PP Tips 16 - Virtual Photographer

This is part of a 'How To' series on post process work.

This one is about a free effects plug-in called Virtual Photographer, which can be used in Photoshop, or used in it's own stand alone editor, Virtual Studio which is also free.

I have used Virtual Photographer (VP) for many years within Photoshop. A few months back, my PC crashed badly and I ended up rebuilding it from scratch. One thing I did not reinstall, at the time, was VP.

A few days back, I decided to reinstall it and went to the VP web site. I was surprised to see there was a new version, and also to see a 'sister' program called Virtual Studio (VS). VS was being advertised as a photo editor and also a front end for VP, or other Photoshop plug ins.

These are both free programs. The web site is OptikVerve Labs - Click here

Whilst I normally use VP within Photoshop, below is a quick example of using it within VS. Incidentally, I tried a few other plug-ins within VS and some worked OK, some didn't.


The original image.

The image as opened in Virtual Studio.

There are some 'quick fix' buttons in the top row, and there are other adjustments available under the Adjust heading in the top drop down menus.

Here, I have simply clicked the 'Enhance' quick fix button.

Note : On this image it worked very well. On some other images it was a little harsh

Clicking the 'VP' button opens Virtual Photographer and then different effects can be selected from the drop down menus. There are dozens of effects available both colour and black and white.

There are also a myriad of different adjustment options under the Film and Style menus. Once you have created an effect you like, you can then also save that effect.

Here, I have selected the 'Transparency' film effect from the Default options drop down menu.

With the effect applied, the next step is to click the Process button in the bottom right hand corner.

Tip : Once the effect has been applied, you can still view the original simply by clicking and holding on the image

After clicking the Process button, the image will re-open in Virtual Studio.

At the bottom of the screen is a Blend bar. Here, I have adjusted it so that I am applying about 75% of the effect. Once done, simply click Apply.

Whilst I have not applied any other adjustments to this particular image, there are many other adjustment options within Virtual Studio.

Clicking on the Adjust menu reveals many different adjustment options.

Now I have applied my Virtual Photographer effect, I simply click File/Save As and a save window opens.

Here I have used the original file name and simply added VSVP after so that I know
it has been adjusted within the program.

Note : Never save over the original file

The image as edited in Virtual Photographer.

That's it. It's simple and easy to use.


A few more examples done in the same manner as above. Some have been sharpened though.

Originals followed by the VS/VP edit.

Cheers

Other posts in this series - Click here for the index page.


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