Welcome to part 2 of our review of onOne Software’s Plug-in Suite 5. Last week we covered FocalPoint 2, PhotoTools 2.5 and PhotoTune 3 so head on over there for details on those products.
This week, we’ll talk about Genuine Fractals 6, PhotoFrame 4.5 and Mask Pro 4.
It should be noted that I used the plug-in suite with Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom 2. For those using Photoshop CS4 there’s a new onOne Panel that makes launching plug-ins faster and more convenient.
Genuine Fractals 6
Genuine Fractals has enjoyed the title “the industry standard for image resizing” for many years. And there’s a reason. It lives up to it. Genuine Fractals makes image enlargement simple with very little degradation. Whether enlarging to an 8×10 or a billboard, details are preserved and edges stay sharp.
As with most of the plug-ins in the suite, the interface shares a Lightroom-esque familiarity—all the panels are on the right, working image takes up most of the screen on the left.
All photos © Ryan Klos
The workflow from Lightroom is the same as FocalPoint. To launch, go to File>> Plug-in Extras>> Genuine Fractals. The image opens in Photoshop, and Genuine Fractals automatically launches. Enlarge your image as needed, click Apply, enlargement takes place (and keeps all your layers intact), the image is saved, closed and you’re returned to Lightroom.
All editing should be performed on your images before enlarging; enlargement should be the final step in your workflow to maintain the highest level of image integrity.
Using the the plug-in couldn’t be more intuitive. The right-hand panel has several self-explanatory sections: Pixel Dimensions, Document Size, Texture Control, Sharpening, Film Grain, Tiling and Gallery Wrap.
Chances are you’ll go directly to the document size section because you’ll know the dimensions you want to enlarge to. Start by entering the resolution, then enter your height or width. Whichever you enter first, the other will proportionately adjust automatically.
Adjusting the texture should be your next step. When images are enlarged, textures tend to get muddy or go flat, so you’ll want to make sure to keep a close eye on them and adjust as you enlarge. The Amount slider affects continuous color in the image, while the Threshold affects edge detail. Play with each until you’re comfortable with what you see.
If you’re not sure where to start with your image, hit the dropdown next to where it says Image Type. This will give you a good starting point based on the type of image you’re enlarging. You can fine-tune from there.
Head down the panel to dial in your sharpening and add film grain as desired. Use the tiling section if you will be printing your image in several pieces and assembling them mosaic-style after the fact.
The coolest feature of Genuine Fractals, and the reason I’ll probably use this plug-in most, is the Gallery Wrap section.
This section allows you add extra space around your image when enlarging and printing as a gallery wrap. You only have two choices to make here: Thickness and Method. Thickness refers to the size of your stretcher bars (in inches) on the wrap you’ll be using. Method refers to how Genuine Fractals should handle the edges. There are four methods: Reflect, Reflect Soft, Stretch and Stretch Soft.
Reflect will copy and reflect 2 inches worth (or however much you’ve set as the thickness) of the image edge. Reflect Soft does the same thing, but then softens the reflected area with a slight blur. Stretch does exactly that, stretches the outer 2 inches (or however much you’ve set as the thickness). Stretch Soft does the same thing, but softens the stretched area with a slight blur.
In this image I used Stretch Soft as my method with a 2-inch thickness because the lab I use to print gallery wraps uses 1.5-inch stretcher bars. Entering 2 inches should leave plenty of room for the canvas to stretch and be affixed to the frame. As you can see, one side developed a pretty intense moiré pattern, but all other edges handled it well. [insert 18-GF-gallery-finished.jpg]
In my testing, Genuine Fractals handles enlargements very well and holds sharpness and detail better than enlarging in Photoshop alone. While I wasn’t able to print my images at 500%, here are full-size crops of the same image enlarged by 500% using Genuine Fractals and Photoshop.
I’m very pleased with Genuine Fractal’s performance, ease of use and especially the gallery wrap feature.
PhotoFrame 4.5
This is my second favorite of the entire suite, next to PhotoTools. And just like with PhotoTools, the possibilities are endless. PhotoFrame used to be a tool merely for adding frames around images, but now frames are only a small part of what this powerful plug-in can do.
PhotoFrame operates in two views: the main window view and the library view. Library view is where you select your frames, adornments and enhancements.
All photos © Ryan Klos
The main window is where you can manipulate your image by rotating, resizing, adding borders, shadows or rearrange layers and blending modes of those layers.
All photos © Ryan Klos
When you first open PhotoFrame, you’ll land in the library view with your image previewed in several frames. On the left is an exhaustive category list of hundreds of frame options, plus adornments, backgrounds and layouts. Good news is there’s a search function at the top of the library that works very well.
I suggest taking some time to peruse what’s available. Chances are you’ll quickly find things you’ll never use, and others you’ll use all the time. When you find the ones you know you’ll use, click the favorite flag to quickly sort by them later, or rate them with a star rating.
All photos © Ryan Klos
When you find one you like, double-click to apply to your image and return back to the main view. From here you can continue editing the frame or add another one by clicking on the plus button in the Frame Stack palette (think layers in Photoshop).
While we’re on the Frame Stack palette, notice the Options tab at the top of the palette. Here you’ll find options for how PhotoFrame should handle your image with enhancements when returning to Photoshop.
In the main window you’ll also find several other options for enhancing your image and frame. You can alter the Background, add a Border, Glow or Shadow. By tweaking these elements your frames and enhancements are guaranteed one-of-a-kind custom frames. Sometimes the only way to repeat them is by saving them as a preset, which you can do by clicking Save Preset at the bottom of the Frame Stack panel.
Adding backgrounds and textures to your images may be one of the best features of this plug-in. Doing so isn’t exactly intuitive, but once you learn how, it’s easy. The key is making a new, empty bottom layer in Photoshop. Select that layer, then open PhotoFrame and select Backgrounds. Within the Backgrounds category are several subsets to choose from.
Choose the one you want by double-clicking. Then, when you return to the main window view, click Apply. The background you selected will now be on the layer you chose in Photoshop.
Some PhotoFrame features and facts worth noting:
- You can create an entire photo layout within PhotoFrame using backgrounds, textures, overlays and adornments.
- PhotoFrame respects layers and selections from Photoshop. That means you can choose a layer and a selection from your image to work on inside of PhotoFrame.
- You can batch process several images at once with a preset or selected enhancements.
- The best way to get a handle on the capabilities of this plug-in is by watching tutorial videos at onOne Software’s website. (that goes for all the plug-ins in this suite.)
I’m very impressed with this version of PhotoFrame. It’s more of a layout tool instead of simply a frame adding plug-in. And while there are hundreds of frames I’ll never use because they’re either kitschy or just not my style, there are hundreds more that I can’t wait to use in different layouts for senior portraits.
Mask Pro 4
Mask Pro makes masking things like hair, water and smoke possible by basing selections on color. Choose colors to keep and colors to drop, then paint away backgrounds. Sounds easy, but this is one plug-in that requires plenty of practice to master. I’m still not sure I’ve got the hang of it. In my experience, the best results are achieved on solid colored backgrounds.
The interface is the only on in the suite not mimicking Lightroom. It bears more of a resemblance to Photoshop with floating palettes.
Working through the masking process takes a lot of patience when selecting your keep and drop colors because they won’t be the same for all parts of your photo. Depending on the complexity of the color ranges, you may only be able to work in very small sections at a time. Typically you’ll want to select highlights, mid-tones and darks on the object you’re masking.
In my example I went the easy route and used a model on a white seamless background. When selecting my colors to keep, I chose highlights, mids and darks in the hair, while my drop colors were two samples from the background (two variations of white).
I painted away most of the background, but a halo of white was still visible around the hair. I tried selecting the halo color as a drop color, but had little success. It was too close to the hair color and dropped several strands. Once I had gotten to a point where it was as good as I could get, I saved and was returned to Photoshop where I did a little more cleanup using a layer mask and a small soft brush.
Selecting drop/keep colors isn’t the only way to work in Mask Pro. You can also use the Magic Pen tool or regular Pen tool. Magic Pen works best for high contrast areas with hard defined edges, similar to how the magnetic lasso works in Photoshop.
When working with your image, several view options show how accurate your mask is. You can view in alpha mode, transparent mode or layer mode, which shows your own image beneath your masking layer (make sure to create this layer in Photoshop before launching Mask Pro).
While I wasn’t able to attempt it for this review, masking elements like glass, water and smoke are probably not tasks for the impatient. For me it was challenging enough to refine a simple mask of hair on a white seamless background, which I’m not entirely happy with. In my other attempts with more varied backgrounds I wasn’t getting results worth sharing.
All photos © Ryan Klos
If it’s not clear, let me say it now: this plug-in isn’t magic. You need to work at it to get a good clean mask. In fact, I don’t know if I’ve even achieved that yet. Also, this isn’t the only tool for masking semi-transparent pixels; as with most functions in Photoshop, there are dozens of ways to skin this cat.
For no other plug-in in the suite is it more important to watch the tutorials at onOne’s website. Even then perfecting the masking technique will take lots of practice.
Wrap-up
onOne’s Plug-in Suite includes some fantastic tools, the majority of which are fairly intuitive if you’re a Lightroom user. Like anything, some of them take time to get familiar with, some will frustrate you, some you’ll wonder how you lived without. Several tools in the suite are now a regular part of my workflow, while others may not get much use. But I’m glad to know I’ve got them.
The entire suite retails for $599.99 and is available directly from onOne Software. You can also buy plug-ins independent of the suite.
Ryan Klos – Ryanklos.com
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