Favorite Photoshop Plug-Ins

For all its power and capability, Photoshop is a program that can leave a photographer’s eyes glazed over. The seemingly endless assortment of features and different ways to achieve similar results can lead many of us to spend more time emptily gazing into a computer monitor rather than creating images behind a camera. Enter Photoshop-compatible plug-ins—tools that make photo editing simpler, more efficient and intuitive.

Yes, Photoshop has extensive controls for sharpening, color adjustments, noise reduction and lens distortion, but there’s often a steep learning curve involved in becoming adept with those controls. And while some of us may have the time and inclination to do so, others of us welcome the alternatives provided by plug-ins, which can help photographers, whether tech-savvy or not, to improve the quality of their digital images. Here’s a selection of Photoshop-compatible plug-ins that can help your image-editing time at the computer. Remember, even if you don’t own a copy of Photoshop, many of these plug-ins will work with other applications that accept Photoshop-compatible plug-ins.