CyberLink has continued rapid development of its photo management and editing tool with the release of CyberLink PhotoDirector 4 Ultra. PhotoDirector 4, which appears on Mac OS X for the first time in addition to Windows, retails for $50 less than rival product Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Despite coming just six months after version 3 was released, PhotoDirector 4 adds a number of notable new features to its roster: facial recognition and content-aware removal tools, plus new HDR (High Dynamic Range) effects on single photos, and a Body Shaper tool for reshaping arms, face and body.

There are three major new tools of note in PhotoDirector 4. Automatic face tagging is added to the program’s organisational tools, and makes it a quick and simple process for users to tag, organize and list photos of specific people in their collection.

Look carefully and you'll see PhotoDirector 4's Body Shaper tool in action.

The second major new feature is a content aware removal tool, which makes it possible to remove unwanted objects from photos while automatically filling in the space left using the current background as a guide.

Also new in version 4 is the Body Shaper tool, which is added to PhotoDirector 4’s People Beautifier list. This allows users to reshape arms, faces and body using Mesh and Distortion tools, and joins existing Skin Smoother, Wrinkle Remover, Tooth Brush and Eye Blinger tools for creating what CyberLink describes as the “perfect portrait”.

CyberLink PhotoDirector 4 Ultra is available as a free trial download for PCs running Windows XP SP3 or later or Macs running OS X 10.6.8 or later. Additional system requirements include a 3.0GHz dual-core processor (PC) or Intel multi-core with 64-bit support processor (Mac), plus 2GB RAM, 1GB free hard drive space and a hefty graphics card (128MB Video RAM for PC, 2GB Video RAM for Mac).

PhotoDirector 4 will retail for $99.99, while users of version 2 and 3 will be able to upgrade for $69.99.