Pricing and Availability of Photoshop Lightroom 2.1

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.1 is available as a free download for existing customers at www.adobe.com/downloads/updates/.

Photoshop Lightroom 2 can be purchased through the Adobjavascript:void(0)e Store at www.adobe.com/store.

The price is $299 for new users while the $99 upgrade price is for registered users of Lightroom. Updated camera profiles are available as a separate download on Adobe Labs at http://labs.adobe.com.

The Photoshop Camera Raw plug-ins is available as free downloads for existing customers. Camera Raw 5.1 for Photoshop CS4 users and Camera Raw for Photoshop CS3 users are available at www.adobe.com/downloads/updates/.

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Updates to Adobe Camera Raw 5 and Lightroom 2

In October Adobe released updates to both Photoshop Lightroom and the Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in as free upgrades for current Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS4 users.

The updates provide additional raw file support for 15 digital cameras including the Canon EOS 50D, Canon EOS 1000D, Nikon D90, and Nikon D700,.

The Lightroom 2.1 update includes improvements to Photoshop integration, Web module stability for Microsoft Windows Vista 64-bit operating systems, performance with 64-bit Mac OS X 10.5 Macintosh computers, and Keyword migration from Lightroom. You can find a full list of improvements in the Lightroom update documentation.

Adobe has also come out with a fresh set of camera profiles available at Adobe Labs (http://labs.adobe.com). Camera profiles are designed to improve Adobe’s default raw processing and emulating the color rendering provided by camera manufacturers. The update includes further support for the Leica M8, Canon EOS 50D, Canon G9, Nikon D90 and Pentax models.

Profiles are the visual starting point for the raw processing workflow. Due to the fact that preferences will vary by photographer, Adobe has minimized surprises by providing default camera profiles that closely follow the visual looks that photographers normally see from their cameras.

The 15 new digital cameras supported in Lightroom 2.1 and Camera Raw 5.1 include the Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EOS 50D, Fuji FinePix IS Pro, Kodak EasyShare Z1015 IS, Leaf AFi II 6, Leaf AFi II 7, Leaf Aptus II 6, Leaf Aptus II 7, Nikon D700, Nikon D90, Nikon Coolpix P6000, Olympus SP-565 UZ, Pentax K2000, Sigma DP1, and Sony A900. In addition, Adobe recently released Camera Raw 4.6, which includes the same raw file support for Photoshop CS3 customers.

Available 64-bit Plug-Ins for Photoshop CS4 Part 2

On December 12, 2008 ABSoft's noise-reducing 64-bit Neat Image was released; Neat Image is "indispensable in low-light (indoors, night, no-flash, astro) and high-speed (sport, action, children) photography."

Pixel Genius has come up with beta 64 versions of PhotoKit and PhotoKit Sharpener that can run on Photoshop CS4 64 bit installations.
Unless you have upgraded, the most recent version cannot be used when Photoshop CS4 is running as a 64 bit application.

Topaz Adjust v2.5, released in October of 2008, "makes it easy to creatively adjust photo exposure, detail, and color for photo correction and effects."

HDRSoft's tone-mapping Photomatix Pro runs in 64-bit environments however "the current version of Photomatix Pro does not yet take advantage of the 64-bit capability.”

SymmetryShop 2 by Artlandia has been updated for CS4. SymmetryShop 2 lets you "easily make more sophisticated patterns, from a greater variety of objects, faster than ever before."

PictureCode's Noise Ninja is "a must-have tool for anyone shooting in low-light or fast-action situations -- including news, sports, wedding, and event coverage." The 64-bit version is in beta and can be downloaded from their site.

Available 64-bit Plug-Ins for Photoshop CS4

A frequent question I am asked is when some of the more popular Photoshop plug-ins will be available to run in Photoshop CS4 when using the 64-bit mode.

If you are using Windows Vista you can install both 32- and 64-bit versions of CS4 together. Existing plug-ins run fine in the 32-bit version of CS4; however to run in the 64-bit one they will require updating.

64-bit support for Portraiture 2, the newest version of Imagenomic’s skin retouching plug-in, is expected to be released January 2, 2009.

Alien Skin's Bokeh, “From changing the depth of field to placing a radial sweet spot and adding a vignette, Bokeh provides many techniques for realistic blurring and altering the mood of a scene."

Meanwhile their up-sizing tool, BlowUp 2, "uses an innovative algorithm that temporarily converts pixels to a vector representation which results in perfectly smooth, crisp edges". Bokeh and BlowUP 2 were anticipated to be on the market in December of 2008.

On December 9, 2008 Digital Anarchy announced the release of 64-bit compatible ToonIt! Photo 2.0 saying, “ToonIt! has been incredibly popular for video applications. The photographers and print designers who’ve seen it have asked us repeatedly when it will be available for Photoshop.

We’re excited to finally release the product for still images because there’s no better way of creating cartoon images.” The company also provided 64-bit support for Knoll Light Factory 3.0, the lens flare-making toolkit "originally designed by Photoshop co-creator John Knoll to generate Photon Torpedoes in the Star Trek movies.”

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Optimizing Images for the Web Part 2

I use the “Save for Web” command for greater control and more precise optimization. It's found in the File menu just below the "Save As..." item.

The “Save for Web” window offers a variety of choices. Again, the options here are all fairly self explanatory.

Click on the tab at the top of the image area to choose a display option: I recommend 2-Up which allows you to see both versions of the image side by side.

The area below each image in the “Save for Web” dialog box gives you information concerning how the file will perform online. Some items you should see include the original image filename and file size; and the optimized image optimization options, the size of the optimized file, and the estimated download time using a selected modem speed. I use the 28.8 setting to be sure.

Now play with the "quality" options to the right and test the different settings.

Nothing will actually change or affect the file until you select "Save Optimized" -- so play around until you have a good visual understanding of what to expect.

You can also set your scaling at this time and Photoshop does a good job of sampling your image down to the correct size. Remember: never enlarge.

Optimizing Images for the Web Part 1

Optimization is a process which can take only a small amount of time if you are looking for nearly perfect results or can take a bit more time if you are looking for perfect results.

Whichever route you choose depends on how you want your graphic to look, it is your choice. Both Adobe Photoshop and Adobe ImageReady have built-in tools which help optimize images for viewing over the web. The best bet is to use whichever software you are most comfortable with. If you are already familiar with Photoshop then using ImageReady is unnecessary.

The easy way:

The Photoshop “Save As” control lets you save an image as either a GIF, JPEG, or PNG file. You can designate image quality, background transparency or matting, color display, and downloading method depending on which file format you select.

The controls for each of the resulting dialog boxes are pretty much self explanatory. I recommend saving your image this way (using a different name) and then saving it using the next steps as a way of comparing the two. Doing it this way will give you a good indication of which option gives the best results.

Blend Color to Grayscale Part 2

Following on from Mondays Post:-

Now generate a Layer Mask by clicking on the Layer Mask button. Make sure its active with a double border (2nd thumbnail added to the orignal color thumbnail in the layers palette.)

Now select the Gradient tool (Tap "G") and observe in the options bar:

a) change the type of gradient to "Foreground to Transparent" by clicking the second pull-down to reveal the gradient thumbnails. F-to-T will be the first icon.)

b) in the next row of icons set the style of gradient to Linear.

Tap the letter "D" to return the colors to their default.

Now drag the Gradient tool in the image in the direction you wish.

Presto... color to grayscale.

If this does not suit you click undo and try again. The best way is to drag a very short gradient near the center of the image to make a very quick transition. Dragging a longer pull with the Gradient Tool generates a smoother transition.

Using Photoshop to Blend Color to Grayscale Part 1

You might be asking, “What is the quickest way to achieve this? Multiple layers? Layer masks?”

A question I am regularly asked is how to take a photo, remove the color so that it's black & white.

What some people don’t know is that you can also drag over it so that the B&W blends into color. You basically end up with a nice transition from no color to color.

While there are many ways to do achieve this look, listed below you will find the easiest way to accomplish your goal.

Open the color image you wish to modify.

Select all and COPY the full image

Click on Mode and reset the color to Grayscale, say "Yes" to remove all color.

The image should go grayscale. Play with the black and white until it suits you.

Return to MODE and return the image to RGB

Select the Move tool (Tap: "V") and then PASTE

The original color returns to the file on a new layer.