Exposure X6 Review

If you are considering the powerful image editing and management tool called Exposure X6, this detailed review article is for you.

Every photographer requires effective file management. Even better if you can get a powerful editor with a user-friendly interface.

The Exposure X6 offers both, and at a surprisingly pleasant one-time price.

However, if you can manage your photos with Windows Explorer or any other built-in software in your operating system, you may not find value in Exposure X6.

But, if you take photo editing and management seriously and are looking for an impactful, long-term solution, then Exposure X6 will interest you.

Want to get into its details so that you know if it’s for you or not?

Let’s get started.

What is Exposure X6?

Exposure X6 is a photo editing and management software with creative and powerful tools. You can take your RAW photos shot from any camera, import them into the software, and make them more appealing through easy retouching.

Exposure X6 was made by Exposure Software company, previously known as Alien Skin. 

The main benefit of Exposure X6 is that it works like completely independent software. While it was initially used as a plugin for Adobe products, you can now do anything a powerful photo editor should do.

It’s a completely standalone software that you can also use as an add-on to Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

Not only that, but the software is so easy to use that you’ll be able to instantly start working on your projects, even if you are a beginner at the craft.

What Can You Do With Exposure X6?

Exposure X6 allows you to take your dull raw photos and instill life in them.

You can easily:

• Adjust the saturation, hue, vibrance of your images
• Add the bokeh effect
• Create masks
• Add overlays
• Reduce noise or add grain
• Make transformations or lens corrections
• Get creative with built-in presets

…and much more.

The software not only allows you to edit your images with a wide range of features, but it’s an effective file management system as well.

You can create categories and save your images in separate folders to access them later with ease.  

Plus, if you haven’t used any photo editing software before, you’ll be able to get started with it without a problem.

And, if there is something that you need assistance with, you can always consult the extensive tutorial library of Exposure X6. Not to mention the super supportive support team at your disposal 24/7.

Top Exposure X6 Features Reviewed

Exposure X6 isn’t only a robust photo editing software, but it is also an effective file management system.

It also gets integrated with a couple of Adobe products namely Lightroom and Photoshop seamlessly.

Plus, you also get plenty of incredible presets to not only save your time but also to allow you to get more creative with your pictures.

Let’s give you an insight into the features of the Exposure X6.

Customizable Workspace

A major factor in getting comfortable with software is its user interface. When the interface is cluttery, it can take you a little while to get used to it.

A simple, easy-to-navigate interface helps you work easily and be productive without delays. It’s even better if you can customize it based on your needs.

Thankfully, Exposure X6 allows you to customize your workspace. You can place the editing options that you use most often wherever you want on the workspace.

You can drag and drop the elements and create a workspace that not only adds to your productivity but is also appealing to your eyes.

Moreover, if you have ever used Adobe Lightroom, you’d have no problem getting started with Exposure X6 either.

The interface is almost similar, allowing you to adjust to the environment almost instantly.

Moreover, you can easily hide the 4 docks at the corner of the workspace with a keyboard shortcut whenever you want. Hiding them gives you more space to work with your image.

Also, you won’t have to switch between the file manager and image editor as both are in one place in the Exposure X6 workspace.

Overlays

Another impressive feature that the tool offers you is the overlays.

You can use a variety of overlays on your images to make them look the way you want.

1. The first one is the border overlay that allows you to add a border to your images to give them a unique look.
2. The second one is the light effect overlay. You can add the filter to mimic light leaks and sun flares in an image.
3. The last one is the texture overlay. You can add a unique texture, for instance, scratch marks to a photo to give it a completely different feel.

You can even import your own textures into the library and use them in your images.

You can also adjust the intensity and location of these overlays on your images. The layers tool also allows you to implement multiple overlays over a single image.

Compatibility

If you are one of those image editors that want multiple tools for ensuring maximum control over your results, there’s good news for you.

The Photoshop integration allows you to use Exposure X6 within Photoshop. Similarly, you can also access Photoshop features within Exposure.

The Exposure X6 works seamlessly with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

But, you’re getting almost everything you would need as an editor in Exposure X6. So, a second editing tool may not be a necessity for most designers/editors.

File Management

A major challenge that photo editors face is the effective management of their files. Not being able to find an image after editing it perfectly can easily panic you.

Luckily, you get an effective file management system in addition to a robust image editor with Exposure X6.

Exposure X6 can access files directly from the internal or external storage of your computer. You can also create different sets of image collections.

The software also allows you to import images from Lightroom. It lets you import images along with the edits you applied in LR.

The image management feature allows the user to categorize images based on keywords, stars, flags, colors, and collections. Categorization makes it easy for you to access any image when needed.

Not only that, but you can also categorize images based on their ISO, aperture, and the details of the camera or lens.

Exposure X6 allows its users to collaborate on projects using cloud-based services like Dropbox. This not only allows your team to access the images but also lets you edit them on multiple computers.

What’s more, you can directly print your edited images from Exposure X6. Within the print menu, you can select images per print, apply margins and watermarks, and choose the print quality.

Presets

There is an extensive preset library with a variety of styles and looks in Exposure. You can add these already-created tone and color profiles to your images and save your time.

You can also preview a picture with different presets applied to choose the best one, a feature that’s missing in Lightroom. This will also save you time.

The main advantage of Exposure X6 compared to Lightroom, that it has an easy adjustable “Overall Intensity” control. Which makes it easy to increase or decrease the overall effect of your adjustments.

Editing

Exposure X6 features every image editing tool a beginner and expert photographer desires. Thanks to its versatility, you won’t have to switch between multiple tools to create a masterpiece.

With Exposure X6, you can deal with chromatic aberration, lens correction, noise reduction, skin exposure, and more.

Let’s see some editing features.

Histogram Editing: The histogram tool tells you if your image has the correct exposure or not.

You can adjust the tone and exposure across your image using the histogram. Plus, it’s as easy as clicking and dragging a part of your image.

Gradient: The gradient tool lets you create masks and layers on your images. You can apply a mask to a specific region of an image with the tool.

A mast lets you adjust the exposure of an area. For instance, if a part of an image is too bright, you can cover it with a mask, reduce its exposure, and blend it in with the rest of the image.

Plus, you can also create masks in different shapes and forms over your images. By dragging the perimeter of the radial mask, you can cover a specific shape with great control.

Moreover, the linear gradient tool lets you mask flat planes in an image.

Vignetting

Another cool effect that you can add to your images with Exposure X6 is vignetting. Vignetting reduces the brightness or contrast of your image at its peripheries.

The software lets you create round, square, and irregular-shaped vignetting. Besides, you can adjust the sharpness of edges and the opacity as well.

And, not only can you use vignetting presets, but you can also create your own and save them as presets.

3D Color Masking

See how evenly the skin mask is selected?

And it took me just about 20-30 seconds to create that mask.

If you’ve selected a very broad area, you can easily remove unwanted parts of the mask with the brush tool.

The 3D color masking feature allows you to control the saturation, hue, vibrance and other adjustments of a mask. When the mask is selected, make photo and color adjustments just to the selected part of the image – adjust the skin tone, change colors of the specific area or simply add a preferred preset.

Not only that, but the 3D color masking feature allows the user to apply similar masking conditions on different images by copying and pasting them.

Bokeh

The bokeh tool allows you to select an area you want to focus on in your image and apply the bokeh effect to the rest of it.

You can even style the bokeh in hollow, circular, and more shapes. The tool also lets you adjust the strength of the effect.

IR and Focus

With the IR tool, you can add a foggy look to your images. It controls the IR region of the color spectrum.

There is also a focus tool that enables you to sharpen or blur an image.

What’s New in Exposure X6

Exposure X6 packs a few new features that weren’t there in the previous version of the software, Exposure X5.

• Optimization of your GPU, utilizing your computer’s power to speed up the processing of images.
• One-click adjustments of exposure, haze, white balance, contrast, hue, and tone.
• New and advanced noise reduction feature
• An improved and advanced color editor
• Updated and more aesthetic interface
• Integration of DNG converter (A smaller size file type)
• And much more

Probably the most helpful new features include improved UI speed and auto-adjustments.