Our 20 Favorite Photoshop Plugins for Photographers
If you’re searching for maximum creative control over your photos including adding, removing or changing any area of the image, Photoshop may be the industry standard for designers and photographers alike. Its built-in features will keep you busy and creative for the others you will ever have, or at the very least till another version is released… 🙂 But also for those ideas it doesn’t do, or actions and effects that may seem overly complex, there’s a complete world of plugins available. Some address key practical features like sharpening or erasing objects. Others concentrate on creative effects, letting you quickly change the appearance and feel of one’s photos and/or create a unique style. Whatever fix or effect you’re searching for, using plugins – especially premium plugins – can revolutionize your workflow. Below are a few of our favorites.
Portrait Retouching
Retouching is something every serious portrait photographer eventually ends up doing a fair quantity of, and using Photoshop alone could be a bit long and arduous, despite having a good group of custom actions. That’s where in fact the following plugins might help.
1. Portraiture
Portraiture targets getting perfect skin texture without losing any detail. No dependence on complex masking as well as the healing brush. Portraiture’s presets automatically smooth your skin, while removing blemishes and maintaining both texture and detail. Actually, the default settings and presets are so excellent that you might not find much else to improve. (Just avoid the “Smoothing: High” setting, unless you’re buying mall-brand, doll-like image.) An individual interface is pretty sleek and approachable, yet hides plenty of power beneath the surface. The price is really a bit high, but in the event that you shoot plenty of portraits and need professional results, it’s really worth the investment.
Price: $199.95
2. PortraitPro
Searching for a lot more than just skin softening? PortraitPro does all you can see right now, from applying realistic digital makeup to face-sculpting. PortraitPro is particularly amazing If you’re one particular retouchers who loves to sculpt the face, since it immediately outlines facial elements upon import, then lets you drag the lines of the eyebrows, lips, nose, and eyes anywhere you prefer. It also knows how to lighten and smooth eye bags, erase crow’s feet, detect pores, and its own sliders isolate almost every detail on the facial skin, and that means you have ultimate control. It’s won several awards over time and is far cheaper than Portraiture. In addition, it comes with a trial offer.Price: $39.95 at time of writing (normal price is $79.90)
Removing Unwanted Objects/Backgrounds
While Photoshop’s healing brush and clone stamp do an incredible job of deleting unwanted objects and backgrounds, there are many plugins out there that may make the job easier.
3. Fluid Mask 3
Fluid Mask can be an amazing little plugin which makes backgrounds disappear as promised. Fog, strands of hair, or other fragile or fading elements? Never fear. Fluid Mask’s capability to handle near-transparent objects is nothing lacking amazing. You know enough time it takes to generate an in-depth selection? Fluid Mask can literally cut it out in just a matter of minutes! If you’re a photo-compositor, graphic designer, or want to make memes, this little plugin will literally save hours of time.Price: $99
4. Snapheal
Snapheal, by Skylum software, targets the quick removal of elements like traffic signs, powerlines, bystanders, road damage-whatever you might like to make disappear. It doesn’t have the finesse of Fluid Mask, and you’ll still need to manually cut right out elements that lie on a tricky background, but also for simple things, Snapheal is does an excellent job. It’s also fairly inexpensive. (Mac only)Price: $49.99
Dealing with Color and Contrast
Color and contrast are two of the primary elements which will make or break the grade of your photos, and learning how exactly to adjust them perfectly in Photoshop may take years to learn. Utilizing the following plugins, however, takes much less time and frequently produces stunning results.
5. Color Efex Pro
Color Efex Pro, area of the Nik Tools Suite, is definitely the professional photographer’s mainstay for color effects. The filters have huge variations from portrait and landscape to creative, and so are not merely stackable, but enable you to apply different styles to different regions of the photo all at one time. If you’re a landscape photographer, their tonal contrast filter will probably be worth the package alone. (I’ve not seen any filter come near what Color Efex’s Tonal Contrast can perform.) Their detail extractor can be the very best I’ve seen available today. But they are just two of several, and you can keep these things all out free of charge since Google bought Nik Filters. And today that DxO has bought them from Google, there’s an update scheduled for 2018. Woot!Price: Free!
6. Topaz Adjust
Topaz Adjust is another industry-standard plugin that’s been with us for a long time. The filters, though much like Color Efex Pro, yield fairly different results. Most photographers will prefer one on the other, but those that love Topaz say that it just about “reads your brain” in what you’re looking for. And when you prefer quick, nice-sized previews, Topaz doesn’t waste your time and effort churning away. You can see what your image can look like almost immediately. An individual interface is considerably unique of Color Efex Pro, so you’ll have to experiment with it and see everything you think. But if you’re like many photographers, you’ll probably find filters you can’t live without.Price: $39.99
7. Intensify
Intensify is really a newer Photoshop plugin and definitely packs a punch. It includes a lot more presets than Color Efex Pro or Topaz Adjust and will be offering layer options and masking aswell. The user interface is easy and intuitive, and there’s close to no learning curve. It is possible to either work from the single-slider global adjustment in “filter” mode or make more descriptive adjustments (i.e. exposure, structure, sharpness, etc.) within their adjustment panel. So, if you’re a presets lover and/or want something that’s a breeze to learn-this little plugin can make your entire day. (Mac only)Price: $69.99
Noise Reduction
Unless you’re always shooting in bright conditions, a period will come once you end up getting some noise in your photos. When you can remove noise in Photoshop, there are a variety of plugins that the job a lot more quickly and efficiently and, generally, with much better results.
8. Dfine
Another plugin from the Nik Collection, Dfine is a lot simpler to use than Photoshop, particularly when you intend to adjust the contrast and reduce color noise separately. Noise reduction is applied and then noise elements in the image, and you may use Nik’s trademark control points to selectively control what the filter affects without needing masks. And, like all of the Nik filters, it’s free.Price: Free!
9. Noiseless
Skylum designs all its software to be incredibly simple to use and Noiseless is not any exception. The plugin runs on the smart algorithm to recognize noise and automatically removes it. Then, it runs another algorithm to include back the detail back. You can either relax and allow presets do the task or refine and fine-tune making use of their adjustments panel. The settings range between “Lightest” to “Extreme,” but if you’re taking a more realistic look, adhere to the low settings. They’re much subtler, and for me, much more effective. So when Noiseless doesn’t have any masking options, be sure you open a duplicate layer in Photoshop before applying. (Mac only)Price: $70
Light Effects
If you’re somebody who loves to add effects to your images, you’ll definitely desire to take both of these light plugins for a spin. They both create some amazing results.
10. Glow In Studio
Another plugin from the Topaz suite, Glow in Studio offers from eye-popping brilliance to subtle, ethereal light.As the “Glow” adjustment is exclusive alone, the HSL Color Tuning offers you almost superhuman control over your image’s hues, saturation, and luminance. An excellent option for intense, creative design-especially if you want to push the limits of what your images can perform.Price: $69.97
11. Light
If you want using light and shadow but can’t always obtain the lighting you need in-camera, Dtf’s Light plugin may be for you. Light lets you add shadow patterns into any image utilizing the gobos of Gamproducts and Rosco. (A gobo is really a stencil or template put into front of a source of light to control the form of the projected light.) It is possible to project from window frames to leaf patterns, or make your personal template. The final lights look as if these were shot in-session. Other effects include fog, diffusion, fill light, and glow effects. It includes a layering system in order to use multiple effects selectively.Price: $50
Artistic Effects
Color effects insufficient for you personally? Never fear-the plugins below offer many, a lot more options.
12. Filter Forge 7
Filter Forge includes usage of over 12,000 ready-made textures and effects. It works together with both still images and movies, and their advanced versions enable you to create your personal filters, without any understanding of programming or coding. While this may not seem so spectacular if you’re not designing your personal content, artists creating new images-especially those employed in 3D-will find Filter Forge essential.Price: The essential edition starts at $149
13. ON1 Effects
Though On1’s Effects 10 has fewer filters than Filter Forge, it’ll probably be plenty of for those who don’t have to create their own. Actually, for many the amount of filters could be somewhat overwhelming. Luckily the essential presets are of high enough quality that they’ll probably keep you satisfied and soon you feel just like branching out to others. The software comes filled with local adjustments, blending modes, and masking. You can also apply a filter to just highlights and shadows. Honestly, this plugin offers so many choices, it’s far better start slow. (If you’re a landscape photographer, try the Magic Ocean preset!)Price: Effects 10.5 happens to be free. Their 2018 version is $119.99
14. FX Photo Studio
If you’re a Mac user searching for creative effects, you’ll definitely desire to give Skylum’s FX Photo Studio a spin. It includes a beautiful and intuitive interface, a lot of filters to select from, and a good brush that allows one to apply the result selectively, without needing masks. Although it only has basic image editing options, this won’t affect plugin users much. Simply apply the result to a duplicate image layer in Photoshop and edit away. (Mac only.)Price: $39.99
HDR
While Photoshop’s HDR option will combine your images for you personally, most HDR photographers think it is seriously without usability. Even though many turn to stand-alone programs, that may really create more hassle if a lot of your workflow has already been in Photoshop. The answer? Plugins.
15. Aurora HDR
Truly one of the better HDR options on the market (both as a standalone program so when a plugin). Aurora permits advanced (yet easy) HDR editing that may be from truly natural-looking to the wild and extreme. Most HDR editing programs don’t enable you to easily end up getting a natural-looking photo, but Aurora really shines here. Includes layering, multiple blend modes, amazing presets, and also lens correction. If you’re a significant HDR photographer, do yourself a favor and present Aurora a go.Price: $99
16. HDR Efex Pro
If Aurora’s not your thing (or you’re searching for something free), Nik’s HDR Efex Pro does a good job of processing HDR photos. A lot of the presets look clearly “HDR-ed,” so if you’re buying realistic-looking image, adhere to the default or the Balanced preset. If you want the HDR look, then your presets will continue to work fine for you. In any event, the default settings still look greater than what Photoshop and Lightroom offer for HDR (have a look at our post on Lightroom vs Photoshop here). The plugin also works in Lightroom, so a straightforward workflow would be to do your lens corrections in Lightroom, then export to HDR Efex Pro.Price: Free!
Lens Effects
Sometimes we just don’t have the camera gear to obtain the depth of field (or other lens effects) we’re searching for. The plugins below can save plenty of hand-numbing work.
17. Topaz Lens Effects
Tuned to numerous of the popular lenses on the market, Topaz Lens Effects makes incredible bokeh, tilt-shift effects, motion blur, vignettes, polarization, and virtually any other effect you may get out of a lens. So far as the effects are worried, they change from the subtle to the extreme. Probably the most helpful ones will undoubtedly be for photographers who need filters which are simply too expensive to get. Or, if you’re dealing with a slower lens/cheaper camera and need selective focusing, having the ability to pick the bokeh effect makes it possible for one to precisely mimic a faster lens.Price: $79.99
18. Focus
If you’re searching for creative lens effects and like experimenting, try Skylum’s Focus plugin. It includes both radial and linear motion blur controls, a “twirl” control, lens blur, and selective focus effects. (Mac only.)Price: $59.99
Enlargement
Enlarging photos without losing sharpness is surely an art. Both of these plugins ensure it is easy.
19. INFLATE 2
This easy-to-use plugin far outpaces Photoshop’s native options, especially where large art-quality prints are increasingly being made. Includes a large library of standard paper sizes and Lightroom and CMYK support. For printing out images that just don’t have the resolution, this plugin will certainly make your life easier.Price: $99 alone, or $199 within the Exposure X3 Bundle
20. Resize
Resize differs from INFLATE 2 for the reason that it runs on the fractal-based algorithm to resize your images. Some individuals notice a definite difference among others don’t. One feature that sets it apart, though is its tiling feature which allows one to divide your photos into diptychs, triptychs, or mosaics-something super useful if you’re into creative art installations. In addition, it includes a “gallery wrap feature” that creates extended margins which means you don’t lose any section of your photo when printing to canvas. (This seriously takes the guesswork out of sizing canvas prints!)Price: $59.99 during this postTChoosing between Resize and INFLATE could be challenging-they both do virtually a similar thing. It’ll probably drop to what interface works best for you personally, whether you’re already using other software from both of these companies, and in the long run, price.