A jewel of a tool

 For creative photo editing Topaz Studio 2 is a jewel indeed. It can be used as a standalone application or as a plugin for Photoshop or Lightroom. With its panoply of filters you can do everything from subtly enhancing an image to rendering it as differently and dramatically as you desire. But all those filters with all their adjustments can be intimidating. Where to start? Which ones to use? How do they all work?

After bumbling around, I started watching Dave Kelly's extensive series of YouTube videos on Topaz Studio 2 which cover everything from showing you exactly what each filter does to how to use them in combinations for artistic results. It was thanks to those sessions that I was able to transform the photo of Cedar Creek Falls snapped at Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas into a scene that I might actually frame. 

 

 

Original photo

 

In Topaz Studio 2 I used a combination of AI Clear, Precision Contrast, HSL Color Tuning plus the Impression filter. It's really in looking at a closeup of the two images that you can appreciate the full impact of the changes. (The sky was replaced in Photoshop itself and the birds were added via a brush from the Birds of a Feather collection by Midnightstouch.) I'm just in awe of all the creative power at my fingertips. And as Dave Kelly is always exhorting his viewers, don't be afraid to experiment! All the choices, all the possibilities can be overwhelming, but the more you use it, the more you'll appreciate this jewel.