In summary
Both LandscapePro 2 and its predecessor are singular ““ and rather specialised ““ programs that currently have no rivals. There are many other applications that provide competing ways to tweak hues and tones in landscape images, although none can match the dedicated presets and controls the Anthropics programs provide. Nor can some of them provide the live preview of edits as you apply them, which LandscapePro 2 does very well.
The latest software relies on complex computations although, fortunately, it is relatively simple to use, thanks to a straightforward user interface.
We would like to have seen a wider range of selection brushes, including one that could separate detailed objects in the same way as the Tree & Sky and Object In Sky brushes. If users could choose which areas to work on, for example Mountain & Tree or Plant & Grass, instead of being stuck with two options that can’t be changed, it would add a lot more flexibility to the selection process.
Newcomers to image editing will probably find LandscapePro 2 a useful investment, particularly if they opt for the Standard version, which is very keenly priced at present. Snapshooters who want to make dramatic changes to their shots without having to learn the complexities of a full image editing program might also have a lot of fun exploring its capabilities.
Full review
LandscapePro 2 is the second generation of an ‘intelligent’ editing software package, which was launched in May 2016. Designed by Anthropics Technology, the company responsible for the popular Portrait Professional software range, it is targeted at outdoor photographers. We didn’t review the first edition of Landscape Pro but Anthropics promises ‘a wealth of improvements’ in the second-generation software.
The Home screen of LandscapePro 2’s, Studio Max version provides access to sample images to practice on, thumbnails showing the last files you worked on in the application and tutorial videos covering the various aspects of the program. One-click buttons above the thumbnails and on the right hand side of the screen open clearly-identified sub-menus associated with the application.
Like Portrait Professional, LandscapePro 2 comes in three versions: Standard, Studio and Studio Max. All three versions include the same basic functions as the Standard version, with the Studio and Studio Max versions adding extra functions progressively. The table below provides a comparison.
|
Feature |
Standard |
Studio |
Studio Max |
|
Intelligent editing for landscapes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Automatic area selection |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Unique controls that adapt to your photo |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
One click presets |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Free online support |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Read & write JPEG and TIFF format |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
64-bit has no limit on image size |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Works stand-alone |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Read camera RAW and DNG formats |
Yes |
Yes |
– |
|
Read and write TIFFs with 16 bits per colour sample |
Yes |
Yes |
– |
|
Supports conversion between different colour spaces |
Yes |
Yes |
– |
|
Supports setting monitor and working colour spaces |
Yes |
Yes |
– |
|
JPEG and TIFF embedded colour profile support |
Yes |
Yes |
– |
|
Works as a Photoshop plug-in |
Yes |
Yes |
– |
|
Works as a Photoshop Elements plug-in |
Yes |
Yes |
– |
|
Works as a Lightroom plug-in |
Yes |
Yes |
– |
|
Batch Mode to speed up your workflow |
Yes |
– |
– |
|
Histogram panel for precise editing |
Yes |
– |
– |
|
Discounted price at time of publishing |
AU$49.95 |
AU$89.95 |
AU$174.95 |
|
Regular price |
AU$99.90 |
AU$179.90 |
AU$349.90 |
Developer, Anthropics Technology, claims the latest version includes improvements in the many adjustments it provides. New features in version 2 include:
– 2D and 3D Lighting Brushes that can be used like dodge and burn brushes for localised brightness control;
– More than 100 new skies have been added, including rainbows and storms;
– A new Sky Reflections tool can be used to create sky reflections in the water in a scene;
– Improvements to selection tools enable users to work on a wider range of images and select fine details with the new Smart Brush, easily switch between areas, achieve more realistic sky replacements with the Expand Brush and greater precision thanks to new labels such as Snow, Waterfall and Bridge.
If you already have a license for LandscapePro, you can upgrade to a superior edition at any time. The differences between the three versions are as follows: the Standard version only provides support for JPEG and TIFF files; the Studio and Studio Max versions handle RAW files and 16-bit TIFFs, covering the following raw file formats: Adobe (.DNG), Canon (.CRW .CR2), Fuji (.RAF), Kodak (.TIF .KDC .DCR), Minolta (.MRW), Nikon (.NEF), Olympus (.ORF), Pentax (.PTX .PEF), Sony (.ARW .SRF, .SR2), Epson (.ERF), Mamiya (.MEF .MOS), Panasonic (.RW2), Phase One (.TIF), Imacon (.FFF).
Some of these formats are obsolete since the manufacturers that used them no longer produce raw-capable cameras; others (such as CRW, PTX and SRF) are formats that have been updated and are no longer widely used. The Studio and Studio Max versions also support conversion between different colour spaces, provide JPEG and TIFF embedded colour profile support and work as plugins to Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Lightroom as well as Apple Aperture. The Studio Max version adds a Batch Mode and histogram panel for maximum control.
Anthropics is currently offering all three versions of the software at half the regular price. A free trial download is available from http://www.landscapepro.pics/download/.
Who’s it For?
LandscapePro 2 is purely for re-touching landscapes, which makes it quite specialised. We think its slick user interface and affordable pricing is most likely to appeal to recreational photographers who just want to make ordinary-looking shots look better, including those who mainly shoot with smartphones.
Users will find a wealth of adjustments that can be easily controlled with brushes and sliders, some of which may turn shots from ‘maybes’ to ‘keepers’ ““ although we have a few issues with the degree of the control some provide and the quality of some of the presets. However, after using it for a few days we’ve decided it’s unlikely to appeal to serious photo enthusiasts who shoot raw files and are accomplished image editors, although it’s quite fun to ‘play with’.
How Does it Work?
The Standard version of LandscapePro 2 is designed to work purely as a stand-alone application, unlike the two Studio versions, which can also be used as Photoshop plug-ins. However, the implementation of this function is limited since the plug-in simply transfers the interface from Photoshop to LandscapePro 2, as shown in the screen grabs below.
The Photoshop plug-in link is installed automatically if LandscapePro2 detects it. It’s opened from Anthropics tag the Filters sub-menu, as shown in the screen grab below.
Clicking on this link takes you straight to the Add & Edit Areas page of LandscapePro2, shown below.
You can flip back to Photoshop, which remains open on your desktop. But you can’t make any adjustments to the image without ending your session in LandscapePro 2. Nor can you open other files in Photoshop, which is regrettable.
In all versions of the software, the first stage in LandscapePro 2’s editing process involves marking out different areas in the image. This establishes the boundaries of areas that will be treated individually during later adjustments.
The program provides a series of identification tags, which you drag onto areas such as sky, water, mountain, grass, plant, tree, building, rock, object, etc. There are 19 in all. Once you have finished labelling areas, click on Continue. The areas selected will be expanded automatically and highlighted in different colors.
A landscape image marked up with the selection tools, showing the different colour overlays applied to identify which areas below under each label. In this case, the program has failed to correctly highlight many parts of the scene so manual adjustments will be required.
The Pull tool below the labels provides a relatively crude way to extend the area covered by the label if it’s not picked up automatically. You can fine-tune areas with the Smart Brush or blur boundaries with the Feather brush. The size of each of these brushes can be controlled with the Strength slider below the brushes palette.
The Expand brush expands the selected area by a pixel at a time, while the buttons below provide finely-tuned adjustments for specific situations. Once the image has been marked up correctly, it should look like the screen grab below.
We can’t state how important it is to have each separate area’s boundaries clearly identified and the area completely covered by the related colour. Failure to do this will end up with problems once you begin adjusting individual areas separately, as shown in the illustration below.
The red oval shows an area in the image where the selection brushes for the Mountain didn’t extend far enough. Areas not included in the selection remain lighter than the adjusted mountain area behind.
Even with the adjustable brushes, the selection process can be hit and miss and you will usually need to magnify the image using the slider in the lower right corner of the frame in order to home in on areas that require fine-tuning. In many cases we found the Feather brush didn’t provide the degree of softening needed to blend transitions seamlessly.
We also found the sizes of the selection brushes weren’t nearly adjustable enough. The program isn’t much good at picking out fine details automatically, forcing users to do this manually. When you click on the Smart Brush there’s a dropdown menu with three options: Solid, Opaque Areas (the default), Feathered, Translucent Areas and Everything Inside the Brush. These brushes are really useful and it’s easy to flip from one to the other but even the zero setting wasn’t small enough to handle fine details in most of the situations we tried.
Note that the Tree & Sky and Object In Sky brushes will only work between areas with the stated labels. Unfortunately you can’t adjust the radius of this brush so it delivers a relatively crude selection, even when combined with the Feathered brush, as shown in the illustration below.
The left side image in the top is the original in which we have replaced the sky, shown right. The lower picture is an enlargement of the transition between the sky and the land, showing failures in the selection brushes due to a lack of precision in the selection process.
The next stage is to adjust the horizon in the image by clicking and moving the mouse up and down. If there is no horizon this step can be ignored and if the horizon is tilted in any way, such as because of a sloping hillside, you can shift either end of the horizon line to accommodate it.
Once the horizon has been delineated, you can click on Continue to move on to the Enhance Image functions. This opens a palette of sub-menus that relate to different aspects of the image. Each sub-menu can be opened or closed by clicking on its title button.
Some sub-menus relate to adjustments that are applied to the entire image. The Global Presets, Lighting Brushes, Whole Picture, Style and Depth sub-menus are among them. Others relate to adjustments that will be applied to the previously-marked areas in the image. You should find each of the labels you applied listed below the global tags.
At any stage in the editing process you can go back to the Add & Edit Areas by clicking on that tag again. You can also save all the adjustments you have applied to the image so you can reload your image and continue to work on it by clicking on the Save As button at the top of the palette and saving the image as an .lp2 image. This takes quite a bit longer but saves the original image, all the area selections and all the sliders values into a proprietary “.lp2” file.
Global Adjustments
The Global Presets sub-menu contains 33 pre-set ‘looks’ that can be selected individually by scrolling down through the entire palette or from three groups ““ Artistic, Dramatic and Naturalistic ““ that are selected via a dropdown menu.
Mousing over the preset’s image will apply that preset to your photo. You can adjust the strength of the effect with the slider at the base of each preset. Some examples are reproduced below to give you an idea of the range of pre-sets available.
One of the two black and white presets available.
We’re not sure what the Improver preset is designed to achieve but it wasn’t a good match for this photo.
The Storm Brewing preset produced a dramatic, although rather unnatural-looking result.
We found many of them unsuitable for the outcomes we wanted to achieve but, if you’re looking for something eye-catching and have a suitable starting image, you may find one or two of them useful. They would probably work best with smartphone shots, particularly as many of them (notably the full rainbow) have a 16:9 aspect ratio and will be cropped to fit on images with other proportions.
The Whole Picture sub-menu provides two sets of adjustments that work on the entire image: Sliders and Presets. The Sliders panel includes adjustments for frequently-used parameters like contrast, exposure levels, saturation (and vibrance) and colour temperature that can be tweaked until you obtain an acceptable result.
The Presets panel contains nine preset ‘looks’: Cold, Contrast, Desaturate & Contrast, Improver, Sharp, Storm and three versions of Sunrise. None of them worked particularly well with several source images we tried.
Selective Area Adjustments
The sub-menus that correspond to the tags you applied to your image open a suite of adjustments that are only applied to the specified area in the image. Once again, you have the option of choosing between Sliders and Presets, which vary a little, depending on the type of area you are working on.
The Lighting Brushes are a set of controls you can use on the entire image, although they act locally on the area(s) covered by the brush. There are two options: 3D Brush and 2D Brush. Selecting the 3D Brush adds a light source (indicated by a sun icon), which can be moved about the sky to add a directional quality to the adjustments you make. The 2D Brush acts like a dodge and burn tool, depending on whether you click on the Lighten or Darken button.
Compare the original (unedited) image at the top with the results obtained with the lighting brush. The brush has been used to lighten the leaves on the tree, the sand and the cliff top behind the tree, while the rock face on the left and the rock below the tree have been slightly darkened. Note the sun icon in the sky, which can be used to control the direction of the lighting.
The sliders in the Sky sub-menu allow you to select an ‘Atmosphere’ to act as a background for further adjustments. The 59 options include 12 Sunrise, 7 Morning, 5 Noon, 11 Sunset, 4 Dusk, 5 Evening, 6 Storm, 6 Grey and 3 Dull styles. You can adjust the strength, exposure, temperature and tint for each and apply Sky Edge delineation or a Dehaze filter.
When the sky is correctly selected and labelled and the horizon line is in the right place, there should be no gap between the sky and the adjacent area when a new sky is inserted. If you find a gap, go back to the Add & Edit Areas page and pull the sky down over the edge of the boundary. Then use the Feather brush to blur the intersection of the two areas. Clicking on the Sky tab will take you back to your image so you can check whether it has worked.
Inserting a new sky will change the exposure, lighting and colours of everything in the picture if the Copy To Image slider is on. If you don’t want to change the rest of the picture, move the slider to zero (the default position).
The top screen grab shows the image with the Copy To Image slider at the zero position. Below it is the same image with the slider moved to the maximum position. Note the differences in the foregrounds of each picture.
While the sky sub-menu offers the widest range of adjustments and replacement options, each of the remaining sub-menus has an appropriate range of sliders and presets. The illustration below shows some of the options available.
Choosing the Right Image
We spent almost a week working with LandscapePro 2 and used it with a wide range of different images. In the course of our tests we found the best images to start with were those with well-defined areas, particular shots consisting of a big sky and flat, low horizon. More complex images require a lot of effort at the selection stage, and it can be difficult to achieve the necessary precision.
Out of interest, we tried opening a few different raw files and found the program would open them, although it took a bit longer than opening JPEGs. Edited raw shots are saved in 16-bit TIFF format, which also takes a while to save.
This means you can open them again in your favourite image editor and apply any further adjustments you want. Interestingly, we discovered this could be advantageous.
This illustration demonstrates some of the shortcomings of LandscapePro 2:the image on the left shows the original raw file converted via Photoshop; in the middle is a version created with Landscape Pro 2, while the image on the right shows the middle image further transformed in Photoshop. The originals worked on in each case were in TIFF format. Landscape Pro 2 doesn’t provide any facilities for moving elements in the picture to any worthwhile extent and its tools for controlling contrast and localised colour balance are limited or absent.
Unfortunately, we found many of the pre-set modes, particularly the substitute skies, were a bit too contrasty, even when the contrast levels were dialled down and some had blown-out highlights. A lot of them simply didn’t work with a variety of images we tried them on; both as applied without adjustment and after a fair amount of tweaking. That said, a few of the lighting brushes are effective and can be used in much the same way as you would use dodging and burning tools, although they are not nearly as adjustable.
These examples show how the sky can be replaced to create a totally different picture. The original image, taken at Lake Eyre North, is in the centre of the array. To show the level of absurdity you can reach, we’re replaced the sky with an image showing the Northern Lights (centre of the bottom row)!
Conclusion
Both LandscapePro 2 and its predecessor are singular ““ and rather specialised ““ programs that currently have no rivals. There are many other applications that provide competing ways to tweak hues and tones in landscape images, although none can match the dedicated presets and controls the Anthropics programs provide. Nor can some of them provide the live preview of edits as you apply them, which LandscapePro 2 does very well.
The latest software relies on complex computations although, fortunately, it is relatively simple to use, thanks to a straightforward user interface. It’s also fun to play with and lets you come up with ludicrous combinations like putting a Northern Lights sky into a shot taken in the Australian outback or ramping up the colours in a scene to produce an unreal result.
However, it requires a bit of effort to work out exactly how to use the various controls and be able to evaluate where they might work and what their limitations are. And you must be very selective in the shots you choose to work on if you want natural-looking results. Some of the sky replacements, while they may look attractive as you scroll through the drop-down menu, deliver abnormal-looking results, as shown below.
The original image is in the centre of this array with a selection of potentially useful replacement skies surrounding it. A couple are close to being usable (although not quite close enough) while the others look obviously fake.
We would like to have seen a wider range of selection brushes, including one that could separate detailed objects in the same way as the Tree & Sky and Object In Sky brushes. If users could choose which areas to work on, for example Mountain & Tree or Plant & Grass, instead of being stuck with two options that can’t be changed, it would add a lot more flexibility to the selection process.
Newcomers to image editing will probably find LandscapePro 2 a useful investment, particularly if they opt for the Standard version, which is very keenly priced at present. Snapshooters who want to make dramatic changes to their shots without having to learn the complexities of a full image editing program might also have a lot of fun exploring its capabilities.
We doubt it will be equally useful to serious enthusiasts, particularly those who shoot in raw and are well-versed in image editing. Even with the best possible starting pictures, the results we obtained with LandscapePro 2 were no match for the versions of the same images that we had opened from raw files with Adobe Camera Raw and edited in Photoshop with an experienced eye.
It should also be noted that the ‘replacement’ options use images from a library of pre-selected ‘skies’. This means images produced with this software can’t be entered in competitions that specify ‘minimum post-capture adjustments’.
LandscapePro 2 lets you add your own skies to the Sky library ““ and it’s straightforward to do. In the Clouds dropdown menu there is a Replace With sub-menu with an Add button at the end, which can be used to add a selected image. But even then, the process of combining two images in this way would breach the rules of most competitions.
SPECS
Features: Sky replacement, 3D depth estimation, a depth of field simulator, distance controls, 2D and 3D lighting brushes, sky reflections in water, improved selection brushes
Systems compatibility: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, or Vista or Mac OS X 10.7 or later
Systems requirements: 1GHz processor or faster recommended
Minimum RAM: 2GB (32GB recommended)
Disk space requirement: 239MB (for the Studio Max version)
Version RRPs (discounted prices in brackets): Standard – AU$99.90 ($49.95), Studio – AU$179.90 ($89.95), Studio Max – AU$349.90 ($174.95)
Distributor: Anthropics Technology Limited, www.landscapepro.pics/editions
Rating
RRP: Standard AU$99.90; Studio AU$179.90; Studio Max AU$349.90
- Features: 8.7
- Ease of use: 8.4
- Performance: 8.4