What is Clarity?

Topaz Clarity is the ultimate tool to create compelling and powerful images by intelligently enhancing contrast
and clarity with absolutely no artifacts or halos. With just a few clicks you can easily manipulate your micro,
mid-tone and overall contrast, adding punch while maintaining the natural feeling and tonality you are after.
Using a proprietary technology, Topaz Clarity effectively improves local contrast without halos or noise, giving
you remarkable results with minimal effort. ~ Topaz Lab’s Clarity Tech Specs

Initial Tests

I grabbed a few images I had handy on my desktop to play with. I found the interface to be quite intuitive although it was easier in the beginning to start with one of the presets and tweak the settings. In the examples below, I would normally have done base edits with levels or curves before I run a filter, but I decided to just throw some sooc (straight out of the camera) images at Clarity and see what it could take. I was pretty impressed. I really like how I can tweak the brightness, contrast, detail and saturation within Clarity.

Example 1

Using the Nature: Fur and Feathers II preset with white levels tweaked.

Example 2

Filter was applied to only the flowers, not the texture. Texture is Rainy Day from the Autumn Rain collection.

I started with the Macro I preset and then tweaked the white levels and saturation.

Example 3

SOOC image using the Macro I preset.

Example 4

Note: I did do some quick tests using levels to improve the SOOC images to compare how much was Clarity and how much was just a contrast adjustment. The Clarity image was much nicer.

SOOC image with Macro I preset and additional tweaks.

Example 5

Filter was applied to only the image, not the texture. This is an image I did last year and wasn’t quite happy with it. After using Clarity it worked for me. I added the Smokehouse texture from Les Textures I collection.

Macro I Preset with further tweaks.

Here are the settings I used for the above image. Click to see a large image.

Click to see the interface larger.

 Final Words

Could you get similar results using only Photoshop? Probably, but you will also be jumping through more hoops with more layers. I’m always a big fan of working smart. We often don’t see how far an image needs to go until we push the limits a bit and then dial back appropriately. Being able to quickly see an image with different presets can help you see where an image needs to go and then it’s easier to dial in tweaks in the Settings and Parameters Panel.

All in all, this is a great filter to have in your toolbox and I bet will often be your first “go to” filter.

Special Discount

Clarity normally retails for $49.99, but will be available at a special reduced price of $29.99 through May 31st with this promo code: claritynew

Get Clarity

*Note: The links to Topaz Labs are affiliate links which means I will receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you). I use Topaz Labs almost daily. Download it and give it a whirl.

Save 30% Off on fine art textures, overlays, digital papers, Photoshop brushes and more this Memorial Day Weekend.

Get more information and check your time zone for sale hours.

I photographed this lovely combination of Aliums and decorative grasses at the Chateau du Rivau, not far from where I live in the Loire Valley, France. It was taken during a garden festival and there were people in the background. I wanted to keep the focus on the alley of aliums so I used a texture to give it a more impressionistic feel and then finished with a Topaz Labs* filter.

Before

Texture

I used the Texture, New Day from Les Textures I collection.

Below in the layer panel, you can see that I used a mask to constrain the effects of the texture to the background areas of the photograph. (Remember, black in the layer mask will reveal what’s below the layer.)

Blend Mode: Screen, Opacity: 81%

The Layer Panel.

Final

My final edits:

1. I merged the layers above into a new document.
2. Retouched some of scraggly looking grass in the front.
3. Burned and Dodged here and there.
4. Ran Topaz Labs* Filter, Clean.

Topaz Labs* is an affiliate link. I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you) from any purchases. Thank you!

Feel free to pin the Before & After at the top for photo tut boards or the final image onto your garden / photo boards. © Leslie Nicole

I know that some photographers dislike Pinterest, and that’s a topic for another post. The bottom line though is that most image sharing sites these days include share buttons. Be sure you get the credit you deserve and place your logo whenever you can. Unfortunately, it isn’t always possible to add your logo on sites where you sell images such as RedBubble and ImageKind, but at least protect your images on sharing sites such as Flickr, Photo.net and your blog. Also, Remember when you pin an image to take the time to write a caption giving credit.

Below is one of my images of a garden in France that I frequently see making the rounds on Pinterest. It’s a pleasure that people like it, but it is usually an old version before I added my logo. I am slowly starting to replace my images with watermarked versions.

Embrace the power of the internet, but don’t forget to consider your online strategy and branding which should include your logo.

(I’ll do a Before / After for this image in the next post.)

June by Kathleen Bergmann

Main texture is Bold Brush I from the Artiste Collection.

Touched By The Muse by Kathleen Bergmann.

Texture is Nantucket from Les Textures III collection

Keep My World Protected by Kathleen Bergmann.

Texture is Brest from the Artiste Collection.

See more of Kathleens work of florals and nature on her site, Reich Der Natur

London, 1984

I began taking photographs and studying photography around 1982. I photographed people almost exclusively. I photographed my friends—usually with my 2 1/4 format Rolleicord camera. For the longest time I had only one lens and I only used natural light. I did later go on to using studio lights and flash and different lenses, but all of my “serious” portraiture was done pre-digital. (Actually digital existed by the early ’90s, but was really, really expensive.) By the time digital photography was in full swing, I was working more in the field of design.

Since my return to photography, my focus (pun intended!) has been my garden and dogs. While I love photographing both of those, I’ve started yearning to return to portraits. Perhaps it’s also indicative of where I am in my life now. Since moving to France 5 years ago, I’ve been in a fairly isolated cocoon while I built my creative world. (See my studio in the previous post). It’s interesting how photographing my studio and presenting it to the world feels like a marker. The time in the cocoon has been fulfilled and it’s time to be a bit of a social butterfly! (That metaphor is stretched a bit to illustrate the point. I’ll still be spending a lot of time working alone in the studio — you get the idea.)

I’m also eager to finally develop my portrait vision with new techniques and to hone the skills I had. Starting this month, you’ll be seeing a lot of posts and tutorials on portrait photography.  I have a great featured photographer lined up this month, so stay tuned.

Welcome to my studio, can I offer you a cup of coffee?

I spend most of my days in my studio, so I thought I’d share a little behind the scenes look at French Kiss Collections.

I’ve created a photo grid giving an overview of my space, a few visual details, the work I do in the studio, and of course, a few shots of my “studio assistants.”

My studio assistants: (in order of appearance.)

1. Bella, a Blue Weimaraner.
2. Ellie, Bella’s mama.
3. Agate the cat.
4. Lucky the cat.

Thanks for visiting!

Guide Guide Fly-out Panel

At it’s simplest, Guide Guide a quick way to find the half-way point of your document which is handy for doing a card or Diptych.

Quickly create a center guide.

For French Kiss Collections, I use Guide Guide to quickly create a grid to layout a graphic for brushes in a set. For the grid below, I simply entered in 4 in the row field and 4 in the column field and Guide Guide did the heavy lifting.

Quick layout guides.

Those are simple examples, but as you can see, Guide Guide is easy, it’s free and it’s a Photoshop essential!

Go to Guide Guide now to download your copy.

To quote the Guide Guide site:  Honestly, if you haven’t started downloading it by now, you’re probably a masochist.

Share Your Artist At Work / Workspace / Studio Photograph

I was asked recently to provide a photo of myself in my studio and it’s been something I’ve been thinking of for awhile, so this month, I’ll be sharing photos of me and my workspace. It got me to thinking how much fun it would be to see YOUR workspace and or you at work, too!

The Details

1. Enter your image by:
   Paris time zone: April 25th, Thursday 8:30 AM
   PST: Wednesday, April 24th, 11:30 PM
   
2. Artists At Work: Images must be one of the following: You at work photographing or creating art or your workspace / studio. (Even if it’s a corner of the kitchen table!)
3. Three Entries per person. Each image should be unique though. Not just variations on one image. For instance, you can show yourself photographing, your studio, your computer workstation, etc. but not 3 photos of you at the computer with different expressions.
   
4. Five Random Winners will be chosen Thursday 9 AM, Paris time zone, April 25th.
5. Each Winner gets a $60 gift certificate to French Kiss Collections Store!
6. I’ll email each winner shortly after the results with your coupon code. Be sure to use an email address where you can be reached.

How To Enter

Below you will see a link to enter the challenge. (Look for the little blue frog.) Your image must first live somewhere on the internet like flickr, your blog, etc. When you enter your image, you must enter the url (web address) where the image is. Please Note: Do not enter Facebook or Flickr images if your page is set to private as the photos will not show up. Images that don’t show up will be deleted. Three unique entries only. If you have trouble with your image showing up from an url, choose upload from computer instead. More Info Here

I look forward to seeing your images! Note: I see some images that don’t follow the parameters of the challenge. Please read the Details before posting. Please resist the urge to be too artistic with these. This is not your art, but you doing your art and/or an informative shot about your workspace. Thanks!

Please Read the entry parameters. Photographs Must clearly depict a works space / studio or you photographing. I will have to delete many of these before the giveaway. I’m sorry to do it as I so appreciate your participation, but it won’t be fair to those that followed the rules. Resist the urge to be arty. It’s an information photo.

Share Your Artwork that uses French Kiss Textures

Want a little extra pocket money for the SALE April 18-19th? Enter your image that uses any of the French Kiss textures, frame, brush or overlay, etc.

If you are new to French Kiss and want to join the fun, you can find freebies here:

• Subscribe to the free Newsletter for free textures.
• Like our Facebook page for textures and templates.
• Check the Freebies category on this site.
• Check the Freebies Tag on the store site.

The Details

1. Enter your image by
   Paris time zone: April 18th, Thursday 8:30 AM
   PST: Wednesday, April 17th, 11:30 PM
   
2. Must use a French Kiss Collections Texture, brush, frame, etc. *
3. Subject is open. Your choice.
4. One Entry per person
5. Five Random Winners will be chosen Thursday 9 AM, Paris time zone, April 18th.
6. Each Winner gets a $50 gift certificate to French Kiss Collections Store!
7. I’ll email each winner shortly after the results with your coupon code. Be sure to use an email address where you can be reached.

*If your image has assets from another designer, the French Kiss Texture should be the dominant texture/graphic used in your artwork.

How To Enter

Below you will see a link to enter the challenge. (Look for the little blue frog.) Your image must first live somewhere on the internet like flickr, your blog, etc. When you enter your image, you must enter the url (web address) where the image is. Please Note: Do not enter Facebook or Flickr images if your page is set to private as the photos will not show up. Images that don’t show up will be deleted. One entry only. If you have trouble with your image showing up from an url, choose upload from computer instead. More Info Here