Switch to PScs4 ????

[TNKHART]

Hello All. I'm pondering something. I have PSE6. I'm looking for some actions to help speed up doing portraits. All I really see are ones for regular Photoshop cs. So I'm considering switching. PSE6 does everything else I need but has limited actions.....from what I've found. They are also difficult to install were as PS is supposed to be much easier to install actions with. Comments or suggestions welcome, Tim:)

[baycruisers]

Actions can certainly speed up routine adjustments. Do your portraits all require the same (or similar) modifications? If so, how much time will you be saving by switching to CS4, and will it be cost-effective for you to do so? That's a question only you can answer.

For me, actions are most useful to accomplish routine tasks. Portraits are much more individualized and I'd be reluctant to assign an action to the process.

[TNKHART]

Hello Bay. To be totally honest with you, I haven't had a lot of experience with portrait touch ups out side of the norm....color, levels, blemish covers. I tried the steps in the Scott Kelby book on portrait touch ups and it seemed to take forever. I'm looking to get the skin soft and perfect looking. I see so many Actions for Photoshop cs but they are never compatible with PSE6. I also have never downloaded a plug in. I've heard they are rather difficult on PSE6. Thank you for your reply Bay....

[baycruisers]

There are several plugins for CS4 for portraiture that promise good results with smoothing skin. I'm guessing they would work in PSE too. I've never tried any but that might be another way to go and probably less expensive than going with CS4 for now.

[Jeff Perry]

Tim, for specialized portrait work, you don't need CS4, but if you don't want to spend hours/days on a single image, you will need some third-party help (plug-ins). Check out the following

Imagenomic - Portraiture 2 (by far the best) http://www.imagenomic.com/pt.aspx

Redfiled - Perfectum http://www.redfieldplugins.com/filterPerfectum.htm

Red Paw Media - RPM Beautifier (their website currently down - you may find the plug-ins elsewhere)

These are all commercial plug-ins, and probably have a trial/demo you can D/L to see how you like them. They all work with PSE6.

the other 700 pound gorilla is Portrait Professional from Anthropics. This has historically been a stand-alone product, but has just been released with a Photoshop plug-in, but not sure if it works with Elements. It is a high-powered, face sculpting program, but very easy to use, and delivers truly remarkable results. They also have a trial version D/L.

http://www.portraitprofessional.com/

Try Portraiture 2 first and you may not even have to try the rest. It is by far the most "sophisticated" of the three, but not necessarily the most difficult to use (presets make life easier). The other two are simpler but far less flexible. My favorite tool.

Jeff

[Simenon]

I agree with Jeff: Portraiture 2 is a very fine plug-in and can be used in a quite sophisticated manner with its many user available adjustments, or with easy one-click presets. P2 is a bit on the pricey side, so if you go for it scout the web for discount coupon codes.

Quite a bit less expensive and less versatile as a portrait tool is Clean 2 from Topaz. In fact it is not really a portraiture plug-in at all, but it does have a user adjustable "skin smoother" option that often works wonders and a "curly effect" that can be layer masked to achieve some nice hair editing enhancements.

I did not care for Portrait Professional myself, but it is gaining some popularity. I had tried it back when it was still a cloud platform stand-alone.

One caution with any portraiture software is to avoid the over-processed plastic look. It is easy to get carried away. Often adding a small amount of grain to a portrait photo can help to avoid that porcelain look.

~ Simenon

[TNKHART]

Hello Jeff and Simenon. Thank you both very much for your information.. This si great. I'll be looking at these today and let you know about any choice I make. Thanks again, Tim

[TNKHART]

One more question....I'm thinking of going with P2. I like what I see. Is it difficult to install?? Thanks, Tim

[Simenon]

It's been a while since I installed Portraiture originally on my Elements 4 and later when I upgraded to Elements 7 I simply copied the appropriate file or folder (forget which) from my 4 installation to PSE7. The Installer pretty much walks you through it as I recall. I never had any problems. Download the demo and see how it goes.

~ Simenon

[Jeff Perry]

No problems to install. It has an installation wizard that takes care of everything. After the installation, you launch Elements, open an image, and then look in Filters>Imagenomic for the Portraiture Plug-in.


Jeff

[TNKHART]

Sweet !! Thanks guys. I did the cr.2 raw format upgrade and it was a nightmare. Glad to hear this will be easier. Thanks again for your replies and helpful info, Tim