I believe photography was my first true love. When I was young I loved snapping photos with my dad’s Canon T50. I remember my mom having to put a limit on how many rolls of film I could use, because, back in the day, developing film cost some cash. As I have grown up, and things have gone digital, I have really fallen even more in love with the whole process. From capturing the perfect moment, to processing the image, and then seeing the final image displayed, whether it be on a wall, in a frame on a table, or even on someones Facebook page. Several years ago I was participating in an online photography workshop and everyone was going on and on about these “Totally Rad Actions.” Of course, I immediately went to check them out and fell head over heels, becoming an instant fan! I believe they have created some of the most beautiful and amazing actions on the market, beautiful for professionals or even mom’s and dad’s just wanting to pretty up their personal photos! Totally Rad just released the new and amazing Rad Lab last week! It is a truly fab addition to any photographers editing toolbox {pro or hobby}!!

RadLab is built on an entirely new imaging platform. Its powerful, intuitive architecture lets you freely combine processing pieces, called Stylets, to quickly achieve exactly the look you want. The possibilities are endless.

RadLab simplifies photo effects. Intuitive browsing and a powerful new rendering engine combine to give you easy, unparalleled control. Think in pictures, not numbers. Retouching images just got a whole lot more fun.

I have had so much fun playing with the new Rad Lab! It was simple to download directly from the Totally Rad website. Instantly I was able to use it working through and editing a few recent sessions I’ve had. I can’t even tell you how Rad Lab will simplify your editing, it is amazing! You start by opening an image in Photoshop, go to the ‘filters’ drop down box, click on ‘Rad Lab’, and a whole new window pops up with your image and a thumbnail preview of all the stylets and recipes in your Rad Lab library! Rad Lab comes complete with 78 stylets to mix and experiment with, including 50 favorites from Totally Rad’s Photoshop Action Sets. What I find so perfect about this program is that you are able to immediately see your image with each stylet applied, no more guessing and scrolling through different actions, trying to remember what each one does. It is right there in front of you, exactly what your photo will look like with the stylet applied. You don’t have to click on each one to see what effect it will have on the photo! After you choose a stylet, you then can make additional adjustments on the strength of the stylet, adjusting how much or how little you want applied to your photo. This whole system gets me so excited and has cut my editing time in half! Rad Lab, has enabled me to quickly and efficiently work through photos, enhancing them, making colors pop, getting the exact look I had imaged when I took the photo. It is quick and so simple! I tried to make a little workflow of images so you can see just how easy it really is or you can watch Rad Lab in action here:

Original image opened in Photoshop.

Image in Rad Lab. Applying different stylets.

Final Image in Photoshop.

Rad Lab is so simple to use. It’s uncomplicated process makes it perfect for those mom’s and dad’s that are wanting a little something to help enhance their own family snapshots.

RadLab requires one or more of the following programs

• Photoshop CS3 or later^2,3
• Photoshop Elements 7 or later³

{full system requirements}

Totally Rad Photoshop Actions and Plugins. Rockin’ workflow helpers and digital enhancement options for photo lovers everywhere. Goodies for Lightroom & Adobe Photoshop CS2, CS3, CS4 & CS5 are available. http://gettotallyrad.com/ Our mission is simple; to make photographers feel like rock stars. With our actions, plug-ins, and presets you’ll edit better photos faster. We can get you out from behind

Keep up with news and product information from Totally Rad by joining their mailing list, “liking” them on Facebook and following them on Twitter!

This site receives free products and other forms of compensation for posting. See the Real Moms Real Views disclosure here.