Create your own photo filters
What you need: ON1 Effects; Windows 7, 8 or 10 Time required: 25 minutes
InIssue 511’s Best Free Software (page 18), we told you about ON1 Effects – a brilliant program that lets you add eye-catching effects and filters to your photos. One of its best features lets you customise its default filters to create your own. What’s more, you can combine multiple filters and customise each one to create a unique effect. Previously costing $60 (£45), ON1 Effects is now free and very easy to use once you master the basics.
STEP1
To install the program, go to www.snipca.com/25648, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Free Download button on the left. You now need to fill in a simple form with a few personal details and what you intend to use the program for 1 , then click the Download Now button 2 . ON1 Effects is a large program (about 400MB) 3 , so it can take a few minutes to download. After that’s done, open the downloaded setup file, then follow the installation prompts until you need to click Finish.
STEP2
When you first open the program, you’ll be prompted to drag and drop a photo into it 1 to get started. Alternatively, click Open 2 , then navigate to and select a photo on your PC. You’ll see a small pop-up window asking whether you want to edit the original photo, a copy of it (we recommend this) 3 and what format you want to save your edited photo in (we recommend JPEG 4 ). Finally, click OK 5 to open your photo in the program, then close the pop-up window that opens.
STEP3
The program has two main tabs – Presets and Filters 1 . Click Filters to see 25 categories listed. Select one to see its effects as thumbnails 2 , then select the one you want to apply to your photo. Click the category name at the top to return to the category list. On the right, you’ll see a panel with several buttons and sliders 3 that let you customise that filter (changes are applied instantly). Click the blue tick 4 to switch that filter on/off (useful if you want to compare your original image with the filtered version). Click Save to save a copy of your edited image to the same folder as the original. Click Reset to revert to your original image and click Cancel to remove the image 5 .
STEP4
You can also apply ‘presets’, which combine several filters that you can adjust. Click the Presets tab 1 to see all available presets, choose a category (there are 15 to choose from), then select a thumbnail 2 . You’ll see a list of all filters used in that preset on the right 3 . Click a filter name 4 to open its menu and customise it using the sliders and buttons on the right. Tick/untick the blue button 5 beside a filter to switch them on or off. Click Save when you’re happy with the results.
STEP5
To create your own filter that you can reuse you need to save it as a preset. To do this, click Reset 1 (to see your original image), click the Filters tab, choose a category, select a filter 2 , then modify its default settings using the buttons and sliders on the right 3 . Next, click Preset 4 , Save Preset, name it, select a category for it in the dropdown menu 5 , then click Create. Click the Save button at the bottom right to apply your preset to your photo.
STEP6
To reuse this filter in future open an image, click the Presets tab 1 , the category you selected in Step 5 2 , then your preset 3 . At this point, you can modify it further using the relevant sliders and buttons 4 . If you want to update your preset with the changes you’ve made, then right-click its thumbnail, click Update 5 , then click Yes.
STEP 7
We’ll now show you how to create your own preset using multiple (stacked) filters. Click the Filters tab, select a category, click the filter you want, then modify its settings in the panel on the right. Next, click Add Filter 1 to see the list of categories 2 . Select the category, then filter, and modify its settings in the right-hand panel. Repeat this process to add as many filters as you want. Your filters appear at the bottom 3 . Once you’re happy with the overall effect, click Preset 4 , Save Preset 5 , then follow the instructions in Step 5 to save this filter, and in Step 6 to reuse it. ●