Every time a company comes out with a new version of its software, I have an agonizing struggle over whether to upgrade or not.  I usually do, and sometimes I feel like the new features weren’t worth the extra investment……but other times I am so delighted I can’t imagine not upgrading.  This is my experience with Exposure 5.This software simulates film treatments in color and black and white.  They have many of the retro effects that are popular, and have added more textures and borders.  What I am really excited about is:

• They have a stand alone version.  You no longer have to access it through Photoshop or Lightroom.
• They have changed the user interface so it is much more visual and intuitive.  You can now see previews before selecting an effect, and the adjustments on the right are easier to understand and fine tune.

Many of the effects I have not seen elsewhere, and I especially like to use this software to process black and white and infrared images.

Here are a couple of before and after shots:

Just a couple of more