Hoogle
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Looks like people are pushing their favourite plugins so lets do an updated thread of our favourite plugins and why
I dont want to hear why you dont use plugins or plugins are beneath you etc, this is purely for people to be able to look up possible plugins to try who may not already be familiar and maybe do a why you choose that plugin over any competitor to it.
You can also add actions, scripts, layer styles, brush sets, swatch sets anything you think may be useful to other people.
I personally have a wide selection of plugins installed
IMAGE ENLARGEMENTS
all though not really used any plugins lately for it as I find built in photoshop resizing has improved a lot and deke did a good tutorial on re sizing.
but when I did it was often alien skin blow up vs on one resize
I tended to fall back on on one resize as it gave a better representation of the original image.
color effects sharpening etc
Well the big boys in this category for me would be topaz labs and nik software now google owned.
I tend to find I use topaz for basic stuff and if I am after 1 specific look as it is a lot easier to use and quicker.
However if I wanted more detailed and precise control over an image then I would use color effex pro I think the presets are more varied to get you going but once you are use to the interface and understand the controls for fine adjustments then it is a more advanced tool.
Honourable mention
red giant mojo photo looks, Red giant specialize more in after effects but have transferred some of the video plugins to photoshop specifically for images. all though the look of your image is very controllable with this plugin I dont tend to use it as a go to plugin even though it does cinematic effects and semi special effects really well.
black and white
well mostly done in light room but when it comes to photoshop the 2 big boys once again are topaz black and white or nik silver effex pro
to hard to call a winner for me I have used them both equally I love the simplicity of topaz but if I want a real contrast image with punch I will use silver effex topaz is very good for soft effects and even silver effex can do that as well but really does sharp punchy images with ease, but over all I probably use topaz more.
HDR well my first plugin to deal specifically with HDR was HDR effex pro not doing much hdr work I have never had a need to try anything else there are other major plugins out there but hopefully one of you can share them as I have not had first hand experience with them.
Special effects
I love lens flairs and this is probably the only plugin I say I use regularly and that is red giants knoll light factory for photoshop another plugin made for after effects and ported over to all the top video editing software but it is fantastic to use in photoshop. I use to load up images in after effects and used video copilots optical flairs but after the photoshop light factory discovery It is the only 1 I use now for images. Side note Mr Knoll who created this plugin originally is also 1 of the original developers for photoshop which is probably why it works so well even now on the photoshop splash loading screen it still has his name on it.
Topaz labs star effects
very good to manipulate light already in your scene is quite limiting to what you can use it for but if you use it right it is a stunning plugin.
topaz lens effects
good plugin but never had a real use for it but it is good if you want that kind of effect on an image that you had no control over in camera as you didnt take the picture or want to experiment with your own pictures as you didnt do it in camera at the time.
Auto fx Mystical lighting
very nice plugin especially for people who do a lot of fantasy manipulations however I am sure it has come on a long way since I last used it several years ago.
Flood (I think is the name)
I use to have this plugin that generated water I use to love it but over the years I have lost it and cant for the life of me think of the company that made it pear drop maybe or something going to annoy me now until I find it again would love to know if it has been updated. The company also had lots of small plugins but been to long since I used them.
Redfield Fractalious
awesome special effects plugin once again I dont know if this is still an active plugin been so long since I used it
Masking
well there are plenty of masking plugins if you want a quick easy mask I have used topaz remask once you have the hang of it then it is a good masking solution for quick results and it is far more accurate than I have ever got it according to some of the demos I have seen. but more complex masks I think channels and calculations will work better some people will even say refine mask built into photoshop is just as good but I mention this section for ease of use and speed and I think topaz handles that well.
I could go on with simplify, denoise viveza etc but this isnt hoogles 101 plugins I am sure most of the 1s I have mentioned most of you already know and use so lets add some variations and maybe rarer plugins.
I dont want to hear why you dont use plugins or plugins are beneath you etc, this is purely for people to be able to look up possible plugins to try who may not already be familiar and maybe do a why you choose that plugin over any competitor to it.
You can also add actions, scripts, layer styles, brush sets, swatch sets anything you think may be useful to other people.
I personally have a wide selection of plugins installed
IMAGE ENLARGEMENTS
all though not really used any plugins lately for it as I find built in photoshop resizing has improved a lot and deke did a good tutorial on re sizing.
but when I did it was often alien skin blow up vs on one resize
I tended to fall back on on one resize as it gave a better representation of the original image.
color effects sharpening etc
Well the big boys in this category for me would be topaz labs and nik software now google owned.
I tend to find I use topaz for basic stuff and if I am after 1 specific look as it is a lot easier to use and quicker.
However if I wanted more detailed and precise control over an image then I would use color effex pro I think the presets are more varied to get you going but once you are use to the interface and understand the controls for fine adjustments then it is a more advanced tool.
Honourable mention
red giant mojo photo looks, Red giant specialize more in after effects but have transferred some of the video plugins to photoshop specifically for images. all though the look of your image is very controllable with this plugin I dont tend to use it as a go to plugin even though it does cinematic effects and semi special effects really well.
black and white
well mostly done in light room but when it comes to photoshop the 2 big boys once again are topaz black and white or nik silver effex pro
to hard to call a winner for me I have used them both equally I love the simplicity of topaz but if I want a real contrast image with punch I will use silver effex topaz is very good for soft effects and even silver effex can do that as well but really does sharp punchy images with ease, but over all I probably use topaz more.
HDR well my first plugin to deal specifically with HDR was HDR effex pro not doing much hdr work I have never had a need to try anything else there are other major plugins out there but hopefully one of you can share them as I have not had first hand experience with them.
Special effects
I love lens flairs and this is probably the only plugin I say I use regularly and that is red giants knoll light factory for photoshop another plugin made for after effects and ported over to all the top video editing software but it is fantastic to use in photoshop. I use to load up images in after effects and used video copilots optical flairs but after the photoshop light factory discovery It is the only 1 I use now for images. Side note Mr Knoll who created this plugin originally is also 1 of the original developers for photoshop which is probably why it works so well even now on the photoshop splash loading screen it still has his name on it.
Topaz labs star effects
very good to manipulate light already in your scene is quite limiting to what you can use it for but if you use it right it is a stunning plugin.
topaz lens effects
good plugin but never had a real use for it but it is good if you want that kind of effect on an image that you had no control over in camera as you didnt take the picture or want to experiment with your own pictures as you didnt do it in camera at the time.
Auto fx Mystical lighting
very nice plugin especially for people who do a lot of fantasy manipulations however I am sure it has come on a long way since I last used it several years ago.
Flood (I think is the name)
I use to have this plugin that generated water I use to love it but over the years I have lost it and cant for the life of me think of the company that made it pear drop maybe or something going to annoy me now until I find it again would love to know if it has been updated. The company also had lots of small plugins but been to long since I used them.
Redfield Fractalious
awesome special effects plugin once again I dont know if this is still an active plugin been so long since I used it
Masking
well there are plenty of masking plugins if you want a quick easy mask I have used topaz remask once you have the hang of it then it is a good masking solution for quick results and it is far more accurate than I have ever got it according to some of the demos I have seen. but more complex masks I think channels and calculations will work better some people will even say refine mask built into photoshop is just as good but I mention this section for ease of use and speed and I think topaz handles that well.
I could go on with simplify, denoise viveza etc but this isnt hoogles 101 plugins I am sure most of the 1s I have mentioned most of you already know and use so lets add some variations and maybe rarer plugins.
