So you want to learn Photoshop!! Here are some great products and sites.

For those who want a great monochrome program but are leery of spending a lot of cash check out B/W Styler from The Plugin Site. For a cost of $49, its a great bargain and works great! Check out this sample. Vignette, soft blur, b/w conversion. Includes toning and frames.

Filters: Filters are basic Photoshop elements that imitate lens filters. Filters have also developed into more complex elements commonly referred to as 'plugins'. These plugins can be downloaded from a variety of internet sites. Some are free, others are of a more professional grade and may cost anywhere from $15 to several hundred dollars, depending on the complexity. Always try product demos before buying, and be sure that your image program is compatible with the plugin.

http://www.freephotoshop.com/

http://free.pages.at/easyfilter/smartcurve.html  Curves plugin for Photoshop Elements

http://www.photoshopsupport.com/tools.html

http://thepluginsite.com/resources/freeps.htm

http://www.plugins.com/photoshop/

http://www.redfieldplugins.com/Downloads.htm  Redfield works with all the following programs: Adobe Photoshop, Jasc, Paint Shop Pro, Xara, Extreme, Corel, Photo Paint, Macromedia, Fireworks, Ulead, Photo Impact

http://www.asf.com/  Kodak's special software plugins, including Digital Gem for skin softening - highly recommended for those who do portraits. Pricey but worth it.

www.autofx.com Special plugins for lighting, color and tint management, edges and more. Pricey but worth it.

Actions: Photoshop specific macros. The Photoshop Action Palette records and/or plays back often-used sequences of commands that can be used as often as desired. Actions enable the user to complete repetitive processing quickly and easily. Actions can be downloaded from a number of internet sites, sometimes for free, sometimes for pay, but usually inexpensively.

www.pansosfx.com

http://www.photoshopsupport.com/tools/actions.html

http://www.shutterfreaks.com/Actions/Actions.html

http://www.photoshopcafe.com/actions.htm (includes a tutorial on actions)

Image created with a Waterscape Action and Flaming Pear's Flood

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