Using the Nik Collection

BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
@hark - If you don't have Photoshop then I wouldn't expect it to make a lot of sense to you. While not available in Elements, Photoshop allows a layer to be "smart". In other words, in addition to carrying image information it also contains information about how the image was manipulated within a layer. In a conventional layer if I invoke a Nik tool, say Viveza, when I am done it comes back as a brand new layer with the output from Viveza. If I decide down the road that I want to change something I did in the Viveza step I have to go to the previous layer and re-perform all the edits I did in the Viveza program. With a Smart Layer it not only saves the output but also the settings from the Viveza program. If I double-click on the settings portion of the layer (which only exists in a smart layer) it will relaunch Viveza with all my settings intact, including control points, so I do not have to redo everything within the program since the layer remembers it.

What I discovered in answering your post today is that it can store multiple steps and calls to different Nik tools within the same Smart Layer. Previously I had been invoking Nik in PS the same way I would have to in PSE, creating a new layer each time, and losing my settings. I did this because I had tried invoking Nik tools as Smart Objects previously and for some reason the file size was growing very rapidly, likely because I was doing one layer per tool. Now not only do I get to save my settings in the Smart Layer, but I can do them all in a single layer (provided I don't want to use and layer masks or blending options).

Again, this might be over your head not having PS, but working through your question helped me learn something new about how to use the Nik tools.
 
D

Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
BackdoorHippie said:
@hark - If you don't have Photoshop then I wouldn't expect it to make a lot of sense to you. While not available in Elements, Photoshop allows a layer to be "smart". In other words, in addition to carrying image information it also contains information about how the image was manipulated within a layer. In a conventional layer if I invoke a Nik tool, say Viveza, when I am done it comes back as a brand new layer with the output from Viveza. If I decide down the road that I want to change something I did in the Viveza step I have to go to the previous layer and re-perform all the edits I did in the Viveza program. With a Smart Layer it not only saves the output but also the settings from the Viveza program. If I double-click on the settings portion of the layer (which only exists in a smart layer) it will relaunch Viveza with all my settings intact, including control points, so I do not have to redo everything within the program since the layer remembers it.

What I discovered in answering your post today is that it can store multiple steps and calls to different Nik tools within the same Smart Layer. Previously I had been invoking Nik in PS the same way I would have to in PSE, creating a new layer each time, and losing my settings. I did this because I had tried invoking Nik tools as Smart Objects previously and for some reason the file size was growing very rapidly, likely because I was doing one layer per tool. Now not only do I get to save my settings in the Smart Layer, but I can do them all in a single layer (provided I don't want to use and layer masks or blending options).

Again, this might be over your head not having PS, but working through your question helped me learn something new about how to use the Nik tools.
Click to expand...

I am going to have to try Smart Layers. That seems like it will save a lot of work. Being able to go back to a tool without deleting it and starting over will be a lot better.
 
J

jrleo33

Senior Member
Inserting High Dynamic Range Colors into a RAW image using NIX software.
This photo of the Utah State Capitol building was taken at 10.16AM, with the sun high off my right shoulder causing various shadow problems on the front of the structure. The photo was taken with a 50mm F/1.8D lens at F/6.3, @ 1/1000 S; using NEF (RAW), and initial editing in Lightroom 4.4.
The first edited RAW photo I sent into the NIX Software had too much clarity, vibrance, and saturation, which caused me to delete the original edit and redo the photo. I set the clarity and vibrance slider to +19, and saturation to zero in LR; and then sent the photo into Vivela 2 to selectively brighten the blue sky with control points.


Utah State Capitol-1.jpg

The photo below shows the effects of selectively brightening the blue portion of the sky. Care had to be taken here, not to brighten the blue too much, because the final step of this project was to use the Skylight filter in Efex Pro 4, which would apply the High Dynamic Range of colors to the entire photo.

Utah State Capitol-2.jpg

Below is the final image after applying the Skylight filter to the entire image, and I to lower the strength percentage down a bit from default. I argued with myself about darkening the two shades of green in the foreground grass, but ended up leaving it as is.
I purchased the NIX collection, as it is very impressive software for the price. I ended with (7) TIFF images that required 956 MBs of HD space, so the earlier advice given on cleaning up behind your workflow was well given. Myself, I think the decision to plant the trees and block the view of this beautiful building was not well thought out.

Utah State Capitol-3.jpg
 
J

Jonathan

Senior Member
Downloaded 15 day trial. Just spent a few minutes playing.

Before (RAW):

_DSC8910.jpg


After (JPG):

Can't upload as it's some 81MB in size. Need to do some more research! My concern is now about ultimate file size and number of files per edited image. Take my word for it that the result after having just played in Viveza is amazing!

Okay, no more fiddle time. This is what I got after those few minutes play. It took me more time to figure out how to get a reasonable file size (5MB? Ha!) by exporting as JPEG. I think I am going to have to buy this stuff.

_DSC8910.jpg
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
By the way, I did a 30 day trial with Topaz and I can say with confidence that Nik is orders of magnitude better than Topaz. I encourage others to try Topaz out and see for yourself. I suspect by the time you're done you'll be even more impressed with your Nik collection.
 
D

Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
Jonathan said:
Downloaded 15 day trial. Just spent a few minutes playing.

Before (RAW):

View attachment 62433

After (TIFF):

Can't upload as it's some 81MB in size. Need to do some more research! My concern is now about ultimate file size and number of files per edited image. Take my word for it that the result after having just played in Viveza is amazing!
Click to expand...

After you finish editing the photo flatten the layers that you have and convert to JPEG and re-size yo upload here.
 
BackdoorArts

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
jrleo33 said:
Inserting High Dynamic Range Colors into a RAW image using NIX software.
This photo of the Utah State Capitol building... snipped for brevity and reference purposes
Click to expand...

It's very easy to overdue things with the Nik tools. If something looks great at 25 how much better will it look with it at 40?! Learning what presets and options work where and with what tweaks is part of the learning curve. It's extremely easy to come out of HDR Efex with an absolutely overcooked image early on, because frankly some of the overcooking looks extremely cool to a first timer. And there's a time and place for overcooking. What I love about the tools are that they allow you to go just about anywhere you want with your image, and that's what it is, yours.

Nice photo, btw.
 
J

Jonathan

Senior Member
Don Kuykendall said:
After you finish editing the photo flatten the layers that you have and convert to JPEG and re-size yo upload here.
Click to expand...
Okay, I have this as an plug-in in Aperture and I have no idea how to flatten the layers or make a smart layer. Still hunting, but if anyone can fill me in ...

Not sure I can do this in Aperture.
 
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J

Jonathan

Senior Member
I've edited my original post above and added the "after" picture. Thanks for everyone's help. The result is still after just a few minutes play. Subject to keeping photo size manageable I think this collection has to be a keeper.
 
F

fiVe

Senior Member
WOW! I just looked at the NIK collection (now owned by Google?). I bought Viveza and Silver Efex Pro 2 before the Google took them. You can now buy the whole suite for what I paid for SEP alone! What...a...deal! Amazing!

I use Viveza and SEP with Photoshop Elements 10, and I am VERY satisfied!!
 
I

Ironwood

Senior Member
fiVe said:
WOW! I just looked at the NIK collection (now owned by Google?). I bought Viveza and Silver Efex Pro 2 before the Google took them. You can now buy the whole suite for what I paid for SEP alone! What...a...deal! Amazing!

I use Viveza and SEP with Photoshop Elements 10, and I am VERY satisfied!!
Click to expand...

I think if you already own one or more of the NIK collection, you will be eligible to get the rest for free.

There was another thread started a bit earlier than this one that covered it.

EDIT-- Check out this thread, I think there may have been another one as well

http://nikonites.com/computers-soft...on-just-got-way-affordable.html#axzz2qSBnyo9m
 
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F

fiVe

Senior Member
Ironwood said:
I think if you already own one or more of the NIK collection, you will be eligible to get the rest for free.

There was another thread started a bit earlier than this one that covered it.

EDIT-- Check out this thread, I think there may have been another one as well

http://nikonites.com/computers-soft...on-just-got-way-affordable.html#axzz2qSBnyo9m
Click to expand...


Thanks for the suggestion. I contacted Google about the NIK Collection and they sent me the link for the upgrade! So glad I posted here!
 
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