Example 1:
Simple Background Replacement

Let’s start with a straightforward example—a bird photo. The original background is dull and shot in low light, resulting in a noisy image. Here’s the step-by-step process to enhance and replace the background:

1. Noise Reduction and Sharpening: First, the photo includes a lot of noise and is a little out of focus. So, I used NoNoise AI and Tack Sharp AI to remove the noise and restore the details.

2. Brightness Adjustment: Next, I brightened the image using the “Tone and Color” adjustments, increasing the exposure by about a stop and adjusting the blacks to enhance contrast.

3. Adding a New Background: I selected a new background from the ON1 Extras, specifically a bokeh image, and used the “Transform” tool to fit it perfectly behind the bird.

4. Masking the Old Background: Using the Quick Mask AI tool, I clicked on the bird to keep it and removed the old background. The result was a clean separation, allowing the new background to shine.

5. Final Adjustments: Finally, I adjusted the background’s tone and color to complement the bird’s colors, creating a harmonious and vibrant image.

Example 2:
Intermediate Background Replacement with Blending

I worked with a studio shot against a neutral backdrop for a more complex scenario. 

Here’s the approach:

1. Initial Adjustments: I cropped out unwanted elements, like a soft box in the corner.

2. Layering a New Background: I added a new studio backdrop, flipped it to match the lighting, and scaled it to fit.

3. Blending Backgrounds: Using Quick Mask AI, I masked out the original background but retained the shadows and the floor’s shape by reducing the mask’s opacity. This blended the new backdrop seamlessly with the original, maintaining a realistic look.

4. Color Adjustments: I tinted the new background using a photo filter to match the subject’s shorts, ensuring a cohesive color scheme.

5. Edge Refinement: I used the Chisel tool and Refine brush to clean up any remaining halos or edges, particularly around hair, for a polished finish.

Example 3:
Advanced Background Replacement with Color Corrections

The third example involves a challenging shot with a bright blue background that reflects onto the subject’s metallic necklace and skin. 

Here’s how I tackled it:

1. Exposure Adjustment: I lowered the exposure to correct the image’s brightness.

2. New Background Addition: I selected a new background and used the Transform tool to scale and position it.

3. Masking and Cleaning Up: Quick Mask AI helped remove the old background. However, blue reflections remained on the subject, requiring further refinements.

4. Local Color Adjustments: I used local adjustments to desaturate the necklace’s blue reflections and repainted the skin edges with a flesh color using the paint with color option. This corrected the color cast without altering the luminosity.

5. Final Touches: The result was a natural-looking edge with the correct colors, eliminating unnatural blue hues.

Conclusion

These examples highlight the incredible versatility and power of the Quick Mask AI tool in ON1 Photo RAW 2024.5. Whether dealing with simple or complex scenarios, this tool makes background replacements and composites much easier.

About ON1 Photo RAW

Elevate your photo editing game with a 30-day free trial of ON1 Photo RAW—no credit card required. Perfect for photographers of all skill levels, ON1 Photo RAW offers an intuitive yet powerful platform that blends speed, versatility, and quality into one AI-powered application. It’s the ultimate AI photo editor and includes everything a photographer needs in one application. Try ON1 Photo RAW for free and experience why it’s the top Lightroom Alternative, giving you the ultimate control to bring your photographic visions to life.

The post Easily Replace Backgrounds in Photos with ON1 by Dan Harlacher appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.

Unveiling the Power of Black and White Filter in ON1 Effects and ON1 Photo RAW, the best software for black and white editing. 

In photography, the allure of black and white imagery remains timeless. It’s a realm where colors fade away, leaving behind a narrative defined by shades of gray. The black and white filter in ON1 Effects and ON1 Photo RAW 2024 stands out as a stealthy powerhouse among the tools for crafting such captivating monochromatic visuals. 

The Black & White filter within ON1 Effects and ON1 Photo RAW quickly transforms color images into monochromatic wonders while offering a range of toning features. At its core are stylistic presets representing various filter types commonly applied to images. For those seeking quick adjustments, the Auto button intelligently selects black and white points, streamlining the conversion process. However, for those who want complete manual control, the color range sliders provide precise adjustments, allowing for subtle adjustments in brightness. 

Mastering Tones with Precision 

Users are presented with a range of controls within the Tone section of the Black & White filter pane. All tonal adjustments are there, from fine-tuning brightness and contrast to adjusting highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, and details. This level of control allows photographers to edit their images with excellent precision. 

Unveiling the Art of Toning 

Delving deeper, the Toner section of the filter includes an array of traditional and contemporary darkroom-inspired options. From the warm sepia tones reminiscent of bygone eras to the cool elegance of platinum and selenium, over 20 toning options await. The creative possibilities are unlimited, with the ability to adjust hues and amounts and the option to swap highlights and shadow colors. Moreover, the Preserve Whites and Blacks feature ensures that the purity of whites and blacks remains untainted by the chosen toner, maintaining a sense of neutrality amidst the tonal modifications. 

Adding a Touch of Film Nostalgia 

The Film Grain section of the Black & White pane will emerge for those yearning for the classic appeal of film grain. Drawing inspiration from renowned black and white films, users can infuse their digital creations with the timeless allure of analog photography. With controls over the strength and scale of the grain effect, each image can be edited with a distinct cinematic texture reminiscent of bygone eras. 

Harnessing the Power of Masking 

The true power of the Black & White filter in ON1 Effects and ON1 Photo RAW 2024 extends beyond the built-in controls. With the powerful photo masking options in ON1 Effects and ON1 Photo RAW, your images can reach new heights. Masking, a fundamental feature, allows users to selectively apply or withhold the effects and other adjustments. 

Imagine seamlessly blending a black and white conversion with a color accent, or selectively toning different elements within the same image. With masking, the possibilities are limitless. Moreover, ON1’s innovative masking features, including luminosity masks and intuitive AI-powered masking tools, streamline the process, allowing for effortless refinement of black and white compositions. 

In conclusion, the Black & White filter in ON1 Effects and ON1 Photo RAW 2024 transcends mere conversion, evolving into a dynamic tool for visual storytelling. When coupled with the masking capabilities, its potential becomes truly boundless. So, why not embark on a journey through the realm of black and white imagery, where creativity knows no bounds, and every shade of gray tells a story? 

The post The Best Software for Black & White Editing appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.

Insights and Expertise from Masters of ON1

During the ON1 Landscape Photography Conference you’ll have the opportunity to learn from a team of knowledgeable instructors. From planning your photographic experiences, to the fine points of shooting and composition, through all steps of post-processing, they’ll guide you through every step of the journey.

These experts are not only seasoned photographers but also masters of leveraging ON1’s cutting-edge tools and software to streamline and enhance the landscape editing process. Their insights will empower you to capture breathtaking images like never before, and transform your raw captures into stunning, gallery-worthy masterpieces.

Immersive Learning and More

Dive into the beauty of nature and learn how to conquer the complexities of landscape editing with the most robust software available. Visit the conference website to view the schedule for the conference sessions and bonus events. You can also join our Pre-Conference day on June 17th for an orientation and intro sessions, and get to know the other attendees before the conference starts. Discover ways to get the most out of the conference, network with other photographers, share your work, and make new friends.

Pricing and Special Bonus

Register now at the Early Bird price of $149 and save $150. Plus, as a special bonus All Early Bird* registrants will receive a complimentary copy of ON1 Effects 2024.5, valued at $69.99! Don’t miss this chance to not only save big but also enhance your editing toolkit with this powerful software. Learn more about ON1 Effects 2024.5.

*EARLYBIRD PRICE EXPIRES JUNE 18, 2024, 11:00 AM EDT

The post Presenting the ON1 Landscape Photography Conference June 18-19 appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.

If you’ve browsed the internet lately, you’ve probably seen various Photoshop plugins meant to be launched directly from Photoshop to achieve specific effects on your images. Different plugins exist for different things, from editing your portraits, fixing noise, or even using AI technology to replace your skies. Knowing which Photoshop plugins will offer you the best value to improve your photo editing workflow is hard. 

One of the best photo effects plugins for Photoshop on the market today is ON1 Effects. This photo effects software is simply the best when it comes to ease of use, and ON1 Effects combines a simple yet effective interface with powerful effects to help shape your photo edit and make every shot portfolio worthy. Here are some of the best features of ON1 Effects:

Before and after using ON1 Effects to enhance this photo.

31+ Photo Effects

ON1 Effects is loaded with photo effects of all kinds. Whether you want to add a vintage film look to your photos or make a simple color adjustment, ON1 has an effect for that. Even for new users, finding the effect you are looking for with the search bar is very easy. Best of all (for new users), hovering over the effect with your mouse will give you a short paragraph telling you what the effect does, as well as an example image showing you what you can do with the effect.

More than 30 photo effects are included. The search bar makes it easy to find the effect you are looking for.

Achieve Photo Effects That Aren’t Available in Photoshop

Photoshop is certainly lacking in photo editing effects, especially ones that are easy to apply. Applying a simple glow to your photos takes numerous layers and a knowledge of blend modes. In ON1 Effects, you have many options to apply different effects with one simple click. Once the photo effect is applied, you can easily adjust the sliders to fine-tune the results to your image. 

Best of all, ON1 Effects is far easier to use than Photoshop. Even if you can create a unique effect in Photoshop, it is usually far easier to apply in ON1 Effects. Since each effect is named in a way that makes sense, you don’t have to spend your time on YouTube trying to figure out how to make a special filter to create your desired effect in Photoshop.

Mask Your Photo Effect

Once you’ve selected and applied a photo effect, it can be easily masked in ON1 Effects. While Photoshop offers tools for masking, they aren’t easy to use or understand without advanced knowledge. In ON1, it is as simple as clicking the mask button and then selecting a brush to paint on the mask with or using “Lumen” to make luminosity masks. Using luminosity masks has never been easier, and they’ll allow you the most precise mask on your photo based on the lightness values of each part of the image.

Before and after using ON1 Effects. Just 6 total effects were used to make this image.

Complete Built-In Library of Effects, Presets, and Instant Previews

If you want a quick and easy edit, ON1 Effects has tons of preset effects you can choose from for nearly any kind of photography. Some of the presets are even AI-based, where the software will automatically apply effects and use masking to make your photo look amazing — in just one click.

If you’re batch editing multiple photos and want to apply the same effects repeatedly, creating a preset to reuse numerous times is easy. Lastly, you can favorite specific presets to find them easier each time you launch the program.

Advanced Features

ON1 Effects isn’t just for the amateur photographer. This photo effects software contains many advanced features that pros and amateurs alike will love to use. In addition to the easy luminosity masking mentioned above, ON1 Effects includes blend modes, color range masking, and various selection tools to ensure that the desired effect is only applied where you want it. While these advanced features are all offered in Photoshop, using them in ON1 Effects is far easier and faster.

Use with Photoshop Smart Objects for Non-Destructive Edits

If you make your photo layer a smart object in Photoshop, you can launch ON1 Effects as a smart filter. Essentially, this means that you can make non-destructive edits to your photos. At any point in time during your edit, click on the smart filter to re-launch ON1 Effects to make adjustments to your photo effects.

Using the “Desert Glow” Preset to enhance this photo in just a few clicks.

Regardless of your skill level or experience in photo retouching software, ON1 Effects is a photo effects plugin you absolutely must add to your digital workspace. If you’re a novice or intermediate photo editor, you’ll love having ON1 Effects to apply beautiful filters to your photo and then continue editing in Photoshop. Since the plugin is so easy to use, it takes little to no time to learn how to apply some of the many great effects to your photos. For professional photographers, this is just one more tool to add to your kit that can easily be launched anytime during your edit. ON1 Effects is just one more thing you can add to your workflow, and best of all, you can use it to apply non-destructive effects to your photos. No matter your skill level, ON1 Effects truly is a photo effects software that every Photoshop user should own.

The post The Best Photo Effects Software Plugin for Photoshop appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.

Digital grain, or noise, can’t always be avoided in photography. Despite massive advances in camera sensor technology over the years, noise is still a major issue for all different types of photographers. There are a few things you can do to help reduce the noise in your photos, one of the more useful ways is to use an AI image denoiser and we will get to that in a second. Ultimately, noise reduction starts when you’re shooting your photos, but powerful software can help you to correct noisy images. In this post, we’ll look at a few of the best tips to reduce noise in your photography.

Do it in Your Camera Settings

Increasing ISO of your photo will add more noise. If you can, keep your ISO as low as possible for the least amount of noise. If you need to gather more light for your image, consider increasing the shutter speed or opening up the aperture. Using a tripod can help you have the ability to open up your shutter speed, rather than the ISO, so the use of a tripod is generally recommended in low light situations. Sometimes, you have no choice but to increase the ISO, due to shutter speed or aperture constraints. In this case, you’ll have to use one of the other tips provided in this post. Also keep in mind that new software tools, such as an AI image denoiser, allow you to shoot at a much higher ISO to get the shot. These new technologies are incredible at removing noise and adding sharpness no matter the ISO.

Shoot in Raw

Raw files take up much more space on your memory card, but will result in photos that are much easier to adjust after you’ve taken them. Jpeg photos are compressed, so it is much more difficult to remove noise after the fact on jpeg photos, compared to raw. Raw files also work better when using software to reduce noise, there’s more data in these files for the software to interpret. Another benefit of using image noise reduction software on either file type is that programs like ON1 NoNoise AI give you amazing results regardless of raw or jpeg.  

Use a Noise Reduction Plugin

Undoubtedly, most photographers will still run into noise problems in their photos, even when taking all precautions to reduce noise in their photos. For those times, using a noise reduction plugin, such as ON1 NoNoise AI can save your photos from being burdened by noise. ON1 NoNoise AI uses AI models to remove noise from your photos. This works much better than using the noise reduction slider in Lightroom or Photoshop. The results are incredible! Keep in mind that sometimes when reducing noise your image may start to lose details. Well, not any more. The newest version of ON1 NoNoise AI also includes the new Tack Sharp AI for saving out of focus shots, deblurring, or maintain your image details. You will get cleaner and crisper images using this AI noise reduction plugin.

Let’s look at how to use ON1 NoNoise AI. ON1 also offers a free Getting Started Course for ON1 NoNoise AI you can either stream online or download. 

First, open your file into ON1 NoNoise AI. This can be used as a plugin, or as a stand-alone app.

Once open, zoom in to your image by using the options on the top of the screen. Start off between 100 and 200 zoom, and adjust as you see fit. Next, find the Noise and Sharpening Dialog box on the right side of the screen.

This is where you can adjust the settings to dial in the noise reduction. Start off by making sure that the “Auto On” box is present. If the box says “Auto Off”, click the box once to turn automatic settings on. This is a good place to start. Review the adjustment made by looking at your image, and sliding the bar in the center to the left and right. On the left side of the frame, you’ll see the image before any edits, and on the right side, you’ll see the image after. You can click and drag on the image itself to move around the frame.

After you’ve reviewed your image, you can make changes to the automatic settings. If necessary, start by adjusting the Luminance slider, and then work your way down the sliders from there. Here’s a brief explanation of what each slider does:

Noise Reduction

Luminance: Effects how much or how little noise is removed from the image

Enhance Detail: Helps to bring more detail back into the photo, very similar to sharpening

Color: Targets color specific noise

Sharpening

Amount: Increases the amount of sharpening being added after noise reduction

Detail: Effects how detailed you want the sharpening to work

Threshold: Changes how much or how little is sharpening in the image

Once you’ve nailed in the perfect settings, click Done in the bottom right corner. Then, you’ll have the option of how and where you want to save your image. Save the image as you see fit and continue editing your photo in your normal workflow.

Noisy photos aren’t quite the detriment they were many years ago. With AI technology and a few in the field tips, you can basically eliminate noise from your photography.

The post Three Tips for Image Noise Reduction appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.

You can do a lot in Photoshop. It’s no secret that Photoshop is one of, if not the most powerful photo editing programs in the world. For years, Adobe’s pinnacle program has been the gold standard in photo editing. In the last few years, Photoshop plugins have been on the rise, and there are now thousands of different plugins available for Photoshop.

These plugins can do a variety of things, from adding special effects, to removing noise, or even resizing your photo or using AI technology to remove stray hairs from your model. Many plugins allow you to do things to your image that you otherwise can’t do in Photoshop, while others just have an easier, or more effective way to do things that are already possible to do in Photoshop. 

If you’re a Photoshop user and you do not yet have any plugins, you’re missing out. Having powerful Photoshop plugins can expand the power and capabilities of Photoshop by using other software that integrates very well with Photoshop and its non-destructive layer editing system. 

Take ON1 for example. For the last 17+ years they’ve been developing Photoshop plugins to create a faster and easier workflow for photographers.

In this post, we’ll look at 5 things that you should know about using plugins in Photoshop.

#1 Plugins Can Give You “Finishing Move” Effects and Filters

Many plugins, especially ON1 Effects, offer many effects that work great to give your photos a finished look. Consider these effects to be like a photo filter that you’d apply at the end of your edit, but they are highly customizable and look much better than your average Instagram photo filter. Some of the best effects for finishing off a photo include Vignette, Dynamic Contrast, and Sharpening. These all work with the single click of a button, and then you have sliders to fine-tune each effect. You can reproduce a lot of these effects and styles in Photoshop alone, but it is really time consuming and difficult to remember all of the steps. Having these styles built right into the plugin saves a ton of time.

#2 Plugins Allow You to Do Things that You Don’t Know How to Do in Photoshop in an Easier Way

Plugins allow you to do things that you otherwise would not know how to do. Photoshop is an advanced program with tons of tools and techniques, but oftentimes these tools are overly complex. Usually, plugins have a very simple and highly effective way to create your desired outcome. Take masking as an example. It can still take a bit of practice to get good masks in Photoshop. A lot of plugins have easier to use masking tools to let you take total control of how your image ends up looking.

#3 Using Plugins with Smart Objects Provides a Completely Non-Destructive Workflow

One of the benefits of using Photoshop is using a non-destructive workflow, and plugins are compatible with this non-destructive workflow. When you’re editing your photo as a smart object, you can launch the plugin from Photoshop with the smart object selected. Then, after you make adjustments, the plugin will appear under the smart object. If you wish to make adjustments to the plugin later, simply double click on the plugin and it will reopen that particular plugin for re-adjustment.

#4 Plugins like ON1 NoNoise AI Provide Much Higher-Quality Noise Reduction than Photoshop

For photo editing, Photoshop is truly the jack of all trades. Because Photoshop is such a large program, many things that you might be able to do, you can do better in a plugin that is dedicated to doing just one single thing. One great example is noise reduction. The options for reducing noise in Photoshop are pretty minimal, and the available options don’t work as well as a plugin. ON1 NoNoise AI uses AI technology to reduce noise, and therefore provide a much higher quality result than Photoshop. See the examples below for a comparison. 

#5 Plugins Can Be Used at Any Time While Editing

Most Photoshop plugins can be used at any time during the photo editing process. While some effects created by plugins may work better at the beginning of your edit, other effects might seem more logical to apply at the end. Any of the ON1 Plugins can be used at any time during the editing process during Photoshop, so you don’t need to drastically change your current workflow to incorporate plugins.

The post 5 Things to Know About Using Plugins in Photoshop appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.

In the past, interpolation methods were used to add new pixels to photos to make them bigger. You simply can’t stretch an image to be bigger without adding pixels, or the photo becomes pixelated in appearance. ON1 Resize AI uses state-of-art machine learning to create the details and sharpness that get lost when photos are enlarged. Resize AI goes well beyond just keeping the edges sharp. It interprets elements in photos like animal fur, tree bark, feathers, grass, leaves, rock, and skin to man-made textures like concrete, fabric, or brick and keeps those details looking crisp in the enlarged photo. In some instances, Resize AI can create details to keep your enlarged images looking even more clean and crisp than the original. 

“We trained ON1 Resize AI on a variety of photos. It can see textures like rocks, skin, fur, feathers, masonry, tree bark, etc. You get the idea. The technology can recreate these textures and make them look realistic in the enlarged photos making super crisp and clean enlargements” says Dan Harlacher, VP of Product.

How It Stands Out from the Competition

ON1 Resize AI is the perfect solution for cropping a section out of your photo if your lens can’t get you close enough or preparing and printing your biggest and best photos. It can crop, resize, and sharpen all at once. It can add wings for printing on canvas or create tiles for a mosaic. You can also batch process images and print them right from the app. 

You will be amazed by what you can do with ON1 Resize AI. ON1 Resize AI works as a plugin for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. Resize AI goes beyond the average plugins. In Lightroom you can batch process easily with powerful new resizing options. And in Photoshop it can handle layered files with masks, alpha channels, text, and adjustment layers in RGB as well as CMYK, Grayscale and LAB.

“I can see a lot of photographers using this app to crop out sections of their photos. Let’s say you forgot your long lens at home and can’t get close enough to your subject. You can still get a really good photo and even better print with ON1 Resize AI,” adds Craig Keudell, President and CEO of ON1.

Resize AI’s primary features include:

• Create large prints. Easily crop to a specific paper size, resize the photo with the ultimate detail, and then print it directly or save the file to send to a photo lab.
• Crisp details. Resize AI upscales your photo to any size and sharpens the final details incredibly well. Even crop a portion of a photo and still have amazing quality and detail which equates to having a longer lens.
• Breathe new life into old photos. With older digital photos, you can remaster old images, making them bigger, sharper, and cleaner than ever before.
• Reduce JPG artifacts. Whether you have over-compressed or photos that are small in size, Resize AI can reduce the compression artifacts while creating new details.
• Gallery Wraps. This feature can add reflected or stretched wings to the edge of your photo to make a canvas gallery wrap.
• Tiling. Divide the photo into tiles make it easier to print a mural. 
• Batch processing and export. Enlarge a group of photos all at once, and control how they are named, saved, file type, and more. 
• Print presets for easy automation. When it comes to preparing photos for print, knowing the proper resolution for your printer and the correct amount of sharpening for your paper choice can be daunting. In Resize AI, just pick the printer, the type of paper, and the size.
• Complete printing support. Includes a full print engine to print directly from the app, whether used in standalone mode, or as a plug-in. You can even use Resize’s soft proofing feature to see how your photo will look when printed using specific printer and paper profiles.
• Powerful workflow integration. Resize AI works either as a standalone application, or as a plugin for Capture One or Adobe’s Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, and Photoshop Elements. 

The post <strong>ON1 Releases the Next-Generation Photo Enlargement Software</strong> appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.

Here’s how they describe my new collection (and it’s more than just presets): 

“ON1 has partnered with world-renowned photographer Scott Kelby to bring you his new Signature Bundle! It’s an ON1-exclusive featuring over 70 of his best ON1 presets, 20 beautiful textures, and 20 high-resolution skies along with his most popular video course “10 Essential Tips Every Landscape Photographer Should Know.”

Whether you’re using ON1 Photo RAW 2022 or Effects 2022, this creative collection is an essential addition to your ON1 editing toolkit.”

I know a lot of you already have one or more of On1’s awesome plug-ins, and if you do, I think you’ll super-dig this bundle (especially when it’s on sale like this). I hope you’ll check it out.  

Here’s the link to get the 50% off deal. 

Have a great Holiday week (technically, I’m on vacation this week, but I wanted to share this today since it just came out). 

Merry Christmas, everybody!  

-Scott

The post Announcing My First-Ever On1 Signature Preset Bundle, and It’s 50% Off Right Now appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.

Let’s look at an example workflow where I have a raw photo, taken at high ISO in poor lighting conditions, that I want to crop aggressively, and resize back to being close to the original pixel dimensions. Beyond the basic edits I’d do to all photos, I’ve identified a few problems I’d like to solve using additional software. I want to use Topaz DeNoise AI to deal with the high ISO noise issue and I want to use Super Resolution in Camera Raw to resize the cropped version closer to the native pixel dimensions. Let’s walk through the workflow steps for editing this photo of a cotton-top tamarin taken at the Boston Museum of Science at 4000 ISO.

One of the first things I suggest doing is being conscious of whether you are starting in a folder view or within a collection view, and if a collection view, make sure it is a regular collection and that collection is selected (not its parent collection set). This is so that you can find the iterative copies that will be made as you progress through your workflow. If you start with a collection selected, typically, copies sent to external editors (plug-ins) are also added to that collection as part of the process. Copies are always added to the same folder as the source photo (unless you are using a plug-in that relies on the export dialog to get the job done as opposed to the Edit in menu). I’m starting in a collection made for just this photo to more easily see any copies made as I progress.

Since it is raw, I want to do all the edits that can only be done on raw data before I move the photo out of LrC for specialized edits. After choosing a profile, setting white balance, and applying lens profile corrections, I cropped the photo down to zoom in on the subject and improve the composition. Since I decided to use a specialized plug-in for removing noise, in this case Topaz DeNoise AI, I turned off all sharpening and noise reduction in the Detail panel as well.

OK, there are still tonal adjustments to be made, but I feel confident that I can make those adjustments using the rendered version of the photo into a 16 bit ProPhoto RGB TIF after I’ve dealt with the noise, and after I’ve upscaled the cropped version using Super Resolution. I’m now at a decision point, do I send the photo with LrC adjustments to DeNoise or do I upscale first, then remove the noise? There is possibly more than one right answer, but I want to take advantage of the rawness of the photo as long as I can, so I opt to use workflow I outlined in the May 2021 issue of Photoshop User (Editor’s note, Super Resolution was added to Lightroom Classic after that article was written, so if I were to do this today, I would simply right-click the photo in LrC and choose Enhance to super-size it) to super-size the raw photo first.

I now have my first iterative copy, which is the enhanced DNG version that is now back to roughly the same pixel dimensions as my uncropped original with all of my base edits applied. Now it is time to deal with the noise, so using the Photo > Edit in > Topaz DeNoise AI command I get presented with the (expected) Edit Photo dialog box, and I use this to confirm that a 16 bit ProPhoto RGB TIF copy (with LrC adjustments) will be created and sent to the plug-in. Clicking Edit saves the copy to the same folder as the source photo and adds that copy to the LrC catalog (and the collection I started in as well).

Although the copy will no longer be raw, I am sending the maximum amount of image data along for the ride, which will yield the best results. Within Topaz DeNoise, I chose my desired (subjective) option, and clicked Apply. This applies the DeNoise settings to the copy and closes out of the plug-in, returning me to LrC where I now have a second copy (third version counting the original) of the original photo. This is the TIF copy sent to DeNoise, and it is this copy that is my new master version, as it contains all of the edits I have made each step of the way.

While I am pleased with the noise reduction, I’m noticing how soft this version is after all of those edits. Because of this, I decide to send this copy through Topaz Sharpen AI to see if I can improve the sharpness around the tamarin’s face. This is another decision point. Do I run Sharpen AI on the current master TIF version or do I create a new copy to preserve the results after the noise removal process? I feel the answer to this will depend on your workflow, but the safe choice is to create a new copy just in case you want to manually composite the results of the Sharpen AI process with the results of the DeNoise AI process (to get the best of both worlds) or if you are not happy with the new results and want to go back. Using the Photo > Edit in > Topaz Sharpen AI command I choose Edit a copy with Lightroom adjustments, and now a third copy is added to my collection, and that latest copy has become my new master version.

As you can see, while I am getting pleasing results from this process, it is taking quite a few steps, iterative versions, time, and hard drive space to get here, and I’m not done yet.

My current master version is now has “-Enhanced-Edit-Edit” appended to the original file name. The Enhanced came from running through Super Resolution in Camera Raw, the first -Edit came from the copy sent through DeNoise, and the second -Edit came when sending a copy of that to Sharpen AI. I’m pleased with the results, and will now use a few of the other tools in LrC to finish the job. Specifically using the Whites and Blacks sliders to set the white and black point respectively, and a little Radial Filter around the tamarin’s face to further open those shadows and see those eyes.

Comparing the final result of all of those edits back to the original file shows I’ve come a long way, and completed tasks that were beyond what LrC could do alone. I’m very pleased with the final result, but as you can see, I involved three other programs, and performed a lot of steps. In the end, we each have to ask, are the results worth the effort? For me, I say yes, but that is not the right answer for us all, and certainly not the right workflow for all photos.

It has been my experience that any tool that specializes in a single function will probably do a better job than a tool that is a jack of all trades (like LrC), all things being equal, when put head-to-head on that function. It’s just that all things are not equal, and this is where we each may come up with a different answer. I love the ability to extend my image editing possibilities beyond what LrC can do, and I take the choice of adding new tools into my workflow very seriously. Should you decide to add any other plug-in to your repertoire I recommend doing the following:

• Read a few reviews (such as past Photoshop User and Lightroom Magazine issues)
• Watch a few videos on YouTube to see how other photographer’s use them
• Review the resources provided by the plug-in’s creator to learn the nuances of that application and how it integrates with LrC (they are not all the same)
• Give the free trial a good run (they almost all come with some free trial)
• If you are a KelblyOne member, check your KelbyOne Perks for a discount code
• Ask questions and share your experiences so that we can all continue to learn from each other

One final point, do we need to keep all of the interstitial versions between the original and the final master version? The answer to that may also vary with our workflows, but in this case, the only versions that matter to me now are the original and the final. I will delete the two middle versions as they no longer serve any purpose and are just taking up hard drive space.

The post Plug-in Workflows with Lightroom Classic Part 2 appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.

[Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the June issue of Photoshop User Magazine]

Each issue of Photoshop User Magazine (and previous issues of Lightroom Magazine) contains reviews and in-depth articles about using different plug-ins, and so I’m not here to repeat those efforts (I do recommend you look back at previous issues if interested in a specific plug-in review), but rather to consider the question of where and when a plug-in might fit in a typical LrC workflow, and how you might decide if it is right for you.

First, to answer the question of do you even need to use a plug-in of any sort, I would say, no, you don’t need to at all. In all my years of helping other photographers with their workflows I have found that there are a wide variety of workflows, a wide range of subjective tastes, and a wide range of needs. There is no one best workflow for all photographers. Heck, even over the course of one’s own photographic journey you have undoubtedly found that your own taste, needs, and eye continually evolve. That said, depending on your current photographic style, subject matter, output needs, and visual aesthetic there may be third-party software tools (i.e., plug-ins) that you do find very helpful for your workflow even if it is not the right choice for someone else.

As you consider adding in any other tool to your workflow you must consider the downsides of doing so, such as additional cost, additional learning curve, and potentially additional time required to complete the task (some can be quite resource intensive), against the upsides, such as this tool may just do a better job (image quality-wise or maybe it is easier/automatic), it may save you more time in the long run, it may open up new photographic opportunities, or it may solve other problems with your current workflow. We are the only ones who can answer those questions for ourselves, and that can require time and experimentation.

What is a plug-in?

In the context of this article, I consider any software tool that can integrate with LrC that offers access to specialized image editing solutions that may do a better job (subjectively to you) than what LrC can do itself, or that LrC cannot do at all, to fall under the large umbrella of being a plug-in. This includes everything from Adobe’s own Photoshop to a software solution made by any other vendor. These plug-ins can fall into a wide range of categories, such as:

• Special effects (Photoshop, On1, Nik, Topaz, Boris)
• Noise reduction (On1, Nik, Topaz, Photoshop)
• Sharpening (Nik, Topaz, Photoshop)
• Resizing (Photoshop, Topaz)
• Portrait workflows (Perfectly Clear, On1, Photoshop)
• B&W conversion (On1, Nik, Photoshop)
• HDR (On1, Nik, Photoshop)
• Focus stacking (Photoshop, Helicon, Zerene Systems)

That is by no means a complete list of all categories or companies making plug-ins for any given category, but you can see that with so many options out there, as to why this question comes up so often for people using LrC. For example, LrC has some great tools for creating powerful B&W images, but if you have a strong affinity for B&W or a background in film, you may find a specialized tool for that specific task gives you the results you want, such as Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Where in the workflow?

This is another question where the answer will vary depending on the specific workflow, the specific problem the plug-in is trying to solve, and possibly other factors like if you are working on a raw photo or a non-raw photo. I must also point out that this is not necessarily a static answer. Just like Adobe is constantly evolving and improving its products, third-party software developers are doing the same with their products too. The best practice workflow of today may not be the same a year from now. Just look at how the workflow around merging bracketed HDR exposures has evolved in the last few years, and continues to evolve into the future. Anyone else still have 32 bit TIF files in their library from when they were the way it was done, as opposed to the merged HDR DNG files we can create today? I know I do.

LrC’s main purpose is to handle a raw workflow from start to finish. Being able to perform edits on raw data in a 16 bit (essentially) ProPhoto RGB workspace allows for changing profiles, changing white balance, applying lens profile corrections, adjusting sharpening and noise reduction, before the data is rendered (baked) into pixels. This is extremely powerful, and should not be given up too early in the workflow. As you consider the possibility of adding a plug-in to your workflow you’ll want to factor in what edits you should do first in LrC and which you can do in the plug-in, and possibly what finishing edits you’ll need to do after the plug-in.

Check back next week, as I walk through an example workflow using plug-ins to try and see what issues, problems, and solutions can be encountered along the way.

The post Plug-in Workflows with Lightroom Classic appeared first on Lightroom Killer Tips.