WMax70

90% of what you wrote I agree with. However, about the ship service engineer looking at the vessel you also said: "It looks exactly like quickly slapped person from another photo with little to none effort to match lighting..." Let's analyse the light source in this image. It's mainly the sun, shining from the rear towards us. So it should light the front of the person, not the rear. I would even suggest the persons back might even be more dark than in originally image, but for sure no more lighted like you did. The sun light can touch the right schoulder cause it is reflective material but not the back of the person. Therefore I disagree with your changes. Now it does not match anymore with the light source. Imo, you inserted false or at least a non natural light source to lighten the back of the person. However, this might go of topic.

I really feel sorry I started the question; I never meant to disparage Affinity. I have worked with Affinity since the beginning and have found many workarounds for many features that were not initially implemented. I understand that Affinity is not as big as Adobe, and despite of that, Affinity created some awesome tools already. I also worked with tools like Midjourney and added AI layers or parts of it in my images within Affinity. Yes it is working, but takes a lof or time which is now solved in Adobe. Affinity should be aware that The better they are are, the more users they get, and consequently, the more questions and wished they receive. In my humble opinion, this only shows the real potential that Affinity has and the demand, or even desperation from many to keep the great alternative like Affinity alive. Regardless of what comes next, AI is not something to ignore. A clear directiomn has to be set. Not every program and edit needs AI, but I'm searching for increased competitive advantages where speed of editing is one of them based on my original image. Adobe now takes leadership and Affinity has to do some work here I guess. But like iphne today, not always the newest tehnology, but if they implement, it is more usefull, faster, better and more reliable than others. And n, I do not have concerns about my images being uploaded to Adobe servers. If I had concerns, I would also have it when editing and syncing images with any cloud-based server for sharing. I'm on version 2 already and have added my Photoshop subscription. Thx Affinity for the great tool you made so far and the fast and effective editing I could do. Now looking forward to your upgrades. 😉

Here we are at the same page. That’s why I like the PS approach much more than midjourney, etc today.

For sure it is not, as in my previous reaction, thinking like this shows the diffence against the new-pro. You cannot reach the level of photo-image creation if you have no clue about foto-imaging, the basics of light, mood, UX and what the image should communicate. Professional photography is more than creating aesthetically pleasing images.

This is what I want to convey: Although AI is often overhyped, we can clearly see its practical application in enhancing existing images. Utilizing AI technology can greatly accelerate our work as professional photographers. It's not just about saving money by spending fewer hours on a project, but also about deepening our understanding of photography. Now, we can distinguish true professionals from amateurs. How? Well, if you lack a clear vision from the beginning, you won't achieve the desired outcome. It is crucial to have a flawless base image, including proper lighting, which serves as a foundation for further enhancements. Planning the lighting, creating mood boards etc (can be done with AI already), and thoroughly preparing with clients make a significant difference in understanding and effectively communicating the intended message through the image. With the aid of AI, we can surpass the competition that offers cheap services, as we can deliver professional work in the same timeframe, while also possessing the knowledge of how to achieve the desired results. In professional photography, it's not solely about creating aesthetically pleasing images; it's about comprehending the image and its intended communication. AI serves as an excellent tool to reach this level of understanding, once all the necessary groundwork is completed. Currently, my job involves defining the desired outcome by writing requirement specifications, determining the wishes of the customer and the desired mood, and deciding on the intended message. Photography and editing will follow once this process is done, but it is the final stage of the overall process of image creation. I will graduate next month as photo-image creator after two years of study which includes te use of AI in photography my case. This was former called school of photography, but the playground has been changed now.

I agree it is hyped, but as professional industrial photographer AI became a bit more than that for me that that. I would summarize: AI generative fill AI based background removal, and content aware fill in AI based person/subject cut out, removal & shifts and subject exchange But also adding persons, because AI doen not need all those private documents Additional; It generates concepts for me like light plans and mooth board fill in for customers The ligh plans save me a lot of time at the shoot, I can already prepare the light setup to get my objects positioned and lighted correct Simple example I create with assistance of AI, which would be great if I sinmply could add the person direct in Affinity. It's not just about simple editing, but also saves models, money and documents and arrangements for privacy

Ah.. great. 👍 Yes I remember that one 🙂 Great movie by the way 😉

I don’t think it will be the end of the world. All what is in is shared by all people via social media like. People did not really care. They always said they have nothing to hide. They knew, if you don’t pay for the product, you are the product. Well, they sold all your data and AI is just one example what they did with it. So if you suddenly see you face popping up… you shared it with all rights. People will start to realise what privacy means. (Too late) So thanks to all who shared their data, AI exists by those 🙂. However, if there are no AI plug-ins coming for Affinity and it will not be integrated like Adobe, than it might for me a reason to move back to Photoshop. Sad but true. I really like Affinity very much, much more than Photoshop, but if it stays out Affinity, the difference will become too big and it will run far behind. I think Adobe has brought some new revolution. Game is changed again in favour of Adobe now.

Wondering how Affinity Photo is preparing or has prepared the integration of AI like Adobe does at the moment. I saw that Adobe Photoshop is now able to work with AI. Insert objects with written statements, remove items enhance the image and edit in seconds in stead of hours. Ai is now entering the photo tools. It’s amazing and I’m looking forward to get such also in Affinty Photo. It is for me worth to switch back since my workflow and edit time will be substantial reduced. Have a look at it below and just like the title says, it’s amazing. Serif, Can we expect such also in short term? Is is already available as plug-in in a certain way? or will this be End Of Life of Affinty Photo?

Since I'm now also running inti this issue where some medical documents need to be password protected for reviews, I think Affinity is not the right tool to wprk with. Looking back, the question is already open since 2019. 😲! Those days, where awareness of security is growing by every one, many ask to protect their documents. It seems this is not really understood / seen by Affinity developpers (since this question is open for a long time). For me it is clear that I / we cannot use Affinity publisher at this moment to generate any professional business / or critical content for protected PDF export. That's sad. Hope that there will be a security option soon! Tool is great, but things like securtity / protection are essential these days.

Many Thanks!! 1) Exe file in: C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\AffinityPhoto2.exe 2) Assets and user settings in: C:\Users\username\.affinity\Photo\2.0\ Within Wacom I could not point to the exe file (Access denied). But I did get access using a .bat file.

Were is the .exe file from V2 installed? Were are all personal settingS from V2 stored? Were is the .exe file from V2 installed? I've serious problems assigning functions to programs like my wacom since I installed V2. (Photo, Publisher and Designer) I cannot assign specific functions to Affinity products anymore, but since I've V2 I cannot find this program anymore and cannot assign specific fucntions to buttons specially for these programs. Were are all personal settings from V2 stored? For backup purposes I want to backup all my setting and personal layout Where are those stored? And can I put my backup back in case of a reinstall?

I gave up, started with Lightroom to get this, but found this was also not always what I wanted. These days I use Capture One, which became my favourite photo adjustment and management tools today. I can use the color card, but also can adjust colors very nice and well. Just for special purposes I export to Affinity Photo. I lost a lot of charm over the years, just like photoshop. Lightroom and Capture one are so advanced that 80% of my work can be don inhere and also very fast. With version 2.0 I even got more issues with Affinity. 1) Wacom does not recognise Affinity any longer since they put Affinity in some weird location and a exe file cannot be found. I cannot create separate settings and action anymore for my wacom for when Affinity is active. Realy a shame... So I searched fot the Photo.exe location... step 2 2) They spent lots of time to make the program almost invisible on you drives. Try to find Photo.exe for version 2.0, needed to instruct some programs. 3) Icon-graphics were in my honest opinion better in the previous version, v1.0 4) Template selection was faster and I liked it more in v1.0 For me I like many other updates, but I'm not really happy the points above, they even disapoints me and I could not choose for v1.0 Gui style Still missing color checker pasport options, a good RAW convertor or at least on that is supported by Affinity, missing red Masking, missing the the posibility to read the sidecars from Nikon NX Studio etc. etc. It's also very hard to make backups now, to find the stored settings and where the store al of these, also import of all settings from v1.0 to v2.0 didn't work. So I needed to start over again. Lot of work is gone. Very bad experience here. I've no clue how and why they spent so much effort on these items while other major parts are still not working as expected. They alreay have limited capacity. I would have spent my time on more inportant parts, but ok, I'm nit them. Affinity costs me a lot of effort again to reinstall and re configure all settings. It should speed-up my workflow but did not. Still like it, but only as extension to Capture One, here it is a golden combi. The combination Publisher, designer and Photo works perfect. Also like it very much. In that sense, for me still a better option than Adobe LR + PS.

Ok... If that is all than I stay off. I do not see a need here for myself for such. Maybe others do. I would at least not spent money for this since I do not know why I should not use Bridge or alternatives which are free for use and add probably add more value. For Bridge, just open a free "trial" account at Adobe, download and install Bridge and close your account again before you have to pay. Bridge does not request for a paid account, only a login account to Adobe. Bridge can be updated w/o the need of a paid license. It's still free for use. The functions bridge offer are however are quite the same like Lightroom. It works great but you need to assign the file extentions in Windows or Mac to the right apps. (Which is a one time hassle and not as flexible) As said, there are already so many out there, that Affinity should add real added value before I would switch. That's not limited to a DAM for me. Since I also need (multi file) RAW edit, selections, cropping, tethering, lens corrections etc. I would not use the Affimity just for DAM, it might even slow down my edit process. And time is money...

Well, C1 is a DAM tool, just like LR and Bridge. They are not for free. But these DAM tools also provide the Raw convertor. If a DAM tool comes to Affinity, then a good Raw convertor is also needed, there Affinity lacks. A photo DAM tools is not just for storage, but also for consistent WB, quick editing, colours, cropping etc. Therefore I referred to it.