Best Way to Use Photo AI as a Lightroom Plugin

[@AnthonyMorganti]

In this video, I demo two ways to use Topaz Labs Photo AI as a Lightroom Plugin. Please subscribe to my newsletter! anthonymorganti.substack.com/subscribe Check out the Topaz Labs Software here: bit.ly/3cDqa5J Currently, I do not have a personal promo code to share. I am an affiliate of Topaz Labs and will receive a commission if you purchase anything from them. Please read my Code of Ethics Statement: onlinephotographytraining.com/code-of-ethics/ All of these videos will be in this playlist: bit.ly/3jIgZJP Please help support my KZbin channel - consider purchasing my Lightroom Presets: www.anthonymorganti.com/ Here is my list of recommended software: wp.me/P9QUvD-ozx Here is a list of my current cameras, lenses, etc.: wp.me/P9QUvD-ozG Help me help others learn photography. You can quickly offer your support here, where I receive 100% of your kind gift: ko-fi.com/anthonymorganti You can change the default amount to the amount you want to donate.

[@dsorx]

When Photo AI saved the processed image and converted from NEF->DNG the image size changed. Not by much, but it removed pixels in the conversion. I have been using Photo AI less and less recently for sharpening. Not only does it do too much, but it creates artifacts and changes the image especially in bird feathers creating unnatural looking patterns. I prefer to remove the noise in Photo AI and run a high pass sharpen filter in Photoshop.

[@eugenemccafferty2255]

Thanks Anthony, very insightful presentation. Photo AI 1.2.2 is the best version yet, particularly happy that it now retains metadata info.

[@gchristopherklug]

Just love your videos. Thank you for your insight and clarity.

[@DaveReasonsSr]

I have been tinkering with Photo AI and use it alot. I just hope they keep improving and updating it. Since I installed it on my computer there has been several updates, so that is a good sign.

[@virgillambert8835]

Thanks for the Great video , just got my Topaz AI, gave a great starting point

[@ericrobinson8078]

Agree with you about using Photo AI on RAW images in that its always best to do noise first manually then sharpening only if required being careful with that clarity slider. Ive found leaving it on auto pilot can on occasion way over sharpen sometimes introducing artefacts. Topaz really needs to rectify this problem. If used with care Photo AI can produce outstanding results...but...the words are 'with care'. From speaking to other photographers it may be the case that Photo AI works better on some RAW files than others. I use Sony cameras and for me it works fine but a friend who has Olympus prefers ON1. I tried ON1 as a Lightroom plugin and it changed the colour of my images, especially the reds. I think the moral of the story here is try before you buy and then once bought use with care avoiding using it on auto pilot.

[@martmexpue]

Thank you very much, that was very helpful! 😃

[@tonyblake8841]

Thanks

[@AnthonyMorganti]

Thank you Tony!

[@FlyFishFairwx]

Sir, have you done a video on how to set Topaz products as stand alone, and plug ins in Lightroom Classic, a Step by Step for us not so savy types that love the Topaz suite but are stumped as to how to set them up in LRCC.

[@DavidWood2]

The cloud version of Lightroom does not support any sort of plugin. I don't use cloud Lightroom other than on my phone for quick field edits - I'm primarily a Lightroom Classic user. Using Topaz products with cloud Lightroom requires a standalone workflow (export images from Lightroom) or use in conjunction with Photoshop.

[@K7RRW]

Thanks Anthony for another great video. I have found similar results for Photo AI using the direct plug in versus edit in one. Would it be possible to have a video regarding the topic of oversharpening and its relation to individual style? Your trigger for oversharpening may be different than mine. What indicators or features do you use to differentiate over- from just right sharpening. A tutorial might help us. Thanks, Robert, Anacortes WA

[@tonyblake8841]

While I clearly admit TL Photo Ai has improved I wonder now if they have gone too far or don’t know when to stop. There was a point a few updates ago that it did an ok job and you could finish in LR Classic. Now I am doing more corrections in Photo Ai like you are before getting back to Lightroom.

[@robertrakowicz9666]

Hello Anthony, can it be that you have activated automatic writing of the XMP data under LR? That would explain the problem with the RAW transfer when adjustments are made in LR.

[@raymondhuddleston3879]

Do you have a video that shows how to add the plug in for topaz ai 3

[@chrisross2916]

Thanks, Anthony. I wondered if it was me or Photo AI. Turns out I was doing too much in LR before sending it.

[@SergNikiforovGordeev]

Thanks for the training video! I tried to repeat everything after you. It worked, I learned. But my dng files turned out to be a little yellower and a little greener than the original ones. Very little. Don't you notice this in yourself? I’m also curious, did you make any improvements after Topaz and after Pure Raw DxO? If yes, which do you like best?

[@tonyblake8841]

Hi Tony, thanks for the video. I find even when processing the raw file directly first and then back into LR Classic it is way over sharpened. Particularly birds beaks for some reason. I usually roughly half the detail slider in noise reduction and reduce both sliders in sharpening when it was needed in the first place. I also make sure all sliders in LR Classic are on zero. Maybe some effect the image more than others as you suggested but I haven’t experimented that far. Thanks again.

[@EmaManfred]

Thanks Anthony! I think these editing AIs are useful for some repetitive work. I just think it takes the life away if I'm an enthusiast. So far, I can say I'm enjoying creating images from bots like Bluewillow.

[@shilohm.b.church1246]

Question: 1st love your tutorials Do you ever use PhAIton and Topaz and Lightroom together?

[@AdrianIII]

Does PHOTO AI replace Topaz's other 3 AI apps... Sharpen, Gigpixel and Denoise?

[@woodystone776]

I have used Topaz Denoise AI and Sharpen AI for some time. I have tried Photo AI, and though it works ok, it is MUCH slower than using the combination of Denoise and Sharpen. Have you noticed this issue?

[@sadbravesfan]

In the second method it looks like you forgot to lower Sharpening before sending to Photo AI?

[@EtzionHadassy]

Thank you Anthony for his series of helpful videos. The thing that bother me the most with editing raw in PAI is that when the file goes back into LR as a DNG file, the editing options are limited. Specifically in masking. (I shoot Nikon Z9). Can you comment on that please?

[@woodystone776]

I really enjoy your videos. I have tried Photo AI, having already used both Denoise AI and Sharpen AI. Though Photo AI does a good job, it is much slower than using a combination of Denoise and Sharpen. I am using the graphics processor for all. The time difference is substantial, with Photo AI taking about twice as long as using the combo of Denoise and Sharpen. Do you have the same problem, and if not, any suggestions as to how to solve this problem.

[@petergordon4666]

Thanks Anthony. Do the question many of us have is whether to use PAI or the separate Topaz products. Thanks in advance.

[@AnthonyMorganti]

The individual products give you more control and options and would be a better choice on difficult images or on photos that you absolutely want to make sure you're doing the best job on. Photo AI is great for most situations when sharing images online or with family and friends.

[@petergordon4666]

@@AnthonyMorganti thanks. Really appreciate your expertise

[@richam05]

Problem with Leica Monochrom M10. Apparently, the DNG files are a bit different with Monochrom. The file can be opened as original in TopazAI and edited. But when trying to re-import into Lightroom, I get the following message "Lightroom has encountered problems reading this photo." along with a "!" warning: "You will not be able to make adjustments to the photo." Don't know if this is a Topaz or Adobe problem.

[@deetee-uk]

My images are converted to dng. When launching Photo aI it asks whether I want to make a copy or overwrite. Which should I choose...I don't really want to have duplicates of every single image I have in Lightroom

[@tbtrieste2]

Second method not available for Nilon Z9 compressed raw

[@sparky4460]

Anthony. Isn't it true that raw files are read only so no adjustments made in LR would be passed to Photo AI.

[@longboardfella5306]

In their latest updates photoai now reads xml sidecar files and he has automatic save to xml on (from previous videos) as another viewer commented. Also sharpen shouldn’t be done so early in the workflow. So we need to rethink how we use it I feel

[@DennisMathias]

Well, I haven't been doing this right because I can't resist setting white / black levels. And maybe shadows and highlights. So I'm going to go with this otherwise I will get confused. But I wonder where all this is going. Is Topaz going after LR? So if you eliminate texture, sharpening, etc in LR You're left with an admittedly very capable photo catalog. Since Topaz is destructive editing right now, it maybe has a long way to go. But they have the algorithms to do AI enhancement. I mean the face AI is truly amazing. So where else are they going? And do I need Topaz Sharpen, Giga, and Noise or is Photo AI taking care of it? Should I remove those? I'm basically doing photo restoration for archival purposes so sometime, I'd really like to see how you view this most important subject. Sure liked this though.

[@ChristopherDillman]

This doesn't work if you have the trial version of Photo AI 3.0, I'm now just learning. No plug-in for trial users. Have to open image into native app.

[@rlfisher]

Helpful series, Anthony. If lobbing to TPAI via plug-in extras, would you alter the camera profile before or after the trip to TPAI?

[@photobeast]

The sad thing is just purchased this software. And I have been asking him for help for the last 10 days because it does not work when you go down to the file and Export through the plug-ins. I get this huge error code every time I've uninstalled and reinstalled both softwares and I have no other glitches on my computer other than this. As a matter of fact I just spent a small fortune having this computer built. But all my other topasss products work perfectly. I do have to say that the customer service for topaz is horrendous. The only emails I get send me back to a page with Q&A and there's nothing on the Q&A about error codes. So if you get software errors just know everybody that there's nobody there to ever help you

[@BenSussmanpro]

There are enough techniques in LR/PS to remove noise. No reason to spend $$ on 3d parties.

[@jean-louisrousselle1794]

I have been using Topaz De Noise & Sharpen AI fr their intro. Why Topaz is attempting to destroy their good name with this product is beyond me?

[@JoeMaranophotography]

How the hell do you even get it to be a plug in lol

[@keithsimpson8676]

Photo AI is not as good as the individual products. Sharpening and denoise should be carried out after adjustments.

[@neilcam]

I find the auto settings in DeNoise AI work far FAR better than the auto ones for PhotoAI, including for sharpening. If I'm going to use a plug-in on the raw file than I'll use DxO Pure Raw 2, but I often find that just using deNoise on a tiff works best for me, particularly in terms of speed of processing.