Software Tips

Wish you could right-click an image—or batch of images—and resize to desired dimensions? You can, and the best image resizing app has just been updated. Best of all, it’s free.

Yes, you know that the tools and filters in Adobe Photoshop and Elements can do many amazing things, but did you know that they can empower you to make your own planets? If you have yearned to create and rule your own worlds (and who hasn’t?), then pull up some of your images and fire up Elements or Photoshop. We are going to create a galaxy of new worlds.

Software programs for imaging can be simple or complex. The complex ones offer a steep learning curve and allow you to refine images to your heart’s content. Simple programs, although complex under the hood, allow you to make quick choices to create a wide variety of looks. And while they can be used for “instant” art, they also allow for nuances that multiply your options a thousand fold, using sliders that modify each look from the menu. One such “simple” program is Alien Skin’s Snap Art 3 (www.alienskin.com, $199 or $99 for an upgrade from previous versions). This is a plug-in and a standalone program, which means it works within the architecture of Adobe’s Photoshop, Lightroom and Elements as well as other image processing programs so you can create Layers from the work that can be further refined (leading to many more options) or within Snap Art 3 alone.

Proving you can, in fact, change your tune; Paul Simon revised the lyrics to “Kodachrome” when performing the song in Central Park in 1991 to “everything looks better in black and white.” Picky photographers insist “monochrome” is more precise because it covers images made using sepia, blue, or other tones, while images using only shades of gray are black and white.

Lately we’ve been sharing basic image-editing primers designed to help you get up to speed with Photoshop and Lightroom. In this installment, you’ll learn how to work faster and more efficiently by customizing your workflow with tool and brush presets.

Many image editing applications claim to provide “one click optimization.” Most of the time, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. This software is different; it delivers. Radiant Photo from Radiant Imaging Labs analyzes your image and suggests a preset as a starting edit. Accept their judgement or change to the preset of your choice. From there, proceed using your own presets, perform a Quick Edit, or progress into a Detailed Edit and Color Grading. But the story is not what Radiant Photo does, it’s about how Radiant does it. Which is pretty cool.