Making selective vignette and blur effects easier
Price: $159.95 (approx UKŁ80, EUR€100).
Also available as part of OnOne PlugIn Suite 4.
Software/OS requirement: Photoshop CS2 or CS3, Photoshop Elements 5 or 6 (Windows), Photoshop Elements 4.01 or 6 (Mac OS X), Mac OS X 10.4.8 or higher, G5 or Intel Core Processor(s), Windows XP with SP2 or Vista.
Photoshop is probably the most powerful piece of software you will ever use; yet we only tend to scratch the surface in terms of how we use it. This is often because the interface is difficult to get to grips with. We perhaps find difficulty in embracing the power of manual manipulation, which is often not learnt because we need someone to hold us by the hand and show us what to do.
This is what the working environment of FocalPoint looks like.
FocalPoint by OnOne software is a Photoshop plug-in designed essentially to do just that and help us achieve some basic photographic techniques in Photoshop without all the tricky commands and menus that are often less intuitive. This particular plug-in helps us put the focus and therefore the viewer’s eye where we would like it. The technique of selective focus and vignetting is one that’s been used by photographers for years and FocalPoint helps us do it simply and intuitively.
The software installs separately and embeds itself into Photoshop or Elements, putting a new menu on the top menu bar. Launching from within Photoshop a new FocalPoint interface appears where all adjustments are made, and placing the mouse over your image in the window generates a circular or rectangular grid with ‘antennae’ around that allow you to control what is referred to as the ‘Focus Bug’ The antennae adjust the size and shape of the sweet spot, as well as controlling the Aperture and Blur panes as well.
Here is a picture we're going to work on with FocalPoint.
And here is the result.
There is absolutely no need to use any selection tools and other controls from Photoshop and any adjustment made using the Focus Bug or the sliders is instantly seen on the preview. The degree of blur and its opacity, and the level of any vignette either to darken or lighten are seen immediately in the preview window. There is even a slider to simulate film grain, but when you are happy clicking Apply creates a new layer within Photoshop, consequently it is non-destructive.
There are already a good selection of preset actions within the control pane, these cover many of the main setups you might need, however once you are happy with your own setup you can easily save it as a preset and even use this in Photoshop as part of an action to apply your effect to a whole batch of images …… brilliant.
There is not much to dislike about the way this plug-in works, it is easy to get to grips with on the first use, and if there is any doubt there is an excellent online tutorial showing how to make adjustments. The folks at OnOne seem to have thought of everything, and it is easy to make circular, elliptical or planar selections, adjust the feather, blur and vignette. The only thing you can’t do, so far as I can see, is to make an irregular selection.
At almost $160 the software is not cheap, but if you are a portrait photographer or regularly need to create vignettes on your images, or perhaps you simply want to avoid all the tedious stages needed to achieve similar results in Photoshop, then FocalPoint could be the solution. It is available for both PC & Mac and further details can be had from www.ononesoftware.com
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OnOne Focal Point Photoshop plug in review
DPNow OnOne Focal Point Photoshop plug in review
Here is a summary or excerpt from an article that has just been published on DPNow:
Regular DPNow c... (more)
Ian Re: OnOne Focal Point Photoshop plug in review
A must for DPNow regulars as Stephen Anstey dons the reviewer's hat once again :D
Ian... (more)
paul.r.w Re: OnOne Focal Point Photoshop plug in review
I preferred the original...but then I would, wouldn't I! :)... (more)
Stephen Re: OnOne Focal Point Photoshop plug in review
Of course its all personal choice at the end of the day, and I applied some personal choice in what... (more)
Malcolm Re: OnOne Focal Point Photoshop plug in review
Agree that the software is great. However, it can't handle large files. I use a 1Ds III and it won... (more)
Stephen Re: OnOne Focal Point Photoshop plug in review
Presumably they couldn't offer any help then :( In fairness though your files are about the bigges... (more)
Unregistered Re: OnOne Focal Point Photoshop plug in review
It seems to work at around 80MB...maybe a bit more. My files in TIFF are about 120 and it just f... (more)
