It seems like every other day a new piece of software or plugin comes out that is a "must have" or a "game changer". These new digital magic wands claim to fix all your woes and still leave you time to read a novel before lunch, with just a wave of the old mouse. The words "workflow", "action" and "batch" are spouted out and at once you worry 'have I missed the boat? Will I be cast aside in shame because I did not buy the ultimate imaging tool unleashed on mankind?'. Yes, I can speak in hyperbolic terms too. But back down to earth.
In regards to this concept, this month I'm looking at Digital Anarchy's Beauty Box Photo 1.0. (Many of you may have read Nikc Miller's review of the video version of this for AE in our previous issue.) This plugin with one click, auto masks the face of your subject and then applies a skin smoothing filter that is meant to give a more pleasant and youthful complexion. The main and only function of this program is to retouch the skin of your subject with as little time and effort expended as possible.
Beauty Box is a simple yet powerful tool that when used properly adds gloss to lackluster photos (or, when wielded with a heavy hand, could render your subject unrecognizable as a member of the human race).
