Adobe has announced Photoshop Elements 2021 and Premiere Elements 2021. The applications are designed to provide powerful tools in a simple, easy-to-use interface. Adobe’s Sensei AI technology is also prevalent throughout both apps, delivering features such as adding motion to static images, fine-tuning the position of a person’s face, improving low-light video quality and more.
Looking first at Photoshop Elements 2021, there are quite a few new features. In addition to being able to transform a static image into moving photos with 2D and 3D motion using only a single click, users will be able to fine-tune face tilt and add quotes or personalized messages to images with templates.
In Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021, you can leverage the power of Adobe Sensei to fine-tune the tilt of a person’s face. Image credit: Adobe
Further, the existing Guided Edits feature has been updated with new edits, bringing the available total up to 58. When using a Guided Edit, the Photoshop Elements guides you step-by-step through different common editing situations and allows you to learn how to get the desired results. New Guided Edits include customized duotone effects; AI-powered landscape photo enhancement (including sky replacement, haze removal and object removal); and step-by-step help for moving, scaling and duplicating objects.
One of three new Guided Edits, Duotone allows you to apply custom two-color presets to your photos. Image credit: Adobe
In Adobe Premiere Elements 2021, users will be treated to GPU accelerated performance, resulting in faster high-quality playback of effects and improved performance when cropping video.
In addition to improved performance, there is a new Select Object feature. This allows you to select a specific object or area in your video and apply an effect that tracks across the entire video. If you want to add music to your videos, Adobe has added an additional 21 new music tracks you can select.
Adobe Premiere Elements 2021 includes GPU accelerated performance, promising faster editing and effect previews. Image credit: Adobe
In addition to the new Guided Edits for Photoshop Elements 2021, Premiere Elements 2021 includes a pair of new Guided Edits: Double Exposure and Animated Matte Overlays.
In both Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, users will be able to set up automatic back-up for their entire catalog structure, including albums, keyword tags, people, places, events and more. For a full breakdown of what’s new in Photoshop Elements 2021 and Premiere Elements 2021, click here.
In Premiere Elements 2021, you will be able to add a double exposure effect to your videos. Image credit: Adobe
Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements 2021 will each be available in the fourth quarter of this year for $ 99 USD, or you can purchase a bundle of the two applications for $ 149. Existing owners can upgrade individual apps for $ 79.99 or the two-app bundle for $ 119.99.
In order to run the apps on Windows, you must use Microsoft Windows 10 version 1903 or later. On Mac, macOS 10.14, 10.15 and macOS 11 are supported. For both Windows and macOS, Adobe recommends 8GB of RAM for editing photos, 16GB for editing Full HD video and 32GB or more for editing 4K video.
The post Ways Creativity Can Help in Times of Uncertainty appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Anthony Epes.
When times are challenging for us, either individually or collectively, I find that my photography plays an important role in helping me get through intense life experiences like those we are all experiencing right now. So today I want to share some valuable ideas on ways creativity can help in times of uncertainty.
Life feels so strange when you are tootling along, maybe a bit bored or lethargic, and then something deeply unsettling happens, seemingly out of the blue.
And you are confronted with the big life questions: how to survive when you are faced with pandemics, mortality, aging, illness, financial problems, etc.
Often, when things get tough, we stop doing the things that make us relax and make us happy. We contract with fear or worry; we start focusing on the uncertainty, the pain, and the problems.
But what I would love to share with you today is that, instead of contracting when things get rocky, instead of making our lives less joyful and fun, we can actually use photography, and our love of being creative, to help us cope in tough times.
Using our creativity can help us to explore the world. It can help to take our minds away from obsessive worrying, to look beyond our challenges, to find beauty in unexpected places, and to connect with others.
There are so many opportunities to weave in moments of immense joy from this incredible medium of photography that we all love so much.
So here are my ideas on how creativity can help you in times of uncertainty.
The simple joy of making
One of my favorite writers, Neil Gaiman, is extraordinary when discussing the benefits of being creative. But a very simple idea of his is perhaps the most powerful here:
“The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.” –Neil Gaiman
I never, ever regret spending time shooting.
Even if I don’t get any shots I love, making the effort to explore and take photos makes my day better.
Of course, this is especially true when I hit those amazing moments when I capture something perfectly.
If I find some incredible light, a beautiful vista, or an interesting face, I feel fantastic when looking at those photos afterward.
Even if I get zero good shots, I know that every single time I make the effort to shoot, I am feeding my ideas, my imagination, and my creativity.
Even if I get things wrong, make something boring, or miss a shot, the effort of shooting, as well as the experience of shooting, always feels worthwhile to me.
It is a pretty basic but powerful idea to think that we humans just love to make things.
It’s part of what makes us human: to have ideas, to experience the world not just as a way to get our needs met, but as a way to add something to what is already here.
And, of course, I always regret not shooting.
Creativity can expand our vision beyond the here and now
When we are so wrapped up in our lives or the challenges we are facing, it can feel like our struggles are the only things we can think about.
This is especially true when we are fearful and worried. We see everything through the filter of our worries.
And so it is good, in fact, essential, to take our minds away into realms of other possibilities and see the world beyond what is freaking us out.
It’s important to contemplate and see the worlds other people are living, to explore the wilderness, to look at the stars and imagine their eternal timelessness.
To bring the focus of our lives away from the minutiae and worries and toward the vast incredible planet that we live in.
To remember that this is just a moment in time.
We know that life goes on. Every day is new. Challenges are overcome, eventually. Things continue to change. We can rely on that.
The photographer Diane Arbus said that being a photographer gives you a license to talk to people you wouldn’t usually approach. And this is the amazing thing that applies to all of photography, I believe.
Having a camera in hand is an incredible license (permission, even) to try and look at the world in a new way.
So use it.
Use photography to go beyond whatever is concerning you right now. Use photography to see things afresh, to look at new places, or to try and look at the same things in new ways.
Use limitation to stretch your creativity and imagination
During lockdown, I took some of the best photos I had in years. Because I didn’t have the chance to just go out and explore, I was confined to my apartment and had to squeeze my inspiration and imagination to come up with something awesome in this confining situation.
I had to dig deep and think beyond what was ordinarily possible; I had to look at the limited opportunities that I had and make the very best of them.
And I did! My creativity, because I used it daily, because I valued it and fed it, gave me some amazing ideas for great shots.
(It’s important to remember what the wonderful writer Maya Angelou said: “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”)
It’s amazing what the imagination can do when given very tight restrictions!
Creativity can help us share and connect with others in challenging times
We all face challenges. Life has times of darkness for us all.
It is not unique to hit a point in life that you believe will shatter your spirit or break you from worry.
And yet so often we hide these experiences and feelings from each other because they are strange and oddly embarrassing to share.
But we can use our craft and our creativity to bring light and to share our experiences with others. To show people that we are all human, facing many similar challenges.
This quote from the writer James Baldwin sums up the power that creative people have:
“The precise role of the artist, then, is to illuminate that darkness, blaze roads through that vast forest, so that we will not, in all our doing, lose sight of its purpose, which is, after all, to make the world a more human dwelling place.” –James Baldwin
Bringing calm to our minds and bodies
There are many studies that show being creative is good for our emotional health.
Being creative is often compared to meditation. This is because we get lost in creative tasks, and getting lost in something has a calming effect on our nervous systems.
It’s soothing to be focused on something that is concerned with something beyond the practical, which is about creating something beautiful or interesting or fun.
And, as I mentioned before, anything that moves us away from our worries, that brings us ideas and inspiration, is so valuable during times when it feels like life is sitting on quicksand.
Creativity is a way to work things out
I want to live for more than just getting by. I want to live in a way that is exciting and interesting and electrifying. And yet there is so much that brings us away from the joy.
It’s very easy as humans to get so embedded in our habits, both in how we live our lives and how we think, that it often feels like we are running on autopilot.
This can be especially true in times of uncertainty. We go over and over and over the things that are concerning us. We think of ways to help, what to change, and how to fix things. We talk about our concerns a lot and get lost in endless articles. We discuss, rationalize, and disagree.
But maybe there is no fix, and you can only live with whatever is on your path. The obsessive thinking and worrying is not going to help you at all.
I love this quote from Edward de Bono because, to me, it shows that we can use creativity to break out of old patterns and habits, and to go beyond how we see the world at the moment:
“Creativity involves breaking out of expected patterns in order to look at things in a different way.” –Edward de Bono
Creativity brings you into the present moment
This is ultimately all that we have: this present moment. We cannot escape back to the past nor rely on the future. This is what we have now. And to always be sucked into doing or planning or thinking is to miss the only real life that we have:
What is here, right now.
It is so easy to get lost in the moment. But somehow, when we are challenged with any of the things that are hard in life (grief, loss, or pain), the challenge can serve as an opportunity to wake us up.
It slams our attention into focus, and it can be a time when we break. But it can also be a time when we suddenly say: I am going to stop getting lost in the busyness of life. I am going to pay attention to what is actually here.
And by facing the feeling of uncertainty, by acknowledging that it can overtake our thoughts, can seep into our bodies, can overwhelm us, we can start to do something to transcend it.
We can use these times of uncertainty to allow all that is unnecessary and distracting to simply fall away.
And creativity can help us with the whole process. It can help us see what we aren’t seeing. It can open our eyes to all that is fascinating and meaningful and true for us.
Being creative isn’t something to save only for retirement or when you’ve got time. It isn’t to be saved for when your kids are older or for when you’ve completed all your tasks (tasks are never-ending, aren’t they?).
Creativity can help us move through dark times with more grace and understanding. It can comfort us at times when we struggle. It pays attention to that part of ourselves that is so uniquely human, that weirdly, magically, strangely, unnecessary, completely impractical side of who we are.
If we are to enjoy our lives, isn’t it because we are not just doing what is necessary, but reveling in the pleasures and beauty and joy of it all?
Otherwise, what is the point of all of our hard efforts, all of the work, all of the struggles and challenges we face?
What is the point if there isn’t a little bit of stardust to delight our spirits at least once every day?
I hope these ideas have been helpful to you and have ignited your imagination. I hope these ideas have shown you how creativity can help in these times of uncertainty. I would love to know if they have, so please share your thoughts in a comment below.
The post Ways Creativity Can Help in Times of Uncertainty appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Anthony Epes.
What color is your camera? Have you ever paid attention to the color of DSLR cameras? Peek in a wedding photographer’s bag, or check out the sea of photographers at a press conference or sporting event and you’ll notice that most (or all of) their cameras are one color — black. Keep looking and you’ll notice that most of their Continue Reading
The post Camera Color Guide – Why Cameras Are Black appeared first on Photodoto.
Stacked Architecture of the chipset Samsung details in its new paper.
Samsung has published a paper detailing a new stacked CMOS mobile image sensor that uses a 14nm processing layer to deliver high-resolution images while reducing power consumption.
The stacked sensor consists of two chips: a 12MP backside-illuminated (BSI) pixel chip on the top that uses 65nm process and a bottom chip for analog and logic circuits that uses 14nm process. By using the super-fine 14nm process on the processing layer, Samsung says it could achieve a 29% drop in power consumption compared to current conventional sensors that use a 65nm/28nm process.
Microphotograph of Implemented Sensor (Left: Top Chip & Right: Bottom Chip)
Samsung says the chip is capable of outputting at 120 frames per second while consuming just 612mW of power. The analog and digital power supply requirements also drop to 2.2V and 0.8V, respectively, compared to conventional 65nm/28nm process chipsets.
What this all translates to is a more energy-efficient stacked sensor for future smartphones that also manages to improve data throughput and reduce noise. It also paves the way for creating sensors with smaller pixel pitches, maximizing the potential for even higher-resolution sensors without increasing the size of mobile sensors. As illustrated in the below graphic, a 16MP sensor with a 1.0um pixel pitch is the same size as a 13MP sensor with a 1.12um pixel pitch.
Of course, smaller pixels means each pixel will be less sensitive, but Samsung emphasizes this shortcoming can be overcome through its pixel-merging technologies such as its Tetracell (2×2) and Nonacell (3×3) technologies, which will merge data from neighboring pixels together to achieve better image quality when light is scarce.
Specifications of the 12MP sensor Samsung details in its paper.
Samsung specifically notes the power-saving nature of stacked sensors using the 65nm/14nm process will be ‘critical’ for 8K video capture and even higher-resolution sensors, as power consumption is one of the biggest factors limiting 8K capture on current smartphones.
As tends to be the case with developments of this kind, there’s no knowing when we might see this 65nm/14nm stacked sensor design inside a consumer smartphone.
The Exposure photo editing software application, that was formerly Alien Skin, has been updated with enhanced GPU optimization that allows some oft-used functions to run at three times the speed. Exposure X6 also introduces a collection of new automated adjustments that aim to make image processing simpler and to save photographers time.
Available as a standalone application or a plug-in for Adobe’s Photoshop and Lightroom, Exposure X6 introduces Auto White Balance, Auto Exposure, Auto Haze Level, Auto Dynamic Contrast and Auto Tone for creating one-click fixes for common problems. Tonal and contrast adjustments are said to avoid shifts in color saturation and hue, and the Auto White Balance adjustment is based on camera metadata. The sensor used is also taken into account in the new noise reduction feature, along with information about the ISO setting and an estimate of likely electronic noise.
Before and after examples of the new Color Editor tool that allows colors to be selected and replaced. Changes can be saved as a preset to apply to further images
A new Color Editor allows users to select and replace specific selected colors, and to make multiple color changes within the same image. These changes can be mapped and saved as presets to be used in further images so sets of pictures can have consistent adjustments made.
Exposure X6 is available for download now, and costs $ 119. If you bought Exposure X5 on or after July 15th 2020 your upgrade will be free, and those who bought it before that, and users of previous versions, can upgrade for $ 89. For more information, and a free 30-day trial, visit the Exposure website.
Exposure X6 features dramatic speed improvement, one-click automatic adjustments, advanced color replacement, innovative shadow/highlight and noise reduction processing, and more
Exposure Software, formerly known as Alien Skin Software, today announced the release of Exposure X6, the newest version of their award-winning RAW photo editor for creative photographers. Exposure is a standalone image editor that handles a full photography workflow. It includes plug-in support that enables Exposure’s advanced editing and creative effects in Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom.
New in Exposure X6 is advanced GPU optimization, which dramatically speeds up image processing. GPU support works in concert with Exposure’s existing multi-core optimization to enable Exposure to leverage the full power of modern computer hardware. Many frequently used editing operations have been sped up by a factor of three on typical GPU hardware. This improved performance enables editing at greatly improved speeds, reducing distraction so photographers can focus on creativity.
“The introduction of GPU support in Exposure X6 enabled us to achieve amazing speed and image processing quality improvements,” said Finley Lee, CEO of Exposure Software. “This further advances our goal of making Exposure the best available image editor for creative photography.”
New automatic adjustments select optimized values for the most frequently used controls in a single click, freeing time for creative editing. They can even be applied in batch to significantly ease the time spent editing large photoshoots. Exposure’s new automatic adjustments include the following:
Auto White Balance adjusts white balance based on camera metadata. Corrects for tungsten, artificial, shade, and sunlight illuminant scenes.
Auto Exposure sets image exposure for both under and overexposed images.
Auto Haze Level changes the level of atmospheric haze present in the image. This is particularly useful for backlit subjects and images shot into the sun.
Auto Dynamic Contrast lowers and raises the overall image contrast without changing saturation or hue.
Auto Tone sets values for Blacks, Shadows, Highlights, and Whites sliders that affect overall image tone.
Using an innovative tonal-zone approach, Exposure’s redesigned shadows and highlights controls are more reliable, consistent, and accurate. These intuitive controls are particularly adept at recovering lost details in the highlight and shadow areas. The adjustments are applied intelligently to prevent unwanted color casts or hue shifts. They are exceptionally well-suited in preserving high or low key scenes.
Exposure’s new profile guided noise reduction capability reduces noise based on camera sensor characteristics, ISO, and estimated electronic noise. Luminance and chrominance noise can be reduced independently. The smoothing option applies an adaptive noise-sensitive algorithm which preserves sharp edges while further reducing noise.
The new Advanced Color Editor builds on Exposure’s innovative 3D color masking to enable vastly greater control of color modifications. For example, a model’s blue dress can be changed to red in just a few clicks. Photographers can select source and target colors based on luminance, hue, and saturation attributes. It is even possible to select multiple color replacement mappings and save them as a preset to be reused.
Additional enhancements to Exposure include the following:
Updated user interface provides a refined, modern aesthetic
New haze level slider, for counteracting the decrease in contrast caused by atmospheric haze. It can also add haze as a creative effect.
Customization of the hue and opacity of the selection mask overlay.
Optional black background for the mask to view selected pixels without distraction.
Optional luminance or saturation background for the selection mask, which helps visualize the mask region when adjusting luminance or saturation constraints.
DNG converter integration enables conversion of RAW photos to DNG format using Adobe’s DNG Converter software. Conversion can be performed automatically when copying photos from a camera card, or manually invoked from a photo’s thumbnail view.
About Exposure Exposure began in 2005 as a film simulation plug-in for Photoshop, and was immediately embraced by digital photographers of all genres seeking to recapture the organic look of film. Over the years, Exposure became a legend among plug-ins, and evolved into a standalone full-featured editing and organizing solution for creative photographers.
Pricing and Availability Exposure X6 is available now from https://exposure.software for $ 119. Upgrade pricing is available to owners of previous versions of Exposure for $ 89. Additionally, anyone who purchased Exposure X5 on or after July 15, 2020 will automatically receive a free upgrade to Exposure X6.
Exposure X6 is also available in the Exposure X6 Bundle. This integrated collection combines Exposure with Exposure Software’s award-winning Blow Up and Snap Art tools to add high-quality upsizing and natural media special effects. It is available for $ 149. Owners of one or more of the current apps in the Exposure X6 Bundle can purchase for $ 99.
A 30-day fully-featured free trial of Exposure is available. Visit https://exposure.software to learn more and download the trial.
Host Requirements Exposure X6 may be used as a standalone program or as a set of plug-ins. When used as a set of plug-ins, it requires one of the following host applications: * Adobe Photoshop CS6 or Adobe Photoshop CC 2015 or newer * Adobe Lightroom 6 or Adobe Lightroom CC 2015 or newer
System Requirements
Mac * OS X 10.11 El Capitan or newer * Intel Core 2 processor or newer * Monitor with 1280 x 768 resolution or greater * 8GB RAM minimum, 16GB recommended * For GPU support, a recent (2015 or later) Metal compatible GPU with 2GB RAM is recommended
Windows * Windows 10 64-bit or newer * Intel Core 2 processor or newer * Monitor with 1280 x 768 resolution or greater * 8GB RAM minimum, 16GB recommended * For GPU support, a recent (2015 or later) OpenCL compatible GPU with 2GB RAM is recommended
The macOS version of disk recovery software Disk Drill has received a major 4.0 update that adds, amongst other features, a dramatically improved ability to recover RAW image formats from drives and memory cards.
Disk Drill for macOS 4.0 is now ready for the latest versions of Apple’s desktop and mobile operating systems, macOS Big Sur and iOS 14. Using ‘state-of-the-art scanning methods and updated recovery algorithms,’ Disk Drill 4 can recover more than 400 different file types from drives with FAT32, NTFS, HFS+, and APFS file systems.
CleverFiles, the team that develops Disk Drill, says it’s ‘invested a lot of resources into researching and implementing unique search and recovery algorithms aiming bring back many raw images.’ Specifically, CleverFiles says it’s dramatically improved the ability to recover Raw image and video formats, including 3FR (Hasselblad), ARW (Sony), CR2 and CR3 (Canon), DNG (multiple mobile devices and cameras), GPR (GoPRO), HEIC (Apple), RLE (QuickTime videos), CVID (Cinepak), H263 and H264, MP4V, BRAW (Blackmagic RAW), CinemaDNG, Canon CRM, multiple MOV-container-based formats and many others.
CleverFiles specifically notes the success rate of being able to reconstruct Raw photo and video files has increased to 99% and 96%, respectively, compared to the respective 68% and 51% success rates with Disk Drill 3.8.
A breakdown of the success rate for recovering Raw image and video files from disks and memory cards compared to its previous version and competing products.
Other benefits of Disk Drill includes the ability to browse recovered files in real-time as they’re reconstructed, rather than having to wait for the entire disk to be scanned, and a secure ‘data shredder’ option for ensuring no data can be recovered from drives you’re looking to get rid of.
You can download Disk Drill 4 for free to try out basic functionality and to get familiarized with all the recovery methods, but if you actually need to recover files from a drive, you can pick up the ‘Pro’ version for $ 89. A single purchase is good for activation on up to three computers. Disk Drill has a great overview of all the new features on its website.
German mechatronics engineer Johannes Heberlein has launched a new photo accessory on Kickstarter, the Lime One compact hot shoe light meter. The meter has been designed to be very easy to use, and even updates its readings in real-time.
In 2018, Heberlein started using film cameras, and he immediately found his light meter options somewhat lacking. He started using a smartphone-based solution but became frustrated with needing to constantly take his phone out of his pocket, get an exposure value and then put his phone away. In late 2018, Heberlein started sketching out ideas for a compact, easy to use light meter. His first prototype was ready a few months later and final hardware revisions took place over the next year.
Lime One works with all cameras that have manual exposure control, including analog cameras that do not feature a built-in light meter. Heberlein hopes that Lime One, which has a funding goal just shy of $ 30,000 USD, will help photographers who have been frustrated by external meters and smartphone light meter applications. He designed Lime One to be compact enough that you can leave it attached to your camera indefinitely, even when packing your camera away in a bag.
Lime One promises fast operation and start-up, plus the ability to store previous settings. It has four modes: aperture priority, shutter priority, manual mode, and exposure value. The control wheel has a knurled edge for grip and when holding the Lime One’s button while rotating the wheel, you can change secondary parameters.
The hot shoe light meter is constructed using anodized aluminum for both the body and wheel and attaches to a standard accessory shoe mount. The device is battery powered and uses a CR2032 battery.
The Lime One appears very simple to operate. For example, when using aperture priority, you set the desired aperture on the Lime One using the control wheel, frame your shot, and then the light meter shows you on its top display the required shutter speed. You can also use exposure compensation by holding down the button while rotating the control wheel. By double-tapping this same button, you access the menu where you can perform actions such as adjusting operational mode and ISO.
Hedeco Lime One on 6×6 folding medium format camera. Image credit: Hedeco, Kickstarter
For those who pledge €99 or more, which is roughly $ 115 USD, you will receive one Lime One in silver in April 2021. If you pledge €149 (about $ 175 USD), you have a choice of silver or black for Lime One, plus you receive an accessory pack. If you have access to a 3D printer, you can download the files to print your own accessories and instead purchase just the standard pack.
To learn more about the Lime One compact light meter, head to the Kickstarter page.
Disclaimer: Remember to do your research with any crowdfunding project. DPReview does its best to share only the projects that look legitimate and come from reliable creators, but as with any crowdfunded campaign, there’s always the risk of the product or service never coming to fruition.
The post An Introduction to Working with Layers in Affinity Photo appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
Working with layers in Affinity Photo is very similar to how you work with layers in Adobe Photoshop. So if you are used to Photoshop, the transition to using layers in Affinity Photo is relatively easy.
Are you new to post-processing your photos with software that allows you to use layers? You’re sure to learn some cool new editing tips and tricks as you read through this article.
Being able to stack images, text, shapes, etc., with layers in Affinity Photo provides unlimited scope for creativity. As with any serious image-processing program, the learning curve is steep. There is always more than one series of steps you can take to achieve the same results.
In this article, I’ll introduce you to using layers in Affinity Photo. I’ll show you some of the cool ways you can edit your photos and create graphics that would not be possible without using layers.
Layer basics
When you open an image in Affinity Photo, a new layer is created. This shows in the Layers Panel on the left of your monitor. When you have one layer, you can add new layers and also move them up and down in the Layers Panel.
Any image, shape, or text can be added in a layer. You can continue to stack layers one on top of the other. Layers in Affinity Photo can be resized and cropped so they are different dimensions than the original layer.
The top layer is visible and may hide the layers underneath it, depending on the settings you choose for it. The opacity of the layer can be reduced so that the layer below is revealed.
There are also options to change the blend modes of layers. This means that the layer will interact differently with the layers below it. So if you add a text layer, you can alter how the text looks by changing the blend mode.
This works very much the same way as it does in Photoshop. But if you are new to this, you’ll have fun as you experiment with the different blend modes and the effects you can create with them.
Adjustment layers in Affinity Photo
With the Layers Panel, there is also a panel labeled Adjustments. This contains 22 items that, when clicked, will add a new adjustment layer to the file you are working on.
Adding an adjustment layer affects the layers underneath. You can create a layer group and include the adjustment layer with the layers you want it to affect.
Here I have added a Channel Mixer adjustment at the top of the layer hierarchy:
The adjustment layer is affecting both the text and the photo.
Here I moved the adjustment layer to group it with the text layer:
To do this, click the adjustment layer and drag it onto the layer you want it to affect.
Adjustment layers are non-destructive. This means that you can turn them on and off and they will not alter your original image. This gives you a lot of room to experiment without permanently editing the photo or other artwork you are working on.
You can use adjustment layers in Affinity Photo to create an unlimited number of effects in your photos. Each layer you add interacts with the layers beneath it. You can also change the blend mode of each adjustment layer independently.
Layer masks
You can mask out a layer or parts of a layer using layer masks. To add a layer mask, click on the icon that looks like a rectangle with a circle in it at the bottom of the Layers Panel. This will add a layer mask to the layer you currently have selected.
Here, I have duplicated my layer with the photo and painted with a black brush to erase the bottom part of the photo. If you make a mistake when you’re painting, you can switch the brush color to white. Then you can simply paint over the area you want to restore and the image will re-appear.
Once you’ve added a mask, you can alter the blend mode and even add further adjustment masks to it.
Here I have changed the blend mode to Multiply and then further darkened the sky by adding a Curves adjustment:
Notice that these changes only affect the layer they are grouped with. So only the sky, which I did not mask out, is altered.
Text layers in Affinity Photo
Affinity Photo enables you to do some innovative and pretty cool things with text layers.
To add a text layer, click on the text icon in the toolbar. By clicking and dragging on your canvas, you can set the size of the text. Once you release the mouse button, you can type and the text will appear at the size you set it to.
By clicking and holding the text icon in the toolbar, you can choose another option. This brings up the Frame Text tool. With this, you can click and drag on your canvas to make a bounding box to add your text inside. You can right-click in the box and select Insert Filler Text to fill your new test box.
You can also do this with any of the shapes in the toolbar menu.
Conclusion
Working with layers opens up whole new realms of creative possibilities for what you can do with your photos. If you are new to post-processing your photos or have been using an app like Lightroom, which has no layers, you have a lot to explore.
Take your time experimenting and familiarize yourself with the many options you have for working with layers in Affinity Photo.
I hope this article has provided you with a little insight into the potential of what you can do with layers. Now it’s up to you to take it beyond the basics and start creating masterpieces.
As you practice and try new things, please let us know in the comments below if you discover an aspect of working with layers in Affinity Photo that you think other readers might like to learn about.
The post An Introduction to Working with Layers in Affinity Photo appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
We first got our hands on a pre-production Nikkor Z 70-200mm F2.8 at CES 2020, in what we’re calling the Before Time. Nikon had planned to start shipping the lens to customers in February, but then some stuff happened, and production was delayed.
Well, the long wait is over, and in-between the toxic smoke and damp fog of recent weeks here in the Pacific Northwest we’ve been able to take this much-anticipated telezoom for a spin. Take a look.
Sony just breathed new life into older A-mount lenses thanks to its LA-EA5 adapter for E-mount. Watch our review to find out why it could be a great option for those who still own A-mount glass.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week.
Introduction
Previous Sony adapters
LA-EA5 benefits
Lenses tested
Sample photos
Focus modes supported
Video functionality
Focus performance
Who's it for?
Sample photos from this episode
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