Photoshop Creative Issue

PLUG-IN

L

ighting can be the difference between a

good photo and a bad one. Well-lit photos

grab attention for all the right reasons. But

can something as fundamentally important as

lighting be creative, and how can you possibly

get imaginative with it?

Though Photoshop offers many ilters for

improving your lighting, AKVIS LightShop can

help to take your lighting even further; it’s

available as a plug-in for Photoshop too,

making it easy to use alongside your other

ilters. LightShop is structured like most

AKVIS plug-ins; offering an array of presets

for applying to work, along with thorough

sliders for tweaking anything you like in your

lighting. As with other AKVIS plug-ins,

LightShop is wonderfully easy to get to grips

with, and the irst impressions of the software

are great.

While LightShop is essentially a collection

of lens lare stock images, the plug-in is far

more advanced than just inserting light effects

into your photos. The lares you add to your

work are nicely blended into the image, and

you can adjust the opacity. Everything is also

labelled with images where necessary, so you

can alter just about anything in your lens lare

quickly and eficiently.

LightShop is a great addition to Photoshop

because it builds on the Lens Flare feature

without being dificult to work with. The

effects are eclectic and easy to tinker with,

making LightShop a must for photo editors

who want to improve lighting in their work.

Price £76 (approx) $99 US Web http://akvis.com/

AKVIS LightShop

Add lens flares to your work and refine the lighting with this exciting and accurate plug-in

A useful upgrade on the Lens

Flare tool and one of the most

in-depth plug-ins AKVIS has

produced, LightShop is also very

9 user-friendly.

The verdict

CHOOSE AN
EFFECT
Pick a speciic style of
lens lare or lighting
efect by visiting the
let-hand panel and
double-clicking to add
the efect.

SLIDERS

Improve on the elements

you’ve added to the

photo: change colours,

opacity and size of

everything in your lare.

FLARE

ELEMENTS

Add or remove

elements of the lens

lare to customise

and reine exactly

how you wish your

lighting efect to look.

Colour filters

01

These help to add

bursts of light to

your image, but they’re

also capable of lending a

little hue and saturation to

any landscape.

Sunset

02

The Sunset option

is a good lighting

effect to display on a

horizon, with the light

spots facing upwards

towards the sky.

Cascade of

Light

03

One of the most

ostentatious lens

lares, with bright lares,

spots and rings, to be built

up or stripped back.

Moonlight

04

Moonlight simply

adds a sphere to

the work with a bright halo;

it can transform night

shots or make day shots a

little more surreal.

Shining Star

05

This effect is

bright, has bursts

of light and softer light

spots scattered across

the image, making it good

for corner placement.

Five great effects A taste of the creative options available to you

The specs

Company

AKVIS

Additional specs

Windows XP and above

Mac 10.7 and above

Photoshop CS3 and above

Photoshop Elements 6 and above

Standout feature

Elements panel

Add or remove parts of your lens lare using the

panel in the top-right corner, and control how

your lare looks. You can also copy elements or

rearrange them, meaning that every lighting

efect is completely customisable.