadOS features. With LumaFusion 2.1, users can import and export media from external drives, including SD cards, flash drives, and portable HDDs/SSDs. In addition, the updated app also adds support for the iOS 13 system font selector, 27 new blend modes, aspect ratios and resolutions for the latest iPad and iPhone models, and an improved iOS 13 Dark Mode.

In addition to the new features, LumaFusion 2.1 brings a number of improvements, including dozens of UI ‘refinements,’ the ability play and pause previews with a single tap, rapid clip previewing using two-finger swipes, default ‘recommended’ export settings, improved project package format and exporting process, and the ability to long-press to quickly remove Network Drive servers.

Users can also expect general stability and performance improvements, as well as fixes for the level meters and the addition of text and color markers in library search. LumaFusion is available for iPad and iPhone from the App Store now for $ 29.99.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Why These are My Favorite Free Online Photo Editing Tools

23 Oct

The post Why These are My Favorite Free Online Photo Editing Tools appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

Are you looking for a way to keep your photography workflow going without your computer? Fortunately, there are some free online photo editing tools that can help you out. Here are a few of my favorites and why.

Maybe you’re traveling light or your computer doesn’t have enough capacity? Perhaps it just crashed and you sent it to get fixed? Whatever the reason, sometimes you just can’t work with downloadable programs.

Browser Photo Editors

But there are no more excuses because here are some great browser tools to solve your needs regardless of your level of expertise.

Google Photos

With Google Photos, you can have unlimited storage in their Cloud, but your photos and videos are limited to 16 MP in their file size. If you store files that are bigger than that, it eats into your Google Drive quota. Still, you can back up or share your images from anywhere you have Internet access.

If you want to learn more about protecting your work, check the article Are Your Photo Backups Rock Solid?

Back up, storage, archiving, organizing

Archiving

In order to keep track of all these images, you can organize them by album. But in case you haven’t gotten around to doing it, you can find them by type: video, movie, animations, collages or photos. Furthermore, you can search for them by the things or places featured in them, even if you didn’t tag them.

Albums, Artificial Intelligence, Face recognizion, Format

You can use Google Photos for free; all you need is to have a Google account. In this day and age, most of us already have one anyway.

Features

You can also create photo books to print directly from Google Photos. Other features include movies, collages, and animations.

print, buy, checkout, photobook, photoalbum

It includes some photo editing tools, but it’s mostly filters and very basic adjustments. If you need to do further edits, I suggest to move on to my next favorite on the list.

Fotor

Fotor is a photo editing and graphic design platform that you can use online or download it to your desktop. There is a free version or a paid pro version. The tools available depend on which of these combinations you’re using. Here, I’ll talk, as the title says, of the free online one.

interface, user experience, home page

Photo editing

I like the Fotor editor because it offers a good balance between customizable adjustments and one-click effects. If you want to do some controlled editing, just go to the Basic tab. If you prefer presets, go to Effects and Beauty. In these last ones, you’ll find some free choices and some premium ones.

post-production, photo-retouching,photo-editing

Collage

For the collage feature, it offers many more designs than Google Photos. There are four main categories, and each one has a series of templates. What I find particularly useful is Photo Stitching. With this, you can create a panorama by ‘stitching’ many images into one.

Collage, Montage, Design tools

Graphic Design

However, my favorite part is the ability to do graphic design. From a thank you card to a brochure, you can easily customize the templates with your photos. You can then adjust colors, fonts, and stickers to your liking.

The templates also cover any social media needs as well as the more traditional formats. Some are free and some you have to get the paid subscription.

Design, marketing, templates, social media, documents

Storage

If you decide to create an account, you also have free storage in the cloud for your photos and any work you make in Fotor. And, of course, if you go for the paid version, the storage space increases.

Pixlr

Pixlr is a browser photo editor that offers different versions to fit your needs. Again, there are different versions available that offer certain levels of functionality and effects.

The free Pixlr Express is very basic – not much more than any other editor.

Still free, the Pixlr Editor allows you to do more controlled and personalized edits and is the one I prefer to use.

Pixlr X, which is a blend of the first two, is the paid version, and it comes with more professional features.

interface, homepage, photo editor

Pixlr Editor

The interface is similar to Photoshop or GIMP, to explore these more in-depth, you can check my previous articles: A Brief Introduction to GIMP and How to Set Up the Photoshop Interface.

You’ll find a tool panel on the left side, the canvas for your image in the middle, and the panels for history, layers and other options on the right.

photo retouching, adjustments, photo editing

Tools

You have all the adjustments you need to correct and fine-tune your image and filters and effects for you to choose from. It also includes two of my most important tools when doing photo retouching – layers and masks.

layers, photo editing, black and white

Conclusion

I hope you liked my list of favorite free online photo editing tools. Remember, there are many solutions out there that are free. I’ll leave you some related articles in case you want to explore some more tools and software.

Please, also share your favorite free online photo editing tools with us in the comments section.

Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips

09 Oct

The post Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

Sunrise pictures can be tricky. Even the most dedicated photographer can get frustrated with sub-par results, often with foregrounds that are too dark or a nice round sun that appears white and washed-out. While things like timing and technique are critical for taking good sunrise pictures, another element is the editing. With a few Lightroom sunrise photo editing tips, you can take a boring, bland sunrise and turn it into a work of art.

Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips

To get a good finished photo you need a solid starting point. That means your initial sunrise photo needs to meet a few basic parameters:

It must be shot in RAW.
The sky should be properly exposed, which means the foreground will be dark.
It’s helpful to shoot with low ISO values to give you as much headroom as possible when editing.

If you start with a sunrise photo that meets these parameters, you can use a few sliders and options in Lightroom to bring out the colors and brilliance that you saw with your eyes when you shot it.

To illustrate this process, I’m going to walk through an example of sunrise photo editing. The picture below is a RAW file straight out of my camera.

Original RAW file straight from my camera. Nikon D750, 50mm, f/4, 1/180 second, ISO 320.

This picture might not look very impressive, but that’s the point. If I had exposed for the foreground, the dark areas would be bright and natural. The trade-off is that parts of the sky would be so bright they would be unrecoverable in Lightroom.

Everything needed for a beautiful sunrise photo is fully intact in this dark, underexposed image. I just need to coax out the colors with a little sunrise photo editing.

Step 1: Shadows

The first thing to do is brighten the foreground by adjusting the shadows. Locate the Basic Panel in the Lightroom Develop module and push the Shadows slider all the way to the right.

Boosting the shadows will make the dark foreground a lot more usable.

This makes the foreground much brighter. It is very close to how the scene looked when I shot the picture. I was on my bike, and there’s no way I would have ridden to work that morning in the complete pitch black!

With the shadows lifted, the foreground is brighter. You can also see that there is plenty of image data captured in the RAW file to work with.

Step 2: White balance and graduated filters

After bringing up the shadows, the next step is to tweak the colors of the sky and foreground. The graduated filter is perfect for this since your edits are applied gradually, as the name implies.

Graduated Filters are ideal for sunrise photos.

The values you use for this will depend greatly on the look you want in your picture. For a good starting point, I recommend lowering the Temperature, raising the Whites, and increasing the Saturation. Feel free to tweak the other settings to your liking, but I recommend being a little conservative at this point. You can always go back and change things later. If you have objects protruding into your sky like trees, buildings, or mountains, you can use the Range Mask option. Then your edits are only applied to the sky and nothing else.

Image: When using a Graduated Filter on the sky, I like to lower the color temperature and increase...

When using a Graduated Filter on the sky, I like to lower the color temperature and increase saturation. You might find other tweaks to be helpful as well.

After adjusting the sky, use a second Graduated Filter to perform a similar operation on the foreground. Click the New button at the top of the Graduated Filter panel, and click-and-drag on the picture to apply your filter.

Move the Temperature slider to the right so the foreground is a little warmer. Then adjust other options like Exposure, Texture, and Sharpness as needed.

Image: A second Graduated Filter in the opposite direction can be useful for giving the foreground a...

A second Graduated Filter in the opposite direction can be useful for giving the foreground a warmer white balance.

There’s no correct way to do this next step because everyone has unique taste and preferences. I used the following values on the image above, but your results will vary depending on your picture.

Image: When applying a second Graduated Filter to the foreground, it can be useful to edit some othe...

When applying a second Graduated Filter to the foreground, it can be useful to edit some other parameters as well, especially Exposure and Shadows.

Step 3: Crop the picture

Some will debate the exact stage in the process where you need to crop your picture. Others will say that a good photographer should use what comes out of the camera and never crop anything! I say it’s your picture and if you want to crop, go right ahead. I recommend cropping after your basic adjustments are in place. Those operations can bring out things formerly hidden and give you a better sense of how you really want to crop the image.

In the image I’m working with for this example, I don’t like the “Speed Limit 35” sign on the right side. If I crop that out, then I need also to re-frame the picture, so the sun is in the middle.

You can use cropping to get the dimensions and proportions of your picture just right.

Step 4: General Color Adjustments

After making your initial set of adjustments, and cropping the picture to your liking, it’s time to head to the HSL/Color panel to tweak the individual colors of the sunrise. Bring up the Saturation level of orange, blue, and red while also adjusting the Hue and Luminance to get just the right look. As before, be careful not to go overboard since too much tweaking makes your picture look unnatural.

For the picture below, I adjusted the Hue and Saturation of Blue by +20 each, and the Saturation of Orange by 14.

Image: Adjusting the blues and oranges can really bring out some of the vivid colors of a sunrise pi...

Adjusting the blues and oranges can really bring out some of the vivid colors of a sunrise picture.

Don’t overdo your adjustments or your image will look fake and over-saturated.

Step 5: Detailed enhancements

As with cropping, some photographers have varying opinions on when to do this step while others skip it entirely. I like to do it near the end of the editing process after I have made my other adjustments. However, you might find it better utilized at an earlier phase. Head back to the Basic panel where everything began and fine-tune a couple of other sliders like Highlights, Whites, Texture, and even Exposure if you need to.

Final tweaks help put the finishing touches on your sunrise.

At this point, you’re really just putting the finishing touches on, almost like adding a pinch of salt or garlic powder to a pot of soup that’s ready to eat. I sometimes get lost down an image-editing rabbit hole at this step. I find myself endlessly tweaking the sliders in a vain attempt to chase perfection. If that happens to you, walk away from your computer for an hour. When you return, you may be pleasantly surprised at how good your picture looks, with no additional tweaking required.

Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips

You can also use the Spot Removal tool to clean up dust or dirt on the lens as well as fix other imperfections. There are also several Sharpening options to make your sunrise a little more clear and crisp.

From good to great

As with most photo editing situations, your results will vary greatly depending on a variety of factors. I have found that this same process, with different degrees of adjustments to the sliders, works quite well for me. It would probably work as a good starting point for you too. Still, I encourage you to experiment and develop your own editing style over time.

For one more example of how this process can yield good results, I started with the following RAW file. I shot this picture just as the sun was coming up in rural Nebraska.

RAW file straight out of my camera. 50mm, f/8, 1/180 second, ISO 100. As with the other image at the top of this article, the original is severely underexposed but contains all the data needed when editing in Lightroom.

I used the exact same process described in this article to vastly improve the picture in less than two minutes.

Two minutes later and it’s been transformed into a frame-worthy midwestern sunrise.

I hope these sunrise photo editing tips help you achieve some epic photos!

I’d love to see some of your sunrise shots and hear about the editing process you use as well. Leave your thoughts, as well as any pictures you’d like to share, in the comments below.

The post Create Amazing Sunrise Photos with these Easy Lightroom Editing Tips appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

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Exposure Software releases Exposure X5 image editing and organizing software

02 Oct

Exposure Software (formerly Alien Skin) has released its new flagship product, the image editing and organizing software Exposure X5. The new package comes with long list of improvements over the last version Exposure X4.5 which includes the following:

3D Color Masking allows you to control where an image adjustment is applied by color characteristics such as hue, saturation, and luminance. You can select foreground or background areas, skies, skin tones or specific color ranges using the tool.
Chromatic Aberration Correction removes color fringes caused by lens refraction. Corrections can be applied by selecting a lens profile or manually for more precise control. Apply via lens profile or by manual adjustment if precise control is desired.
Vignette Correction does what it says on the tin and lifts the brightness around the edges of your images to counteract vignetting effects. Like the CA correction, this can be applied using a lens profile or manually.
Custom Camera Profiles let you control the JPG color rendering from RAW data for a particular camera. Camera profiles created by X-Rite or other software can be automatically applied by matching a camera model or serial number. Optionally they can also be applied when matching a specific lens or a pre-defined ISO range.

Other new few features and functions include complementary color presets, additional black&white film simulation presets, new image flip options, support for gatscale TIF and JPG images as well as multiple user interface language options.

Owners of Exposure X4 who purchased their copy on or after August 1st, 2019 will be receiving a free upgrade to Exposure X5 soon. Anyone you bought any Exposure version before this date will be able to purchase an update version for $ 89. The full version will set you back $ 119. A 30 day trial version is available. You’ll find more information on the Exposure website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Loupedeck+ Review – the Perfect Editing Companion for Lightroom and Premiere?

02 Oct

The post Loupedeck+ Review – the Perfect Editing Companion for Lightroom and Premiere? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Carl Spring.

Loupedeck+ Review - the Perfect Editing Companion for Lightroom and Premiere?

There is something undeniably cool about Hollywood editing studios. I remember seeing one in a magazine as a child and wanting to play with it. Thinking how cool it would be to figure out what all the dials did and edit Hollywood Blockbusters. I never made it in Hollywood, but I can remember my first editing console. Purchased from the high street, it allowed me to link 2 VCR players and have a fade and wipe slider for video. It even had an audio fader that allowed me to (surprisingly) fade audio. At the time it was amazing! I made a lot of skateboard videos using that console.

Obviously we’ve moved to digital everything, but there is something about using knobs and dials to edit that I have always liked. So, when I was given the opportunity to try the Loupedeck+, I jumped at the chance to get hands-on with it.

What is it?

Simply put, Loupedeck+ is a keyboard-sized photo editing console. The main editing functions are controlled via a series of knobs and buttons.

Loupedeck started life on Indiegogo. The initial Loupedeck was marketed as a photo editing console just for Lightroom. With the Loupedeck+, however, it has become much more than that. The new version has support for several different software platforms too.

This device is still aimed primarily at Adobe users, with support for most of the Creative Suite. There is also support for Apple’s Final Cut and Aurora HDR and is also currently in Beta testing with Capture One Pro, which is my preferred choice of photo editor.

Out of the box

In terms of looks, it is beautifully packaged. However, that doesn’t mean anything if the product itself is not up to scratch. The Loupedeck however, definitely is. Although fully plastic, everything is solid and feels like it will survive long term usage. The only exception to this is the control dial, which does feel a little flimsy compared to the rest of the device.

In terms of the buttons, when making notes, I put down that they are squishy but solid. I still think that’s the best way to describe them. There is also a nice little detail for the cable to connect the Loupedeck. There are grooves that allow you to place it to work with how your computer is setup. It’s not a deal-breaker, but attention to detail like this tends to show the makers care about the end-user.

The Loupedeck+ is well built apart from the control dial. It just feels a little flimsy. However, in use, it has been flawless so far.

Getting set up

Once you have unpackaged your Loupedeck, the next stage is setting it up. To do this, you need to install the Loupedeck software. This is a simple download from the Loupedeck website, which then allows you to customize the Loupedeck to your specific editing preferences.

I have left it is standard for now, but I can definitely see me looking into this again to fine-tune it to how I edit.

Once you have the software installed, it is as simple as choosing which software you want to use the Loupedeck with and off you go. Loupedeck has a series of guides for each piece of software that it is compatible with. I recommend having these on hand, especially when using software other than Lightroom. Even with Lightroom though, it is worth having nearby to see what extras you may find yourself reaching for.

The fact that the user guide for Lightroom alone is 31 pages tells you what level of customization is possible.

Image: To get started with Loupedeck+ you need to download the software from the Loupedeck website....

To get started with Loupedeck+ you need to download the software from the Loupedeck website. Once installed, choose your software and away you go.

The learning curve

The learning curve is in two parts; getting used to the Loupedeck from your usual editing routine, and how Loupedeck reduces the learning curve of the software.

To test this, I got my wife to use Loupedeck to work on a wedding we had recently shot. She normally helps make picks, but she has very limited editing experience. She can just about manage to tweak exposure a little, but that’s it.

I put her at the Loupedeck and asked her to try and edit images she thought needed work. After about 2 minutes of me explaining the device, she started. Two more minutes passed before she explained how brilliant it was.

By removing the need to search through the menus (of Capture One in our case), she was able to edit photos easily and without needing constant reminders of the locations of buttons or sliders. It made her experiment more, and within an hour, she felt completely confident using the Loupedeck.

For beginners, this will make the process of learning to edit (especially in Lightroom) so much easier. Everything is at hand, and the layout makes it simpler for beginners to experiment. They can use more of the features of the program without the need to remember the locations in the menus.

For me, as a power user of Capture One, the learning curve was a little steeper. I’ve put this down to Capture One currently being in Beta testing. There are some quirks I needed to get used to when editing, such as using the color balance tool.

There is also the fact that when you use the software every day, you acquire muscle memory from the keyboard shortcuts you use most often. Moving to dials does take a while to get used to.

I do feel that even for Lightroom users (whom this deck was designed for), the change to Loupedeck will mean your editing is slower until you get up to speed. However, I am talking only hours here, not days.

Loupedeck+ and Lightroom

Obviously I wanted to start this test with Lightroom as this is really the program the device is designed for. Now I am not a Lightroom user, so having me use this is more like an inexperienced Lightroom editor versus someone who uses it every day.

I loaded up a selection of images into a catalog and began editing. Using the Loupedeck was completely intuitive. I simply started to edit images without the need to try and remember control locations. It was as easy as twisting the dials with the required name on them. In my experience, the Loupdeck+ and Lightroom work flawlessly together. There is no lag, and the degree of control with each twist feels perfect. Everything is at hand, and if you do find yourself needing something that is not here, you can customize the software until your heart’s content.

It made the process of editing in Lightroom a pleasure and, as a hardcore Capture One user, that is the highest praise I can give it.

It is easy to see that the Loupedeck+ is designed with Lightroom users in mind.

Loupedeck+ and Capture One Pro

Because I’m not a Lightroom user, I went down the road that is Beta testing to put the Loupedeck in my day-to-day editing software.

Now compared to Lightroom, I found editing in Capture One Pro to be a more clunky affair. The problem is that in its current Beta state, the Loupedeck doesn’t offer the same level of functionality. This is something that Loupedeck are working on and are currently looking for feedback from any Capture One users to help improve the experience.

The basic adjustments work perfectly well in Capture One. To adjust white balance and exposure is just as good as Lightroom. However, there are elements, such as resetting adjustments, that are not there.

The issue here is that the Loupedeck was designed with Lightroom in mind and Capture One works differently. The most obvious example of this is the P1-P8 buttons. In Lightroom, these assign to presets; however, in Capture One, they are simply not set up.

Shooting Fuji, I would love to map this to my film curves, where it would be great to choose the look of my image. However, at present, this is not possible. For more advanced editing, it can be frustrating, and I find myself reaching for the mouse and keyboard more often than I would like.

It’s not perfect by any means, and it does sound a little doom and gloom, but in terms of basic edits, it really did speed up my workflow. I have now edited two weddings with the Loupedeck, and it has definitely saved me some time. Also being super simple for basic adjustments, it really has allowed my wife to do basic edits for things such as exposure.
When editing a wedding, I reach for it straight away. It really is something that after using it, I wouldn’t be without.

The best thing about using Loupedeck+ with Capture One is that I know it can only get better from here. Once there are some more options added, and a few things ironed out from the beta testing, I feel this will be a powerful editing tool.

Loupedeck+ and Photoshop

This is where things start to feel like I was using the Loupedeck for the sake of it. When editing a RAW file, it was great, but after that, I really felt no benefit from using it. When editing in Photoshop, you tend to use your mouse or tablet much more.

You can use it for working with curves, but you need to work with the mouse too, and I found it just too clunky. Other things like zoom in and out, which are mapped to knobs, simply do not work as well as using the middle mouse button.

Unlike using it in Lightroom and Capture One, when working in Photoshop, I found myself using it for the sake of it, rather than reaping any real benefit. I do feel that the Loupedeck+ working with more software is good. However, I feel that, in some cases, it just feels like it is added for marketing over actual functionality.

Loupedeck+ and Premiere

The ability for Loupedeck to work with Premiere was something that I found myself excited to try. I am by no means a power user, but I know my way around Premiere and edit with it enough to consider myself proficient.

Using Loupedeck with Premiere, though, is where things go a little too far for me. When using it to edit a video, it was just too hard for me to remember what all the functions did. It could be due to my lack of time spent in Premiere, but I think it’s more than that. When photo editing, things like exposure, and contrast are the same no matter which program you use. Video editing, however, uses a completely different language.

It is not that you can’t learn how to use Loupedeck with Premiere. I think once you got used to what each button and dial was mapped to, it would really speed things up. However, as someone who uses the software occasionally, I would find it hard to remember the settings for Premiere.

I think the best way to sum it up is that if you are buying a Loupdeck+ solely for Premiere use, you may face a steep learning curve. For me, to have it as a bonus is nice, even though I can’t really see myself using it.

As you can see from the layout above, Loupedeck is not as intuitive in Premiere.

Conclusion

It’s hard to sum up the Loupedeck+.

Some may see this as a gimmick you will buy, only to put it in the cupboard after a few months to gather dust. But that really isn’t how it is. It’s a well-made, high-quality device that really is a time-saver, especially in basic edits.

I use the Loupedeck+ on every edit now. That must say something. It has sped up my editing (it needs to, I am currently behind on editing a wedding and am writing this article rather than doing that). However, I do still find myself reaching for the keyboard or mouse quite often. I think the best way is to give three different outcomes, depending on what software you use.

If you’re a Capture One user like me, you may find it frustrating. It is almost there, close to being great, but then there are silly little things that are really annoying! However, this is in beta testing, which means things are still ironing out. I am sure this is going to improve moving forward. It’s just a question of whether you are willing to pay for something that doesn’t quite work as you would like it to.

If you’re using this on Premiere or Final Cut, you will need to spend some serious time with the manual. It really is not intuitive in the same way it is for photo editing. If you are willing to put in the time, I am sure it will speed up your workflow. I do question how long it would take to get to this point though.

Lastly, Lightroom. This is still what they designed the Loupedeck for. If you are a Lightroom user, I would definitely suggest getting your hands on a Loupedeck+ – It really does make editing much faster. It worked incredibly well in use, and I enjoyed editing in Lightroom. This really is the highest praise I can give it.

However, where this console really shines is for new users. If you are new to editing, I cannot recommend this enough. I wish something like this had existed when I started editing. It makes the process of understanding how tools work so much more organic. Beginners will get a lot out of using a device like this – It just makes editing more intuitive. My wife managed to edit much better than ever before in minutes.

Moving forward, I will continue to use a Loupedeck+ to edit. Maybe it’s just my old ways. Maybe it means I get to pretend I am in a film studio editing suite. Or maybe, it’s something that I never really thought I would want, but now don’t want to stop using.

In all honesty, I think it’s all three.

The post Loupedeck+ Review – the Perfect Editing Companion for Lightroom and Premiere? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Carl Spring.

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ACDSee Video Studio 4 Review – An Intuitive, Easy-to-Use Video Editing Software

16 Sep

The post ACDSee Video Studio 4 Review – An Intuitive, Easy-to-Use Video Editing Software appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Carl Spring.

In this review, we take a look at the new video-editing software – ACDSee Video Studio 4.

Video is something that, as photographers, we seem to be delving into more and more. Whether that be capturing behind the scenes of photoshoots to create marketing material or simply a video of your photo adventures with friends, video is something many of us are either doing or may want to do. However, it’s not always as easy as that.

Image: Video Studio 4 is great for editing short clips for social media or uploading to YouTube. It...

Video Studio 4 is great for editing short clips for social media or uploading to YouTube. It will not, however, enhance your skills in front of the camera, as you will see later in this review!

The main problem with video content isn’t necessarily shooting the video, but the editing process. I am sure some of you have lots of video footage that you always intend to make into a video (as I have), but it never gets made. You start with good intentions, but the editing always seems to be the sticking point. For those who don’t edit very often or are new to video, editing can be hard and so much software lacks user-friendliness.

Video software usually comes with a steep learning curve too. Those that many consider the standard, Premiere and Final Cut, aren’t particularly user-friendly to the novice user. You will end up spending hours of your time watching YouTube videos to simply understand the basics of how to create a simple edit for either of those pieces of software.

ACDSee has set out to change that. With their latest software, Video Studio 4, you get powerful video editing built into a software that is intuitive and simple to use.

Opening it up

When you launch the software, the layout you see may resemble others. However, with ACDSee Video Studio 4, this layout is streamlined, and the most useful stuff is there, ready and waiting.

On the left side, there are 10 different options for you to work with. They are laid out in a way that guides you through the process of editing from start to finish.

Let’s go through them to see how you can use each one.

The left panel

Media

Video Studio 4 accepts a wide variety of formats for audio, video, and images. These are:

Image formats: JPG, JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG, HEIC
Audio formats: WMA, MP3, AAC, WAV, AC3, OGG, M4A
Video formats: AVI, MP4, WMV, FLV, MOV, TS, MTS, M2TS, ASF, M4V, MPG, MPEG

As you can see, the software can handle pretty much any format you want to use. It is great to see such a wide range of options available. It means you don’t need to worry about converting files before editing.

Image: Here is a variety of a png, JPEGs and HEVC iPhone footage. ACDSee Video Studio 4 handled them...

Here is a variety of a png, JPEGs and HEVC iPhone footage. ACDSee Video Studio 4 handled them flawlessly.

Captions

Adding in titles and captions is simple and easy. A wide variety of fonts and placement options means you can create a title for your videos quickly.

There are several different styles to work with when it comes to adding titles and captions.

Audio Recorder

If you make videos, sooner or later you will find yourself in a situation where you need to record a voiceover. With ACDSee Video Studio 4, you can record audio directly into the software, thus, keeping everything together. This means you don’t have to move between programs to record extra audio. A really fantastic little tool that you may not think is useful – until you need it.

Transitions

With 30 different transitions to choose from, you can easily apply transitions between video clips. Tweaking these to your desired length is simply a matter of dragging them onto the timeline. Some are cheesy, some are incredibly cheesy, but you have options. I am a simple “fade” guy, but if you want something different, you will definitely find it here.

Image: Whilst there are several to choose from, I rarely tend to look past a “fade” or...

Whilst there are several to choose from, I rarely tend to look past a “fade” or “fade to black” transition. If you do, there are several options.

Audio Effects

Adding fade in and outs to your audio tracks is simple and easy too. You can do it manually, but by using the presets and then tweaking to get the desired effect, you can really save some time. You’ll also get your content created much quicker and easier than ever.

It is easy to add fade in and outs with audio in the program.

Animations

New in this version of ACDSee Video Studio 4 is the ability to use keyframes to make custom animations. This allows you to create bespoke animations for your clips, which is great when using a still image in your video.

There are also some great presets to use as starting points, which you can fine-tune to get your clips just how you want them.

You can start with one of the inbuilt animations or start from scratch.

Behavior

Behaviors are customizable entrance and exit effects. You can use these on a clip to really emphasize the clips’ start and end. Simply tweak each effect to customize it to your taste.

I really didn’t see where I would use this, and it feels a little gimmicky. This is a feature most people will not use too often, but in the right hands, I am sure you can do something cool with it.

Filters

ACDSee Video Studio 4 gives you many filter options to tweak the look of your clip. When applied, these filters tweak things like the clips color, and exposure. There are also several creative effects for quick and easy effects for your footage.

There are several options to explore here. Which ones you choose depends on your taste and preference, but there is something to please most people here. You will no doubt find your favorites when you have used the software a few times, and these will become your go-to filters.

You can add multiple filters should you need or want to. They stack on top of each other in the clip, and you can edit them individually.

Image: This shows the exposure filter in action. It worked well on a clip that was underexposed. The...

This shows the exposure filter in action. It worked well on a clip that was underexposed. There are many others – some good, some that you probably won’t use.

Overlays

Overlays are effects that sit on top of your clips. Some of these, such as the animated hearts and bubbles, are an acquired taste and most of you probably won’t touch them (but will no doubt serve a great purpose for the young generation). However, light leaks and film scratches can give a great effect, depending on the look you are going for with your project.

Image: You can add filters to give your footage a certain look. Some are a little cheesy IMHO, but t...

You can add filters to give your footage a certain look. Some are a little cheesy IMHO, but there are some really nice ones, such as old film, which I used here.

Advanced Effects

This is where the software gets seriously impressive. Here you will find some features most commonly found in high-end editing software, yet they come with the ease and simplicity of use that makes Video Studio 4 so user-friendly.

Starting with one of the new features in Video Studio 4 is Remove Color. This is most commonly used for green screen work. This allows you to shoot against a green screen (or other color backgrounds) and remove it from the clip. You can then add in a background of your choice. This is great for YouTube videos, where you can buy a cheap green screen (or even use a green sheet) and then add in a background you created in Photoshop or similar. It can give you a host of creative options, is incredibly simple to use, and really powerful.

A new cool feature is Color LUTS. These allow you to add a variety of different color grade options to your footage to enhance their look.

Another new addition allows you to adjust the speed of your footage. You can create time effects such as slow-motion, or speed up the timing of your clip.

The last new addition is Mosaic, which is great to blur out items in clips, such as car number plates. This can then be sized and tweaked to match your clip. Again this is one of those tools that you probably won’t use very often, but when you do need it, you will be glad the software includes this handy tool.

Image: You can add LUTS to color your footage. Start with a preset or upload your own. For the short...

You can add LUTS to color your footage. Start with a preset or upload your own. For the short video I created, I used Tinsel.

Using ACDSEE Video Studio 4

It’s one thing to list all the features of a software, but it is another thing entirely to put it in practice. With this in mind, I put a few things together in ACDSee Video Studio 4.

The first project involved taking a couple of clips from a photoshoot on my iPhone and making them into a quick clip for Instagram. I also wanted to try out the screen recording software that comes with Video Studio 4 so I used this to make a quick tutorial on creating custom animations in the software.

Lastly, I wanted to test one of the key new features, Remove Color.

Green screen test

As this was one of the new features of the software, I was keen to test it out. However, rather than test this with a perfectly lit green screen, I tested it in a more common situation. At first, I tried against a blue block wall, not expecting it to work at all.

Then I used a green screen I borrowed from a friend. Now, this is by no means a high-end green screen. In fact, one of the stands fell to pieces when we were putting it up and had to be held together with tape! I also didn’t iron the green material (as you can see in the clip). It was a very cheap eBay purchase, but it is the type of setup the most people will use when starting with a green screen, so I wanted to see the results.

I used no specialist lighting in the setup either. Again, with the right type of equipment, this is super easy, both for the editor and the software. But, I wanted to push it a little…

Here are the results:

As you can see, the software worked pretty well on the green screen (just a slight issue with the reflection in my glasses) and surprisingly well on the blue wall, even if it didn’t manage to get it quite perfect. I think that a simple, smooth painted wall, with decent natural light, would work perfectly well for this type of work. Moreover, with an ideal studio lighting setup, it would work great.

The tutorial video

ACDSee Video Studio 4 also comes with software that allows you to record your screen, which I wanted to test to create a simple instructional video. As I am reviewing the software, I decided to make a quick tutorial on creating a logo animation. I simply selected the inbuilt Mic and Webcam and hit the record button.

When you have finished recording your footage, it drops it directly into Video Studio 4 ready to edit. Editing is then simple.

Here is the result:

If you are looking to get into creating tutorial videos for your photography, or tutorials for any software, Video Studio 4 is great.

The Insta edit

What I see as the biggest possible use of this software is for quick, simple edits for Instagram. This software is perfect for that purpose –one of those situations where you just want to put a few clips together and make an edit as quickly as possible.

In this example, I had three phone clips I wanted to use. I also had my logo and background I created in Photoshop. With all I needed ready to go, I jumped into Video Studio 4 for the first time.

It is super simple to use, and within minutes I had a completed video.

The first thing I wanted to do was to create a quick intro using my logo. I saved my logo as a .png file so that I could keep the background transparent so it would work with layers. Then I placed both the background and the logo into the software. To add some animation, I used the custom animation feature in Video Studio 4. By dragging and dropping this onto the logo, I was able to quickly add two 360-degree motions to the logo to add interest.

It was easier than I imagined. Within 20 seconds, I had my animated logo.

Then I added transitions to the start and end of the clip as well as adding an old film overlay. That was it. One minute and I had a finished animated logo. If I wanted to, I could export this clip and use it in all future videos as an intro. That saves even more time when creating clips like this.

Next, I needed to insert my clips. Again, it was simply a matter of drag and dropping them to get them onto the timeline. To trim the clips to the required length, you have two options:

drag the ends of the clip to where you want them, or
split the clip where you want the edit and delete the part that you want to trim.

I found this splitting quicker, and this is what I did for the rest of the clip.

With my clips trimmed, I also needed to remove the audio. There are two ways you can do this: Method one is to adjust the sound level of the clip by right-clicking on it and selecting Edit Audio. This is great when you want to adjust the sound levels of a clip. In this case, however, I didn’t need the audio at all, so split the clip into separate audio and video tracks. This way, I was able to delete the audio from the clip quite simply.

Image: You can either edit the audio level of clips or split the audio, which is what I did here. As...

You can either edit the audio level of clips or split the audio, which is what I did here. As I didn’t need sound, I simply deleted the audio from the clips.

I then added transitions between clips. While there are loads to choose from, you will probably find yourself going back to a select few. In my case, I have always tended to use Fade to Black or Cross Fade (called Fade in Video Studio 4).

For the last stage, I easily added a LUT to the footage. There are several LUTs in Video Studio 4, or you can upload them into the software. I decided to use the Tinsel LUT, which adds a color grade to the footage.

Adding music

When I watched the footage back, I decided I wanted to add some music. I used a track by A Himitsu, the details of which are as follows:

Adventures by A Himitsu, Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0

Music released by Argofox Music provided by Audio Library

Once I had the music in, I wanted to move my edits a little to match the music. Even though I had LUTs applied and fades in place, this was easy, and there was no lag when dragging clips around. The software felt speedy throughout using it, which was reassuring. With the music added, and clips altered, I just needed to add an audio transition to fade the music out, which I then tweaked until I was happy with it.

All complete, it was time to export my project. You can see the final edit below.

Export

Exporting is quick and easy and helped by Video Studio 4 holding your hand through the process. You can export and save to a file, or you can upload directly to YouTube or Vimeo. Just log in to YouTube and follow the instructions. In terms of time, the software exported quickly, and I didn’t notice a difference in export times compared to using other editing software.

You can also export to an animated gif, which is ideal for things like action sports clips.

As you can probably guess, the theme of simple and easy continues here. Video Studio 4 guides you through things in the beginning while allowing you the ability to be more creative as your confidence grows.

Image: Video Studio 4 guides you through the export process. You can export to file or upload direct...

Video Studio 4 guides you through the export process. You can export to file or upload directly to YouTube, which is what I did. It was simple and worked perfectly.

Support

ACDSee has some great training videos for their software on their website. For those of you new to video editing, these are well worth a watch to get you started with Video Studio 4. I am sure that more will be added over time, but they have everything you need to get started. There is also great technical support should you have any other issues.

Below is an example of their training videos with Director of Photography, Alex Watson. Before anyone says it in the comments, I know his delivery is a little better than mine.

Who is this software for?

If you use Premiere or Final Cut, you will have more than likely not even made it this far. It is not as fully featured as these programs and is in no way a replacement, but that is not the purpose of this software.

ACDSee Video Studio 4 is for those who are new to video editing or who just want to create quality content without having to spend large amounts of time learning to use software.

While Video Studio 4 is incredibly user-friendly for the beginner, it also contains many features for those wanting to delve deeper and use more advanced features such as the green screen.

In a nutshell, the aim of Video Studio 4 is to create professional videos quickly and easily for those new to video. It does this impressively well.
It is really competitively priced, and for those who are new to video and use PC, I can’t think of a better alternative.

Final thoughts

ACDSee Video Studio 4 is a simple to use, yet surprisingly powerful video editor. It is not a replacement for Premiere, nor is it intended to be. There are some really powerful features in here, but it also contains some stuff that I would personally never use. For example, some of the fades and overlays feel cheesy and overdone. Then again, as a teen starting out with video editing, these will more than likely be fun, and I am sure they will get used in creative ways. Maybe it’s more me being an old stick in the mud for the classics?

If you have been thinking about adding video to what you do, I would recommend you try Video Studio 4. This is simple to do as ACDSee have a free trial, allowing you to try before you buy. When it comes to purchasing, you also have options. You can purchase the software outright, or you can get it as part of the ACDSee 365 plan, which also includes ACDSee’s Photo Studio software for a simple monthly payment.

ACDSee is known for offering alternative software that is feature-packed, simple to use, with a great price tag. With Video Studio 4, ACDSee has definitely cemented that reputation.

ACDSee is a paid partner of dPS.

The post ACDSee Video Studio 4 Review – An Intuitive, Easy-to-Use Video Editing Software appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Carl Spring.

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5 Photo Editing Mistakes Every Beginner Must Avoid

12 Sep

The post 5 Photo Editing Mistakes Every Beginner Must Avoid appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kunal Malhotra.

We are fortunate enough to be able to capture photos in digital format and edit them later using multiple software. You can adjust exposure, white balance and replace the background with only a few clicks. Being able to edit our photos as per our requirement is a great power – but we must not overuse it. In this article, I share 5 photo editing mistakes which I have made in my initial days as a photographer. I hope that some of you photography enthusiasts will benefit from my learning over the years.

1. Selective coloring

The image on the left looks more professional and is an ideal portrait, while the image in the right looks very unprofessional.

Sometimes we get so obsessed with a particular element in our frame that we desperately want to highlight it. One of the options that you might opt for is selective coloring, and it can easily go wrong. This is a technique where you keep a selective part of the image colored, making the remainder of the image black and white.

As a beginner, you might be super excited while working on your first few selective-colored images. And you should be.

However, if you wish to step up your photography game and make your images look more professional, avoid using selective coloring.

5-Photo-Editing-Mistakes

I would suggest you work on your perspective and composition if you wish to highlight a particular object or color in the frame. Try to frame that highlighting subject in a manner that it stands out in the frame.

If not, you can selectively boost the exposure or saturation in editing without applying the selective coloring method.

2. Overuse of HDR technique

Of the 5 photo editing mistakes I list, if there is an award for the most overused editing technique, it must go to the HDR effect. I must admit that during the first two years, I used to click multiple exposures of almost everything. Then later, I used to merge those exposures to get the HDR effect, thinking I was such a cool photographer.

You must understand the actual meaning of HDR, which is High Dynamic Range. Use it only when you feel that the camera is not able to capture the dynamic range of the scene the way you see it with your eyes. All you have to do is capture 3, 6, or 9 frames of different exposures and later merge them using apps such as Adobe Lightroom.

This is an over-processed HDR image.

There are few apps which allow you to get the HDR effect using a single photo, but that is simply a gimmick which you must use carefully.

3. Over-saturation

We all come across photos with vibrant and attractive colors, especially on photo-sharing apps such as Instagram. Trying to gain similar results, you might be boosting the saturation level way too far. Over-saturation in your photos can make a well-composed frame look average because you boosted the colors way too much.

The image on the right has way too much saturation, as can be clearly seen on the face.

While editing a photo for 3-5 minutes or more, it’s difficult to tell if the photo is well-saturated or over-saturated. Here is a quick tip that I follow that may help you as well: After your final edit is complete, take a 2-minute break from the screen. Now come back to your device and see if the saturation level works or is too much. Trust me; this practice is going to help you a lot if you edit a single photo for more than 4-5 minutes.

4. Converting to ‘Black & White’ when not required

Simply taking the saturation slider all the way to ‘-100’ does not make any image look good in monochrome. If I am converting any image black and white in editing, I check if the frame has contrast in it. If not, I try and avoid converting that image to monochrome.

Image: The colors in the image on the left are much more appealing as compared to the monochrome ima...

The colors in the image on the left are much more appealing as compared to the monochrome image on the right.

Even if a scene has good contrast, check if any prominent colors might complement the colored image. Your frame might have a beautiful and colorful sunset, but because you are used to converting any image into monochrome, you might make a wrong decision.

Be patient and analyze the image. If you feel the colors are not that appealing or the image has high contrast, go ahead and convert it to black and white.

5. Overuse of vignetting effect

The use of the vignetting effect in editing is a personal preference. I have seen many beginners use strong vignetting effects, especially in portraits. I love using a vignetting effect in photos where I want emphasis on a particular subject – but not in every image.

Try and avoid using this effect on photos such as landscapes, or try to keep it subtle so that the overall beauty of the frame does not get destroyed.

The image on the right does not look good because of the overuse of the vignetting effect.

Have you been making any of these 5 photo editing mistakes? Or if you wish to add any editing mistake to the list, feel free to comment below.

The post 5 Photo Editing Mistakes Every Beginner Must Avoid appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kunal Malhotra.

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Posts Tagged ‘Editing’

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Portrait Enhancer

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Who’s it for?

Google Photos

Archiving

Features

Fotor

Photo editing

Collage

Graphic Design

Storage

Pixlr

Pixlr Editor

Tools

Conclusion

Related Topics:

Step 1: Shadows

Step 2: White balance and graduated filters

Step 3: Crop the picture

Step 4: General Color Adjustments

Step 5: Detailed enhancements

From good to great

What is it?

Out of the box

Getting set up

The learning curve

Loupedeck+ and Lightroom

Loupedeck+ and Capture One Pro

Loupedeck+ and Photoshop

Loupedeck+ and Premiere

Conclusion

Opening it up

The left panel

Media

Captions

Audio Recorder

Transitions

Audio Effects

Animations

Behavior

Filters

Overlays

Advanced Effects

Using ACDSEE Video Studio 4

Green screen test

The tutorial video

The Insta edit

Adding music

Export

Support

Who is this software for?

Final thoughts

1. Selective coloring

2. Overuse of HDR technique

3. Over-saturation

4. Converting to ‘Black & White’ when not required

5. Overuse of vignetting effect