nik Color Efex Pro filters are enhancement filters that work within Photoshop, allowing you a multitude of easily attained effects. Depending on which edition you get, there are up to 75 filters with which numerous effects and enhancements can easily be used on any digital image.

According to the nik literature, it uses a “True Light color processing system” to consider the existing color and light information in an image to automatically provide optimal enhancements.  In this way the effect is adapted according to the picture info such as detail, colour and contrast range.  They also claim that by identifying the unique qualities of the image that the filter is processing, each filter is able to achieve consistency across a range of images.

However it may work, let me tell you - it does work.  Colour me impressed.

Software designers have it difficult in balancing two needs with any software that they’d like to put on the market.  One consideration is that the software be impressive and powerful and flexible enough to attract buyers, but the other consideration is that the software be accessible and easy to use.  Those two criteria are often mutually exclusive.

So my first impression of any software is based on how easy it is to get by with it without tediously referring to the manuals.  Well-designed software should be intuitive to use to a large extent.  (Obviously if you get the expanded functionality of software like Photoshop CS, then it is just too complex for any user to put it to much use without having to resort to a Dummies book at least.)  So with the same glee that a kid would open his presents to see what’s inside and just get to play with the new toys, I always want to try out new software by having a look around and see what I can figure out on my own, without having to bother too much initially with the instructions. 

Initial impressions:So with that low-tech but enthusiastic approach, I installed Nik Color Efex Pro, and immediately opened up Photoshop CS to see what I could figure out on my own.   And in that aspect, Nik Color Efex Pro scores very high indeed.  It is quite apparent that the software designers wanted the software to be easy to understand and use.  For example, all the controls and sliders have coloured markers to show the optimum ranges for any of the selections. 

And right off the bat, I tried Nik Color Efex Pro on some images.   I purposely stayed away from adjusting the image outside of the available Nik filters, even staying away from Photoshop’s Levels and Curves - all so that it would be more obvious how well the Nik filters can handle various tasks.  However, for one image mentioned here, I did use a Photoshop filter at the end of the sequence.  But the rest of the enhancements are with nik Color Efex Pro filters.

The first image I tried it on without even referring to any manual or help file, is this one ..

And with a few steps, ie filters selected in nik Color Efex Pro …

Blue Graduated Filter - to get rid of that bland top left hand corner,
Sunshine - to make the colours pop a bit more,
Darken / Lighten Center - to brighten the dull shadow areas in the background,
and lastly, added Lens Flare from the usual Photoshop filters.

And you know what? I was already immediately impressed.   
It took no effort, and with no frustration.

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Approaching the software properly:

The nik Color Efex Pro filter package comes with two PDF files.  The first is a user guide and descriptive listing of each filter, and the second file is a sample book to show you what is achievable with the nik Color Efex Pro filters.  The user guide is easy to follow and explains with clarity what can be achieved with these filters.  

The nik filter can either be applied directly (through the Filter menu), or added as a Layer via the Automation Tools. When the effect is added as a layer, you can then brush it in to varying degrees via a layer mask. (Or via the Fill and Erase Tools, the effect can be applied to the entire image and then selectively removed.) Or you can press the Shift key while clicking on the filter you choose, and then the effect is immediately in place.

The preview screen works in real-time so that you can immediately see the effect of the filter, along with sliders that affect the filter’s effect to various degrees. The preview panel is large and gives you a very good idea of how the effect will look, and you can also zoom in on the preview pane.The optimal range for every preset is shown as a subtle colour bar added to the slider. This recommended range is intended to help guide you in your choice of settings, but you can set it outside the range if you like the effect that you see on the preview screen. Numerical values can also be typed in. There are 4 single-click presets for each filter, so that you could save frequently used settings.

As you’d expect, there is a histogram display and image information dialogue available. Of great use is the extra histogram info and control at your fingertips in the advanced dialogue panel. Here you can set the controls for Protect Highlights, and for Protect Shadows. In this way you can bias the filters to specifically not blow your highlights, and / or retain shadow detail. A very useful tool.

Very importantly, nik Color Efex Pro allows you to work in layers. Thereby you can bring in the effect to a greater or lesser degree, and with the layer mask you can then obviously have the effect apply to only a specific area. ie, the application of these filters are quite versatile in how subtle or pronounced you want your desired effect to appear.  Even if you’re not all that au fait with Layers yet, it should be fairly easy to figure out what you need to do with the nik filters.

By now you shouldn’t be surprised to learn that there is a User Defined Filter Option where you can customise and combine filters in ways that you prefer for future use.

After having played with the software for a few weeks now, I am very impressed with the software and the ways it can be used, from subtle enhancements and corrections to dramatically different looking photographs.  Combining user-friendliness with the how elegantly powerful the software is, I’d have to highly recommend it for any photographer working in the digital medium.

Fore more information or to purchase, go directly to the Nik Multimedia website.

So finally, here are some more examples of what I was able to do with the nik filters:

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B&W Conversion : Tonal Enhancer - to turn the background into a contrasty B&W.
Sunshine - to make the sun appear warmer and softer on the couple.

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Indian Summer filter on the foliage, and erased for grass in forefront.
Impressively, somehow the skin tones were not affected much.
Then the Pro Contrast filter was used over the couple to make them pop out a bit more from the background.

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Pro Contrast - applied to shadow areas to bring them out more.
Reflector Gold - direction and intensity applied to bathe them in a warmer light.

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