"I'm a photographer that still uses 85% film in my work (through choice). I adore film and have no intention of giving it up, precisely because of the known set of characteristics for each emulsion. Hence I'm completely fascinated with this product and virtually cheered aloud when I read about it."
The above quote speaks a good deal about the new product from AlienSkin, EXPOSURE. As the Photographer above expressed, Exposure is a very helpful plug in for Film Photographers who have decided to go to Digital Photography. This is a daunting task when faced with the prospect of using Photoshop. EXPOSURE makes the job of editing a photograph so that it has the look and feel of a film photo.
When one gets started, the first thing one might do is to adjust the color of digital photos like the one below. Notice the very nice warming effect to the faces on Aka and Nino below.
To perform this operation you click on the Exposure in the Plug In category and you receive the very exacting dials which adjust the Overall Intensity, the Filter Density and the Warming effect which I used to put a nice warmth in their faces.
A second operation is for those who have used film but are now using digital cameras and seek some of the same effects that a particular film can give a photograph. Below I clicked on one of the Fuji films and you can see the difference in tone. The way AlienSkin describes the film reproduction filters is that you can now reproduce the "vivid colors of Velvia(r), the rich blacks of Kodachrome(r), the sensitivity of Ektachrome(r), and the characteristics of dozens of other film stocks. Exposure also models the size, shape, and color of real world film grain.
Use this level of subtle reproduction to simulate the distinct looks of films such as Ilford(r) 3200 Delta and long discontinued Ektachrome EES and GAF(r) 500."
You can further adjust the tone of the photo with the curve editor you see below. The sliders make an easy job of changing contrast, shadows, midtones, and highlights.
And also the focus from blurring the image to sharpening it:
And finally, you can add realistic grain to the photo as well. Often Noise Filters add noise (little dots of color) that act like filler that makes up for flaws in the photo, but it can be too harsh. Exposure simulates real world Exposure models realistic grain. Unlike other digital products, Exposure does not add simple, harsh noise. Instead, Exposure simulates the grain of many films.
There is a special set of film reproduction filters for black and white photographs as well.
This product is quite easy to use. I have never used film myself, but was born and raised on Digital Photography. However, I can readily see the quite helpful use of this plugin for Film Photographers.
It is easy to use, and apparently gives a quite accurate rendering of a film photograph. This product is definitely worth a second look!!!
System requirements
Exposure requires the following:
Macintosh:
- 1 GHz PowerPC G4 processor
- Mac OS X 10.3.8 or later
- 256 MB RAM
Windows:
- 2 GHz Pentium 4 processor
- Windows 2000 or XP
- 256 MB RAM
Exposure
The closest thing to film since film. Simulate the look and feel of films such as Velvia®, Kodachrome®, Ektachrome®, and Ilford® 3200 Delta. Correct color, add realistic grain and tweak contrast with one, easy-to-use plug-in. Save your signature look as a one-click effect.
Mac Users: Exposure is OS X compatible, including OS X 10.4 (Tiger).
US $199
Alien Skin Website
