SO.MUCH.NEW.

Its that time of year when software companies are releasing all sorts of new fun stuff! I have three very cool new programs to share with you today:

• ON1 Photo 10
• Topaz Texture Effects
• Aurora HDR by Macphun

With all of my moving craziness I haven’t had time to fully test these new tools. Over the next few days I hope to get a few sample images made and review posts up about each program. In the meantime, here are a few key stats to peak your interest!

On1 Photo 10

The new ON1 Photo 10 is awesome. I’ve been beta testing the software for the last month or so and I love it! They’ve made a few changes to how it works with Lightroom and Photoshop, making it much easier to access.

ON1 Photo 10 is the next generation of its photo editing and effects app for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. Version 10 is a ground-up rework of Perfect Photo Suite 9, optimized for performance, stability and ease of use. Up to 4x faster than the previous version and requiring less memory to run, ON1 Photo 10 also includes an integrated mobile workflow, a modern user interface, and the essential ON1 photo editing tools photographers have come to love.

ON1 Photo 10’s enhancements include:

• A significantly improved Effects module. Filters respond faster than ever before and presets are easier to find and apply. New preset categories have been added for popular photography genres, and include settings for color grading and haze reduction. The Perfect B&W module has been fully integrated into Effects, which lets you apply any filter—including the popular Dynamic Contrast effect—to your monochrome images. Lastly, you now have complete control over the organization of your presets and preset categories, making it easy to customize Effects to work the way you want.
• Two-way syncing of photos between ON1 Photo 10 and mobile devices with our free Photo Via app for IOS. Photo Via lets you share albums, smart albums and folders of photos between your desktop and your iPad or iPhone using Dropbox or Google Drive. With Photo Via, you can search, rate and share photos easily from any iOS device, and have the metadata synced back to your desktop.
• Better and faster workflow tools for working with faces in the Portrait module. Find facial features quicker, even with side views or faces at an angle. Portrait is faster and better than ever. The new way of working with facial features makes it easier to retouch the areas you care about.
• Access to Resize from any module, which lets you use the photo enlargement features of Perfect Resize from any part of ON1 Photo 10. Sharpen, add a watermark, or create a gallery wrap when you want, without jumping to a different module.
• Color and tone controls that make sense. Use Enhance’s exposure adjustments, better color controls, and improved highlight and shadow recovery to make your photos pop before taking them into other editing modules.
• Browse’s new Smart Albums feature, which lets you put your most important photos—wherever they are—at your fingertips. You can even automatically publish your Smart Albums to your mobile device with Photo Via.
• A new export feature, which automates the process of creating photos for printing and sharing. Take a single photo, or a group of photos, and create whatever size and file format you need. Combined with our improved batch processing options, we make it simple for you to print, share and manage your photos without undue complexity.

Throughout ON1 Photo 10, you will find an improved user experience, with more responsive sliders, tools that won’t stick, and a user interface that is snappy, modern and easier to use. Most of ON1 Photo 10’s image processing algorithms utilize modern video cards (GPUs), providing better overall performance, a new sharing feature for posting photos directly to Facebook®, Twitter®, Messages®, Mail®, Flickr® and more.

About ON1 Photo 10:

ON1 Photo 10 is a full-featured photo editor that works either as a plug-in editor to Adobe Photoshop® and Lightroom CC, or as a standalone application. ON1’s open system allows access to your photos no matter where they are stored: your computer, your network, or on cloud-based storage services. We support all of the key online storage services, including Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft’s OneDrive. ON1 Photo 10 works on both Mac OS X (10.9, 10.10, 10.11) and Microsoft Windows (7, 8, 10), while Photo Via requires iOS 8. Version 10 supports Photoshop CC 2015, CC 2014, and CS6; Lightroom 6, 5, 4; Photoshop Elements 13, 12 and 11.

Availability and pricing:

ON1 Photo 10 is available today and you can download the 60-day trial which is fully functional. Photo 10 has an introductory price of $109.99 for the full version (normally $119.99) and $89.99 for the upgrade (normally $99.99). For a limited time, ON1 Photo 10 is bundled with bonuses which include: “The Ultimate ON1 Photo 10 Training,” 10 in-depth video courses from Matt Kloskowski; and a Landscape Pro Preset Pack that includes 18 presets for Effects by Scott Davenport.

Topaz Texture Effects

I haven’t had a chance to try Topaz Texture Effects yet, but I’m downloading it as I type this. I’ve watched a couple of the preview videos and it looks pretty sweet!

Texture Effects allows users to create a variety of textured, toned, and lighting effects in a fraction of the time it takes in other editing software. The program includes a library of over 150 expertly crafted effects, an extensive collection of texture assets (275+ high-resolution assets!), and instant access to effects other Topaz users have shared with the new Topaz Community. That means no more scouring the web for a look that inspires you. With Texture Effects, inspiration is only a click away!

Topaz Texture Effects is on sale through November 20th. It will retail for $69.99, however you can save $20 using coupon code TEXTUREFX until November 20th. (Save 15% on all retail priced Topaz Labs products by entering “angandrieux” at checkout!)

Aurora HDR by Macphun

I am beyond stoked about Aurora HDR! The photography world seems to be veering away from HDR but it is a technique that I still love and use often. This software is a collaboration between Macphun and Trey Ratcliff. There is no way it can be anything but awesome. It hasn’t been released yet, but you can pre-order! Rest assured that as soon as I get my hands on a copy you’ll know.

Aurora HDR will be released on November 19, 2015. Pre-order today at the reduced price of $89.99!

Source: Explore-Capture-Create