John Brandon
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Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 Ultimate; An Affordable Image-Editing Option; Version Reviewed: X3
Software & Computers
John Brandon • Jun 28, 2011 • Published: May 01, 2011 • 2 comments
For years, anyone serious about photography has viewed Corel Paint Shop Pro (PSP) as the low cost alternative to Adobe Photoshop. Originally developed by a tiny company in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Paint Shop has grown up into a full-featured photo workflow tool with a built-in photo organizer that includes tagging options and fast previewing, an advanced image editor, and handy integration with Flickr and Facebook.

For $70, PaintShop Photo Pro X3 Ultimate is a smart addition to a virtual photo toolbox. A few performance problems and some slightly questionable editing capabilities puts PSP in the uncomfortable position of still being in the tall shadow of Adobe. That said, if you want to skip the $700 purchase price, PSP is on the right track.

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Microsoft’s Expression Media 2; An Organizing Tool For Very Large Image Collections
Software & Computers
John Brandon • Jun 01, 2009 • 1 comments

Microsoft’s Expression Media 2, flexibility is the key feature—it lets you avoid a predetermined workflow where you follow the same path each time you manage photos.
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Microsoft’s Pro Photo Tools 2; A Post-Exposure GPS Program
Software & Computers
John Brandon • May 01, 2009 • 0 comments

In photography, tracking the location of a shoot is almost as important as the shoot itself.
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onOne Software’s PhotoTools 2: Pro Edition; Bringing Out The Best
Software & Computers
John Brandon • Sep 01, 2009 • 0 comments

onOne Software’s new PhotoTools 2 Pro Edition seems to have a clear mission that aligns with those aims—to bring out the best in an already appealing photo.
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Phase One Capture One Pro 6; A Top-Level Image Handler
Software & Computers
John Brandon • Jun 20, 2011 • Published: May 01, 2011 • 2 comments
For serious photographers, the software you choose for a photographic workflow falls into good, better, and best buckets. The “good” bucket includes fairly mundane tools for basic image management, while “better” goes the extra step of providing image correction options and filters. The “best” tools provide tethered-shot features and robust metadata editing functions. At these upper ranks, the best software seems to predict your every move, mostly because the software developers are photo enthusiasts and understand real photographic needs.

Phase One’s Capture One Pro 6 falls into this “best” category. In many ways, it even beats out Adobe Photoshop CS5 in that there seems to be a professional-grade feature under every drop-down menu and in every dialog box. The editing functions pale in comparison to Photoshop, but as we’ve all learned, if you set up the shot perfectly on location you might not need to do a lot of editing later.
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Photo Mechanic; Pro-Level Image Organization
Software & Computers
John Brandon • Apr 01, 2011 • 0 comments

Exceptional photographic software reveals its true nature over time. In the case of Photo Mechanic—which is a pro-level image organizing tool from Camera Bits—there are seemingly insignificant features that provide a smooth workflow, especially for photo journalists working with IPTC data.
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Windows 7; What Can It Offer Photographers?
Software & Computers
John Brandon • Jan 01, 2010 • 0 comments

With each new Microsoft Operating System (OS) release, a new question arises for photographers: should you upgrade? Or, should you wait?
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