PhotoTools enhances Photoshop Actions, more

recently introduced two new Photoshop plugins – PhotoTools and PhotoTools Professional Edition. The plugins are designed to take advantage of Photoshop Actions to provide a wide range of imaging tools, including effects, correction and production automation using a full-featured interface. PhotoTools allows users to preview the effects one at a time or with several stacked on top of one another. Both plugins require Mac OS 10.4.8 or higher, and are Universal Binary programs. Photoshop CS2 or CS3 is also required, as well as an OpenGL-capable video card, with a minimum of 128MB of video memory. PhotoTools and PhotoTools Professional Edition are currently available for download currently, with boxed versions shipping in late December, and are being sold for $160 and $260, respectively.

PhotoTools allows users to reproduce camera filters, such as neutral density, color correction, and polarization, in addition to dark room techniques and other processing effects, like solarization, cyanotype, and palladium printing, as well as many different paper toners. The plugins also include several different cinema style looks that are popular in Hollywood movies. Effects can be previewed, layered, and applied according to the user's tastes, and then applied to a batch of files. Phototools has over 150 effects and corrections that were designed in conjunction with Photoshop guru Jack Davis.

PhotoTools Professional Edition features an additional 100 effects over and above the basic plugin. Jack Davis also assisted the production of this plugin, alongside photographer Kevin Kubota.