Camera Raw is a Photoshop plugin that lets you edit and enhance raw files from your digital camera, along with JPEG and TIFF files. If you’re unfamiliar with a raw file, it’s simply the unprocessed picture data from your digital camera. With the Adobe Camera Raw plugin, you can sharpen raw pictures, set white balance, and adjust the contrast among many other features. The best part is, Camera Raw uses non-destructive editing, which means it doesn’t alter the original picture file in case you want to revert back to it after you’ve finished editing.
ON1 Effects is a Photoshop plugin that gives you access to 23 stackable filters which allow you to build layers of different effects. It also provides hundreds of presets, borders, and textures. You even gain access to a variety of tools that help you blue, soften, and paint your pictures with ease. If you’re looking for an all-in-one tool for adding complex effects to your photos, ON1 Effects is the tool you need. Ink is one of the best free Photoshop plugins on this list.
It allows designers to create useful mockups and user interfaces which lets an inexperienced Photoshop user - like a developer - understand the design elements within a coding framework. In other words, Ink makes it easy to communicate your design by generating full specs such as text formatting, layer styles, and dimensions. This is especially helpful if, for example, you have to hand off work to a developer on GitHub and want to ensure the developer will accurately interpret your design. Texture Anarchy is a Photoshop plugin that offers a library of different filters and textures for Photoshop. What sets it apart from similar plugins like ON1 Effects is the fact that the textures it produces are based on fractal noise, which makes it easy to create natural images like fire, smoke, or marble.