MJSfoto1956

I've been using every version of Photoshop since v1.0 (actually before v1.0 as I was a beta tester). This past summer on a lark I purchased AP just to see what it could do. In that time (going on 6 months now) I've had to use PS precisely once. All the rest of my post processing has been handled by AP. And once v1.5 comes out, my expectation is that I will no longer need to use PS any more. There are many things that AP is better at that aren't obvious at first (especially on a Macintosh where the performance is stellar). Would be happy to discuss if you could give us some more details. Cheers Michael

of course. Add an HSL adjustment layer and drag it to your layer (whatever it is). It will only affect the behavior of that layer. If you want it to be global then drag it back to be on top. Michael

Is that a double exposure? Or shooting through a window? Did you capture it as a RAW file? Or only JPEG? M

ideally, the forum interface would have a radio button that would be required to select before allowing posting. The radio button choices would be the list of products, which in turn would create metadata that one could filter/sort on. Michael

I use a single 50% neutral gray layer set to Overlay. Then I can burn and dodge as much as I want. Sometimes I use two overlay layers: one for burning only, and another for dodging only. Note also that you can also use masks on these layers. Note also that you can set an effective luminosity range constraint using the blend-if curves. Much more flexible than PS IMHO. M

1.) make sure your pen path has a fill 2.) make sure your pen path layer is active 3.) choose Select/Selection from layer M

Using an HSL adjustment layer is the ideal way of removing overall color casts. Note: the HSL color space is what many advanced Photoshop users prefer to use to remove color casts -- with AP there is no need to change color space: just add an HSL adjustment layer! Michael

There is no need for those fiddly "luminosity masks" in AP because of the very precise luminosity range settings available using "blend if" dialog (not available in Photoshop). Note that every layer has this already built in. You just need to determine where in the luminosity scale you want the layer effect to blend and how much to "feather" the range. Note also that this is much better than luminosity masks because you can go back and tweak the curve at any moment. This is not a "theory": the results produce exactly the same results as a traditional luminosity mask with much more flexibility. Michael

So I have an issue with AP v 1.4.3 that perhaps is unique to my setup, but in fact is reproducible. When I export or save a large file to my NAS (over wifi) and during the export/save I attempt to open another large file (also over wifi), invariably the export stalls indefinitely and the menus become unresponsive necessitating a force quit. Michael P.S. nothing obvious in the console logs either.

fencepost error? ;)

yes with some caveats. For example I had a complex Photoshop file with many layers -- and it imported just fine just now, but the overall look changed significantly. Clearly "some" of the things you can do in PS don't have a corollary in AP (and vice versa). As such, simple PSD files come across just fine. But more "complex" stuff may or may not depending on how complex/unique it is. Of course, you can always "simplify" your PS files prior to exchanging them with another editor, but I fully understand the desire for a perfect conversion 100% of the time. Given how rich both PS and AP are, I have my doubts that it can even be done. YMMV Michael

Assuming the sky really is mostly white, you can try doing something similar with no manual mask at all. Try using a "blend if" curve (effectively a luminosity mask) and "multiply" as show in the attached screenshot. M

what values are you using for your vignette settings? Can you attach a screenshot? M

if you duplicate the sky, mask it, blur it, then set the "blend if" as shown below you can get pretty close to what you desire. M

sorry, not yet. I generally won't upgrade my OS software until it reaches "version 3". MacOS and IOS are currently on version 2. I expect in the next few months I'll be able to answer this question for you. OTOH, my methodology for printing on all of my Macs hasn't changed in the past 5 years: I save a specifically sized/sharpened JPEG file to disk (one for each print/paper size), giving it a name like "xxxx.16x20.EEM.jpg". I then print all my JPEGs using Preview to whatever printer I have on the network. Note that I don't care where the file originated. Further, contrary to most photographers, I back up all the final print files to the cloud (not the original RAWs). I know this doesn't answer your question, but I use dozens of applications and I needed a way to have consistent printing. My solution works for me and I won't be changing it come the Sierra upgrade. YMMV. Michael

In print, multi-columns is standard. In web, single-column is standard (especially wrt new JS frameworks like Knockout). There is a real need to "repurpose" content across multiple channels. However, that is the role of a CMS, not layout tool. So I'd be happy with layout/rendering tools that could (optionally) be driven by XML/JSON.

ditto for DxO Optics Pro raw processing. In the meantime, I'm ok with the following (mostly batch) workflow: DxO Optics Pro (batch) --> TIFF --> piccure+ (batch) --> TIFF --> Affinity Photo (save layers) --> AFPHOTO --> Affinity Photo (export & resize for both print and web) --> JPEG So yeah, if I could get both DxO and piccure+ to work as a seamless part of the Affinity Photo framework I'd be a happy camper. Until then, the above is how I produce my final edits. YMMV Michael

Perhaps I am spoiled. I've used every version of Photoshop up to CS6 since before v1.0 (I was a beta user back in 1989). And once Affinity Photo supports macros and batch processing I likely will stop using Photoshop altogether. Having used image editing programs for as long as I have it is clear to me that the engineers for AP and AD "get it". For most things I can just intuit where the feature I want is and sure enough it ends up easy to discover. Again, easy for me. Likely not easy for a beginner. So yes, documentation is needed. Yet the free videos supplied by Serif are a superb resource. As much as I have a ton of experience with image editing, I have watched every single Serif support video multiple times. Each time receiving a little bit more insight. So my take is that the more you invest the more you will be rewarded. The fact is, there is no "hurry" here -- if you can't produce quality images with Photoshop you won't be able to produce quality images in Affinity Photo -- and vice versa. I'm a big fan of rewarding those who stick their necks out. In this case, Serif has done just that and I feel they deserve the kudos due them. YMMV Michael

after performing your perspective change(s), just go to "Document/UnClip Canvas" and you should have your entire image back.

so here are a series of screen shots showing how I approached "fixing" a typical over-exposed JPEG sky for what I feel is a "natural" look. You will note that I used nothing more than a series of levels layers and a curves layer each with a blended mask. You will also notice the banding in the sky which is typical for JPEGs. Basically, JPEGs are less than optimal for doing extreme post processing regardless of technique used (although I could easily "fix" the banding in this sky if I wanted). OTOH extreme post processing of RAWs or 16-bit TIFFs generally delivers exceptional results. Michael

can you post your photo so we can see what you are working with? M

duh, of course. Filters have their own masks.Filters have their own masks. Filters have their own masks. Gotta keep remembering that! M P.S. one of my favorite techniques is to duplicate the background, set the duplicate to multiply, then adjust the "blend if" to hide the shadows and reveal only the highlights, feathering the curve as appropriate.

so create a filter layer using whatever tool you think would give the overall effect (e.g. levels filter). Then set the levels slider to where you think the sky should look, recognizing that the rest of the image will be too dark. Then add a layer mask to it. You can then add a simple blend to the mask layer from 100% black to 100% white for the area and angle you desire (typically only the top 1/3 or so of the image and generally at a 90° angle, but of course could be angled as appropriate). This give a very similar effect as a graduated ND filter. You can even add additional mask that you might use to manually mask a building or person or whatever! Michael

I too have seen this "purple effect" myself when the data gets very close to zero (e.g. very very dark skies). I forget how I got around it. And no, I don't have a file to reproduce it either. M

Couldn't find it anywhere so I thought I'd ask: is there a way to reset the "origin" in the rulers? i.e. change the 0,0 point from the upper left corner to somewhere else on the page? If not, I'd like to suggest this as an enhancement request. Cheers, Michael