Using the Nik Collection

http://www.google.com/nikcollection/

I see more and more people here using the Nik Collection every day. Personally I could not see myself not using it everyday. If you have had success in using it please share your photos and how they were enhanced using NIK. Any tips you have would be helpful for everyone. And last but not least what is your favorite tool in NIK and why.


 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Do you use this in addition to LR or does it replace it?
The Nik Collection tools integrate themeselves with Lightoom (or Photoshop, et al).

It adds a listing of new filters in the... Well... In the Filters menu. :D

Screenie.gif

.....
 
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Pretzel

Senior Member
I'll be starting my trial of the NIK collection this weekend, having already tried the trial of Macphun's Intensify Pro. The Macphun product was quite the wonder, so the NIK collection will have to be incredible to justify the price difference, but from what I hear...

Well, the proof's in the puddin'. We'll see after the trial. ;)
 
I picked an old crappy photo shot with a canon POS just so I could find a bad photo. Here is a Before and After only using NIK to correct it. First is straight out of the camera only re-sizing
IMG_0218-Before.jpgIMG_0218-After.jpg
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
This is what @BackdoorHippie uses for many of his photos. Hopefully he will add some input.

@Rick M - BackdoorHippie uses this for his HDR shots. In addition to HDR, the Nik Collection is supposed to do lots more than what Photomatix Pro 4 is capable of handling. I wanted to get Photomatix Pro 4, and it was offered for a really good price on Amazon (something like $79), but they never got any more in stock and cancelled my order. Now Photomatix Pro 5 is out. For the extra $50, I might just go with the Nik Collection instead although I'm not sure if it works with Photoshop Elements 12. I'll have to check into that, but I know it will work with Lightroom 4 which I also use.
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
I own Nik Tools and am still scratching the surface. However, similar to Dave_W and Don, I don't know how I got along without it.

I do a lot of prints and love the output sharpening it does specific for print.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Man, there's so much to say about the Nik collection for me. I use it constantly, and also rather inconsistently. Dfine and Viveza are an every day, almost every photo thing (Dfine only when noise is any way apparent). I hardly ever preprocess in Lightroom any more outside of applying lens profile corrections, removing CA, and possibly minor exposure and white balance corrections.

I'm hopefully shooting a bunch of stuff tomorrow if the weather cooperates. If there are some things I can do to document a typical workflow I'll try an do it. There are so, so many things I use this for, from HDR to minor tweaks to pulling that little something extra from a shot.
 
If everyone can try to do some before and after shots to give people an idea of what it can do. And like hippy Dfine and Viveza on pretty much every shot. occasionally I use the sharpen but not that often. I still use Adobe Camera Raw to get it close and then NIC to finish it off. PhotoShop only if I need content aware healing brush, Cloning tool and cropping.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
More of a snapshot than anything but I think it captures a little something about her. Converted with Silver Efex Pro:

Jesi #1.jpg
(Original) Jesi...


Jesi #2.jpg
Also Jesi...


Jesi #3.jpg
Still Jesi...

......
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Does the Nik Collection come on a disc rather than a download? I don't see anything for it. If it doesn't, how many computers will it work on? I don't normally download software so I'm not sure how the process works. After downloading, do you save the folder and transfer it to another computer, or do you download it for each computer and use some type of key for activation (*if* it can be used on more than one computer).

Since I like a bargain (and who doesn't), I searched for an online coupon code. Although I haven't actually purchased it yet, the coupon code seems valid and lowers the price to under $127. The code is hdrsoftware15

When I found the code, it said it also works for purchasing Photomatix. So I went to the Photomatix web site and applied the code to Photomatix Pro (normally $99). It also lowered the price to $84.15 (I think that was the exact amount). In any case, it looks like the code will work for either/both software for those who are considering either software.

Would someone please explain if the Nik Collection can be installed on more than one computer, and if so, do you download to each computer, or do you download it once and transfer it? Thanks for any info! ;)
 

Dave_W

The Dude
Does the Nik Collection come on a disc rather than a download? I don't see anything for it. If it doesn't, how many computers will it work on? I don't normally download software so I'm not sure how the process works. After downloading, do you save the folder and transfer it to another computer, or do you download it for each computer and use some type of key for activation (*if* it can be used on more than one computer).

Since I like a bargain (and who doesn't), I searched for an online coupon code. Although I haven't actually purchased it yet, the coupon code seems valid and lowers the price to under $127. The code is hdrsoftware15

When I found the code, it said it also works for purchasing Photomatix. So I went to the Photomatix web site and applied the code to Photomatix Pro (normally $99). It also lowered the price to $84.15 (I think that was the exact amount). In any case, it looks like the code will work for either/both software for those who are considering either software.

Would someone please explain if the Nik Collection can be installed on more than one computer, and if so, do you download to each computer, or do you download it once and transfer it? Thanks for any info! ;)

Yes, it can be installed on a second computer. And no, I do not believe you can get it on a disk unless you buy it from Amazon which most likely will be an older version of the collection and will need to be updated online. Downloading it is by far the easier way to install it on your computers and is in fact the way all software will soon be distributed. I would also suggest holding off on purchasing Photomatix until you've used HDR Efex Pro and have concluded that Photomatix does something that Nik cannot. I have both programs and would gladly sell you my Photomatix at a discount if you do decide you want it. So far I've found Nik's HDR program to do everything that Photomatix does and then some and almost never use Photomatix any longer.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
There are a lot of 15% off coupon codes to be had for the Nik Collection. Pretty much every endorsing pro has their own, so it's a good get.

Since Google purchased Nik it has only been available digitally. I believe it can only be installed on one computer, or at least one type since the authorizing download has to be either PC or Mac. Adobe allows for multiple computers (2) provided they are both not accessing the license at the same time. Not sure if Google followed suit.
 

Dave_W

The Dude
There are a lot of 15% off coupon codes to be had for the Nik Collection. Pretty much every endorsing pro has their own, so it's a good get.

Since Google purchased Nik it has only been available digitally. I believe it can only be installed on one computer, or at least one type since the authorizing download has to be either PC or Mac. Adobe allows for multiple computers (2) provided they are both not accessing the license at the same time. Not sure if Google followed suit.

From Nik -


Installing to a new or additional computer

Installing to a new or additional computer

How many computers am I allowed to install the Nik Collection to?

Under the license agreement, you are allowed to install and activate the Nik Collection on up to two computers for your own personal use.


I purchased a new computer. How do I free up my license in order to install to a new computer?

To comply with our license agreement and keep your software installed to no more than two computers, you may uninstall the Nik Collection from an older computer before installing to a new computer. Please click for instructions on how to uninstall your software. Note: If your old computer has died, it can be assumed that the Nik Collection was uninstalled. If you do encounter any technical issues related to not properly uninstalling the software, please contact support.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I wasn't quite sure how to go about this, so what I decided to do was to go thru the edits on a photo and then present the original along with screen shots of the steps.

Here's the final image (click to enlarge, right-click and open in a separate window to view in full resolution)...

11252949684_5c68e2389d_o.jpg



I started out making camera profile and CA adjustments in Lightroom, and then sending it directly into Photoshop which is what I use to make the rest of my adjustments.

Here's what it looked like as it entered PS:

Screen Shot 2013-12-07 at 10.19.20 AM.jpg



My first step in PS is to adjust the basic light levels. I do this non-destructively by first hitting Command-J to create a duplicate layer. Then I hit Command-L to bring up the level adjustments. Depending on the image I will either use the eyedropper tool to select a neutral spot to adjust white balance, or if I'm happy with WB I will simply adjust the left and right marks (holding the Option key and moving until I see something) and then adjust the middle mark to get the contrast I want. In this case I did the latter.

Screen Shot 2013-12-07 at 10.19.22 AM.jpg



From here my next step, if I'm at a high ISO level, would be to invoke Dfine 2.0 to remove noise. Since that's not the case here, I skip that step and go straight to Viveza 2.0. The colors and textures on this image were a little flat, so the first thing I did was bump up the Saturation, and then boosted the Contrast and Brightness a bit to make them pop. I also cranked the Structure slider to about +35 and the 3-dimensional look of the mural really popped. I'll often use the Structure slider to enhance the textures in my shots by increasing it, or to enhance bokeh and the softer aspects of the photo by decreasing it. I really liked what the Structure adjustment did to the main building, but it also made the red building to the left appear very harsh. So, I added a Control Point to the top of the building and slid the Structure slider into the negative until it softened it back to where it was. I then duplicated that control point, sized it so it would only cover the red building and not the yellow, and applied it further down and repeated in several spots along the building until it was fully softened (4 Control Points in total).

Here's what it looked like coming out of Viveza:

Screen Shot 2013-12-07 at 10.19.26 AM.jpg



I could have stopped here, but I got curious as to what else I could do to make the subjects in the mural pop. So I invoked Color Efex Pro 4 and used the Detail Extractor to bring out the bricks and the 3D aspects of the mural even more. I love this tool for popping textures, and it allows you to choose between Fine, Normal and Large details. I chose "Fine" and adjusted the level of detail until I got a result I liked that wasn't too over the top. I added some negative Control Points to pull the effect from the other buildings. I also played a little with the Color Contrast Filter as well, but decided that while I could do some cool things with the yellow-to-green contrast, it muted the other colors too much, so I went with only the Detail Extractor.

Screen Shot 2013-12-07 at 10.19.30 AM.jpg



And that's it. The only thing I did after this was to adjust sharpness using Unsharp Mask when I produced the image for uploading to Flickr. I've used this so long and am so used to it that I prefer using it to Sharpener Pro. That's not to say it's not a good tool, it only means I don't use it that often. From here I typically flatten the image and save the PSD file for later access.

I hope this gives you guys some idea of how I use the Nik Collection. As I come up with other examples I'll try and do a similar walkthru. I hope this helps. In the future I'll try and remember to do a screen shot of the control layouts in the Nik tools. I didn't think of this until after I was almost done, so I only did after shots since I still had the layers.
 
I wasn't quite sure how to go about this, so what I decided to do was to go thru the edits on a photo and then present the original along with screen shots of the steps.

Here's the final image (click to enlarge, right-click and open in a separate window to view in full resolution)...

11252949684_5c68e2389d_o.jpg



I started out making camera profile and CA adjustments in Lightroom, and then sending it directly into Photoshop which is what I use to make the rest of my adjustments.

Here's what it looked like as it entered PS:

View attachment 61816


My first step in PS is to adjust the basic light levels. I do this non-destructively by first hitting Command-J to create a duplicate layer. Then I hit Command-L to bring up the level adjustments. Depending on the image I will either use the eyedropper tool to select a neutral spot to adjust white balance, or if I'm happy with WB I will simply adjust the left and right marks (holding the Option key and moving until I see something) and then adjust the middle mark to get the contrast I want. In this case I did the latter.

View attachment 61817


From here my next step, if I'm at a high ISO level, would be to invoke Dfine 2.0 to remove noise. Since that's not the case here, I skip that step and go straight to Viveza 2.0. The colors and textures on this image were a little flat, so the first thing I did was bump up the Saturation, and then boosted the Contrast and Brightness a bit to make them pop. I also cranked the Structure slider to about +35 and the 3-dimensional look of the mural really popped. I'll often use the Structure slider to enhance the textures in my shots by increasing it, or to enhance bokeh and the softer aspects of the photo by decreasing it. I really liked what the Structure adjustment did to the main building, but it also made the red building to the left appear very harsh. So, I added a Control Point to the top of the building and slid the Structure slider into the negative until it softened it back to where it was. I then duplicated that control point, sized it so it would only cover the red building and not the yellow, and applied it further down and repeated in several spots along the building until it was fully softened (4 Control Points in total).

Here's what it looked like coming out of Viveza:

View attachment 61819


I could have stopped here, but I got curious as to what else I could do to make the subjects in the mural pop. So I invoked Color Efex Pro 4 and used the Detail Extractor to bring out the bricks and the 3D aspects of the mural even more. I love this tool for popping textures, and it allows you to choose between Fine, Normal and Large details. I chose "Fine" and adjusted the level of detail until I got a result I liked that wasn't too over the top. I added some negative Control Points to pull the effect from the other buildings. I also played a little with the Color Contrast Filter as well, but decided that while I could do some cool things with the yellow-to-green contrast, it muted the other colors too much, so I went with only the Detail Extractor.

View attachment 61820


And that's it. The only thing I did after this was to adjust sharpness using Unsharp Mask when I produced the image for uploading to Flickr. I've used this so long and am so used to it that I prefer using it to Sharpener Pro. That's not to say it's not a good tool, it only means I don't use it that often. From here I typically flatten the image and save the PSD file for later access.

I hope this gives you guys some idea of how I use the Nik Collection. As I come up with other examples I'll try and do a similar walkthru. I hope this helps. In the future I'll try and remember to do a screen shot of the control layouts in the Nik tools. I didn't think of this until after I was almost done, so I only did after shots since I still had the layers.


Great walkthru. Thanks.
​And a very cool shot and building.
 
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