I would be interested to know what your take is on the entire Alien Skin Photo Bundle, which includes Bokeh, and whether it's worth the price. I kind of agree with you that Bokeh by itself for $200 might be a bit much... considering how much work one has to put into selecting and masking... but if the whole Photo Bundle of Exposure, Image Doctor, Blow Up, Snap Art & Bokeh are worth the $500 price tag... that might be the way to go. If each plug-in by itself is only marginally useful, then it might be something to pass on, but if at least 2 or 3 of the plug-ins are worth buying at full price, then the bundle would be a good way to go.
Exposure is definitely a very nice product. It's film stock simulation is very good, and even though Photoshop CS4 has an excellent black and white conversion feature, Exposure's tools are still very useful. I have not used the latest Image Doctor or Snap Art yet, so I fear I can't comment on those, but Blow Up is also a good product. But, if you don't tend to do a lot of enlargements, it may be of only moderate use. So that's a tough call. You're just gonna have to try to decide how much you need these various functions.
Great article! I'm actually surprised at how good Alienskin bokeh plugin is!
If you would like to make your own custom bokeh shape filter I have a tutorial here:
http://www.pompo.com/2010/01/20/how-to-make-your-own-custom-made-bokeh-filter/
Alien Skin Bokeh
Excellent analysis. I didn't realize the difference between true depth of field and blur.
Thanks!
An excellent and balanced
An excellent and balanced article, clearly written and well illustrated.
Ed Gold
Alien Skin Photo Bundle
Ben,
I would be interested to know what your take is on the entire Alien Skin Photo Bundle, which includes Bokeh, and whether it's worth the price. I kind of agree with you that Bokeh by itself for $200 might be a bit much... considering how much work one has to put into selecting and masking... but if the whole Photo Bundle of Exposure, Image Doctor, Blow Up, Snap Art & Bokeh are worth the $500 price tag... that might be the way to go. If each plug-in by itself is only marginally useful, then it might be something to pass on, but if at least 2 or 3 of the plug-ins are worth buying at full price, then the bundle would be a good way to go.
Thanks!
Photo Bundle
Exposure is definitely a very nice product. It's film stock simulation is very good, and even though Photoshop CS4 has an excellent black and white conversion feature, Exposure's tools are still very useful. I have not used the latest Image Doctor or Snap Art yet, so I fear I can't comment on those, but Blow Up is also a good product. But, if you don't tend to do a lot of enlargements, it may be of only moderate use. So that's a tough call. You're just gonna have to try to decide how much you need these various functions.
Make your custom bokeh shape filter
Great article! I'm actually surprised at how good Alienskin bokeh plugin is!
If you would like to make your own custom bokeh shape filter I have a tutorial here:
http://www.pompo.com/2010/01/20/how-to-make-your-own-custom-made-bokeh-filter/