FujiFilm E500 - Manual (Page 7)

Clean Up Your Photos
Especially when shot in low light at a high ASA
setting, digital photos can have an undesirable
grainy or “noisy” appearance.This effect is
especially pronounced in areas of solid color,
and can introduce unpleasant purplish tones in
high-contrast details. Choose from a number
of plug-ins that reduce noise, sharpen details
and enhance overall image quality. Noise Reduction, by The Imaging Factory
($39.95 at imagingfactory.com) provides
excellent basic image fixes at a bargain price
(the Pro version costs an additional $60). It
sharpens details and improves clarity while
avoiding the over-softened “mushy” look some
other noise reducers can create.
Improve Your Images
Properly exposed, crisply detailed shots
sometimes still benefit from a dose of
technical wizardry. A host of plug-ins are now
available that duplicate effects that formerly
required a substantial investment of time and
skill in the darkroom to achieve. Inject your
images with added panache by giving these
high-tech effects a try.
Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 (Standard edition
$100, Complete edition $300 at
nikmultimedia.com) offers the power of
thousands of dollars worth of traditional lens
filters in a single package. Choose from
gradient, style and sunshine filters in the
Standard edition; the Complete edition
includes polarization, black-and-white
conversion tools and unusual artistic looks
such as gold and silver reflectors.All filters can
be applied selectively at different angles and to
different portions of an image for complete
creative control.
Add Instant Artistry
If you can dream it, you can do it—especially
with one of the many plug-in programs
available for introducing an artistic twist to
your creations.Add unusual lighting effects,
lifelike textures, distressed edges and more.
There are perhaps more plug-ins to choose
from in this category than any other: have fun
exploring and experimenting! Adobe Photoshop Elements One-Click
Wow! ($26.99 at peachpit.com) includes a
book and CD set with all kinds of resources
including over 300 stunning layer styles, cool
effects like Liquid Metal and much, much
more.The book demonstrates the effects and
describes how to use them for the greatest
impact.
download
and plug in
Once you’ve selected a photo editing
program and begun experimenting
with it, you’ll be amazed at the variety
of effects it can produce, from simple
sharpening to full-fledged artistic
productions. Yet eventually, you’ll
probably want an effect that’s difficult
or impossible to create with your
software. Whether you’re looking for a
way to reduce the grainy appearance
of a digital photo or to add an unusual
framing effect to an image, consider
turning to one of the hundreds of
plug-ins available for download over
the Internet.
Most plug-ins are designed to be
compatible with Adobe Photoshop, but
will also work with other popular
programs such as Ulead PhotoImpact,
Corel Paint Shop Pro and Microsoft
Digital Image Pro. Check your
software’s documentation to see if it
will accept plug-ins designed for use
with Photoshop.
For each of three categories of plug-
ins, we’ve profiled a single example;
there are hundreds of other great
plug-ins available, and more are being
introduced all the time. As with
photo editing software, most of these
plug-ins are available as free 30-day
trial versions. Download and try
before you buy.
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