Photoshop Plug-ins

[jfa]

In a discussion in another thread the subject of Photoshop plug-ins came up and made me wonder which ones do people find useful.

So could you share with us which ones that you use regularly and find most useful.

The key words are regular and useful. Links to their site would also be appreciated, thanks.

[jfa]

I will get the ball rolling with the two that fit the criteria for me.

Topaz Photoshop Bundle

http://www.topazlabs.com/bundle/

Portrait Professional

http://www.portraitprofessional.com/

[8321]

I also have Topaz.

Try it often but only keep the result occasionally. It works with some photos but not with all.

Jeff

[Lin Evans]

Hi John,

Do you want to limit this to "plugins" or do you want to include very useful Photoshop "Actions?"

Lin

[jfa]

Lin

Was intending to keep it clean and concise but given the limited response I think any PS add-ons are OK here or you could start another thread on Actions. I don't mind either way, your choice.

[Tinker]

Yes, but....lets actually do also start a thread on actions...Please? I'm quite interested in quality actions that aren't overly-automated (e.g. turn everything Martian green and then delete all your layers without asking) that actually facilitate workflow.

[Barry Beckham]

Alien Skin - Snap Art is one of my favourites

[thedom]

The noise reducer Neat Image is a plug-in I use very often : http://www.neatimage.com/

[davegee]

NIK Colour Efex Pro 3.0 / Tonal Contrast.

DG

[Ed Overstreet]

NIK Colour Efex Pro 3.0 / Tonal Contrast.

DG

I second Dave's nomination, plus I'd add Nik Sharpener Pro 3 and (as the need arises) Nik Dfine2 for noise reduction. Nik Silver Efex Pro for conversion to monochrome. Also a few other Color Efex filters, notably Midnight (with partial opacity though, at full strength it's often too much), sometimes Sunshine, and Darken/Lighten Centre can do a great job of "redirecting" the light in any photo especially when used with control points. The graduated density filters in Color Efex Pro are much better than the "real" equivalents, especially when used with control points on landscapes with horizons that aren't flat. Nik Viveza 2 is also a great way to do basic global and local edits, I prefer it to the Photoshop Levels, Curves and Hue/Saturation adjustment layers, and Viveza2 is a great addition to Photoshop Elements which doesn't have nearly as good a curves tool. I've been using Nik plug-ins for nearly ten years now, am a great fan. Go to www.niksoftware.com for more information or to download limited-time trial versions before buying.

I should probably also mention that Nik makes a separate version of Color Efex Pro that will run in Nikon Capture NX2. Nikon Capture NX2 was developed by Nikon in partnership with Nik; it is IMO the best software for editing a Nikon NEF (RAW) file (it can also be used to edit a JPG or TIF from any other make of camera or software, non-destructively and better IMO than using "smart objects" or "smart filters" in Photoshop CS3), and all the features of Viveza 2 are already in the Capture NX2 software. Nik offers, or used to, a discount for purchasing both the Photoshop and Capture versions of Color Efex Pro at the same time; all their plug-ins will also run in Lightroom, Apple Aperture, Elements 6+ in 16-bit mode (though not as layers, only on the background layer).

[Lin Evans]

On of my favorites is Focus Magic. Focus Magic acts as a combination tool which does convolution (actually achieving better focus by moving pixels) which allows correction of motion blur as well as improved focus. Depending on the amount applied, it does also add a bit of USM so it's best to use it with care and judiciously applied generally only to selected areas.

It works both as a Photoshop Plugin and as a stand-alone product. Here's a link:

http://www.focusmagic.com

Lin

[Guest Yachtsman1]

Hi Lin

Had a look but they don't support 64bit

Regards Eric

Yachtsman1

[Lin Evans]

Hi Eric,

Yes, unfortunately they have not yet (but will soon be supporting 64 bit) supported 64 bit systems. That isn't too uncommon among various software developers. There are some significant programming steps necessary to support 64 bit systems and even the "big boys" such as Adobe have had some problems. I guess that the price one pays for being at the leading edge of the technological curve.

Best regards,

Lin