While I was training a client to use GIMP to manipulate images, the client asked me if I’d heard of Light Artist. I hadn’t so I gave it a quick try and wow, am I glad I did. This tool lets you add lighting effects to photos that look as if you had a light kit at the photo shoot. In just a few minutes, we took a photo that the client had described as “not that one, it’s too dark” and turned it into a front page feature shot.

Here’s how it works. You add multiple light sources, adjust the angle, size and intensity of the light, and apply it to the original image. There are three types of light sources to choose from: spotlight (like shining a flashlight), omni (like having a light bulb shining on part of the image) and parallel light source (like having the sun shining as a distant light source all at the same angle). You can also change the ambient light and/or the light source colors and even add a texture to the red, green or blue channel. All in all it makes for some very nice effects.

Here’s what I was able to do with a simple photo of some strawberries from our garden. The first shot is the original, a little dark and the front strawberry looks rather dull. The “after” shot fixes those problems quite easily.

Anyway, a great find, and it’s even freeware. Note though that when you install it, it piggyback installs another program (Web Photo Album, also from the same programmer) but you can uninstall it easily and it won’t remove the Light Artist application. Nice to know you’re never too old to learn something new, even from a client.