A Look at Topaz Labs Glow 2 Plugin

Topaz Labs have an upgrade out for their Glow Plugin.  Aptly named Glow2.  Having owned and used Glow before, I took the opportunity to get the free upgrade.  Topaz Labs are great like that – once you have bought the plugin, upgrades are free.

I decided having got the upgrade to have a quick play with some recent flower shots, that I took when experimenting with my new Venus Laowa 15mm Wide Angle Macro Lens.  In my tryout I just used the supplied presets, and left the blend mode as is, in all but the very last one.

I have posted the original image before the Glow 2 effect was applied.

The first effect – is probably my favourite on going through them for flowers – it is called AutoShine – and the preset I think really adds up to its name.

The next preset is called So Soft – and as you can see – makes the flower image a bit more dreamy.

Finally this next one is probably a more acquired taste.  I picked the Shining Screen Preset, and then changed the blend mode to Overlay.  I also changed the glow type to dark.  This giving a really moody effect.