Filter Forge 6 Review

November 30, 2016 | Amy Davies | Software Reviews | Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Performance

This plugin, or indeed, standalone piece of software is pretty powerful, giving you the option to completely change the look of your images.

As with most things, some filters will be more appreciated than others, while most will be down to personal taste.

However, with so many to choose from, and the ability to create your own, there should be something you find which takes your fancy. Being able to use Filter Forge 6 as a plugin is ideal for building it to your workflow, with the resulting images easier to achieve than if you went through several steps in Photoshop itself (especially if you use pre-existing filters).

Examples - Before and After

Nik Dfine

Nik Dfine

Nik Dfine

Nik Dfine

Nik Dfine

Nik Dfine

Nik Dfine

Nik Dfine

Nik Dfine

Nik Dfine

Conclusion

There are lots of programs currently on the market which offer you ways to get creative with your images. Filter Forge 6 is an interesting way to do that, since you can have control over exactly how the filter works. However, if you’re not used to the terminology, or the way the editor works, it can seem overwhelming, and it’s far from an intuitive process.

You can learn more about how to use Filter Forge 6 using the online tutorials and videos, it’s true, but you’ll need to invest a fair amount of time to do that, so if you’re coming at this from a beginner’s perspective you may wish to find an alternative.

If however, you like that kind of approach, where something takes a little time to figure out, you could have a lot of fun with Filter Forge. That said, beginners can make use of the existing filters already pre-loaded into the program, as well as the thousands available to download - so there is something for everybody.

Many of the filters are bizarre, and of course won’t be to everybody’s tastes, but that’s the beauty of having so many to choose from - there should be something here. Once you’ve got a bit more confidence with how it all works, you can even start tweaking your own - you may want to start with altering existing filters before starting from scratch.

It’s worth downloading the fully functional free-trial of Filter Forge 6 as you have nothing to lose. It’s also worth attempting to create your own filter within the 30 days, to see if you can earn a free copy of the software with a popular filter. If you do decide to buy, there’s a range of buying options - including a version which doesn’t include the Filter Editor, which is useful for beginners.

By comparison to some modern photo editing programs, Filter Forge 6 looks a little old-fashioned, but if you can get past that, there’s a powerful editor in here to be used.

3.5 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 3
Features 4
Ease-of-use 3
Value for money 4

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