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Anthropics' logo. Click here to visit the Anthropics website! Anthropics releases Portrait Pro 9
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(Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 19:30 EDT)

Anthropics Technology Ltd. has today unveiled the latest iteration of its flagship portrait retouching software Portrait Professional, available in both Standard and Studio editions.

Under the hood, there have been numerous changes in the Portrait Pro v9. The updates are mostly shared between both versions, but a few key new features have been reserved for the Studio edition.

As compared to Portrait Pro 8, version 9 has a redesigned user interface which is intended to be more approachable and easier to use, and the retouching capabilities have been given quite the overhaul. The most significant change in this area is Anthropics' new ClearSkin technology, for which the company notes that it is seeking patent coverage. ClearSkin is used to recreate skin texture in image areas where blown highlights and/or skin blemishes need correction. The Skin Touch-Up Brush has been enhanced and automatically fixes areas indicated by the user, applying ClearSkin as needed. There's also a new Skin Smoothing slider which allows correction of blotchiness and widespread defects by adjusting just one slider. Additional new sliders allow for separate control of vibrancy for both skin and hair, as well as an overall image vibrancy control.

Retouching of teeth and eyes is also improved in Portrait Pro 9, with the results of whitening in both areas now said to be more realistic. In addition, the eye recoloring controls have been improved, and it is now possible to both automatically widen the pupil and control catchlights. The program also now supports not only full-face images as in previous versions, but can handle profile shots as well - an important update said to have been made in response to many user requests. One final change in both versions should make the program rather swifter on modern hardware, as Portrait Pro v9 now fully supports multi-threading in multi-core or multi-processor computers.

Giving an added incentive to upgrade to the Studio edition of the program, Anthropics has reserved a couple of features that will be desirable to pros and enthusiastic amateurs alike. Portrait Pro Studio v8 had added support for Raw and 16-bit TIFF files, 16-bit processing, and was color-space aware. The new Portrait Pro Studio v9 improves the Raw support with a plugin architecture that will allow support for new Raw formats to be added as they come to market. It also adds the ability for the program to operate both standalone and as a PhotoShop / Lightroom plugin, and works directly with Camera Raw. There's also a new batch processing mode to help speed image correction.

Pricing for both versions of Portrait Professional v9 is set somewhat higher than that of the previous edition, reflecting the number of changes - especially for Studio users. As we previously reported, the new list price for Portrait Professional 9 Standard is $99.95, while Portrait Professional 9 Studio now lists for $149.95. Customers who took part in the special we mentioned in the previous news item should receive an email with information on their free upgrade in the next few days. Otherwise, customers upgrading from Portrait Pro Standard v8 or earlier can pay $79.95 to switch to v9 Studio. Customers wishing to upgrade from Portrait Pro Max to v9 Studio will pay $40. Finally, if you purchase the Standard edition and then decide you need the extra features, an upgrade from Portrait Pro 9 Standard to Studio can be purchased for $49.95.

If you're considering purchasing, a swift decision might bring savings, as the company is running a brief early buyer special. Until Friday May 29th, Portrait Pro 9 Standard can be purchased for $69.95, while Portrait Pro 9 Studio can be had for 99.95. Read on for the official press release and a number of comparison images provided by Anthropics.

Anthropics Portrait Professional 9 - Comparison Images
Before After
Original image before retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture! Processed image after retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture!
Original image before retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture! Processed image after retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture!
Original image before retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture! Processed image after retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture!
Original image before retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture! Processed image after retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture!
Original image before retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture! Processed image after retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture!
Original image before retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture! Processed image after retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture!
Original image before retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture! Processed image after retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture!
Original image before retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture! Processed image after retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture!
Original image before retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture! Processed image after retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture!
Original image before retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture! Processed image after retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture!
Original image before retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture! Processed image after retouching with Portrait Pro 9. Photo provided by Anthropics Technology Ltd. Click for a bigger picture!
. (click any image to see a larger version in a new window)

Original Source Press Release:

Anthropics Launches New Portrait Professional 9 Incorporating Revolutionary New ClearSkin™ Automatic Skin Enhancing Technology

Available both stand alone and as a PC and Mac Photoshop™ plug-in* (*Studio version only)

Unique Intelligent Touch Up Software
New Portrait Professional 9 (www.PortraitProfessional.com) is portrait airbrushing software that has actually been trained in human appearance, using thousands of example photographs. The software therefore has a built in ‘knowledge base’ of human beauty, which makes it far faster and easier to use than conventional airbrushing software.

How does this work? For any given face, the software creates custom controls specifically to enhance that particular face. For example, if the face has a heavy jaw or double chin, Portrait Professional’s ‘jaw slider’ control will reduce the fatness of the jaw. On the other hand, if the jaw was rather weak or small, the slider would subtly enlarge it. The software contains over 100 ‘intelligent’ sliders of this nature, plus an automatic touch-up brush to give the user fine control over the appearance of the face and hair.

In addition, Portrait Professional 9 incorporates new patent applied for ClearSkin skin beautifying technology. This enables skin defects such as acne, blotchiness, roughness, wrinkles, age spots, grease and other skin problems to be automatically removed leaving the skin looking natural and well textured. No more featureless, plastic over airbrushed look that characterizes much skin touch-up.

This innate knowledge of human appearance, plus the new ClearSkin automatic skin enhancer, makes Portrait Professional 9:

  • Far easier to use than traditional touch-up software 

  • And much faster than traditional touch-up software.

After a simple ‘mark-up’ stage, users can instantly enhance all aspects of the skin, face and hair simply by moving sliders or simply by touching any defect with the intelligent touch-up brush.

Portrait Professional 9 Features
With Portrait Professional 9, untrained, non specialist users can quickly and easily:

  • Automatically eliminate skin blemishes such as spots or pimples leaving completely natural looking skin, however big the blemish.

  • Remove grease, sweat or unsightly white highlights from the skin

  • Reduce or remove wrinkles and lines again leaving exceptionally natural looking skin

  • Subtly reshape different aspects of the face to make it slimmer or more attractive

  • Adjust the lighting on the face to make it more flattering or remove hat shadows

  • Brighten or change eye color, and enhance whiteness of the eyes

  • Whiten teeth, recolor and reshape the lips

  • Thicken, color or smooth hair

All these touch-up process requires no special artistic skills thanks to the built-in intelligence of the software.

Available In Two Versions
Portrait Professional is available in two versions targeted at keen amateur and professional photographers:

Portrait Professional Standard 9
This is the stand alone version that offers all of the new ultra sophisticated face, skin and hair touch-up facilities but does not include the Photoshop plug-in, ‘batch mode’ productivity features or the RAW file support that professional and semi-professional photographers require.

Portrait Professional Studio  9
This is the version designed for photographers who crave for the ultimate in productivity and color accuracy. Portrait Professional Studio can be configured as stand alone or as a Lightroom or Photoshop plug-in to speed workflow. It also works directly with Camera RAW.

New Features Of Portrait Professional 9: Both Versions

  • New, world leading ‘ClearSkin’ skin improving technology
    Portrait Professional 9 includes unique new applied patent  ‘ClearSkin’ skin texturing technology that both add greatly to the realism of the skin after enhancement. It enables ‘blown’ or burnt out highlights on the skin to be successfully retrieved and realistically re-textured in seconds. To the best of our knowledge, this innovative feature is unique and puts clear blue water between Portrait Professional and other skin enhancing packages. For the first time, the ClearSkin technology enables anybody to achieve ultra realistic skin enhancing effects literally in seconds.

  • New, enhanced, ‘intelligent’ touch-up brush
    The new skin touch-up brush in version 9 requires no precision or skills on the user’s part. It automatically finds any skin defect under the brush and replaces it with natural skin texture using the ClearSkin technology. The result is a realistic natural touch-up with absolute minimum effort or skill on the users’ part.

  • Full multi-processor support for a major speed increase
    Portrait Professional 9 now supports multi-threading resulting in a major performance boost for users with multi-core or multi-processor machines.       

  • Supports profile shoots
    In response to many user requests, Portrait Professional 9 now handles profile shots as well as full face enabling face shape enhancing on any face orientation.

  • Improved teeth and eye enhancements
    The eye and teeth enhancement has been significantly improved giving a more uniform and realistic whiteness and improved eye re-coloring controls. In addition, the eye pupil can be automatically widened. Catch lights in the eyes can now be added, removed, reshaped or enhanced.

  • New face,  picture and hair vibrance controls
    The control sliders allow the vibrancy of face color to be increased without causing neutral areas to get unwanted color casts. The net result is more vibrant natural looking portraits.

  • New Skin Smoothing or ‘Blotchiness’ control
    The skin smoothing control is a great time saver as it evens any blotchiness or large defects on the skin simply by moving a slider.

  • New User Interface
    The interface has been significantly upgraded in version 9 to make it more users’ friendly and a lot easier to use with the brush tool now conveniently located for instant access. 

New Features Of Portrait Professional 9 Studio

Portrait Professional Studio contains all the features of Portrait Professional plus:

  • New Stand-alone and Adobe PhotoShop plug-in version
    Version 9 Studio works both as stand-alone and as a Photoshop plug-in for both PC and Mac. This version has been developed to meet enthusiasts and professional photographers’ demands for PhotoShop plug-in compatibility in order to enhance their workflow.

  • Enhanced color profiles and extended RAW file support
    Portrait Professional 9 Studio enables direct access to camera RAW files applications and allows absolute color calibration control of images that high end enthusiast and professional users require. In addition, RAW support has been applied as a plug-in so as new cameras and formats come onto the market support can be instantly added.

  • New batch mode to speed throughput and workflow
    This version 9 Studio also has a batch mode incorporated to enable photographers to enhance lots of images and speed through the work faster and more efficiently than was hitherto possible.

System Requirements:

PC

  • Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista
  • 1Ghz CPU or better
  • Min 512MB RAM XP, 1GB RAM Vista

Mac

  • OSX 10.4 or later
  • Intel CPU 1Ghz or better
  • 512MB RAM or more

Note: While Portrait Professional 9 is compatible with all modern Intel Macs, it not compatible with older ‘PowerPC’ Macs

Pricing:
Portrait Professional 9: $99.95
Portrait Professional 9 Studio: $149.95

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