Lighting Effects for Paint Shop Pro
Corel's Paint Shop Pro allows users to manipulate and enhance photos and images in an entry-level alternative to professional software like Adobe Photoshop. The program includes a number of lighting effects, which can add studio spark to your images. Does this Spark an idea?
-
History
-
The first versions of Paint Shop Pro didn't include lighting effects. These were more advanced versions of programs such as Microsoft Paint or Print Shop, designed to tweak two-dimensional images for placing them within design compositions. With the 2004 release of Paint Shop Pro 9.0, however, the first lighting effects were added: "Fill Flash" and "Backlight," designed to alter the image to simulate the lighting conditions they're named for. Later versions have used the growing power of 3-D image processors, together with increasingly available computer graphics cards, to provide more complex effects such as "Sunburst" and "Colored Light."
Application
-
Applying lighting effects in Paint Shop Pro is a simple matter of clicking "Effects" in the toolbar at the top of the window, then opening the "Lighting Effects" menu and picking the effect you want. In some versions, such as Paint Shop Pro Photo X, the menu is called "Illumination Effects." Once you've chosen the effect you want, a window will open allowing you to change parameters such as the strength, direction and tone of the light being shed on your image. Experiment with this panel until you find the look you're searching for, then click "OK" to apply the effect.
-
Adding Effects
-
The list of effects on offer in the "Lighting Effects" or "Illumination Effects" panel grows with every update of Paint Shop Pro, but you can choose more effects to add as well. Individuals and companies offer free and paid effects that can be added to Paint Shop Pro by dropping them into the "Plugins" folder of the Paint Shop Pro directory on your hard drive.
Tips
-
When using lighting effects in Paint Shop Pro, a little goes a long way. It's easy to apply several effects with every parameter cranked up to maximum and marvel at the program's ability to dramatically alter your photo. Experiment with pushing effects to the extreme, to get a feeling for what the effect can do for you, but once you've familiarized yourself with the possibilities, try scaling it back a few notches. The goal should be to make the effects almost invisible, allowing viewers to concentrate on your images without being distracted by obvious signs of manipulation.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
