01.JPG

Photo Tools - layouttools

The following are filters that I have created to serve a specific purpose. I'm sure that
given the number of filters, there are some that are similar. However, these filters
provide what I viewed as critical variation to some I tried out. Hopefully these filters
will be useful to you. You may use or distribute them freely, but may not use these for
commercial purposes without my permission. Instructions follow.

Thanks: David Blend

FrostBlk.8bf: Frosted Edger - Black
Apply black vignette of varying radius and intensity. This one is pretty simple and user
friendly. Applied to portraits in very light intensity (almost imperceivable) can dramatically
draw attention to the subject.

FrostWte.8bf - Frosted Edger - White
Apply white vignette of varying radius and intensity. This one is pretty simple and user
friendly.

FrostCol.8bf: Frosted Edger - Color
Same as above, but user may choose color of vignette. Limited radius without distortion
(although that unintentional effect may have use for someone). Use above two if you need
small radius of white or black.

Grad1.8bf:Gradient Sky - Compliment
Allows user to apply an overlay of color to an image. Overlay will consist of a horizontal
2 color gradient, one of which is defined by the user, and the other which is its color
opposite (compliment). This makes nice effects when applied to beach or desert scenes where
sky color needs to be bluer, and sand needs oranger. It is usually necessary to mask
foreground components with an image editor before applying. Controls are self-explanitory.

Grad2.8bf: Gradient Sky
Allows user to apply an overlay of color to an image. Overlay will consist of a horizontal
color gradient defined by the user. Use image editor to mask components not to be effected
by overlay. Makes sky recoloring or portrait background recoloring easy. Controls are
self-explanitory.

Grad3.8bf: Gradient Sky - Selective
Allows user to apply same gradient as above to bright areas of an image. Experimenting with
Tolerance and Blue Shift can help to accurately apply gradient to "white sky" problems
that occur in certain circumstances. Use Blue Shift when sky is on the bluer side.
This essentially makes Grad2.8bf obsolete, except for execution speed (Grad2.8bf is faster).

HiliteCt.8bf: Highlight Correction
Allows user to darken overly bright areas of image. This
is subtle filter so you may need to really look close at your highlights to notice. Great
for correcting over-flash or other overly bright image areas.

TranSkyL.8bf: Transparent Sky - Bright
Allows user to replace bright areas of image with transparency. Requires image editor that
supports alpha channel/layering. Use Main Tolerance to select area of image to make 100%
transparent. Then use Mid Tolerance to select area of image to make gradually more
transparent. Feather will set the degree of gradient in the Mid Tolerance selection. Great
for making composite images of landscapes and skys.

TranSkyB.8bf: Transparent Sky - Dark
Allows user to replace dark areas of image with transparency. Requires image editor that
supports alpha channel/layering. Use Main Tolerance to select area of image to make 100%
transparent. Then use Mid Tolerance to select area of image to make gradually more
transparent. Feather will set the degree of gradient in the Mid Tolerance selection. Great
for making composite images of firework bursts.

bwccheck.8bf: B/W v Color Tiling
This one is a pretty simple and user friendly tiling effect. The tiles overlay the image.

concheck.8bf: Contrast Checkers
This one is a pretty simple and user friendly tiling effect. The tiles overlay the image.

FrameZbr.8bf: Zebra Stripe Frame
Very versatile filter. This one is a pretty simple and user friendly zebra stripe framer.

hbars.8bf: Alternating Even Bars
This one is a pretty simple and user friendly two color stripe maker. Lots of easy to
understand options including horizontal/vertical, color selection, and density.