Many people know that I have a tendency to shy away from heavily photoshopped, over processed images. This is completely true. I’m not a fan of going beyond what the image actually looked like. Sure, we’ll tweak it here and there, retouch a few things, and even add a vignette to an image to bring the eye to the subject. Every once in a while, my studio manager, or I, will take a bit of creative license and enhance a portrait when it makes sense to do so.
We’ve been using Alien Skin’s Exposure 6 software for a while now, and we find it to be a tremendous complement to our workflow. It doesn’t promise to “save” an image. I’ve been quoted as saying “there is no un-suck filter in photoshop”. The same holds true or Alien Skin’s exposure 6. It will empower you with the ability to creatively tweak an already good photograph by implementing your customized enhancement through a simple to use- STAND ALONE- interface. It’s also one of the very best pieces of software for Black and White conversions as well.
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Below, you’ll see an image I created a few weeks ago. It was a rather rainy day, and for a few moments, the sun broke through. Streaks of light gave the image a dreamy feel, and I was really pleased with what we were able to produce in such weather. With Exposure 6, we bumped up the contrast, and enhanced the streaks of light- but not in a way that looks un-natural.
This image is BEFORE Exposure 6. A little contrast tweak, a slight clarity adjustment, and we enhanced the streaks of light slightly.
After applying Exposure 6-A little contrast tweak, a slight clarity adjustment, and we enhanced the streaks of light slightly.
