Digital SLR - Corel AfterShot Pro

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Digital SLR Essential tips • Practical advice

June 2012 Issue 68 www.dslruser.co.uk

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COREL Aftershot PRO

ABOVE AfterShot Pro is non-destructive, which means the original file is never touched until you output the image. It also means you can make multiple copies and apply different effects, as we’ve done here.

Step by step

How to get your images organised using Corel’s AfterShot Pro Organise, edit and catalogue your images with Corel® AfterShot™ Pro software. As Andrew Williams demonstrates, it’s easy when you know how I absolutely love taking images. But when it comes to filing them for future use, it’s something I know I should do but there are always more interesting things going on! Corel’s new AfterShot Pro software combines an easy to use filing system with a range of editing tools covering most tasks.

Editing in AfterShot works differently to most image editing programs. You can work with a group of images and any changes you make are non-destructive. Instead of changing the original image, AfterShot records the changes and saves them alongside your original. It’s only when you 2 DIGITAL SLR

come to output the picture, for example as a print, that AfterShot applies the edits.

So why do it this way? Well, repeated edits can reduce image quality, especially with JPEG files.

Non-destructive editing avoids this. Also you can have lots of versions using the same original image, say a black and white version and a sepia one. AfterShot just keeps these as separate editing recipes, no need to copy the original.

The way you file your images can be as simple or complex as you want. This article looks at using the folder system, which may be all you need.

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Browsing made simple

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Let’s get things straight

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Try a black & white version too

Once you’ve launched AfterShot Pro, choose the File System view from the tabs on the left. You can browse your folders just like in Explorer or Finder. Opening a folder of images shows thumbnails so you can select the images to work on. Here you can quickly tag your best shots with stars or coloured flags.

My selected shot needs some work, it’s underexposed and on a tilt. Select the Straightening tool from the bottom of the screen to display an alignment grid. Find a straight line in the image and line it up against the grid – I used the name printed on the valve. Select the Crop tool; clicking the Fit button removes the white space.

I also want a monochrome version so I’ve created a third Version. Remember, each Version isn’t a copy of your original; it’s just an alternative set of editing instructions. Clicking the Plug-ins tab on the right-hand side, shows AfterShot Pro’s Black and White plugin. Trying the various pre-sets I chose ‘Blue Channel’.

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Compare and contrast

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Make a new version

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Make a contact sheet

Clicking the multi-view icon at the bottom right of the screen lets you select several images for comparison. If you’re working with Raw format files, you don’t have to convert them to start editing.

With non-destructive editing, the conversion happens when you export or print the image. JPEG or TIFF files can be edited using the same tools.

To create a new Version I right click on the thumbnail and select Version>New Version from Current. Now I can work on this independently from the original. AfterShot Pro includes ‘Perfectly Clear’ technology. Clicking the tick box makes a good start for correcting the overall exposure and a small increase in Vibrancy completes the job.

Finally, let’s print a contact sheet. Select the images you want from the thumbnails. Drag these to the ‘Contact Sheet’ in the Printing panel. Right clicking ‘Contact Sheet’ lets you chose Settings from the menu where you can set up the page. You can also save your choice for future use. Click the Print button to print.

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COREL Aftershot PRO

BEFORE AFTER

ABOVE AfterShot Pro allows photographers to quickly search, find and edit their photographs to produce the best possible result while freeing up more time to get out there and take more images.

Step by step

Easy ways to organise and edit your images using Corel AfterShot™ Pro ®

The Library function on Corel AfterShot Pro enables you to quickly organise and edit your shots, regardless of where they are on your computer. Andrew Williams shows you how...

In April’s issue, we took a look at Corel AfterShot Pro’s basic editing features using the File System view. This mode may be all you need, but moving images into the Library opens up many more features for finding and cataloging your images without having to create duplicate original files.

Suppose you took a great landscape shot of Tower Bridge at night on a visit to London. With a filing system you might store it in a folder called ‘London Trip March 2012’. But what happens if you want to find all your bridge shots, or all your London shots, or maybe all your night shots? By 4 DIGITAL SLR

storing your pictures in the Library, these are easy tasks. Just add the keywords ‘London’, ‘Night’ and ‘Bridge’ to the shots and you can find any similar images, wherever they are on your computer.

With the Library you also have the advantage that you can view a set of images even though they are spread about different folders. This is better than the File System view where you only see the selected folder’s pictures.

Remember, the Library does not contain your master images, it just keeps a large thumbnail and a record of where the master is stored.

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Select a folder

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Enhance an image

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Compare your results

To start working with the Library, just right mouse click a folder in File System view and select Import Folder from the menu.

In the dialog box you can add keywords which apply to all the images; I’ve added ‘Chester’ and ‘Landscape’. You could also select any preset development settings like monochrome conversion.

I decided to enhance this butterfly shot using some of the more advanced features. I created a Version to work on and began with small corrections to Exposure. Selecting the Color tab reveals the Curves panel. Dragging the line downwards darkens the shadow areas, then dragging the right side upwards has restored the highlights.

I’ve some other butterfly shots to compare with this one. In File System mode I’d have to open each folder in turn to find these.

In Library mode, because I added the keyword ‘Butterfly’, I can show them all by selecting the whole Catalog then clicking on the keyword in the Metadata Browser.

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Pick your best shots

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Use a plug-in

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Refine your searches

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That’s all there is to it. The next job is a quick flick through the images rejecting those which didn’t work. This is easy in Standard View moving from picture to picture using the arrow keys, marking images as pick (full stop key) or reject (comma key). Using the Magnifier (` key) lets you check focus.

Moving to the Plug-ins tab, I darkened the edges using a plug-in called Vigne, free when you register AfterShot. By adjusting the strength of the effect centred on the butterfly I can darken the vegetation making the subject stand out. I’ve displayed the guides showing the extent of the effect. Turn these off when you’re finished.

You can make complex searches using the Metadata Browser.

For example I needed some images of track cycling. Clicking on the ‘Velodrome’ keyword finds these, there are 477! Clicking the Refine button locks this filter. By selecting the 1600 and 800 ISO values and shots taken with flash I can get down to 13 images to choose from.

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