How to Use Photoshop Plugins with Affinity Photo

[@extremelydave]

Good grief! If it wasn't YOU, someone seemingly went thru a lot of headaches to glean all this information!!! Thanks for preventing a major migraine!!!

[@RobinWhalley]

I wasn't quite as difficult as it looks. I have a background in computing and I've picked up this type of thing over the years. I just needed to consolidate all my information and double check it. Good to hear it's helped.

[@bhovis]

Thanks, Robin. Believe it or not I was trying to figure this out earlier today (to no avail). I have Photoshop and Affinity Photo on my MacBook and the Nik plugins have always worked fine in PS, but I could never get them set up correctly in AP until I saw your video.

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you

[@koos48]

Thanks so much Robin. At first I assumed I needed to keep Photoshop just because of plug-in incompatibility with Affinity. I could have done trial and error, with desperate emphasis on error. Then I found your explanation and I have good hopes I can keep using my trusted plug-ins.

[@RobinWhalley]

I hope you find your plugins work with Affinity.

[@LFDEZUBIRIA]

Hi Robin, thank you for this tutorial. Do you know if TK PANEL or LUMENZIA works in affinty photo?

[@RobinWhalley]

The TK Panel and Lumenzia won't work with Affinity. Whislt they may be called plugins, they are extension panels. I may be wrong but I think they are built using the Adobe Extension architecture which Affinity doesn't have.

[@bobmcneillnz]

Hi Robin that's extremely thorough... are you able to provide instructions for Mac users who DON'T have Photoshop installed?

[@RobinWhalley]

The Nik stand alone applications are always installed. It's only the Photoshop Plugins where you might need to point them to an application. Since I made the video, the installer also detects Affinity Photo. If you need to install the plugins to a folder you can use the + icon at the bottom of the "Compatible Application" list to add one, even if there are no compatible applications installed.

[@ronaldobrasil1885]

Hi Robin, Many thanks for the turorial. It's just impressive how detailed you made it for us!!!! What happen if we don't have Photoshop installed, but we do have the plugins in our pc? Do they work? There are many wonderful plugins for Photoshop CC on DesignCuts, but I'd love to know before buying it. Also, which Photoshop plugins version (in the case we buy or have them) is the best for Affinity Photo? The CC or the CS5, 6, etc version? Again Bro, MANY THANKS!!!

[@RobinWhalley]

Thanks. No, you don't need Photoshop installed for the plugins to work with Affinity Photo. Do be careful though as most of the plugins that I have tried don't work or dont fully work with Affinity Photo. There isn't a way to determine this in advance other than testing them with Affinity. The best option is to get the trial version of the plugin and test it before buying.

[@djr3386]

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge, Robin. Can Photoshop actions be used in Affinity Photo? Wish you a Happy New Year Robin. Your latest subscriber 🙏

[@RobinWhalley]

No, I'm sorry you can't use Photoshop actions in Affinity Photo. The two systems are quite different in that respect. Affinity Photo does have it's own Macro recorder but Actions aren't compatible.

[@toomuchkit964]

Hello Robin, many thanks for another great tutorial. As a matter of interest did Luminar work on your Mac as a plug in?

[@RobinWhalley]

Thank you. No the Luminar version doesn't work. It looks like it starts to launch but then the interface never appears. You then need to Force Quit Affinity Photo bfore you can do anything else. One that did surprise me though was Topaz Studio 2 which appeared to work fine and which has a lot of very creative filters.

[@toomuchkit964]

@@RobinWhalley thanks Robin tha's what I found, I thought it may have been that I am using Luminar 2018.

[@alx1533]

@@RobinWhalley Well done, fam. Same here. I got all of the Topaz to work, some of the Jixipix, but not Snap Art4, or Filter Forge. Maybe a cruise by their websites will sort this out. TS2 was the one I wanted first & foremost. Thanks for your vids. Much respect. Subbed.

[@photonsonpixels]

Thank you for your tutorial, Robin. Is it possible to use Affinity as a plugin for Photoshop? Thank you.

[@RobinWhalley]

Thank you. No, you can't use Affinity Photo as a Plug in to Photoshop. It's a regular application and doesn't have a Plugin version that's installed.

[@photonsonpixels]

@@RobinWhalley Thank you Robin.

[@007silverwings]

Hi Robin, an interesting video as always 👍🏻 Do you have you got any software comparison videos coming up? I can't decide between the Adobe route vs Affinity vs DXO vs Luminar. I appreciate they all have their benefits, but just looking for something that does most things quite well!

[@RobinWhalley]

No, I'm sorry I don't have anything coming up. I have however published an article on my website that describes an approach that might help you make a better decision. Here's the link lenscraft.co.uk/photo-editing-tutorials/choosing-photo-editing-software/

[@clarification007]

Very useful informations with Photoshop for Mac users. But is this include the Lightroom (with plugins) way? (I don’t have the Photoshop, but I do have the Affinity Photo.) Thanks!

[@RobinWhalley]

Lightroom Plugins are different to Photoshop and (to the best of my knowledge) not compatible with Affinity.

[@clarification007]

@@RobinWhalley Lightroom and Affinity work nicely together. I have both!

[@jaycee2896]

Sorry Robin....I know this isn't related but is there a printer mechanism that can be used to print directly from Affinity?

[@RobinWhalley]

Yes, Affinity has a print function. There is also a soft proof adjustment layer. I have a video on how to use it if you search.

[@jaycee2896]

@@RobinWhalley Thanks very much for getting back to me. I will be looking for your video on this. Love your videos great work!!!

[@kenboulton6447]

Hi Robin, is there such a thing in Affinity Photo, as PS 6 actions.

[@RobinWhalley]

Yes. In Affinity Photo you can create Macros to automate things. In my opinion the Macro system isn't as extensive or flexible as the Photoshop actions but you can still do a lot with it.

[@l0rdcroissant]

so what happens if you DON'T have adobe installed

[@RobinWhalley]

You will need to find how to install the plugins without Adobe products on the computer. How you do that will differ from package to package.

[@AkhterRasool]

Thank you for this tutorial but my eye candy plugin not working do you have any idea

[@RobinWhalley]

It's not supported. I don't think I've had any of the Exposure Software/Alien Skin plugins working in Affinity.

[@ultraprimez]

Hello Sir, does affinity photo support DCP lens profile made using Calibrite colorchecker passport from Photoshop. Affinity Photo is new to me and i just trumbled on your video on plugins. BTW I'm using Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 too. Can we use colorchecker passport in developer module of affinity photo ?

[@RobinWhalley]

No there isn't, or at least if there is I haven't found how to do it.

[@simdrew1993]

Will this work with the Nvidia DDS Photoshop Extension/Plugin?

[@RobinWhalley]

Ni idea but I'll guess that it won't.

[@simdrew1993]

@@RobinWhalley Hmm, probably not.

[@alandyer910]

Thank you! When I tried Topaz DeNoise and Sharpen AI they asked for the registration information before they would launch. I was thinking the programs might detect the Affinity use as a second installation and prevent them from running under Photoshop, as I think the basic license for those Topaz programs now only allows one installation. This was on a Mac. I wonder if you’ve tried them to test if they’ll work as plug-ins under both programs and as stand alone applications on the same computer. Thanks!

[@RobinWhalley]

Yes, Topaz will ask you to log into your account with the Plugin but then works OK. They also continue to work stand alone and as a plugin with Photoshop.

[@danbuchman7497]

Hi Robin, thanks for the detailed explanation. Your explanations such as where and why Silverfast was hiding helped a lot (helps as a future clue when searching for lost plugins). One slightly off topic question. Have you tested Topaz JPG to Raw converter? I’m downloading a test copy later today but was wondering if you might have a video in the works with your assessment. Last, your new Affinity book is very helpful and am slowly working through it. Another typically helpful Whaley resource. Best!

[@RobinWhalley]

Thanks for the positive feedback on the video. Regarding Topaz JPEG to RAW, no I haven't done any videos although I do have it. I have used it mainly with images from my phone and it seems to produce excellent reults. Whilst it's interesting, I'm not sure how I could translate it into a video but it's on my (long) list of future tutorials for my website.

[@phlotographer]

a very good program to try (freeware also totally) is Everything Search. I probably don't use it the most efficient way and I often may duplicate stuff but a search for eg .8bf which is the plugin extension for plugins that I have available finds lots and then it becomes a visual effort but probably if I looked harder there is a better way to refine the search. It is a big help though.

[@jonglaser4468]

I cannot get TK Plugins or to work with Affinity photo and CLiR infrared Plugins...Well the only thing I know it that the latter goes into a folder called CEP in PS. Sad TOO cause I really was ready to switch

[@RobinWhalley]

I wasn't familiar with CLiR so I checked their website. This looks to be an extension panel rather than a "traditional" Photoshop plugin, especially given the CEP folder (CEP stands for Common Extensibility Platform). They are written in a different lanuage and use a different arrchitecture to traditional Photoshop Plugins. Adobe has confused things in recent years by calling some of these extension panels Plugins. They are built on web technologies because I'm guessing Adobe wants them to integrate with the mobile versions of their software. I'm not really up to date on this so some of my comments may be wrong.

[@jonglaser4468]

@@RobinWhalley Thanks for explaining this to me. I really appreciate the explanation. I use it for infrared photography and it helps tremendously. But It seems I cannot make the switch.

[@aaronpopstar]

Hello Robin. I hope you can help me. I have the Nik Collection installed on my laptop as stand alone. I haven’t installed the program when I downloaded it to my laptop as I didn’t have Photoshop installed on my computer. Therefore I don’t have the Nik plugins installed on any other program. Therefore I can’t locate them as a plugin and don’t know how to re-install them to Affinity Photo. Can you help at all? Thank you in advance.

[@RobinWhalley]

You need to repeat the installation. Then when you reach the section where you can select the host applications there is a small + icon. Click this and you can pick another folder (I suggest you create an Affinity Plugin folder) to install the plugins to. This will get aroud your problem of not having Photoshop installed.

[@DipeshMehrotra]

i somehow could not see , Topaz Sharpening , Denoise (both are latest).. and Luminar 4 working on my Affinity(latest) in the Mac

[@RobinWhalley]

I don't think any of those plugins are compatible.

[@PaoloDurandetto]

I don't have photoshop installed on my mac, so there are no way to use plugin? Thank you

[@RobinWhalley]

You can use it as a standalone editor or you can install it to other compatible editors like Lightroom, Affinity Photo and Elements. All of these are detected during the installation. It's also possible to add other applications to install the plugin during the installation.

[@PaoloDurandetto]

@@RobinWhalley Thank you. I tried to put the plugin I want to use inside the affinity photo plugin folder but it isn't detected. The plugin I would like to use is Grain2Pixel_SE_v5.3.8.9 but it probably can't be used. I also checked "allow unknown plugins to be used" but it doesn't change.

[@RobinWhalley]

@@PaoloDurandetto It might not be a "true" plugin in the original sense. Adobe changed what they call a plugin recently to include extension panels but Affinity Photo doesn't support these. That's why we can't use extensions like TK Actions in Affinity Photo. I suggest contacting the company selling the plugin to explain that you want to install and use it with Affinity Photo to see what they suggest.

[@neillandscape1376]

I have not been able to figure out why the Color Effext pro does not apply to image.

[@RobinWhalley]

Sorry I haven't seen that problem. It may be worth posting the problem to the Affinity and DxO forums to see if anyone else has seen this.

[@neillandscape1376]

@@RobinWhalley Thanks!

[@zekewheel]

do I have to download them first??

[@RobinWhalley]

Yes

[@kangsan2014]

@@RobinWhalley You say YES but you don't provide a link.

[@zekewheel]

where can I download them from? thanks

[@RobinWhalley]

The plugins I used in the video are all paid plugins that I've purchased. You can though download trial versions of each which would be helpful to try out to see if they will work for you. I would suggest trying the Nik Collection by DxO as most of those will probably work. You can download a trial from the DxO website. The other plugins that seem to work are from On1 Software and again there is a trial on their website.

[@zekewheel]

thanks very informative

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you

[@jefferispeterson]

Your video is being cut off by adobe.

[@ClodiAlmeida]

Nice

[@RobinWhalley]

Thanks

[@pieterwessel3733]

Hoped to find an answer how to install plugin in affinity photo😂😂😂😂

[@RobinWhalley]

That's exactly what the video explains. How you install a Plugin on your computer depends on the plugin developer. If the Photoshop plugin doesn't install on Affinity, as many don't, the video explains the steps needed for Affinity to find it. Use the plugin installer to get the plugin onto your computer, and then use the steps in the video to tell Affinity where to find the plugin.

[@kangsan2014]

You forgot the most vastly important thing to this video: providing a link to the plugins. I see it no where. If you do a video on it, it is only logical to affix the address to the plugins.

[@RobinWhalley]

The video isn’t about the plugins or I would have shared links. It’s about configuring Affinity Photo.