Affinity Photo & DXO PL

Reading some comments about Nik 3, i noticed that many users are using Affinity Photo. I wasn’t aware of this piece of software, checked about it and it turned out to be a Photoshop replacement at the price of 50$. Since now it’s 50% off (25$) just bought one.
Now I have a good problem… I have to figure out what is the best workflow to use it combined with PL.
Could someone help me with the best way of working with DXO PL (PL) combined with Affinity Photo (AP)

  • Export to Application settings from PL to AP. Should it be Tiff 16 bit?
  • Export to Application settings from PL to AP. Should the Color profile be SRGB or Adobe RGB?
  • Can I Set PL as a plugin in AP?
  • Should I determine any export settings from AP to PL
  • Any special actions/adjustments usually done or preferred to be done in AP?
  • Final Export, is it preferred to be done in PL or in AP?
    Thanks

Exactly what I use. 16bit Tif and Adobe RGB.

Thanks J3rry
So it’s Adobe RGB
I have found a video how to define NIK as plugin, I will check if I can define PL as Plugin or as "Edit in… " in AP

PL can’t be set as a plugin for AP.
AP supports very few plugins from other software co’s though this is slowly improving, but all the NIK plugins are well integrated now)

My workflow is:
PL3 for all RAW adjustments then export to AP
AP - dodge burn etc. Then usually to a NIK plugin
(Be aware! - unlike PS, when you send a layer to NIK from AP, it writes to that layer instead of writing back as a new layer in its own right like PS does. I usually create a copy layer and send that to NIK so if I don’t like the effects I can bin the copy layer without redoing all the work.
Once I have done NIK I stay in AP add any final polish then export as jpg @ 300dpi. The base file I save as tiff, not aphoto (as few programs can read this, whereas tiff can be read by any photo editing app).

Hope this helps

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Beware that the new Perspective Efex available in Nik 3 is not supported in Affinity.

oops, yes, forgot about that one!

Viveza still has issues and I think HDR Efex as well

It works fine on my side - Mac, Mojave.

I guess it was fixed with last update, haven’t used them since. My bad

Woww…
Thanks a lot.
The most frustrated reason that I was willing to try another kind of software like AP (just hated Photoshop. Layers, Masks…) was that I could not use Dodge and Burn in PL just as I wanted to.
I would appreciate it if you could describe how do you apply D&B in AP.
Do you create kind of radial filter mask? Like in LR?
Thanks

Dodge and burn is pretty much the same in AP as PS.

You have the palette tools dodge/burn/sponge that can be set to work on highlights/midtones/shadows.

Easy cheezy, there’s many way to do so, the common destructive way is to use the tool dodge / burn / sponge on your layer.

Check AP forum and search dodge & burn will give you many ways.

This is what I do:
Add 2 layer
first to “soflight”
-brush with white
second to “overlay”
-brush with black
-lower opacity when done (easier to slightly over do and lower opacity than not strong enough).

Thanks everyone for your kind help.
It seems like there will be no difference doing it in AP or in PL.
Back in past I used to do it in LR using the radial filter…
Gave me smooth gradient at any shape (of an Ellipse of course) and it was very nice & easy

I would like to understand why you could not use Dodge and Burn in PL ? My approach is to use Local Adjustments. This permits not only light adjustments, but any other feature of LA. Sometimes I just change saturation or clarity with brushing effects. ?

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I could use D&B in PL. But not as easy as with Radial Filter in LR.
Radial filter will always give you a smooth gradient from the outer contour into the center point of the ellipsoid.
This feature gave me a nice and easy D&B.
With the brush tool in PL, There’s gradient only in the Feathering area. The brush size itself, there’s no gradient.
Therefore it’s not as easy as with Radial filter.

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Ah, I see. There is a limited brush in PL, I suppose that would be a design suggestion for the future.

Another Affinity Photo user here (and from its launch too)

Dear other program authors, if your product works well with it I am much more likely to buy it than if it doesn’t.

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Hello,

Using PL3 and AP (.791beta) this end.
Mind you, I’m not a professional and am exploring the possibilities within PL3 and AP.
Using PL3 as base and now hat I’m reading here meany of you do the finishing in AP, I wonder and am curious what it is that finishing in AP makes for better photo’s?

Regards,
Jeroen (Netherlands)

As for me,
I really don’t like the PhotoShop/AP concept (layers & masks) I prefer to use PL and Nik as the only photo editing tool.
I have used AP for watermarking, Until (if and when) this feature will be in PL.
I will use AP for radial filter whenever I would think that I need it.

I’m a PL + AP user, Jeroen - but I use AP only for image merging (focus stacking, panoramas, etc). For my image “finishing” I find all I need in DxO’s PL and Nik Collection tools.

John M