Shutterevolve – The Art of Digital Blending: Learn from the Experts and Improve Your Images
# Shutterevolve The Art of Digital Blending - Introduction - What is digital blending and why is it important for photographers? - What is Shutterevolve and what does it offer for digital blending enthusiasts? - Luminosity Masks - What are luminosity masks and how do they work in Photoshop? - How to create and use luminosity masks for exposure blending and contrast adjustments? - What are the benefits and challenges of using luminosity masks? - Raya Pro - What is Raya Pro and how does it simplify the digital blending workflow? - How to install and use Raya Pro in Photoshop? - What are the features and functions of Raya Pro? - Lumi32 - What is Lumi32 and how does it enhance the power of luminosity masks? - How to install and use Lumi32 in Photoshop? - What are the features and functions of Lumi32? - Gradiate - What is Gradiate and how does it help with color grading in Photoshop? - How to install and use Gradiate in Photoshop? - What are the features and functions of Gradiate? - Courses and Tutorials - What are the courses and tutorials offered by Shutterevolve for digital blending learners? - How to access and benefit from the courses and tutorials? - What are some examples of the courses and tutorials content? - Conclusion - Summarize the main points of the article - Provide a call to action for the readers to visit Shutterevolve website - FAQs - Answer some common questions about Shutterevolve and digital blending Shutterevolve The Art of Digital Blending
If you are a photographer who wants to create stunning images with realistic and natural effects, you might have heard of digital blending. Digital blending is a technique that allows you to combine multiple exposures of the same scene into one image, using Photoshop or other software. By doing so, you can achieve a high dynamic range (HDR) effect, where you can capture the details in both the highlights and the shadows of your image. You can also use digital blending to enhance the colors, contrast, and mood of your image, by applying different adjustments to different parts of your image.
Shutterevolve – The Art of Digital Blending
However, digital blending is not an easy task. It requires a lot of skill and practice to master the tools and techniques involved. You need to know how to shoot for digital blending, how to align and blend your exposures, how to create and use masks, how to adjust the tones and colors, and how to avoid common problems like halos, ghosting, and noise.
That's where Shutterevolve comes in. Shutterevolve is a website created by Jimmy McIntyre, a professional travel photographer and educator who has been teaching digital blending for over a decade. Shutterevolve offers a variety of products and services for digital blending enthusiasts, such as plugins, courses, tutorials, articles, and free resources. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced user of digital blending, you will find something useful and valuable on Shutterevolve.
In this article, we will introduce you to some of the main products and services offered by Shutterevolve, and how they can help you improve your digital blending skills and results. We will cover the following topics:
Luminosity Masks
Raya Pro
Lumi32
Gradiate
Courses and Tutorials
Luminosity Masks
One of the most powerful and popular tools for digital blending is luminosity masks. Luminosity masks are selections based on the brightness levels of your image. They allow you to target specific areas of your image based on their luminosity values, and apply adjustments only to those areas. For example, you can use luminosity masks to blend exposures for HDR effect, to darken or brighten certain parts of your image, to enhance the contrast and details, or to correct color casts.
Luminosity masks are created in Photoshop using the Channels panel. You can create different types of luminosity masks, such as lights, darks, midtones, or custom masks. You can also refine your masks using levels or curves adjustments, or by painting on them with a brush tool. Luminosity masks are non-destructive and flexible, meaning that you can modify them at any time without affecting your original image.
However, creating and using luminosity masks can be tedious and time-consuming. You need to go through several steps to generate your masks, load them as selections, apply them as layer masks, and adjust them as needed. You also need to remember the keyboard shortcuts and commands for each step.
That's why Shutterevolve offers you some solutions to make your luminosity mask workflow easier and faster. These include:
Raya Pro
Lumi32
Raya Pro
Raya Pro is a Photoshop panel that simplifies the digital blending workflow. It allows you to create and use luminosity masks with just one click. It also offers many other features and functions that help you with exposure blending, contrast adjustments, color grading, sharpening, noise reduction, and more.
To install Raya Pro, you just need to download the zip file from Shutterevolve website, unzip it, and run the installer file. Then you can access Raya Pro from the Window menu in Photoshop.
Raya Pro has four main sections: Blend, Enhance, Retouch, and Finish. Each section has different buttons that perform different actions on your image.
The Blend section allows you to create luminosity masks for lights, darks, midtones, or custom ranges. You can also create gradient masks or color range masks. You can preview your masks before applying them as layer masks. You can also use Raya Pro to align your exposures automatically or manually.
The Enhance section allows you to apply contrast adjustments using curves or levels. You can choose from different presets, such as S-curve, contrast boost, or custom curves. You can also use Raya Pro to apply color adjustments, such as color balance, selective color, or hue/saturation. You can also use Raya Pro to apply dodging and burning effects, using luminosity masks or painting tools.
The Retouch section allows you to apply sharpening and noise reduction effects. You can choose from different presets, such as high pass, smart sharpen, or surface blur. You can also use Raya Pro to apply frequency separation, which is a technique that separates the texture and the color of your image, and allows you to retouch them separately.
The Finish section allows you to apply some final touches to your image, such as cropping, resizing, saving, or exporting. You can also use Raya Pro to add a vignette, a watermark, or a border to your image.
Raya Pro is compatible with Photoshop CC and CS6. It works with both Windows and Mac operating systems. It costs $44.99 for a single license, or $59.99 for a bundle that includes Raya Pro and two courses: The Art of Digital Blending and Exposure Blend Like an Expert.
Lumi32
Lumi32 is a Photoshop plugin that enhances the power of luminosity masks. It allows you to create and use 32-bit luminosity masks, which are more precise and accurate than the standard 8-bit or 16-bit masks. 32-bit luminosity masks can capture more tonal values and details in your image, especially in the extreme highlights and shadows.
To install Lumi32, you just need to download the zip file from Shutterevolve website, unzip it, and copy the plugin file to the Photoshop plugins folder. Then you can access Lumi32 from the Filter menu in Photoshop.
Lumi32 has a simple and intuitive interface. It has three main sections: Create Mask, Refine Mask, and Apply Mask. Each section has different sliders and buttons that allow you to control your mask.
The Create Mask section allows you to create luminosity masks for lights, darks, midtones, or custom ranges. You can also create gradient masks or color range masks. You can preview your mask in real time on your image.
The Refine Mask section allows you to refine your mask using levels or curves adjustments. You can also use Lumi32 to feather or blur your mask edges, or to invert your mask.
The Apply Mask section allows you to apply your mask as a layer mask, an adjustment layer mask, or a selection. You can also use Lumi32 to save your mask as an alpha channel for later use.
Lumi32 is compatible with Photoshop CC and CS6. It works with both Windows and Mac operating systems. It costs $29.99 for a single license, or $39.99 for a bundle that includes Lumi32 and a course: Mastering Lumi32 Luminosity Masks.
Gradiate
Another tool that can help you with digital blending is Gradiate. Gradiate is a Photoshop plugin that helps you with color grading in Photoshop. Color grading is a process that involves changing the colors and tones of your image to create a certain mood or atmosphere.
To install Gradiate, you just need to download the zip file from Shutterevolve website, unzip it, and copy the plugin file to the Photoshop plugins folder. Then you can access Gradiate from the Filter menu in Photoshop.
Gradiate has a simple and intuitive interface. It has two main sections: Presets and Adjustments. Each section has different sliders and buttons that allow you to control your color grading.
The Presets section allows you to choose from different presets that are inspired by popular movies, TV shows, or genres. You can preview the presets on your image before applying them.
The Adjustments section allows you to fine-tune your color grading using curves or levels adjustments. You can also use Gradiate to adjust the opacity, blend mode, or mask of your color grading layer.
Gradiate is compatible with Photoshop CC and CS6. It works with both Windows and Mac operating systems. It costs $19.99 for a single license.
Courses and Tutorials
In addition to the plugins mentioned above, Shutterevolve also offers a variety of courses and tutorials for digital blending learners. These include:
The Art of Digital Blending
Exposure Blend Like an Expert
Mastering Lumi32 Luminosity Masks
The Art of Photography
The Art of Digital Blending
This is a world-renowned course that teaches you the power of luminosity masks in Photoshop. It shows you how to create and use luminosity masks for exposure blending and contrast adjustments. It also covers other topics such as shooting for digital blending, aligning and blending exposures, dodging and burning, color correction, sharpening, noise reduction, and more. The course consists of 10 hours of video lessons, 30 RAW files for practice, and a PDF guide. The course costs $44.99 for a single license, or $59.99 for a bundle that includes Raya Pro.
Exposure Blend Like an Expert
This is a course that teaches you how to blend exposures for HDR effect using different methods and techniques. It shows you how to use luminosity masks, gradient masks, color range masks, apply image, blend if, and more. It also covers other topics such as shooting for exposure blending, dealing with moving objects, fixing halos and ghosting, enhancing details and colors, and more. The course consists of 6 hours of video lessons, 20 RAW files for practice, and a PDF guide. The course costs $29.99 for a single license, or $59.99 for a bundle that includes Raya Pro.
Mastering Lumi32 Luminosity Masks
This is a course that teaches you how to use Lumi32 plugin to create and use 32-bit luminosity masks in Photoshop. It shows you how to create and refine 32-bit luminosity masks for lights, darks, midtones, or custom ranges. It also covers other topics such as using 32-bit luminosity masks for exposure blending, contrast adjustments, color grading, dodging and burning, and more. The course consists of 4 hours of video lessons, 10 RAW files for practice, and a PDF guide. The course costs $29.99 for a single license, or $39.99 for a bundle that includes Lumi32.
The Art of Photography
This is a course that teaches you the fundamentals of photography and how to improve your photography skills and results. It covers topics such as camera settings, exposure triangle, composition rules, light and color theory, filters and accessories, post-processing tips and tricks, and more. The course consists of 5 hours of video lessons and a PDF guide. The course costs $29.99 for a single license.
Beginner Photographers Essential Guide To Luminosity Masks
This is a free course that introduces you to the concept and basics of luminosity masks in Photoshop. It shows you how to create and use luminosity masks for exposure blending and contrast adjustments. It also covers some common problems and solutions when using luminosity masks. The course consists of 2 hours of video lessons and 5 RAW files for practice.
In addition to these courses, Shutterevolve also offers many free tutorials on its website and YouTube channel. These tutorials cover various topics related to digital blending, such as gradient masking, apply image, frequency separation, color grading, sharpening, noise reduction, and more. You can also find articles on Shutterevolve website that provide tips and tricks for digital blending.
Conclusion
Digital blending is an art that can help you create stunning images with realistic and natural effects. However, it is not an easy art to master. You need to learn the tools and techniques involved in digital blending.
Shutterevolve is a website that can help you with your digital blending journey. It offers a variety of products and services for digital blending enthusiasts, such as plugins, courses, tutorials, articles, and free resources. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced user of digital blending, you will find something useful and valuable on Shutterevolve.
If you want to learn more about Shutterevolve and its products and services, you can visit its website at https://www.shutterevolve.com/. You can also follow Shutterevolve on Facebook or Instagram to get updates on its latest news and offers.
Thank you for reading this article. We hope you enjoyed it and learned something new about Shutterevolve and digital blending.
FAQs
Q: What are the system requirements for using Shutterevolve plugins?
A: You need to have Photoshop CC or CS6 installed on your computer. You also need to have Windows or Mac operating system.
Q: How can I purchase Shutterevolve plugins or courses?
A: You can purchase them from Shutterevolve website using PayPal or credit card. You will receive an email with a download link and a license key after your purchase.
Q: How can I get support or feedback from Shutterevolve?
A: You can contact Shutterevolve by email at support@shutterevolve.com. You can also join Shutterevolve Facebook group to interact with other users and get feedback on your images.
Q: How can I get updates on Shutterevolve products and services?
A: You can subscribe to Shutterevolve newsletter to get updates on its latest news and offers. You can also follow Shutterevolve on Facebook or Instagram to see its latest posts and stories.
Q: How can I get a refund if I am not satisfied with Shutterevolve products or services?
A: You can request a refund within 30 days of your purchase if you are not satisfied with Shutterevolve products or services. You just need to contact Shutterevolve by email and provide your order number and reason for refund.
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