Alien Skin announces Exposure 3

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Alien Skin announces Exposure 3
By Mike Tomkins
(Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 23:46 EDT)

Alien Skin has today announced a new release of its Exposure plugin for Adobe Photoshop, which allows photographers to replicate the look of a wide range of films or photographic processes, as well as a providing a variety of other special effects.

Alien Skin Exposure 3 is available immediately, and works on either the Windows or Macintosh platforms with Adobe Photoshop CS3 to CS5, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 or 3, Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 or 8, and Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X3. Exposure 3 works as a 64-bit plugin on both platforms, providing access to more memory. This, coupled with a rewritten user interface, has brought a significant increase in speed. Preview rendering using Photoshop CS5 64-bit is said to be 30% faster on the Windows platform, and over twice as fast on the Mac, compared to the previous Exposure 2 release on Photoshop CS4.

Other changes in the user interface compared to the previous release include the ability to use the mouse wheel to quickly adjust zoom by arbitrary amounts, a drag-and-drop function that lets users duplicate a factory preset as a user preset, and the ability to add text descriptions to user presets. These comments appear as a tooltip when you hover over the preset, and some factory presets now include descriptions by default. Beyond the user interface, Alien Skin has also greatly expanded the range of presets on offer, with new categories including Cinematography and Lo-Fi allowing users to mimic the look of movies or toy cameras, for a total of over 500 factory presets.

A new Dust and Scratches feature enhances the ability to give photos the impression of age. Dust and scratch size and quantity can be adjusted, and positioning can be repeatedly randomized until you're happy with the effect. There's also a vignetting function with variable color, shape, and feather, and blur can also be vignetted so that image corners show less detail than the center of the frame. Further vintage films such as Autochrome, early Kodachrome, and Technicolor have been added, and Exposure 3 can also create unusual coloring reminiscent of cross-processed film.

Alien Skin Exposure 3 groups presets into two types -- either Black & White, or Color -- and these are accessed as separate plugins for Photoshop users. In Photoshop Lightroom, Exposure 3 appears as an external editor which can edit only sRGB TIFF files, which Lightroom automatically generates from Raw or JPEG files as needed. The user is prompted whether they want a Black & White filter or a Color one, when Exposure 3 is called by Lightroom. Batch processing is possible for Lightroom users, and when each image in the queue is edited, you're prompted whether to apply changes and then adjust the settings again for the next picture, or to apply the same changes to all photos in the queue.

Exposure 3: Before (top) and After (bottom) comparison of the Kodak Portra 160NC in use.
Photos provided by Alien Skin Software LLC.

A range of customisations can be made to presets, including color, tone, focus, grain, infrared simulation, and aging effects, and the results can be saved as user presets. These are listed separately beneath the factory presets, and can be renamed, given a description, and grouped in folders.

Alien Skin Exposure 3 can be purchased on either Windows or Macintosh platforms for $249, either as an electronic download, or on CD. CD orders also receive a download, and will pay extra for shipping. Customers with the previous Exposure 1 or Exposure 2 releases can upgrade for $99. More details can be found in the press release below.

Original Source Press Release:

Alien Skin Software Announces Exposure 3 Plug-in for Adobe Photoshop CS5 Software

Adobe Photoshop CS5 64-bit support on Mac and Windows. Tight Adobe Lightroom integration. Hundreds of new presets including aged film and funky toy camera effects.

Raleigh, North Carolina – June 22, 2010 – Alien Skin Software today announces the immediate availability of Exposure® 3, the new version of its photography effects plug-in for Adobe® Photoshop®. Exposure provides accurate film simulation and a wide range of creative effects in a simple interface.

“Exposure has grown beyond film simulation into a creativity tool, especially with the addition of Lo-Fi and vintage effects,” said Tom Welsh, the architect of Exposure. “There is carefully researched science under the hood, but we keep the controls simple so photographers can focus on their art.”

“Alien Skin Software is helping Exposure users get the most out of Photoshop CS5 by quickly adopting 64-bit support”, said Bryan O’Neil Hughes, product manager for Photoshop at Adobe.

Exposure 3: Before (top) and After (bottom) comparison of a custom filter based on an infrared simultation preset, plus blue toning and white vignette.
Photos provided by Alien Skin Software LLC.

The most significant new features in Exposure 3 are:

64-bit support for Photoshop CS5 on both Macintosh and Windows
Tight Lightroom® integration that does not require Photoshop
Aging effects and vintage films such as Technicolor and old Kodachrome
Simulation of Lo-Fi toy camera photography
Hundreds of new settings in all categories, including more films, color toning, and aging
User interface improvements such as a much faster preview and hover help

Tight Integration with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom
Exposure 3 now works in Lightroom 2, including batch processing, and does not require Photoshop to be installed. Exposure 3 is one of the first plug-ins to work with the 64-bit version of Photoshop CS5 on both the Macintosh and Windows platforms. Exposure provides multiple techniques for non-destructive editing in Photoshop, including Smart Filter support and rendering effects on a duplicate of the original layer.

Creative Effects
Exposure brings all of the creative tools of film photography to the world of digital, such as discontinued films, dark room tricks, and lo-fi camera quirks. New in version 3 are vintage looks like Technicolor movie film and old Kodachrome that are distressed with dust, scratches, and vignettes to complete the illusion of age. Lo-Fi cameras like Holga and Lomo are simulated with lens blur, warped vignettes, and funky colors from cross processing.

Realistic Film Simulation
Exposure was developed through careful measurements of film grain and color both in the lab and in film archives. The result is grain that clumps realistically, unlike the uniform digital noise generated by other software. The color transformations of particular film stocks are done so well that Exposure can make your digital shots look exactly like stills from a vintage movie or snapshots in an old family album.

Ease of Use
Exposure 3 has over 500 presets that provide complex looks with a single click. To help get started and for advanced techniques, the Web site has a large library of tutorial videos and example images.

Exposure 3: Before (top) and After (bottom) comparison of a custom filter based on a Calotype preset.
Photos provided by Alien Skin Software LLC.

Pricing and Availability
Exposure 3 sells for $249 USD. Owners of any version of Exposure may upgrade for $99 USD. Online or physical delivery is available through the Alien Skin website at www.alienskin.com. Free upgrades will be automatically sent to purchasers of Exposure 2 who purchased in April 2010 or later.

Host Requirements
Exposure 3 is a plug-in and requires one of the following host applications:

Adobe Photoshop CS3 or later
Adobe Lightroom 2 or later
Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 or later
Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X3

System Requirements
Microsoft Windows users must have at least a Pentium 4 processor or compatible and Windows XP SP3 or later. Apple Macintosh users must have an Intel processor and Mac OS X 10.5 or later. A monitor with 1024x768 resolution or greater is required.

About Alien Skin Software
Alien Skin Software makes Photoshop plug-ins for photographers and graphic designers. We distill advanced math and cutting edge research into simple tools that render beautiful pictures. Our reputation for bug-free software and fast, friendly tech support has grown worldwide since 1993. For more information, visit our website at www.alienskin.com.

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Exposure, Alien Skin Software, and the Alien Skin Software logo are registered trademarks of Alien Skin Software, LLC. Adobe, Lightroom, and Photoshop are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Exposure 3: Before (top) and After (bottom) comparison of a photo modified with a Lo-Fi toy camera preset.
Photos provided by Alien Skin Software LLC.

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