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Adobe MAX 2020 Goes Online for FREE!

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Adobe MAX 2020 Goes Online for Free this year!

This is pretty amazing!

Despite the extremity of all the problems relating to COVID-19, one good thing is coming out of this:

Adobe MAX 2020 will be offered online – for FREE this year!

Check out the information here!

On1 Photo RAW 2019.5 Discount Ends May 15th!!

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ON1 Photo RAW 2019.5 - The Best Alternative to Lightroom and Photoshop

$30 OFF On1 Photo RAW 2019.5!

By now, many of you may know WHY I suggested backing up your systems with older versions of Adobe software installed. Unfortunately, I was under NDA, so I could not disclose that as of a few days ago, Adobe has pulled ALL previous versions of the Creative Cloud Apps, leaving only this version and the last most recent version. In this case, leaving only last year’s and this years. An exception to this is InDesign, which, for a while will still offer access to older versions. While this doesn’t affect people who bought boxed versions of software (despite some technical difficulties in accessing the electronic download files at the moment), anyone who was using something from CS6 Subscription, to CC2017 are out of luck in ever restoring these versions, if necessary. This includes me – who started using the subscription model at CS6.

I know that Adobe is not doing this because they want to. I know they have a legal reason for doing so (which was not disclosed to us), but it goes against every promise Adobe made to it’s subscription users from the beginning – the promise that we’d have access to older versions at any time.

For people who have been balking about the subscription model, this has just added fuel to the fire.

The good news for those who need alternative software to Adobe’s Photoshop/Lightroom bundle, there are a few great alternatives. In a previous post, I revealed a discount from Skylum, on their Luminar offering.

But, On1 Photo RAW has extended it’s $30 off discount in it’s software until May 15th.

SO many features to list, but the new ones are:

  • Dual Mode — Easily undock the Browse Module from the Edit Module, use a second display, or make sales or client presentations on a projector or TV. The dual mode will allow photographers to customize how they want to work when browsing and editing photos.
  • Edit History — A full edit history will be added when working on photos. Each editing step will be viewable, along with the ability to roll-back and compare adjustments. Photographers can also revert to the beginning of the editing session.
  • Settings Applied Info — Photographers will be able to quickly view which modules, tools, and filters are applied to a photo. This non-linear approach will also allow photographers to double-click on a setting and jump straight to it for further adjustments.
  • Selective Sync — Enhanced granularity in which settings to apply when syncing your settings (or pasting and saving a preset) will be added. For example, photographers will be able to drill down and only apply a white balance adjustment. The ability to sync cropping, retouching and brush strokes between photos will also be included.
  • Hierarchical Keywords — The master keyword list will now support nesting keywords inside of other keywords. Nested keywords will allow photographers to organize keywords as they see fit. Importing a list of nested keywords from other apps like Adobe Lightroom® will also be supported.
  • Apple® Photos® Extension Enhancements — Integration with Apple Photos now supports the full raw data, improving adjustments to tone and color. It also supports re-editable non-destructive editing and more native ON1 Photo RAW features like layers, crop, and text.
  • First Launch Experience — If it is your first time using ON1 Photo RAW, there will be new walkthroughs to help you learn the basics. This will give photographers a running start and directs them where to learn more.
  • Tool Tips — Tool tip animations will be added to improve the usability and shorten the learning curve for each tool.
  • Layers Enhancements — Create a new canvas of any size or change the size of the existing canvas.
  • Text Tool Enhancements — Add a background color to a text box and control its opacity. Easily control the character and line spacing. New options also will allow photographers to duplicate and change the order of text boxes and automatically insert text from a photo’s metadata.
  • Performance Improvements — Zooming, panning, and brushing are now much faster. A new preview quality option can help increase performance on lower-end and integrated video cards as well. Export is now up to 10x faster when resizing or exporting a photo or photos already edited.
  • Local Adjustments — The Local Adjustments tools will be faster to brush and adjust.
  • Windows High-DPI — Support for high-dpi displays on Windows will be dramatically improved. The scaling of the fonts and controls will work much better, especially on 4k displays and laptops.
  • Keywording — Keywords will be easier to search, add, delete, and modify. Also, keywords are now case sensitive.
  • Soft Proofing in Resize — The soft-proofing feature will also be available in ON1 Resize (Genuine Fractals®).
  • Drag and Drop from Film Strip — Drag and drop photos from the film strip to add them as new layers.
  • Increased Thumbnail Size Range — The range of thumbnail size will be increased, so photographers can go all the way up to two giant thumbnails or down to tiny thumbnails to survey an entire folder.
  • Default Photo Location — Now control the default photo location in Browse. This is where ON1 Photo RAW will look to find photos instead of the Pictures folder.
  • Preview the Resize Algorithm — When using the Genuine Fractals algorithm, photographers will be able to preview the resulting quality at 100% zoom to more accurately adjust the options and sharpening.
  • Persistent Crop Preset State — The crop tool settings will be persistent and remembered across photos.
  • Search by Adjustments Added — Search for photos based on specific adjustments applied such as cropped, retouched, etc.
  • Update to Lightroom Migration — The Lightroom Migration tool will now migrate the pick and reject flags.
  • Added for Support New Cameras and Lenses
  • Many other under-the-hood bug fixes and performance improvements.

On1 Photo RAW works with RAW, jpg, psd, and so many more file formats, you OWN your license in perpetuity, and you can install it on up to 5 Windows and Mac Computers. Check it out, NOW!

Skylum Luminar 3.1 Sale Ends May 14, 2019

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For those of you who want to get out of the Adobe software subscription plans and still use POWERFUL image editing software at a reasonable price for a license you own, please note that Skylum Luminar’s Spring Offer is ending in less than a week!

Don’t forget the pricing – and to add SGANS_DISC as your coupon code!

Despite the fact that Under pressure, Adobe has reconsidered it’s “test” of new pricing for it’s photography bundle and gone back to $9.99/mo for Photoshop/Lightroom, this is a serious consideration for photographers who want powerful image editing capabilities. One never knows what’ll happen in the future.

Adobe Hikes the Price of it’s Photography Plan – Some alternatives

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Edit (5/8/19): Adobe appears to have succumbed to the pressure. They’ve currently withdrawn their price hike, for the moment.

On May 2nd, Petapixel posted a story about Adobe increasing the price of it’s Photography Plan from $9.99/mo to $19.99/mo. Doubling it’s price!

As you all know, I’m an Adobe person. I love the Adobe ecosystem, it’s offerings, and it’s power. Photoshop was my first “Adobe baby”, when I started using it at Version 2.5 (before layers were invented, let alone, editable text!). I am an Adobe Certified Instructor for Photoshop and an Adobe Community Professional.

However, I don’t know if this price increase is a great idea for Adobe, unless they’re comfortable losing their Photography customers. YES, paying into the subscription plan will keep you up to date on ALL the new features of Photoshop and Lightroom as they come up. YES, Photoshop is still the most powerful image editor out there, especially for people who want to create composites and compositions, include the ability to create video (and work with video clips), and work in 3D in their image editor. It has many graphic features not employed by it’s competitors in the image editing space. However, for those who are strictly focused on their photography, who want power and don’t care about Photoshop’s powerful design capabilities, their 3D, and their video options (and more), there are some AMAZINGLY POWERFUL Alternatives:

ON1 Photo Raw is about to release their 2019.5 version of their incredibly powerful image editing software. This software has functions that replace much of Lightroom, and Photoshop allowing Presets, Filters, Color Look-Up Tables, POWERFUL AI lead masking, retouching, layers, HDR, Panorama,World Class image resizing and more. On1 Photo Raw allows for:

  • Image organization and Editing
  • Working with any file type you throw at it: RAW, jpg, psd, png, and more
  • Installation on up to 5 computers, Mac or Windows
  • No Importing!
  • Direct migration from Lightroom (so you don’t lose the work you’ve done)
  • Tons of tutorials

On1 Photo Raw costs $63.99 (for upgrade), $79.99 Full Version, or $129.99 (including On1 Plus Pro – amazing support, free presets, and more). And you OWN the license – NO SUBSCRIPTION. Buy 2019.2 today, and you’ll receive the upgrade to 2019.5 for free, when it comes out.

Skylum is offering a Discount to their Luminar 3.1 application until May 14th.

Luminar 3.1 offers:

  • AI Image Enhancement (one click enhancements)
  • A Full-Featured Organizer and Editor (with keywording, labeling, rating and more)
  • Powerful Presets to use as they are, or to edit
  • Layers, Blends, Filters (50+), Masks
  • AI Sky Enhancer
  • AI Foliage Enhancer
  • Erase Unwanted Objects
  • Powerful Noise Reduction
  • Non-Destructive Photo Editing
  • Workspaces
  • Activation on up to 5 Computers – Windows or Mac

And, if you order before May 14th, you get a great discount, Plus “Photography 101” Video Course at a SERIOUS discount!

$60 Full Price ($50, with discount code: SGANS_DISC) – regular price $70
$69 including Photography 101 Video Course ($59, with discount code: SGANS_DISC) – regular price $169!
$129 including Aurora HDR and Photography 101 Video Course ($119, with discount code: SGANS_DISC) – regular price $268!

Again, you OWN the license – no subscriptions!

Affinity Photo is also a powerful alternative for Photoshop. And serif.com has created a strong ecosystem of their own – offering an Illustrator and an InDesign alternative as well. Affinity Photo can be purchased at $69.99 (Canadian dollars)

And for those of you who like to work with Donation-ware (FREE, but requesting donations), please take a look at GIMP – a powerful, cross-platform image editor at https://www.gimp.org

If you feel I left your favorite out of this list, please say something in the comments!

Skylum Luminar update 1.2.0 JUPITER – released today with a GREAT deal!

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Skylum Logo Luminar Logo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today, Skylum (previously MacPhun) Software released a new update to their amazing photo editor, Luminar (this version called Jupiter).
Of course, Luminar can be used as a Photoshop Plugin, but it’s also positioned to work as a Lightroom/Photoshop replacement for photo editing (all this, WITHOUT a subscription fee!)

Pricing as follows:

Current users of Luminar may upgrade for $49 ($39 with coupon code SGANS_DISC)
New users can purchase Luminar 2018 for $69 ($59 with coupon code SGANS_DISC)

BONUSES Included in this offer:

  • Luminar 2018: the most powerful and technologically advanced photo editor for Mac & Windows (worth $69) – Luminar 2018 is a fast, versatile, and intuitive image editor, which can take your workflow from RAW file to fully finished image without needing to use any other image editor.

  • The Complete Landscape Photography Guide ebook from Photzy (worth $50) – An outstanding guide written by professional photographer and writer Kent DuFault. This ebook has something for everyone, with 237 pages packed full of information and assignments that will transform your landscape photography.

  • Aerial Photography & Video with Matt Granger (worth $79) – World-renowned photographer, Matt Granger will share planning, shooting and editing aerial stills and video. Matt will also demonstrate editing with Luminar 2018 on his still aerial images..

  • Photography Tutorial by Daniel Kordan (worth $29) – Extensive tutorial with a full workflow demonstration by expert landscape photographer Daniel Kordan. This tutorial includes shooting and post-processing images in Luminar 2018.

  • 119 Dramatic & Romantic Sky overlays (worth $29) – This is an amazing addition to your photo editing workflow, and will help give boring skies that ‘wow!’ factor.

  • Splitsville Presets By Brian Matiash (worth $15) – Add a professional polish to your images with these cool presets.

We have a TON of new and updated features in this one:

Speed improvements to get more done in less time

Skylum has dramatically increased the speed of editing across all areas of Luminar. Now images open faster, filters apply quicker, and the entire application is more responsive.

  • Most users will see snappier sliders as they’ve gained performance boosts of 3-25x for easier adjustments.
  • Luminar better uses the operating system for faster performance, with many operations seeing significant boosts.

Luminar Jupiter also got numerous interface and user experience improvements based on users’ feedback for an improved editing experience. The new version has several “under-the-hood” enhancements to add stability as well as to improve performance when editing even the largest of images.

Better RAW conversion

  • Better exposure calculation. Refined initial brightness setting for RAW files produces a perfect match to how a camera saw the scene.
  • Cleaner gradients. Improved de-mosaic process for even cleaner image conversion, i.e. smooth transitions in areas like skies and shadows for accurate color and less noise.
  • Fewer halos.If an image has high contrast areas, the improved Defringe option will help with backlit areas or strong contrast.
  • More cameras, better compatibility. Now even more RAW formats can be edited natively with the RAW Develop filter. Plus, a large set of existing camera modules have been refined for even better RAW conversion.
  • Reduced chromatic aberration. If a lens shows color artifacts in high contrast or backlit areas, the new Auto Chromatic aberration removal option will help to get rid of green and cyan shifts.

Automatic lens distortion removal

Getting the perfect shot is now easier than ever. The RAW Develop filter analyzes an image and its metadata to calculate an Automatic Lens Distortion fix that can be applied in one-click. This is a perfect tool to get rid of wide angle distortion and get truer perspective lines and more attractive portraits.

Advanced support for DCP Profiles

Luminar recognizes the industry standard DNG Camera Profile, or “DCP” files, that users may already have on their computers (or have purchased from third parties) to ensure accurate and consistent colors. Users will also be able to use DCP profiles from DNG files. This feature is currently available for Mac and will be available soon for Windows.

Essential New Features for Windows Users

The Skylum team has put a lot of effort into making the Windows experience be world-class and significantly faster. In fact, the PC version now matches the Mac version for all core features with Batch Processing, Free Transform and Flip and Rotate tools.

Here are some Windows-specific additions

  • NEW: BATCH PROCESSING. The powerful Batch Processing workflow saves time and effort.
  • NEW: EASY TRANSFORMATIONS. To easily transform the shape of an image, the Free Transform tool can scale and position an object as needed. Plus users can easily Flip and Rotate an image using the Image menu commands.
  • Better cloning. Users can quickly call up the Clone & Stamp module by pressing Ctrl + J. Softness, opacity, and size of the brush can also now be modified.
  • Cleaner zooms. Accelerated zooming now delivers a cleaner image at all sizes. Images appear sharper when the zoom is beyond 100% for detail work. Plus the new version provides a cleaner preview when zoomed out to see the whole image.
  • Preview mode.To check out a photo free from any distractions users can now use Full Screen Preview – a great way to really study an image in detail.
  • Localization support.It’s even easier to use Luminar in a different language. The localizations have been improved for greater accuracy and can now be changed from the File menu in Windows version.
  • Better masking controls. Users can create masks more easily when painting masks. Holding down the spacebar and dragging with the cursor, pans and moves the image when masking.
  • Improved workflow with other applications.When using Luminar as a plugin with other applications, color profiles are properly included. This change also improves image exporting with attached profiles.
  • Shared workspaces.Users can now share their custom workspaces.

If you’ve been waiting for a great time to buy or upgrade your version of Luminar – THIS IS IT!

Here are some before and after images, made in Luminar:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adobe Pricing Goes Up Soon – but you can avoid it

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As many of you on the Adobe Creative Cloud Plan know (through an email you may have received), the price is going to increase on April 16th, 2018, however you won’t see that increase until your current plan renews.

Now, firstly – this increase is only going to affect the All Apps and Single-App plans (not the CC Photography plan, or the Student/Teacher Editions), and it’s not a huge amount – in fact, it’s only about a 5% increase, and the only increase since the Creative Cloud was introduced in 2012.

Yet, many people are going to be unhappy about this change – so, my friend at ProDesignTools.com has found Adobe’s solution to the problem!

Read his article all the way through – the information is at the bottom (spoiler alert: Adobe won’t raise the rate if you prepay the year!)

Check out the story – thank Mr. ProDesignTools, and come back here and let me know what you think!

MacOS High Sierra (OS 10.13) Compatibility FAQ for Adobe Creative Cloud

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As many of you know, I’m not a fan of upgrading my operating system for a great deal of time after the release of any new ones. Currently, I’m using Sierra 10.12.6, and will be continuing to hold off on upgrades. However, some people have either upgraded already, or have bought new equipment that comes with the new OS already installed.

For users of Adobe Creative Cloud products (as well as several other developer’s products), High Sierra has introduced quite a few bugs that need to be resolved.

Fortunately, Adobe has a page about compatibility issues with several of their products, with some workarounds and temporary fixes, until they resolve the problem with a CC update.

To view the list, please visit https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/macos-high-sierra-compatibility.html

Having Trouble Exporting to Hi Rez PNG with Illustrator CC2018?

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This is a known issue. For those of us who used Export>PNG for high rez output, this seems to be broken in the new release of Illustrator CC2018. This seems to only affect people who chose to “Import Previous Settings and Preferences” when upgrading.

Fortunately, Adobe has published a work-around to resolve this issue!
Take a look at this article, to see their answer:
https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/troubleshoot-export-issues.html

How to retain old versions of Adobe CC Software when upgrading to CC2018

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I just got back from the AMAZING Adobe MAX conference in Las Vegas, NV. Perhaps you caught some of my social posts on the events!

This MAX introduced a bunch of new device apps and updates, as well as desktop apps. BUT, it’s very important for some people to retain their older versions, when upgrading their apps. The default behavior is to overwrite previous version with the new version – for instance, if you install the new Photoshop CC, you’ll be overwriting Photoshop CC2017 with Photoshop CC2018!

If that’s okay with you, great! But, if you’re like me, and prefer to wait until bug fixes are in, but still want to see (and get used to) some  of the amazing new features in the new version.

Here, I’m going to add a set of images to ensure you see WHERE to adjust your choices so you can ensure to keep your OLD version while also installing the new version. Don’t forget to comment, if you have any questions! Or, ask on our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/aym4training

Or, on our Twitter feed at @aym4training

  1. When you open the Creative Cloud app, either from your Menu Bar on a Mac, or your Task Bar on a Windows machine, you’ll see a list of applications that’re installed on your computer, and the option to update those that have new versions available. Note: in previous versions of the Creative Cloud apps, my “previous versions” were listed as a separate section of the updaters, but now, they’re all listed by app)
  2. In this case, I’ll be updating my Adobe Illustrator application. When you click the Update  button, you’ll get a window that looks like this – at Which Point, you’ll want to EXPAND THE ADVANCED OPTIONS SECTION! NOTE: If you want to retain your older version DO NOT select the Update button yet!
  3. In the Advanced section, be sure to UNCHECK the “Remove old versions” button (on by default)!
  4. At this point, you can select the Update button. Your NEW version of the software will be installed, and it will leave your older version installed as well. Personally, I like to import my previous settings and preferences from previous versions, and tweak them in the individual apps to accommodate any changes, but that’s a matter of personal preference.

Hopefully, this will save some of you the pain of encountering some of the inevitable bugs associated with upgrading, or will allow you to work in your older versions of the applications you use, so you may collaboratively share files with others who may not have updated yet.

Please remember to comment here, or on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/aym4training/ or my Twitter feed @aym4training if you need assistance, or clarification.

 

 

Adobe MAX This Week!

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This week, Adobe is having it’s Adobe MAX conference in Las Vegas, NV. I’ll be working as a Teaching Assistant for several classes, and according to the conference schedule, anticipate being kept VERY busy for the week! I’m looking forward to it, very much – and anticipate I’ll be “paying” for the worthwhile time with some exhaustion for the entire following week!

For those of you trying to reach me this week, either via the blog, our Facebook page ((2) AYM 4 Training – Home), our Twitter Account (AYM 4 Training (@aym4training) | Twitter)

I do hope that some or many of my students and colleagues will be attending this event, and if so, please seek me out – I’d love to see you! I’ve been assigned to TA the classes named
B342 – Photoshop Magic: Making Brushes to Speed Up Your Workflow, and B341 – Photoshop+After Effects = Awesomeness (multiple bookings of each in my schedule). I’ll also be attending other classes with some of my favorite speakers/writers and Adobe Evangelists.

I hope to see you at the conference, if you can make it, and I’ll do my best to respond to questions and such, as time allows. Have a great week!