Shutterbug: Alien Skin Software’s Exposure 2

Not long ago we reported on Alien Skin’s Exposure software, which allows you to pick a certain “look” for images based upon attributes of certain films, past and present. (Go to Equipment Reviews: Software on the Shutterbug website at www.shutterbug.com.) At the time we found it a fun and effective way to play with images with push-button ease. Now the company has released a new version of the software that still contains (and greatly expands upon) the film-look offerings as well as numerous other push-button and user-controlled effects. It allows you to play numerous “what if” games with images, all of which are quite imaginative. According to the company, the algorithms they apply to images are “developed from a detailed, scientific analysis of current and discontinued color and black and white print and slide stocks.”

The package includes more than 300 presets, some of which will be surprising. In addition, you can use this program for rather interesting color to black and white conversions via a channel mixer, add lighting effects such as “glamour portrait,” and play with saturation, contrast, and grain effects as you work. You can apply effects to numerous images (batching) using Photoshop Actions, or you can use their presets to serve as a starting point for further work. The effects are applied on a copy layer, which means you can sharpen and use layer Opacity controls as further modification requires. It also works with many different file types, except, in my tests, CMYK, easily converted to RGB for this work. Exposure 2 also supports Photoshop CS3 Smart Filters.

Part of the fun of working with this software is walking through all the presets and seeing how the image looks after application. But you don’t have to apply them to see the result, thanks to a split screen preview that, with my Mac G5, was quick to show the before and after. In addition, you can modify the presets in any fashion you desire, with any control available to you in your image-editing software.

Exposure 2 sells for $249 with an upgrade price of $149 for registered users of Exposure 1. Online delivery is available directly on the Alien Skin website at www.alienskin.com. Exposure 2 is also available worldwide through stores, catalogs, and resellers. Free upgrades are available to purchasers of Exposure 1 who purchased on September 1, 2007, or later. There’s a 30-day fully functional demo available on their website.

Work Spaces

The work space consists of two main windows, with variations on each available. The main work space (goldenhour) gives you a configurable split screen that quickly shows the before and after of each filter chosen. You can choose from color or black and white film and effects, all of which are customizable. The refinement screen (colortone) allows you to start with an effect and then modify many of its characteristics. While you cannot do this as a selection, you can create layers, and use layer masks if you wish. This yields more options than you might ever use.

Image Options

Each of these optional looks were made in a few seconds. The folks at Alien Skin have analyzed many different film stock “looks” and come up with some imaginative interpretations. Here is an emulation of this scene (colororig), shot with a Nikon D40 and a Sigma 17-70mm HSM lens, with the Black and White/T-MAX 100 filter and the GAF 500 filter. The last time I shot and processed GAF film was back in the 1970s so I’ll just take their word for it; I recall it being a fairly garish, high-contrast, thick-grained emulsion.

IR Effects

The first time I taught black and white digital printing I had requests for the workflow for emulating infrared film, which took a number of steps and some guessing. If I only had Alien Skin’s Exposure 2 I could have made it a much easier lesson. Here’s one option in a number of their IR effects, which I modified using a Curves adjustment layer.

Special Effects

If you want to play on the far side you can choose from numerous effects such as this one found in the Cross Processing (meaning a film processed in the wrong chemistry, such as a chrome film in C-41 or a negative film in E-6) folder. This change was made by using the Lomo Agfa cross-processed filter.

Compatibility
Exposure 2 is a plug-in and will require one of the following: Adobe Photoshop CS2 or later, Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 or later, Adobe Fireworks CS3, or Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI. Exposure 2 is a Universal Macintosh application. Live Effects in Fireworks CS3 are not supported. On my CS3 work space it shows up at the base of the Filters menu.