Pro1

Got any recommendation? I am looking for users recommendations on software that can apply graduated ND filters to photos during post production.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

Photoshop!

lightcatcher Loc: Farmington, NM (4 corners)

Lightroom

Bob Yankle Loc: Burlington, NC

NIK Color Efex.

Db7423 Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

All three already recommended. I would start with Lightroom. It quite likely will be all you will ever require for all of your post processing wants including graduated filters. ;)

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Will add On One Photo Suite Perfect Effects section and MacPhun Intensify to the list.

All that have been mentioned are available for free trials, and On One Perfect Effects is permanently free (though the rest of the suite is not)

One reminder: if you didn't capture detail in the bright half of your photo, no software will bring it back, but if it's not blown out, you can definitely balance it in post.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I second this sentiment!

I still use old Cokin graduated ND filters on the camera when I want detail in the sky. Even capturing in Raw, you can lose a lot of detail if you don't use ND at the camera.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

ACR in either Lightroom or Photoshop.
--Bob

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

i agree with Bob,
It's hard to beat the ease of use of ACR's " Graduated Filter" for tonal gradations as well as gradation of a variety of other effects.
i also find the versatility of much of ACR, in its most recent iterations, to be incredible. Other than for advanced layer/masking/ selection/ compositing needs my forays into PS are steadily decreasing.

Dave

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

I agree with you both. Pre production trumps post production.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Lightroom has a graduated filter tool, but it's a quick, globally applied effect.

Same can be done in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), within Photoshop.

However, Photoshop can do more... much more accurately. In PS the filter can be combined with layers, masks and various methods of selection, to only apply the effect only to specific parts of an image.

For example, imagine a photo of a building or mountain. In PS you can create a layer of adjustment that has the same effect as the filter in either of the other two methods, then can apply a mask so that the building or mountain is uneffected, while the sky behind it has the effect applied. The result is much better than using an actual Grad ND filter or applying the filter overall with the other two methods.

If your horizon line is a perfectly straight line, the simpler method using a real Grad ND or the global filter in the softwares works just fine...



But, seriously, how many shots do you take where that's the case? I can only speak for myself, but I know the vast majority of shots I take where an ND Grad would be desirable have an uneven horizon line or a horizon that's "intruded upon" by some object. It's not as quick and easy, but these situations are where the more advanced method of applying the filter in a targeted way in post-production s'ware works much, much better...