I have migrated from using the camera's aperture priority program mode to using manual exposure almost exclusively. A discussion is found here as to why and how this works for me.

Twice in the last week, I've received the same comment/question: "I used one of your tools to make a mask and the photo looks the same. Am I doing something wrong?"

These users haven't done anything wrong. They just haven't used the mask.

There are several TLR tools that generate masks. There are various TLR actions and scripts for edge masks, surface masks, color masks, tone masks, and saturation masks. They all stop at the point that the mask is added to the Channels palette. Then it's up to the user to do something with them.

Recent versions of Photoshop plug-ins from Nik Multimedia are also compatible with Lightroom 2. The most recent plug-in to support Lightroom is Nik Silver Efex Pro. It's a popular tool for B&W conversion, toning photos, simulating film grain effects, applying vignettes, etc.

Mitch demonstrates how to use Nik Silver Efex Pro as an external editor with Lightroom 2 and briefly explores some of the features in Nik Efex Pro that make it such a popular tool for converting color photos into B&W.

This six-minute video continues the walk-through of the TLR Split Channels action set. The focus of this video is on B&W conversion with the actions. Mitch takes a colorful stock photo and uses the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black channels from a CMYK conversion to make a photo suitable for a B&W fine art print.

This is the third video in a new series that provides walk-throughs for the TLR action sets and script collections. This four-minute video describes the features of the TLR Split Channels action set for Photoshop.

This is the first video in a new series that provides walk-throughs for the TLR action sets and script collections. The videos also explain how to modify the effects and/or how to combine them with other actions and scripts for sophiosticated photo editing.

This two-minute video describes the features of the TLR Sepia Tint action set for Photoshop. It also discusses how to modify the final result.

Click here to start the video.

This is the second video in a new series that provides walk-throughs for the TLR action sets and script collections. The videos also explain how to modify the effects and/or how to combine them with other actions and scripts for sophisticated photo editing.

This five-minute video describes the features of the TLR Film Grain Effects action set for Photoshop. Most of the video is focused on how to modify the final result by adjusting the Smart Filter settings.

This brief video (just three minutes) describes the TLR B&W Conversion Presets for Lightroom collection. This is a large collection of Lightroom 2 presets designed to help transform color images into B&W fine art photographs.

Mitch demonstrates how to load the preset collection. As an added bonus, you'll learn how to make selective B&W adjustments by dragging over the photograph. You can select one of the presets and then quickly refine the B&W conversion.

This video is the second segment in my sharpening eBook/video: Sharpening Your Photographs. This free preview explains why all digital photographs require sharpening, describes the the sources of softness in digital photographs, and provides an overview to multipass sharpening.

You get more than 15 minutes of video instruction with a 1024 x 768 video window and CD quality audio.

Mitch's march through the Photoshop layer blending modes continues with an examination of the Screen blending mode. This is a useful mode for lightening photos and restroring details from under-exposure. Mitch describes the Screen blending mode, including the math. Then there's a discussion of the practical uses for Screen layer blend.