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Photo-editing

How to get started with Paint FX

Yesterday, I wrote about Luminance, a streamlined-yet-versatile photo editor that I think iPad users in particular will like. Paint FX ($1.99) is a bit more complicated, but for the slightly steeper learning curve, you gain the ability to edit only select areas of a photo.

To get started, tap the load/share button in the upper-left corner to load a photo from your Camera Roll, Photo Stream, or iPhoto (if you have your iDevice set up to sync some portion of your iPhoto library). You can also grab a photo from Facebook. This button also lets you save photos to your Camera Roll or share them via Facebook, e-mail, or the Paint FX community page.… Read more

How to get started with Luminance

When snapping photos with an iPhone, applying a quick Instagram filter or choosing a Hipstomatic film is about all the photo editing I can stand to perform. With its larger display, however, the iPad is a much more suitable photo-editing tool. And for only 99 cents, Luminance (99 cents) provides a great number of editing tools organized in a streamlined way. (Truth be told, Luminance is a universal app, but for this post, I used the app on an iPad 2.)

To get started, tap the + button in the upper-right corner to either take a photo or choose a photo … Read more

Instagram update brings new features, filters, UI

Love Instagram? Everybody's favorite photo-tuning app just got a little better--and more than a little worse.

The first thing you'll notice in version 2.1, which hit the App Store last Friday, is the interface: it's a bit prettier, but gone are the text labels identifying each of the five main buttons.

This wouldn't be a huge deal except that the buttons themselves have changed. In place of Feed, there's now a Home icon. Popular has given way to a star, and News is now a heart inside a speech bubble. Huh?… Read more

Outgrowing Instagram? Alien Skin releasing Exposure 4

By now, the idea of applying filters to give photos a retro look is well established. But for the more serious out there who want to go beyond the obvious smartphone apps, Alien Skin Software plans to release Exposure 4 tomorrow.

The Exposure software brings a certain precision to its task, carefully emulating the look of actual film--early Kodachrome, say, or Kokak Tri-X 400 pushed a stop--for those who remember. It's not a coincidence that the software has the tagline "Taking the digital out of digital photography."

Version 4 of the $249 software brings new abilities in reproducing defects such as light leaks or dust and scratches that film-era photographers usually strove so hard to avoid. And it's got hundreds of new presets for styles such cyanotypes and wet-plate photography.

Digging through the settings is like touring decades of photo history--you get far more than the usual collection of washed-out Polaroid, oversaturated Fujifilm Velvia, and antiquey sepia tones. If you want to hearken back to an earlier time, Exposure 4 is a good way to do so. … Read more

Ice Cream Sandwich rumored to include photo-editing tools

We're less than 48 hours away from finding out for certain, but it looks as though Ice Cream Sandwich will feature photo-editing tools at the platform level.

If a number of uncovered camera icons are to be believed, the next build of Android could make it much easier to touch up photos. AndroidPolice, who initially discovered these icons, indicates that users will have the ability to perform standard editing techniques and apply effects to pictures without the need to download additional software. … Read more

Photo editing for nondesigners

Not every shot is perfect, but most are worth salvaging. Sadly, for most of us, image-editing software can be too intimidating or frustrating to use. Even GIMP, the open-source image-editing software, isn't immediately intuitive.

A Canadian usability research team has released AdaptableGIMP, which lets users search for tools based on what they want to do. It makes life much easier for nondesigners. Here's how to use it:

Download and install AdaptableGIMP. Page through the intro screens and agree to take part in the research. (It will record some usability data.) Set up an account, if you'd like. … Read more

Lightroom 3.5 supports high-end compact cameras

Adobe Systems has updated Lightroom and Photoshop to support a number of new small, higher-end cameras from Sony, Panasonic, Olympus, and Pentax.

The software packages handle the raw photos that higher-end cameras can produce, offering higher image quality and better flexibility at the expense of convenience. And as new cameras arrive, Adobe must build support for the new models proprietary formats.

Lightroom 3.5 of and version 6.5 of Photoshop's raw-image plug-in (available on Adobe's download site) now can support a host of new compact interchangeable-lens cameras (ILCs) that lack the bulk-inducing reflex mirror of SLRs. In addition, it supports high-end medium-format cameras from Hasselblad, Phase One, and Phase One's Leaf subsidiary. The full list: … Read more

How to create photo collages on Android

Sharing photos allows friends and family to relive one of your moments. However, sometimes a single picture just isn't enough. So whether you want to show off pictures from a fun day at a theme park, your kids doing something funny, or your pets being cute, using Photo Grid for Android is a great way to start.

Step 1: Download Photo Grid for Android.

Step 2: Open the app and choose the style of collage you want to make (Multi is pretty cool).

Step 3: Pick the location of the pictures you want to use for the collage.

Step … Read more

PaintShop Pro X4 simplifies the complex

PaintShop Pro X4 is the latest release in Corel's popular line of photo management and editing software. This newest version brings with it a more polished interface, GPU optimizations, and a significant boost in terms of professional editing power.

The interface is fairly simple to navigate, with all of the program's functionality falling under three main tabs at the top of the screen: Manage, Adjust, and Edit.

The Manage tab is, of course, the hub for organizing all of your photos. In addition to all of the expected browsing and preview utilities, it includes a nifty Info palette … Read more