Perfect Efects 8 – Daffodil Hill Photography

Free Vs. Paid

Last month, in response to a suggestion from Nelson @ A few images, frozen in time , I wrote about the software I use to do my post photo-editing. Corel PaintShop Pro X6 is my main editing tool but I have been messing around with Perfect Effects 8 Free edition as well. As is my preference at this time I set my camera to the standard or natural setting in the camera’s onboard color mode. Since I usually do not limit my self to one subject when I am walking about this has several advantages. One is it allows me to shot an old building, like the following two, or brighter subjects with greens, reds or yellows without fear of the color blowing out the detail. Secondly I am freed up to enjoy the journey and live within the moment without sweating the small stuff. Since PaintShop Pro X6 has nice smart-fix menu tweaking the captures takes no time at all. I do not like spending time behind the computer so I keep it real simple. With Perfect Effects 8 Free edition tweaking my shots took a while but once I developed a sense of what I like I do not use more the four or five settings or effects as it is called with Effects 8. Below are two photos, one is I used PaintShop Pro the other Perfect Effects 8. I would be interested if anyone could see tell which was done with paid-for software or by freeware. Let me know I and I will respond to your comment.

Another One Using PerfectEffects 8

Sometime back I posted two photos I took and post-processed by using freeware by onOne Software called PerfectEffects 8. At that time I was having computers issues and needed something to post since the issues were cutting into my picture-taking time. Not so this time, it is a new routine The Bride and I have begun as we pursue stress reducing activities and one is regular exercise. Stress will always be with us so we are using exercise, more working together on meal planing and a push to downsize our stuff as a way combat stress. Not that we have any more stress than the next person but it is a constant force in this life and one must find a way to deal with it. Since she is now unemployed and is attending college, now seemed like a good time as any to jump out of the frying pan into the fire. So until I can get out in this weekend and get some new stuff I will post a few of photos I have taken and fiddled more than usual in the post-processing side and some from the way-back-files.

I did the effects on the top photo several weeks back and it is one of the first pictures I used layers on in post-processing. Do not ask me to explain layers: I was just clicking icons and seeing if what I did looked cool. I did convert this to B&W using PerfectEffects 8 and layered on some HDR effects to bring a little flavor to its coolness. The bottom photo is the unedited capture I took with my canon SX10is. I hope you enjoy both (Click on each to enlarge).

Louisville Skyline In B&W

Two Using PhotoEffects 8

I am having some computer problems and may not be able to post for a bit but wanted to post something till I get them resolved. I have backed up everything, I hope, to an external hard-drive and I plan to reinstall Windows 7 be the end of the coming weekend. I would not mess with it if my programs did not keep closing and Windows 7 would find a fix but a month of this fun is all I can stand.What does this mean to you? Nothing really but for me it means a lot less frustration and hopeful a more seamless post-shot editing process after reinstall is completed.

As I hope to move into portraits sometime this year I need good software, and a solid PC, that will help me reach my potential. Trying out freeware versions of some of the software out there seemed like a no-brainier. One of the things I was doing was testing the waters of several new-to-me software before the gremlins arrived. One such was the a freeware program from OnOne software called PerfectEffects 8. I want to Thank Steve @ daPonte Photography for taking his time to responded to my question about OnOne software and LightRoom 5 and their strengths and weaknesses. Till the next time here are two using PerfectEffects 8.(Click on pictures to enlarge them).

Two To Compare

After years of doing very little to no photo-editing of my photos I begun the search for a good, solid editing and management tool. This was last Fall when this journey began but life has a way of setting our priorities and mine did. Now I finally have the time, and truthfully the energy, to try again. I am leaning heavily towards Adobe Lightroom and adding other software as plugins. Till then I dug around some photographers I respect and see what they are using. Steve @ daPonte Photography uses OnOne Software so I looked at their products and decided to downloaded their freeware Perfect Effects 8. The first photo I used Perfect Effects 8 to give it a light HDR/Grunge look. The second is the original with a brightness/contrast adjustment applied with Paint.NET, a software I stumbled upon while digging around the web..

Next week I am hoping to test drive TopazLabs free trail of some of their software. My buddy Mike @ Mike’s Look at Life does some amazing things with his already solid captures using some of their software. Till then here is Two To Compare.