Love the blog. Thanks for all the great tutorials! I was just wondering if you were still going to do post a photoshop only technique to achieve the Dave Hill look? Can’t afford the Lucis plugin but would like to be able to play with getting this look in some of my shots.

Thanks,

Jeff

Scott,
Enjoyed the tutorial! Keep em coming!

The fact that you are willing to teach and share your workflows with us is phenomenal in its own right, and these unappreciative people need to find something more creative to do with their time than complain about the gift of knowledge! If they don’t like what they are reading, they can turn the page!

Keep up the awesome posts!

I wouldn’t pay $600 for a plug-in, especially one with a dongle… so annoying!

Newly registered NAPP member for life.

Just wondering when you might be posting your Photoshop-only technique for this? I’m not sure how much of a fan I will continue being of the Dave Hill style (for the time being though I remain a big fan), but the technique used can undoubtedly be used as a variation to achieve other kinds of results.

Thanks,
Jess

As for dongles. Hackers figured out how to get past these years ago. Requiring one is just a nuisance for the person who did purchase the product legally. And I too pass over products that require them. And, I figure most people who grab programs illegally don’t have the patience to use them for long. And when you consider that you can easily find an older version from someone who’s upgraded (or changed programs), or buy student editions to learn from, etc. there’s no reason anyone should be downloading illegal programs.

I thought that I would share with you an email that I sent to LucisArt back on July 15th. This was in response to a newsletter sent to the 5500 registered fusers outlining Barbara’s outrage about her product being on the torrent sites for download. The newsletter outlined the upcoming “changes” in both product and process that were being put in place to assuage her outrage. Evidently, the piracy was “discovered” in the first part of May, 08 and the planning for the punishment of the customer base started then and there.

…..

Barbara,

As one of the 5500 (albeit recently) I thought that I would weigh in on your proposed security plan for the upcoming release. Hated it….. It smacks of the RIAA/Microsoft approach to customer service. While I more than understand your need to receive fair value for what you have produced (which is why I only run legitware on my system) I do not understand the “full urban lockdown” method that you have chosen to protect your art. I do not believe that anyone of the boneheads that got and/or use a cracked copy of your software would have bought it from you in the first place. Therefore, you (and your company) did not suffer a loss of revenue in any real sense because… let me say it again… none of these idiots would have purchased it in the first place .

So in response to a perceived loss of revenue, you’ve chosen to implement a plan that has and will continue to cost you in real revenue. As you outlined in you newsletter, you have:

1. Redesigned your site (a case could be made that it badly needed to be done anyway… but not to the level/cost that I expect it has been)
2. Created much more than you would have in the way of content for that site (because you don’t have a demo version)
3. Added a hardware component
4. Incurred design costs in package development
5. Added significantly to your cost of delivering your product (nothing is cheaper or faster than downloads and cd/dvd production ain’t cheap)
6. Wether you realize it or not, you’ve dramatically increased your need, and therefore costs, for an expanded customer service framework (Trust me sir, the dongle can’t cause your network to go down … No ms, the dongle cannot cause all of your photographs to be erased…. I can’t find my dongle and my project is due tomorrow… you think I’m kidding… just wait for it)
7. Delayed your product launch while you took the time to combat your perceived revenue loss

Oh yea and….

1. Neglected to ask if anyone has a spare USB port that can be used for the privilege of running Lucis Pro 6.0 (In my case I don’t which means I would need to add hardware to accommodate your hardware or take the shot at playing “find the dongle” it when I want to use your product… see # 6 above) BTW, what is your policy about a lost/broken dongle? Would I need to buy another copy of the software?

In short, you have drastically increased the cost and complexity of your entire operation without adding one single bit of value to me… your real customer. Looking at it from my standpoint… you’ve accomplished nothing but a decrease in your profits and an increase in my costs for using your product… All because you got pissed off on May 7th. Not only that, but I’m willing to bet you a dollar right now that within 6 months of your delayed release I can find a dongle-less version of 6.0 on the net… ’cause you just handed the net kiddees a challenge…. and they just love those to death.

Let me close (if your still reading) by saying that I do like your product, I do wish you the very best, and I will continue to pay attention to your efforts during and thru the upcoming launch cycle… but as it stands right now your at 5499 and you will have figure out a way to win me back.

…………………………….

Since you brought this back to my attention with your (most excellent) review… I had someone check the net and found (as predicted) cracked copies of LucisPro 6 are out there for the taking…. and no you don’t need a dongle. The bad news is that since I never received a reply from anyone at LucisArt…. I guess I don’t get the dollar!

As to the Dave Hill thing…. Just keep doin’ what you do and ignore the cheap seats.

Alan