Photography enthusiasts, whether professionals or amateurs, looking to organize, edit, enhance and share their photos, can now benefit from PhotoPlus X5 -- the powerful and intuitive photo editing software. The latest version from Serif, the award-winning design, publishing and creative software developer, helps users unleash their creativity and achieve outstanding images -- all at an affordable price.

PhotoPlus X5 helps photographers keep control of their growing image collection faster and easier than ever before with the new PhotoPlus Organizer. It offers a whole host of sub-features to ensure the albums are easily navigable including: Image Stacks, which intelligently group similar pictures, and Smart Albums, which automatically update to include new images added to a collection. It also offers extensive EXIF support to ensure all camera settings information is recorded for future reference and is easily viewable alongside images in the new Metadata tab.

Other new features include the Vibrance Adjustment, which is an intelligent saturation tool for brightening images without losing the natural skin and hair tones of the photo subjects, and the new Clarity Filter which makes seemingly in-focus images absolutely pin sharp. The Clip to Layer feature allows users to clip any effect to the layer below and new blend modes including Crossfade and Darker Color to offer a greater array of creative possibilities. With speed improvements to the core engine of PhotoPlus X5, blending and changes to blend modes are now virtually instant, so artwork can be created faster than ever before.

“One of the many things that make PhotoPlus X5 so accessible is the organizer,” says Gary Bates, Managing Director at Serif. “It allows users to easily and quickly import photos from a variety of sources and arrange them into logical albums, saving them time and increasing their productivity. And as we know that photographers often want to showcase their work in a stylish way, they can now do that easily with Photo Projects, included with PhotoPlus X5.”

Photo Projects offers a generous selection of styles and, with drag and drop layouts and a user friendly interface, it’s easy to create photobooks, cards, montages and more. It isn’t merely a template-based designer either. Photographers have full control over the layout of each project and designs can be personalized with realistic textures and backgrounds. Exporting work is easy too -- users can simply print or create a PDF for professional printing.

Existing PhotoPlus users will be familiar with the PhotoFix Studio, which includes tools for straightening and cropping images, removing red-eye and blemishes, and applying creative filters to enhance images. The 16-bit Raw Studio is perfect for the more experienced photographers wanting to import and edit Raw images. In addition, users can create stunning HDR images, remove unwanted people or objects from photographs and make precise image cut-outs. Users can also immediately share photos on Facebook® and Flickr®, plus view photos where they were taken on a Google™ map of the world.

PhotoPlus X5 is compatible with Windows 7/Vista/XP and retails at $89.99. It is available from Serif at www.serif.com/photoplus and from major retailers including Amazon and PC World. Bonus items include Photo Projects for creating professional photobooks, cards and more (worth $29.99). Existing Serif Software users should contact 1 800 489 6721 for further information on upgrade pricing.

To become a fan of PhotoPlus on Facebook, go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/PhotoPlus/119039121510493

ENDS

New and improved features of PhotoPlus X5 include:

• New: PhotoPlus Organizer -- Create smart image collections that update automatically and group similar photos together to make searching easier. Also offers extensive EXIF support.

• New: Photo Projects -- Make stunning photobooks, cards and collages. Included as a bonus item, it is a collection of attractive layouts and graphics for showcasing your photos.

• New: Vibrance Adjustment -- Brighten images without losing the natural skin and hair tones of your photo subjects.

• New: Clarity Filter -- Sharpen and enhance your pictures in one click. Seemingly in-focus photos are made pin sharp with the new Clarity Filter.

• New: Blend Modes ­-- PhotoPlus X5 now has even more blend modes including Crossfade and Darker Color, allowing you to mix layers for stunning results.

• Improved: Brightness & Contrast-- Adjusting the brightness & contrast now gives you even better results by preserving more detail thanks to behind-the-scenes improvements.

• New: Faster Blending -- Blending and changing blend modes is now virtually instant so you can create your works of art quickly.

• New: User Interface -- The PhotoPlus X5 user interface has been updated to make tools easier to find and will be familiar to users of other Serif X5 range of products.

• New: Clip to Layer ­-- Clip any effect in the Adjustments Tab to the layer below -- great for easily stacking or isolating effects.

• Improved: Adjustments Tab -- Work faster using the new shortcuts for clip to layer, restore default settings, and save presets in the Adjustments Tab.

About Serif
Serif is the publisher of the award-winning software range that includes PagePlus, PhotoPlus, DrawPlus, WebPlus, MoviePlus, CraftArtist and more. Founded in 1987 with the aim to develop low-cost alternatives to high-end publishing and graphics packages, Serif has been repeatedly praised for its powerful yet easy-to-use software which has put professional effects and demanding publishing tasks within the reach of ordinary PC users around the world. Now with over 6.5 million customers worldwide, Serif has over 230 employees at its head office, development and European sales centre in Nottingham, UK and its North American sales operation in California, US.